My daughter, the bookworm

I have to admit, I used to think Alexa had too many books. That was back when she was a baby and we could read her any book we wanted, or even the same book night after night, which we did for months: The Going to Bed Book. Those were the days...

Now I am a bit desperate. For books! We can't get enough! But it's tricky. Some books are never touched. Others are read over and over and over. I guess that's the way it is with children? In our case, the obsession started with Go Dog Go. I guess it could have been worse. 

Now we alternate among the books and take turns reading them. Two books upon waking up: Mommy Loves and Pat the Bunny. One in between wrestling each article of clothing onto her body: A Good Day. Goodnight Moon. Are you my Mother? One before her socks:Spot Bakes a Cake. Another before her shoes: My Dog's the Best. One more to get her jacket on: Peek-A-Boo, I Love You. And several to read in the car on the way to daycare: Good Night, New Jersey. Neighborhood Animals. Mirror Me! I wonder if she makes the ladies at daycare read to her as much? 

It's more than a mild obsession. As soon as she gets home, she runs to her play kitchen. We keep her books in the oven. She will rummage around a bit, then emerge with a giant smile and a book in each hand: Good Night, Chicago and Snuggle Puppy. She'll look up at us and squeel: "boooook! boooook!" That means sit down, I am going to make read to me. If not, she will come over and reach for you to pick her up. If we're already sitting down, she'll turn around and plop into our lap.

More books at dinnertime. One after another! Caps for Sale. Busy Doggies. Good Night America. Go Dog Go. One Blue Hippo. She even has a book for her bath! Barnyard Bath. Then it's time for bed and even more books emerge... Everyone Poops. Daddy Hugs. Brown Bear, Brown Bear, what do you see? Goodnight Gorilla. 

And it doesn't end there. Tonight, she stood up in her crib when I put her to bed and pointed: "Book?" 

"No, honey, it's bedtime. Lie down, please."

"Booooook!"

"In the morning, sweetie. It's bedtime."

"Booooook!"

"Fine. Here. You can hold it for me and we'll read it in the morning."

Oh yes, she is now sleeping with her books. She is asleep in bed right now snuggled up with The Mitten tucked under one arm, her doggie under her other arm and a pacifier in each hand. My daughter, the bookworm.

More photos from our backyard

Alexa had so much fun running around, and walking down the stairs in our yard, with Daddy's help of course. Here are some more photos to enjoy!

Alexa loves our new adirondack chairs!

Thanks Grandpa Howard and Mema Wanda for these beautiful adirondack chairs! Aren't they nice? These chairs were handmade by a craftsman who Grandpa Howard found near his store in New Jersey. Amazing! We love our chairs! We can't wait to spend nice lazy summer days in our back yard, relaxing in them. Alexa and Daddy are certainly enjoying them already!

The many expressions of Alexa

I took these photos of Alexa Sunday afternoon. I was talking with Aunt Jen on the phone while Alexa was inside playing with Daddy. Then she grabbed her jacket and told Daddy "out"! So he brought her outside! The light was beautiful, just about to set, so I couldn't resist snapping a few pictures! Stay tuned for more shots of Alexa exploring our backyard in the next couple of days... Which is your favorite?

Btw, we had Alexa's 18-month doctor's appointment today. She's 23 pounds! Stay tuned for her 18-month photos and development details. We've got a lot of fun stuff to share!

Fun at the big kid park with Michaela!

Alexa and I met my friend Julia and her daughter Michaela for lunch, then we all went to a new park to play. The park was very nice, but it was PACKED with lots of big kids running around, so I had to follow Alexa around very carefully and watch her like a hawk! I did get to take a couple pictures when she and Michaela were playing in a little truck. Alexa was cracking up! Every time we put our head through one of the windows, she'd laugh and laugh and laugh. It was so cute!

Nothing like a PB&J sandwich!

Especially since it's not a PB&J sandwich. We still haven't given Alexa peanut butter. So here she is enjoying her almond butter sandwich. Yum! Handmade by Daddy the way Daddy likes his peanut butter sandwiches. All nut butter, no jelly. And not toasted either! The horror! At least it's on wheat bread, cuz that's what Momma buys!

After Alexa finished her sandwich, she got to run around at the playground. What fun! Look how cute! She was cracking up at me pushing her in her swing. It was so funny!

After all the fun at the park, we went over to Daddy's friend's home for some Irish food. They have two boys, who have lots of cool toys. Alexa had fun riding a little ride-along toy and playing with the basketball and plastic baseballs. But she got a little confused about which ball goes through the hoop...

Who's the cutest girl in the world?

Alexa is! Alexa is! Check out this silly expression she gave me last weekend. What a cutie pie!

Fun at the park!

Oooops, I forgot to post this collage! After pizza on Saturday, we walked into town and stopped at this park on the way back. Alexa had a blast! She loved the swing and especially the slide. Crazy girl!

Two of Alexa's favorite books!

This 1st book was a gift from my friend Aisha. Alexa loves it! When she sees the train, she says "chooo! chooo!" and when she sees the cow she says "Boo!" Yes, Boo. We are trying to teach her "Moo" but so far, according to Alexa, cows say Boo! At the end of the book, the last word is "You!" along with a mirror, which Alexa loves to kiss!  Ha! (The book is "Peek-A Who?")

Another favorite book is this one that we just picked up on Saturday. Alexa is getting really good at telling us what certain animals say. Cats? "Meeuw." Dogs? "Woof!" Sheep? "Baaa" So we picked up a new book that teaches her even more animals! So far, she seems to be picking them up fast... "Oink," "Neigh," "Whooo" and "Roar"!! (The book is "Sounds: a look + learn book")

Another play date at the National Building Museum!

Today was a rainy day, so it was CROWDED at the National Building Museum! We met two moms from my mom's group and their girls. They were already in LINE when we arrived. And the museum hadn't even opened yet! Holy crazy! Once it did open, we rushed down the hallway to the Kid's Zone and got in. But there was such a long line that we only had about 30-40 minutes to play. Still, the girls had fun! Here are Alexa, Avery and Ella checking out the eco-doll house!

After the doll house, the girls wanted to play in the REAL house. But they all wanted to sit in the chairs! Except Alexa was a bit obsessed with her favorite puzzle toy. She has found and played with this SAME buckle puzzle EVERY time we've been here. Uh oh, does that mean we need to get her one?

Finally, here are more pictures of Alexa playing... Again with the puzzle! She also enjoyed playing with the trucks and the train. If you ask Alexa, "What does a train say?" she'll smile real big and say "chooo! chooo!"

After all the fun in the Kid's Zone, Tricia and I took Ella and Alexa out to lunch. Look how cute the girls were! They shared Kix and laughed when they reached out and held hands. So cute!

Pizza at our favorite local place - Yum!

Alexa had a good time at Mia's today. She gobbled up her pizza! She also had several apple slices. Look how cute she is! I had fun taking photos with my new camera. The light is really nice in these shots because the weather was so nice that we got to sit outside! Yay for springtime! After lunch, we walked to downtown Bethesda to visit the Apple store and buy Alexa more books at Barnes & Noble!

Alexa cooks dinner!

One of Alexa's favorite things to do is use her wooden spoons, steel pot and oven mitt to pretend cook. She stands by her kitchen and walks around with her pot. So cute!

Sleeping angel

Daddy took this picture of Alexa asleep in her car seat. So cute!

Who's the cutest girl in the world?

Alexa! Alexa! Here is a photo from last Saturday that didn't get downloaded, so I overlooked it. But it's so cute, I just had to share. Enjoy your daily dose of cuteness!