Alexa rocks, sings and plays the piano (video)!

Alexa was having a blast on her rocker... She was even riding with no hands! Crazy!

And on this video, Alexa was having so much fun that she started SINGING! Then, AFTER she finishes rocking, Daddy suggests that she play the piano, and she UNDERSTANDS him and heads for her piano! What a smart little girl! Then, keep watching and you'll catch her showing off her favorite word, "Dog!"

Alexa claps for her rocker (video)!

This video is from a week ago... Alexa was having so much fun on her rocker that she started clapping her hands! It was too cute! She absolutely loves this thing. She climbs on all the time and pushes the buttons to play music. What fun!

Football Sunday!

Go Steelers! Go Steelers! Alexa and Daddy played with her football while watching football and teaching her how to say "fut-bowel"!

Parties! More parties!

We had a busy day of parties today. First, holiday brunch at Aunt Elizabeth's house! We brought cookies. And enjoyed all the yummy food! Alexa enjoyed eating a muffin, one of her favorite foods. She also had fun seeing the other children there, including her daycare buddy Zico!

Next stop was Jen's house for Nate's 1st Birthday Party! Nate was born a preemie, so when Alexa first went to visit him, he was tiny! He's grown up a lot since then. Unfortunately I didn't get a photo of Alexa with the birthday boy. He's in one of the shots below. Alexa had fun playing with her friend Kaitlyn. She also loved the slide and a nylon crawler tube. And she loved Nate's ride-along train that has BALLS you can put under the seat and they shoot out! The only thing she did not like was meeting Elmo. Oh well!

Shopping: From Petsmart to the Mall

I stayed home from work today to play with Alexa and Grandma. And guess what happened? It snowed! Our first snowfall! Luckily, the snow did not stick on the ground. But Alexa had a good time watching it fall from the window. She also loved putting on (and taking off) her new hat from Grandma E! Plus, doesn't she look adorable in this pink tulle skirt from Grandma Lil? So cute!

After the snow stopped, we went shopping! First, we went to Michaels to look for materials to make mitten clips. And guess what was right next door? Petsmart! Remembering how Grandma E had taken Alexa to pet stores, I jumped at the chance. What a great idea! As another mom put it: Pet stores are like FREE aquariums and zoos! Alexa got to see bunny rabbits, mice, guinea pigs, fish and birds. But her favorite part was looking at all the books about DOGS!

After Petsmart and a quick trip to REI to look for mittens and fleece jackets for Alexa, we headed to the MALL. It wasn't as bad as we had feared. Grandma and I enjoyed some free single-cups of coffee while Alexa munched on a soft pretzel. Then we headed to Ann Taylor and Banana Republic, where Alexa had a good time "shopping"!

Alexa spends another day with Grandma!

Alexa got to stay home again today and play with Grandma! It was cold outside, so we were glad that she was able to stay inside and play. But Grandma said Alexa wanted to go outside and went to get her jacket! They went for a quick walk to the park, but it was too cold to stay out for long.

Later, when I got home, Alexa thought it was time for a dance party in her high chair. She kept shrugging her shoulders, her new thing. And then she would giggle and waive her hands in the air! So we'd say "touchdown!" and she'd laugh and waive them some more! When she went to bed, Grandma and I made a bunch of cookies... Yum!

Alexa eats a Bo the Dog cookie!

We brought Alexa home some cookies from the White House... And gave her a Bo the Dog cookie! She, um, loved it. Check it out!

We also lit the Hanukkah candles for the last time this year... Great shot of our beautiful menorah from Aunt Missy!

White House Holiday Party! Alexa stays home...

Tonight was a big night for us! Mommy and Daddy got to go to the White House Holiday Party! We met the president and first lady and enjoyed walking around the East Wing, sipping Egg Nog, trying the White House potato latkes (Daddy said mine were better!) and searching high and low for a Bo the Dog cookie.

Meanwhile, back at home, Alexa spent the day playing with Grandma! Here she is in the morning, as I was getting ready for work. She swiped my Blackberry!

Then she tended to her baby dolls, pushed around her shopping cart, played with her new dog pocketbook and ate an apple!

In the afternoon, she had more fun playing with Grandma... So cute! I love her expressions, especially when she sticks her lip out when she's concentrating. Note her new expression, courtesy of Grandma: "I don't know!"

Alexa gets a shopping cart & a pocketbook!

Alexa is really warming up to Hanukkah! At least she's enjoying all the gifts. Tonight, she admired the pretty Christmas tree, then played with her new shopping cart, a Hanukkah gift from her Aunt Missy, Uncle Rich and cousins. She loved it! And what made it even better was that my mom surprised Alexa with a Hanukkah gift of her own... A pocketbook in the shape of a DOG! Perfect!

Alexa trims the tree, then spins the dreidel and eats potato latkes!

Another merry day of Chrismukkah! We started off by decorating our beautiful tree! Grandpa hung the lights and then Grandma and I unwrapped all of the ornaments and put them on the tree. Alexa helped us out! We hung birds and flowers made of felt on the bottom branches. We also hung a set of felt Sesame Street characters that Grandma made for Alexa, just like the set she made me when I was a kid. But Alexa's favorite ornament is a DOG, from Grandma!

Later, when Alexa went down for her nap, I made potato latkes! It was my first time, but I followed Grandma Fritzie's recipe and the instructions on the Modern Jewish Mom site. It was easy! And they passed three important taste tests... Daddy loved them! Grandpa loved them! And Alexa did too! Alexa even mastered the art of dipping them in applesauce. So proud. So proud!

After stuffing ourselves silly with latkes, we lit the Hanukkah candles and Alexa got another gift: A Noah's Arc shape sorter, Tzedakah Box and two dreidels! In the photo above, Daddy is showing her how to spin the dreidel while she waits for her potato latkes. Below, she's playing with all her toys (and watching football with Grandpa)! Fun!

More holiday fun, including a party!

We walked around downtown Bethesda today and Alexa enjoyed looking at the balls on the pubic Christmas tree. How pretty!

Then we met Alexa's friend Michaela at a bookstore to play! Alexa wasn't interested in the train at first. Then she loved it!

Finally, we got dolled up and headed over to the home of Alexa's friend Brandon. His parents threw an awesome holiday party! Alexa dressed up in her holiday dress and loved walking around with the adults, playing with the other kids and checking out the tree. She especially liked Brandon's slide!

Alexa picks out a Christmas tree, then lights Hanukkah candles

Yes, Chrismukkah has begun in our house! And begun in earnest. Daddy and I took the day off and we all bundled up and headed out to a farm to cut down a Christmas tree! This was a big adventure for my family. Since I grew up in Hawaii, we always BOUGHT our tree. We never cut one down! Grandpa Tom was over the moon excited.

Here we are checking out the trees... Alexa liked a small one her size. But we wanted a big one for our living room! We finally found one and before I had time to change my mind, Daddy and Grandpa chopped it down! Way to go!

Back at home, we lit the Hanukkah candles, lit Shabbat candle and enjoyed some yummy Challah. Check out our beautiful menorah. Thanks, Aunt Missy!

Finally, after dinner, Alexa got a Hanukkah gift from Grandma E and Pop! She immediately dumped out the books and wanted Daddy to read one. How cute! She also got a piano from Grandma E and Pop. Stay tuned for some photos of her playing it... She loves it!

More fun with Grandpa and Grandma

When we asked Grandpa Tom what he wanted to do today, he said "The same thing as yesterday!" He had so much fun playing with Alexa all day. So she stayed home from daycare again to play! This time, she got Grandpa Tom to play dolls with her. So cute!

She also made him work to get her to eat... I love the photo of her covering her mouth. She was like, "I'm DONE! What part of DONE don't you understand?!"

Alexa plays with Grandpa!

Alexa's Grandma and Grandpa from Hawaii came to visit us this week! So lucky Alexa got to stay home and play with them all day. She and Grandpa Tom read books and played with blocks. It looks like they had a great time!