"Holly Homemaker"

Lately I have been getting more and more into making things for our home and for Lexis.  I got a new sewing machine, not anything too fancy but an upgrade from my basic one I had.  I LOVE IT!  In the two or three days since I purchased it I have made Lexi two dresses, and another that I am making for a friend!  The first one I made I found on a crafting blog.....I will have to add it later, I can't think of it off the top of my head right now.  But is a dress made out of a pillowcase with a halloween theme......

It's a little big because how wide the pillowcase was, but I really like the way it turned out!  It's not a costume, but just an outfit that she can wear during the Halloween Season, and I bet she will wear it a lot!

So since I was so happy the way it turned out, except for how big it is on her I decided to make another one, same basic pattern, but instead of using a pillowcase I just used material I had so I could make it a little smaller.  I haven't tried it on her yet, so I hope it fits, but if it does she will be the cutest "bug" in town!

The arm holes are much smaller too than on the first, so that is the only thing I am slightly worried about.  I made them smaller on purpose, but I think maybe they are smaller than I anticipated them to be! oh well, if it's too small then it can be a gift!

I also got curious and made BUTTER!  I knew it was easy, but I didn't realize HOW EASY it was.  It took me about 20 min, a mason jar (small/med one) and some heavy cream......put the cream in the jar and shake!  My arms were so tired afterward, but it was really good butter!  Something that I will probably continue to do now that I know how easy it is!  Now I just need to get the homemade bread mastered, since I don't have a bread machine, and I can have homemade bread and butter!

I wish I didn't have to work so I could enjoy more fun stuff like this, instead of staying up all hours of the night!  Oh well, I will take what I can get for now :)

A New Adventure Awaits....

Summer is SLOWLY coming to an end, and I can not be more excited for the winter weather!  Not that it gets super cold here, but I am really tired of the heat.

With the close of summer also comes the start of school...one would think school isn't a concern for us yet, after all Lexi is only 17 months old....however, Nathan is the one starting school this semester! I actually should say that he started school, his first day of class was on Monday 8/22.  He is working toward his BA and I am so proud of him.  School is hard work and I remember how stressful it was BEFORE we had a baby! I hope I can help him by making sure the house is quiet while he studies.  He is doing all online courses, so hopefully the fact that the computer is in the same office I work in won't create a problem...

I am also trying to potty train Lexi....I don't know how successful I can say that I am.  I have been working with her on sign language (see previous post for videos :) ) and taught her the sign for "potty" (well it's really "toilet") since she doesn't talk enough to tell me when she has to go.  Usually I find that she uses the sign after she already goes, or sometimes while she is going.  Only a couple times has she told me before and we actually made it to the potty before her diaper was full.  I guess it is definately progress that she can recognize when she is at least going.  We have only had a couple accidents where the floor paid the price, but overall we are just trying to be consistent.  I am thinking maybe I will get some of the cloth training pants so she is more uncomfortable when she doesn't tell us, but haven't made the decision to make the investment.

Hopefully things will go smooth for Nathan and his new beginning in school and Lexi with her potty training, but it's all an adventure for me, (since I will probably be taking the class WITH Nathan, and running to the potty every 30 minutes with Lexi!). Wish me luck!

Learning More Everyday

Lexis has been such a blessing in our lives, and I hate that I can't be a stay at home mom to teach her and show her what life is all about.  Hopefully some day that dream will become a reality, but until then I do my best to juggle my full time job as an insurance agent for USAA, my duties as a wife to my wonderful husband, and my joys of being a mother to my sweet angel, Lexis. 

I try to make sure she knows how much I love her, even if I can't spend all day with her.  I dress her, feed her, read to her, and teach her the importance of the gospel and prayer.  The Lord has chosen me to be the lucky woman to get to be called "Lexi's Mommy" and have this amazing child in my life.

The thing I have always thought would be difficult, and what I have often struggled with was how to know what Lexi wants and needs.  Without being able to tell me, "Mommy I am hungry," or "Mommy, this is what I want," it seems to be a guessing game.  So I decided when Lexi was around 6 months old to try to teach her some of the Baby Signs to make it easier, not just for me but for Lexi too, to communicate with me and her dad.

At first she didn't seem very interested and it was difficult to get her to use the signs.  She is a smart little thing, and I could tell she understood what I was trying to get her to do, but she was resistant to actually do the motions.  But I told myself to stay consistent and hopefully she would catch on.

As time went on, Lexi started to realize that when she wanted or needed something it was easy for me to do exactly as she was requesting if she would use her signs, so she would, here and there, start to respond with the signs that I had been using with her.  Now she uses about 5 different signs on a regular basis, and is still learning some new ones.

She is talking here and there as well, mostly just repeating things we ask her to say.  Here are a few of the words she says....I couldn't get all of them in before her attention was lost to something WAY more interesting than mom with a camera ;)

There are so many things in life that I know I have to teach her, but for now I am enjoying the little things in life that make her smile.  She is amazing and I am so blessed to be her mommy.



She Loves Shoes Too!

So Lexi has developed a love for shoes just like her mama! She is constantly putting on other peoples shoes.  Mine, Nathan's and anyone else's that she can find. She can actually walk in my heels pretty well considering how little her feet are!

Home Sweet Home

We were so excited when we bought our first home in 2007.  We moved to Texas because there was no way we could buy a home we truely loved the way the housing market was in San Diego CA.  Our home is 3223 sqare feet which is a far cry from the <1000 sqft condos we were looking at before we moved.  Our home has 5 bedrooms and 3.5 bathrooms. 

After we moved in it took awhile to fill our house and furnish all the rooms. Going from a one bedroom apartment to over 3200 sqft was a big change in our space!  We have since done some painting and projects to make it our own. One of the big projects Nathan did was crown moulding throughout the house.  He did an AMAZING job!  He has been working on it on and off for the last couple years, taking it slow and doing one room at a time.  This past weekend he finished the last room in the house which was the Game Room.  Nathan had a little helper who really enjoyed climbing the latter and helping paint.

"I can do it Daddy!"

Little Monkey climbed all the way to the top by herself!

And some pictures of the amazing work my hubby did!.....

Dining Room

Kitchen 

Breakfast area 

Living Room 

Laundry Room 

Front Entry 

Master Bedroom 

Game Room 

Guest Room #1 

Guest Room #2 

And the journey continues....

Sleep, what's that?

It's 12:57am......why am I not sleeping??? Tomorrow is going to be a VERY long day at work, and 6am comes very fast.  I wish I could figure out why all of a sudden in the last few months I am having such a hard time going to bed....any suggestions out there???

You are my Sunshine

Today started out pretty much the same as every Saturday starts in our house, by taking Lexi to gymnastics at The Little Gym.  Lexi has been in her Birdie class for about 16 weeks now. She has LOVED it from the beginning, and she is always the first one to run into the gym and get her "shakers".  I have truely enjoyed watching her learn new skills and grow.

Lexi loves the EXPLORE part of class. It is where all the children can explore the gym and play on the different equipment. They gym is set up different each week so there is always something new for her to explore. From the beginning Lexi has been drawn to the Balance Beam. At first when she walked across, she needed to hold my hands for balance. Over a few weeks of class she learned to let go and allow me to do a light spot on her waist as she walked. Now my big Birdie can walk across the beam all by herself!

She still loves the beam and practices on it each week a few times during class; but the last couple weeks she has been interested in the Uneven Bars.  At first she just liked to be around them, and slowly started to experiment on them. This week the new skill she mastered is to hang from the bars! She has finally gained enough strength in her upper body to hang and swing her legs all by herself. Today she would climb onto a block mat to reach the bars, grab on and push herself off the mat to hang. Then she would smile & giggle until her arms couldn't hold on anymore until she let go to fall on the soft mat below her. She laughed that deep belly laugh. It was music to my ears! I sat there and just watched her climb on the mat over and over to grab the bar and swing, she was so proud of her accomplishment.  Little did she know that her mommy was just as proud of her.

She spent most of the class at the Uneven Bars today, even when it was time to play with the balls, Lexi wanted the bars! She hung on those bars until she couldn't hold on anymore, and decided when it was time for bubbles that she would participate in that activity instead.

At the end of class today we sang our group song, "You are my Sunshine."  As I sat there and sang to my little Birdie, I meant every word that I sang. She truely is my sunshine and will never know just how much I love her.  I am so thankful for my Sunshine!!  It was a fantastic class today at The Little Gym.

Enjoying this....

So I have really enjoyed this whole blogging thing! Not sure why I didn't start sooner :)  I always think of things during the day at work that I could write about, but then at night when I actually have time to do it I can't remember what my thoughts were. Oh well!  I find myself playing with the layout of my page instead of doing something productive.....like now! I really should be cleaning my house because it looks like a tornado blasted thru it, but this is so much more relaxing than cleaning. (Hehe, anyone who knew me growing up knows that I find any excuse not to clean!)

I think that I will start blogging more and Facebooking less.  I don't think I will close out the FB account, but I hope that people who like to hear about what is going on in our life will follow on here instead, or at least in addition to FB.

Ok, I really need to get going on the chores or they won't get done tonight and I REALLY want them done tonight so I am not cleaning all weekend!  Maybe another one tomorrow, or at least on Sunday if something fun happens this weekend ;)

So Blessed

I sit here tonight, my baby girl is asleep and my amazing husband is at work, and I have my kitty cat safe on my lap.......I have such an amazing life, with the BEST family a girl can ask for, and wonderful friends.  Sometimes I wonder to myself, "How did I get so lucky?"  I have had my fair share of trials in my life, just like everyother person in this world, but I truely believe if I didn't have those experiences in my life that I wouldn't be the person I am today.  Some of my past still haunts me in ways I wish I could just get over it sometimes, but I am thankful for every experience life has brought me. 

Every time a door closes, the Lord opens a window for you, and He will never give you more than you can handle........Thank you to the wonderful people who are a part of my life today, who played a role in the person I have become, and I look forward to those who will enter my life sometime in the future. I wouldn't be who I am today without you.