Neighbors

We have such good neighbors! The kids play outside together many days during the week. We will be so sad to see Cameron and Carter (and Matt and Laura) go as their family is moving soon. :( Alex asks for them and looks for them everytime we are driving home, going outside, etc.

Alex, Carter and Cameron having a blast with Carter driving their Barbie Jeep until the battery died. This was Alex's first time to ride; she had a ball!

Alex, Cameron, and Carter swinging on our hammock

Katie, Alex, and Cameron

Baby Shower

Some special friends of mine from Little Rock hosted an intimate shower for me this past weekend. It was wonderful!

Hostesses Layla, Jennifer, me, Wendy, and Stacie amidst their yummy dishes

As I opened the gifts of cute little boy clothes and boyish things, it became more of a reality that I am having a boy. I still can't believe we will be bringing a newborn home soon!

Humpty Dumpty doll that sweet Alice made. She also made Alex a girly one before she was born in which Alex loves to sleep with it.

Alice (made Humpty Dumpty doll), Wendy, Layla, Rebecca T., and Stacie

Jennifer, Andee, and Elizabeth

Big Girl Bed

Since baby brother will be getting the crib soon, we decided it was time to make the switch and put Alex in her big girl bed on her 19 month old birthday (Saturday before Easter). Well, we made her a twin bed by stacking the 2 twin mattresses from our daybed/trundle bed that was in the study and adding a hide away bed rail to it. Thanks Mom for the colorful quilt!

We weren't sure how Alex would take to the switch so we wanted to make this a special event of her becoming more of a big girl and give her plenty of time to adjust. She had already been playing on the mattresses in the study so she was used to seeing them around. However, we connected the rail and made the bed in her room when she wasn't around after her nap on Saturday. When we surprised her with her big girl bed, she was so excited to climb on it in her room and she loved the colorful quilt. So far, she has treated it just like her crib and doesn't seem to have any problems adjusting to her big girl bed. She doesn't get out of it at night or in the morning which we are so surprised by, yet so thankful for!!! It has probably helped that we put her snugglies, crib blankets and humpty dumpty doll (made by sweet, talented Alice W.) in bed with her for naps and bedtime as she loved these items in her crib. Side note... every time she wakes up in the morning (and from some naps), she wants to bring all those items with her to the kitchen/living room and gets upset if we leave one thing behind. She forgets about it all about as soon as we make it to the kitchen for breakfast. Silly girl!

Alex thought the mesh rail was fun as we made silly faces with her back and forth.

Alex wanted to sit under the covers to get the entire feel of the bed.

We celebrated Alex graduating to her big girl bed with cupcakes after she saw it (stole this idea from the Hallum family - thanks!). Of course, she ate the icing first and only part of the cake. Chris and I laughed at ourselves as we tried to make this a big deal and special. However, Alex adapted so well to the bed that we could have just said, "Hey Alex, you are sleeping in this bed now. Enjoy." I think she would have been just fine. However, we enjoyed making it more fun... maybe talking it up about being a big girl with a big girl bed helped with the transition. ???

We have always checked on Alex every night when we go to bed and usually cover her up. Her first night in the big girl bed, we found her sleeping perpendicular to the bed rail which was no surprise as she slept all over her crib in every direction. However, since that night, she has kept her head at the pillow end. She's learning. :)

After breakfast the morning after her first night in the big girl bed, we found her on the bed playing with (and counting) balls that she lined up by the rail. She stayed in her room for a while that morning playing on her bed which totally surprised us as she often likes to be in the same room as us.

I plan to start looking for a bed skirt as we've decided for now to keep the bed rail up all the time which exposes the bottom mattress. Any ideas where we can find one?

Easter

We did not make it to MS this Easter as Chris was on back up call and we traveled through there a couple of weeks ago. So, we spent Sunday lunch visiting with "family" here in Little Rock: Wendy and Graeme. We thoroughly enjoyed our time with them. Thank you so much for having us over! Way to go Wendy on your sweet potato casserole!!!
Alex dolled up with her "Easter" dress. This dress is a 9mo old dress and I think she wore it last year for Easter...it hung way past her feet then. The beautiful thing about this style dress is that it can fit (differently) for a long time. Some people believe it can be worn until the bottom reaches the knees. ha! Who knows, it may be her Easter dress again next year. :)

The Saturday before Easter Sunday, we went to Burns Park for a community Easter egg hunt. We were drawn to this egg hunt as it stated each egg hunt would be age appropriate starting with age one. Well, Alex was put in the 1-3 age group. That proved to be ok since they did several hunts within each age group to avoid huge crowds. However, they did not "hide" a lot of eggs. The eggs were gone in about 3 minutes and Alex had only found 3. So, we kept dropping the eggs and letting her "find" them again and put in the basket. She had no idea and enjoyed her egg hunt. Despite Alex missing out on our traditional egg hunt (with lots of eggs...even a money egg for every child) this year at our family reunion in MS, we enjoyed a beautiful day and she had fun.



An Easter bunny rode up in a convertible car. Alex saw the bunny and went nuts to go "pet" him. Ha! She impatiently waited in line to sit with him. When her turn came, she did not want to leave him. She sat with him, hugged him, and wanted to kiss him. She didn't even know who he was except that he was a "bunny."
Doing what Alex loves...going to parks/playgrounds and sliding! She has no fear when attempting the big kid slides.

Vacation

We traveled to MS and AL for various visits and a wedding a couple of weeks ago. Of the 5 nights, we stayed in 4 different cities. That is not the most ideal way to spend a vacation. However, it was the best way to cover lots of ground and visit lots of people.

Visiting Great Grandma and Papaw in Vicksburg, MS

Alex hugging Papaw goodbye

Playing at the cool new park in downtown Vicksburg, MS

Tim kept Alex at his work while Chris and I went to a luncheon. Tim entertained her the whole time with all sorts of adventures. He sent us several pics of their time together (2 below).
Tim took Alex for batting practice
Alex on one of Tim's big work boats

Cousin Kelly, Alex, and Aunt Tammy... We enjoyed a night with the Dyess family as we passed through Jackson. Since it was my birthday, we ate with them at my favorite Italian restaurant, Amerigos. It was so good! They have the best tiramasu (covered in special sauces).
Alex and Cousin Amy... Alex loved spending time with the Dyess family, especially with their indoor dog and 2 cats!!! She couldn't stop chasing and petting them.

Playing at a beautiful park in Belhaven in Jackson

Of course, we had to eat lunch at Keifers on our way out of Jackson. We enjoyed that meal with friends, Billy, Nancy, and their son, Wilson. Wilson entertained Alex with his drawings (see napkin in front of Alex) and she loved hanging out with them. She still asks to pray for them often.

Our next stop was grandmother's house. This was our last time to go to this house as she just sold it and will be moving back to Vicksburg soon. We enjoyed our stay and Alex was excited to wake up to cousin Amber and Aunt Robin as they drove in after she went to bed.

Amber, Grandmother, and Alex

Amber and Alex

Aunt Robin and Alex

We were so excited to get to meet Hannah Sage when arriving to Birmingham, AL. My good friend from college, Kristen, had her just weeks before.

Kristen and Hannah

Chris and John at his rehearsal dinner

Hanging out with some of Chris' high school friends at John's wedding: Will, Alice Kate, and Michael

Alex eating her first ice cream in a cone at Jason's Deli. She did great and didn't even make a mess. However, she wasn't sure about eating the cone, but she stuck her tongue in it as far down as it would go to get to the ice cream. ha!

Cousins Hunter, Anna Cate, and Alex being silly

Hunter, Alex and Mimi...While in Birmingham, Mimi, Grandadday, Aunt Cathy, Hunter and Anna Cate drove up to visit and keep Alex for us while we attended the wedding festivities. Thank y'all so much for helping out with Alex!!!

Anna Cate and Alex in their matching MSU tshirts