A March Summer

I didn't think it was possible to get summer weather in March in Ontario! I remember when I was a kid, we'd have 3 feet of snow all winter long, from November all the way to March! And although I loved snow when I was young, I would have loved to have a winter like we had this year! And although I know that Alexis Loves snow, she definitely loved the summer weather we've had recently! Soaking up the sun in t-shirts and wearing sun screen already!

One thing that my girl loves the most, is the Park! She could stay at the park all day every day and always have a smile on her face! We started our wonderful park days in the early days of March this year, and my girl was in her glory!





There's nothing better than seeing my baby happy! Yes, I see her bright happy face daily, but it just seems like a different kind of happiness when she is out at the park, running around or swinging...oh swinging! How mu girl just loves to fly through the air!

We went to see the geese and take a walk by the water! Alexis loved it! Her and Chloe threw sticks in the water together. It was just such a beautiful day! And it's days like those, you wish would never end!




Amanda and Liam came down to visit and we took to the kids to the Sugar Bush! Sure, it's not the Science Center (which apparently Alexis loved with Matt and the boys!), but at least it was something new, and Alexis got to see Liam again, and they had so much fun there! The weather that day wasn't amazing, it was rather dreary and a little chilly, but kids definitely don't need sunshine to have fun! Clearly, their faces show it perfectly! :)






I think I under-estimated how tired I was when I began this post, and I seriously need to go to bed...more later!

The Joys of Parenting

My Baby is growing so fast! It's hard to believe just how fast the time goes, and how much such a little person can change and learn so much in such a short amount of time! Just over the last little while, my girl has grown up so much. Her imagination is wild, she's very artistic and into music more than she was the day before! She's still a little girl, but has the biggest heart and is so very smart! Every day, she makes me so proud to call her mine!

She loves to sing! She can sing the alphabet pretty good, and at the end, she sings "Now I know my ABC's, next time wont you ABC!" lol She also loves singing "The Wheels on the Bus," "Ring Around the Rosy" and "Happy Birthday."

Her Best Friend Chloe moved into the apartment building next to ours, so their hang outs have been extremely convenient! She loves that she can just go over to her house to play, whenever she wants to! Although, I have learned pretty quickly that Chloe can be a bad influence on Alexis. I'm sure this is a situation that will forever be a challenge in my parenting ability, but so far, I think I have done a pretty good job of praising Alexis' kindness even when not in the presence of Chloe when she does something that Shane disapproves of and gets her into trouble. I secretly tell her why Chloe is getting into trouble and thank you for being such a nice little girl and sharing and not doing some of the things that Chloe does!


They do play really nicely together for the most part, and love to be in each other's company, and I love seeing her have such a fun time with another little girl! But I will admit, I am happy that she seems nicer than some kids, and I really hope that she will continue to be that way! I think, the more she plays with others kids, the more I am realizing how lucky I am with her, because she really is a sweet little girl. Sure, we have our days, where I am pulling out my hair because she wont listen to me AT ALL and does ALL the things that drive me crazy and she goes to her room or sits on a chair 20 times in a day, but when we are around another child that just wont share, or wont listen ever or doesn't seem to be learning from their punishments, it's when I know that somehow, I am doing an alright job as a Mom and I'm teaching my daughter the right things!



Alexis is going to be 3 in 4 months! I sometimes can't even believe that I am a Mommy of a 2 year old, let alone believe that she is almost 3 now! I love her at this age. The age that she is today. She is fun. Talking loads. Making her own decisions. Imagining. Creating. Believing in everything. I can't imagine how much greater things will be later on, when she is a little older, a little smarter, more of anything than what she is today, because I sometimes wish she'd stay this age forever. Sure, at her age now, she has fears of the dark, but she hasn't quite reached the age of letting her imagination go and fear monsters in the dark or fear the unknown, and I am definitely not looking forward to that stage.

She is very much a Mommy's Girl. I love that she is! But it is so bad that she wont sleep in her own bed. Ever. I even changed rooms with her, so that she could sleep in the smaller, more secure bedroom, where her and I slept in my bed before, but she wants nothing to do with her bed. It's all about Mommy's bed. I don't mind for the time being to be honest, and I don't care what others think of allowing her to sleep with me every night. I like that she needs me and loves me and wants to be near me all the time, because I know that I need her just as much!


I've been trying Potty Training for what feels like forever, with very little success. She has peed on the potty 5 times. 4 times in one night and then nothing for a month, and then once, and then nothing again. She really wants nothing to do with it, and gets mad at me every time I ask her if she has to pee. A lot of people say that it's when they are ready, they will do it, I just have to be patient and let her do it when she wants to. But she is going to be 3 in 4 months and by then, I want her to be potty trained. Definitely one of the hardest things in parenting I have had to deal with so far, I think, and I just want it to be done and over with!
NO MORE DIAPERS...SOON PLEASE!



Next week, Amanda is coming down to Trenton for a visit. We were going to take the kids to the Science Center in Toronto, and I was so excited to do something extremely fun with Alexis, because it's not every day I do things like that with her. But Matt decided to change up his work schedule and be home for his kids for the March Break next week instead of being home this week like he should have been. And before I even say anything, he says he's taking the kids to the Science Center in Toronto. Wow, really? How is it, that you're doing the exact same thing I was going to do, without me even telling you I was going to do it? Ugh! Now he gets to take her to the Science Center and I have to just sit here and wish I was there with her, seeing her happy face, being excited....
I like Matt's girlfriend. I actually like her a lot. I think she is a really great part of Alexis' life and I'm happy that she's there when Alexis goes to her Daddy's. I know that Matt is still not a very good Dad, and all the good things that come out of Matt's house when it comes to Alexis is all because of Alex. The reason that Matt takes her 4 days every other week now instead of his usual 2, is because of Alex. I know the reason she has a pretty room at their house, is because of Alex. I know the reason they had a Christmas at their house, is because of Alex, and I know that Alex is the one who does stuff with Alexis when she is there. Alex came over to my house last week because Matt forgot to bring the potty back to me, so she brought it, and she stayed for a while and she said that she does homework with Austin and she runs to the potty with Alexis. Her saying these things, makes me realize he is still the person he was before, sadly. So, them taking the kids to the Science Center and making sure he's home for the March Break for his kids, wasn't his idea. I know it wasn't. If it weren't for Alex, he'd never even think of doing shit like that with them. So me missing out on being with her at the Science Center just sucks. And I'm pretty sure I will be mad about it for a while, but I guess I can't change what it is, and just deal with it, and know that she will have a very fun time, and know that's the most important thing. I just hate that I am going to miss it.

I guess as a our kids grow up, we have to realize we can't be there with them through every experience. See every smile. Wipe every tear. Be the reason for the laughter or their every smile. They will eventually go to school, and we can't sit in the classroom and enjoy watching them learn anymore or see how they've made their new best friend, we have to live with them telling us their experiences and their stories.

Alexis is starting to tell me things that she's done at the babysitter's house, but most days she still wont tell me. Today she lied to me about what she did at the babysitter's house. She told me she played with Zaphyn. She said they played "kitchen" together, but when I text Steph to ask her is Zaphyn was at her mom's (Alexis' babysitter), she said she wasn't there. I have no idea what made her tell me she was. I can't even remember the last time Alexis even got to see Zaphyn! So at this age, I have no idea what the truth is and what isn't...lol And, I'm sure that will never change...lol



Alexis is very into art lately. She drew a happy face for the first time the other day, and I was so proud of her!

Seriously, how cute is that!

She can even draw a dress, hair, legs and arms on a person if I've drawn the head for her! It's so cute! She LOVES painting! She always has, but lately, it's been an every day thing for her! I bought some wooden things from the dollar store for her to paint on and she is just having a blast with them! And she's been painting some more pictures on canvases and doing such a nice job with them! And she loves showing them off!


Spring is slowly approaching us. And although we didn't have a crazy snow-filled winter or even had to deal with insanely cold days, I am excited that spring will be here soon, and we can go to the park again, and play outside all the time! Spring is definitely my favorite time of year, and with my baby, I like to think it's when all of our best adventures begin! Can't wait to see what the spring has to offer us!

Xoxo

A Princess Christmas! :)

Happy New Year!!

My baby girl has a new best friend! The love these girls have for each other is none like I've ever seen before! I don't know if it's because she is just growing up and able to play with other kid better, or if it's because they just like each other so much!


Her name is Chloe!

When they are apart, they talk about each other. Alexis even sings songs about Chloe, and says that all her toys belong to her. Chloe's Princess Castle, Chloe's bed, Chloe's phone...and at least every half an hour, Alexis asks if she can see Chloe.

I love that she has a friend that she loves so much! Her only other friend that she gets to see once in a while is Braelyn, and I have never seen her play with Braelyn like she does with Chloe. Maybe it's because Chloe is 4 months older than Alexis and Braelyn is 5 months younger than Alexis, and there is a big difference at this age, but I honestly can not get over how awesome they play together! I love it!



Christmas was AWESOME this year!! I should have had an entire blog post just for the holiday, because it was just so great! Alexis LOVED every second of it! Even Christmas Eve was great! I decided to start our traditions this year, even though she doesn't understand yet as to why we are doing certain things, but it was still a lot of fun!
In the afternoon, we made Reindeer Food to put outside for the reindeer while they are waiting for Santa! Alexis had so much fun making it, even though she didn't understand why we were doing it! But what 2 year old wouldn't have fun putting random things into a jar and shaking it around, and then dumping it outside!?



When we took it outside, Alexis was so excited! Although, when we were done, she cried, because she actually thought we were going to feed reindeer. The poor girl was sad because there were no reindeer outside, and didn't understand they were coming when we were sleeping.

And then before bedtime, we got out Milk and Cookies for Santa...and well...Santa better have gotten a ton of milk and cookies at all the other kids houses this year, because he sure didn't get any from our house...because Alexis ate his cookies and drank his milk and she enjoyed them! lol



Christmas morning was incredible! Santa definitely went all out this year and spoiled my little girl! But in my eyes, she is so deserving! If I can give her the world, she is going to get it! No one understands my spoiling her, and maybe it isn't such a good thing, but she is all I have in the world, and if I can give her everything that I did for Christmas, and still afford to live and not give up important things like food and shelter and still somehow live comfortably, then she will get spoiled! And spoiled, she was!


What it looked like after Santa showed up!

Her list of presents this year:
A Mini Grand Piano, 56 Burned Disney/Kids movies, 2 dress up dress/skirt, princess kitchen with princess dishes, food, toaster, princess phone, princess bed set, princess barbies, paint, dora laptop, rapunzel, princess hair accessory kit, 2 babies with accessories, fairy barbies, barrettes and hair elastics, pj's, cinderella story pillow, change purse, princess books, playdoh, etc.



It was definitely a Christmas to remember! She was so excited when she saw her Piano, and loved opening all her presents! And she loved them all!
After we were done Christmas at our house, we went to my parents house for the rest of the day, where we opened more presents, spent time with family and ate good food!
What an awesome day! :)

I got the best present ever! (Other than seeing my baby girl's bright happy face all morning!) The Photobook I made for Alexis (Her First Year), was nicely wrapped up for me, and let me tell you, it looks SOOOO awesome! I look at it every day, and can't wait to finish the 2nd one and get that one also.




A few pages!

And Alexis' room is now finished! All decked out in Princess! And let me tell you, my Girl is just loving it! Every time she runs into her room, she yells "My Princess Room!" The first time she saw it finished, was priceless! I Wish I had it on video! She ran around, freaking out about all her new stuff! "Whoa! What's this?!" and "pretty cool!" and gasping at everything! It was definitely worth all the time I put into it! :) She just LOVES it and everything in it!




The only difference in the room no, is that there are Princess Curtains and where the bear is, there is a Princess castle! Where I'm going to put there big bear now, is beyond me....lol

xoxo

No Sleep!

There's nothing better in the world than being away from your baby for 2 days, for her to come home to Mommy and be more than excited to see me. It's the first time that when Matt brought her home from being at his house for her two days every other week visit with him, that she ran to me when she saw me and hugged me, and I mean hugged me like never before, for a whole 5 minutes! And kissed me many times and said she missed me and she loved me. I took that moment in, and carved it into my memory, so that I will never forget it! It felt amazing!

Being away from her for those two days every other week is hard, but I definitely need the break most of the time. I hate to say that I enjoy those two days, to be alone, to do whatever I want to (even though the two days that she is gone, I am at work both days for 8 hours), and to get a whole night's sleep, without being woken up 40 times a night. So, yes, I enjoy the silence, but the best part about not being with her, is seeing her again when she gets home, and especially tonight, when she made me realize just how much she misses me too when she is gone to Daddy's.

She is growing up so fast! And not seeing her for two days...well it's hard to believe how much two days makes a difference! Even though she talked a lot two days ago, it seemed like she talked 10 times better tonight! I love that about children. How us parents have front row seats to the best show we could ever see - watching our babies grow up. I love it! Being a Mommy is the best gift I've ever dreamed of, and Alexis is just so amazing!

Ever since I took her crib away and gave her a big girl bed, sleeping has just not been good. I knew that it wouldn't be that great, and the change was going to be difficult for her, but I never dreamed of it being THIS hard! Her first couple nights were great. She went to bed good and slept all night, but was getting up at 5am. 5am turned into 430am and then 330am, and she started waking up to come and sleep in bed with me. She makes me sit next to her bed until she falls asleep. I don't mind doing that, but it sucks doing it in the middle of the night, when she really doesn't want to sleep in her bed anymore, but in Mommy's bed. The more tired I am, the easier to give in to her wishes of sleeping in bed with me are easier to give into. It's a tough battle, that I always lose. I have never been so tired in my life. Even when she was a newborn, and the 19 months she slept like crap, this month has been the roughest! And it sucks when she comes home from Matt's and he says she slept in her big girl bed there all night, with no peep. I don't understand!!!!!

So, she has a big girl bed in a big girl Princess room! And she loves it, and I love it. It's not officially finished yet, until after Christmas, but it's definitely cute!

I am so excited for her to experience Christmas this year! I can't wait to see her face on Christmas morning when she sees all her presents under the tree for her! I went all out this year! And it's awesome, I know she enjoys opening presents, as she has been to a few birthday parties over the last month, and helped open all of their presents!

My baby is VERY into Tangled right now. It's the first big kid movie that she ever really watched more than 5 minutes of, before she told me to turn it off. Every time I would try to turn off treehouse to watch a different channel, she freaked out, but Tangled....Oh Tangled plays in our house 5 times a day. She doesn't watch the whole thing of course, she comes and goes, but when it's over, she knows, and tells me to she wants it on again. She loves Rapunzel so much, she calls it "Mypunzel" LOL! She is going to LOVE the Rapunzel doll I got her for Christmas!

Anyways, I better to go to bed before she wakes up AGAIN!

xoxo

Princess Room

So, I am overly excited about changing my baby's room to her Big Girl room, which I will be doing for Christmas. I don't think I could express my obsession with it. It is kind of ridiculous just how insane I am about getting Princess stuff for her room. I have spent a lot of money on it already, and keep spending, spending, spending!!!

It's funny when I think about it. When she was a baby, I hated Princesses and didn't think I would ever want Princess stuff for my daughter. It was always going to be Pooh Bear, because I loved Piglet so much for her. And then one day, my friend Steph, who know I was looking for a plush chair, bought 2 at a yard sale. A yellow Pooh Bear one and a Pink Princess one, and well, I don't like Yellow, I like all things Pink. So I took the Princess chair, despite my dislike of Princesses, just because it was Pink. And that's what started the trend. Pathetic. I now have everything Princess and I am obsessed with it. OBSESSED!

I bought a Princess bedroom set back in July. As soon as I saw it in the Wish book I wanted it and had to have it! Lucky for me, someone was selling the whole set on a Yard Sale site on facebook for $280 and they were nice enough to deliver to me that day!






I love it!!! I am so happy that I was able to get it for so cheap and it's in excellent condition!
So I am excited to take all her baby things out of her room and make it a big girl room! It's going to look so nice! And she will love it! :)

Matt's Mom got her a table and chairs set that turns into a Castle tower when you put it together for Christmas! She is going to LOVE that!

I'm doing pretty good with the things I have for her room, decoration wise.

One of her presents! A pillow Story book!

Princess pillow

Princess Lamp!

Sleeping Beauty figurine

Princess Crown Pillow

LOVE this!!!

3 Princess hooks!

Princess wall decorations

Princess picture frame!

Princess wall decoration

Princess clock

Princess Curtains
Framed Princesses


I also have bedding, and getting another set for Christmas! And will be getting a Cinderella figurine in a few days! Also I know a girl who is getting rid of all her daughter's Princess things. I bought a lot of that stuff of her. She is going to sell me her daughter's Princess CD played and Piggy Bank that's in the shape of a Princess Castle, which I am excited about! Matt is supposed to look for a Princess rug for me at the Disney Store at the West Edmonton Mall...we will see if he actually gets one....

So I don't have A LOT, but I have enough! It's a good thing her room is as big as it is...lol

I'm excited! She is going to LOVE it!!!!!

Halloween!

Alexis had her first pumpkin carving experience this year! She didn't get her hands all goopy with the pumpkin goo. She tried sticking her hand in the pumpkin a couple of times, but then had to wash her hands right away. She had more fun just watching Grampa touching the goo! She is such a girl. Hates getting her hands dirty! Her contribution to our pumpkin was coloring all over him! She loved it though!








Halloween came and went, and it was so much fun this year! My girl had no idea what trick-or-treating was, yet she was super excited to go, when I told her about it!

She absolutely loves dressing up! She loves putting on princess crowns and tutu's and waving her wand around saying "abra cadabra" which comes out as some kinda jibber jabber that only a Momma could understand!

Alexis and Braelyn were fairy princesses together! They were so cute! Alexis was a punk rock fairy princess dressed in only pink and black (of course!!). I couldn't believe how cute she was once I got the costume on her!! The cutest thing I'ver ever seen! :)

That morning we went to Early Years in Brighton, with Nicole and Braelyn, the girls dressed up in their fairy costumes, and ready for the Halloween Parade at the retirement home in Brighton.


The girls are growing up so fast! Having pretend breakfast at Early Years!






I love that they are Best Friends!

They were a big hit at the Retirement home! All the elderly people loved Alexis! "Look at the cute little girl in the pink and black!" I was such a proud Momma that day!" She really was the cutest kid there! But I'm sure that's just my opinion, because I'm her Mommy! lol



Alexis LOVED Trick-or-treating! She still talks about it almost a week later! She calls it "treatin" She even asked me today if we could go "treatin again!" I'm so happy she had a fun experience! It was such a nice night that night too, which is awesome because usually it is so damn cold. NO winter coats this year, and walking without shivering. As a parent, I can only hope EVERY year is like that, but fat chance :( I remember trick or treating in the snow when I was little..lol So this nice weather was just great!

She loved going door to door. She wouldn't say trick or treat, or anything for that matter, until they gave her candy, which she put in her bag herself, and then said thank you as she walked away! SO cute! At least she has good manners!


Her first door!


2nd house.."you gonna give me candy?" look!





She had so much fun that night! She was tired though, walked as slow as a turtle to every house, so we only made it to about 12 houses in an hour, but she was in her glory! She'd do it every day if she could! hah!

I've started trying to potty train Alexis. She is pretty stubborn though and only has an interest on sitting on the potty every couple of days. I'm not trying to push it. I want her to do it on her own time and willingness to do it. She had a little tinkle the other night, and I was so proud, even though she forced it out because she dropped her book and I told her she could have it back if she peed and literally pushed it out of her. So I know she understands, she just doesn't want to do it.



She wont sit on her potty, she has to sit on the toilet, which is fine with me. I don't mind. She will sit there and listen to me read her Potty Book to her, and she listens so good to it, like she is taking it all in. I know one day soon she will pee on the potty, I just wish it was sooner rather than later. She always fights with me during diaper changes now. It's so frustrating. Potty training feels like one of the hardest thing so far. I kinda just can't wait for this step to be over...lol Although I still like her diaper bum, I am ready for little underwear!











Alexis got to see My Little Pony at the Mall. There, she got to see Zaphyn. She is the granddaughter of her Babysitter. Alexis loves Zaphyn! She is a year older than Alexis and learns so much from her! I wish they got to see each other more! Can you tell by the hug Alexis is giving Zaphyn, that she misses her, just a little bit?!



Alexis doesn't get to see friends very often. So I love this picture of her having fun with her friends! She had so much fun that day jumping and dancing around with Braelyn and Zaphyn! It was nice to see her as happy as she was to be around them!


The only picture I have of her and the Ponies!

It's so hard to believe that it's November already. Where did the year go to? I am looking forward to Christmas this year though! It's definitely going to be a big one for Alexis, and I am crazy excited to see her on Christmas morning :) it is fun playing Santa, and this year, she is getting spoiled from me!