Happy Birthday, Alexis!

Today is my sweet baby's 2nd birthday! One minute, it seems like time is flying by - the next, it seems like it was eons ago when Terry delivered Alexis Grace on our bathroom floor, not just two years ago. I'm feeling a bit melancholy today - the realization that I don't have a "baby" anymore has hit me. Alexis seems so grown up to me lately! Now that she has been walking for quite a while, she has lost her baby fat & is very lean (& very tall!). I get asked multiple times a day if she and Allie are twins because they are the same size. They wear the same sized clothes & shoes - although Alexis' hands and feet are both bigger. It is truly amazing to me how my preemie has grown so unbelievably fast!

Since I'm talking about Alexis today, I have to add that she is one of the sweetest children I've ever known! When she smiles, her entire face brightens up and you can't help but smile back. And she makes some of the most comical facial expressions - and when I drop her off at the nursery, her lower lip promptly comes out (& sometimes tears, too) because she would rather stay with me. Alexis just loves her sisters, too - all Morgan & Allie have to do is ask Alexis for whatever is in her hands and Alexis happily hands it over - smiling because she made her sister happy. She's just a sweet, sweet spirit and our family is so blessed that God sent her to us.

Murphy's Law

Today, I finally made an appointment for the girls to have their picture taken. And, wouldn't you know it, a couple of hours after I made the appointment (for tomorrow afternoon), Allie falls face first on our tile floor. Her poor, sweet, little face!! She's fine, but has two little cuts on her chin from two tile edges - perfectly parallel lines that are grout-width apart. Guess I'll have to reschedule...

And speaking of having pictures taken, I'm ashamed to admit that I have not once had Alexis' picture taken professionally! And her 2nd birthday is on Thursday. When Morgan was a baby, I had her pictures taken faithfully at 3, 6, 9, 12, 18 & 24 months. I had Allie's pictures taken only twice, I think, at 3 & 6 months. I took 1-year pictures of Allie myself, but with poor Alexis, I'm not even sure I did that! In fact, I didn't even think about it until my Mom asked for 5x7's of Allie & Alexis at 1 year. Hopefully I'll find some of Alexis when I explore my back-up CD's. But if I can't, is there any way to go back in time and recapture it?

Is she 6? Or 16?

Just when I thought I have three little girls, it turns out I only have two! It turns out, Morgan is a teenager in disguise!! For the past week, she has been begging me to allow her to call her friend from school. Phone calls in 1st grade are something I definitely didn't want to get started. However, I finally gave in (softie!!). And it was so cute - Morgan would hide in my bathroom so that I couldn't hear what she was talking about (she actually does this when she talks to anyone on the phone). I finally told her she had to get off the phone (who knows how long they'd talk!!) and asked her what she and her friend had talked about. And get this - they discussed the cleanliness of each other's houses!! Very funny (or not...)! Morgan also told me that her friend also has a little sister who is a menace (like Alexis!) - I laughed at that one. Perhaps this will be the beginning of a beautiful friendship...

As a side note, I had prayed that Morgan would make a best friend this year, so maybe this is also an answer to prayer...

God & our A/C

Our air conditioner has been out for an entire week. Now, before you start feeling sorry for us because it is the end of August/beginning of September in south Texas, I assure you, there is no need! Our weather has been amazing!! We could have been having high 90's - low 100's temperatures. Instead, God has blessed us with lows in the 70's & highs in the 80's - it's been cloudy & the evenings have been filled with cool breezes. Thank you, Lord!! And, hopefully, my next update will include a report that the a/c man has returned - replacing the necessary circuit board...

Speaking of updates, Alexis' poor, little heiny is finally healed!! Woo hoo!! After trying numerous different remedies, I asked a pharmacist's opinion and she thought that because the rash had been there for more than a couple of days, that it was probably a fungus. She recommended the generic of Lotrimin (for athlete's foot & jock itch) and said to give it a couple of days to work. Sure enough, Alexis' rash began clearing up nearly immediately and was fully gone in about 2-3 days. I know this last little ditty is a little graphic, but I decided to share it because perhaps it could help another mom/child having similar troubles. Another thing I learned is that your pharmacist is a really great resource - & they're right there in the store that you're shopping at!

And! Morgan had a terrific first week of school. She loves her teacher & everything about school. In fact, she told me that she wished school was 9 hours long - instead of only 7! But I have to admit, by 2:45, I'm really ready to see my sweet Morgan again!!