Road Trip!!

Derek and I were sitting in the living room Friday and he said to me "Did you know that hoopfest is going on in Spokane?" I said "Do you want to go?"....and we both looked at each other...I said..."Let me call Charlotte". Charlotte was very enthusiastic about us coming to visit and being able to stay with her, so we packed up and left 2 hours later. I didn't realize how much I needed to get out of the house, I have been cooped up here for 7 weeks...actually more than that if you count bed rest!

This is the lovely view of Eastern Washington on Highway 2, we took this route to avoid traffic. Lexi did awesome on the car ride, she slept basically the entire time, excpet to eat in Wenatchee!

My road trip partner! I think the key to a good marriage is being able to travel well together....we had such a great time, even though we were just hanging out together in the car. We found a great Classic Rock station on the radio and listened to it both ways....those that know Derek know he has a love of rap music, I didn't know he had a thing for classic rock....he knew most of the songs and insisted on singing them for me....I could have done without the singing...lol.

Below is just a small taste of what Hoopfest is...there were over 26,000 participants in the tournament in all kinds of age brackets and skill levels. They had most of the downtown Spokane streets blocked off with half court basketball courts painted on them. It was fun to see, they also have some festival type booths with food etc. around the park. We were able to see some of Derek's former players in their games, which was fun. We had Lexi in her stroller and while it was crowded, it was manageable and Lexi was a trooper.

Lexi in her cute floppy hat...had to protect her from the sun. :)

Dad and Lexi (who was busily blowing bubbles)

Mom and Lexi

Sunday morning we met up with our good friend Linda for breakfast. We went to a restaurant called the Old European, which I know from my days in Pullman...I had no idea they had more than one. It was just as good as I remember. It was great to see Linda and introduce her to Miss Lexi.

Linda and Lexi...note Lexi is still trying to get her thumb

From breakfast on Sunday we began the trek home, this is Lexi in her car seat ready to go...looking very cute in her strawberry hat that Mom got her at the Flower and Garden show in Seattle.
We decided to go back via Highway 2 again, since it was such a pretty drive and the traffic wasn't too crazy. We made a stop on the way home to introduce Lexi to my Auntie Celaine and Uncle Tom since they live in Cashmere...right on the way home.

Below is Lexi trying to get her thumb again!

Auntie Celaine and Lexi

And Uncle Tom....

It was a great weekend, thanks Derek for getting me out of the house and being spontaneous. Thanks also to Charlotte, Justin and Caden for letting us invade your house on such short notice!

Lexi'smission

Lexi has been on a serious mission to find her thumb and get it to stay in her mouth!! This has been entertaining for me...lol. It is so cute because she concentrates SO HARD to try to get it in there.

Step #1 - Concentrate really hard and stare at fist!

Step #2 - Attempt the combo move of bringing hand towards head / diving head towards hand....this usually results in the thumb landing just outside of her mouth as noted below.

Step #3 - Try, try, and try again and success is in your future!! (notice the look of sheer concentration on her face)

Moving...

It seems as if our lives are always changing! Derek and I made the decision that we need to move again...the house we are in won't work for the winter time. When we moved in our landlord told us that the daylight basement was the "warmest in the winter and coolest in the summer", so we put our master bedroom down there, along with Lexi's nursery.....big mistake...in the winter it was FREEZING!! We can't stay there with Lexi for the next year and our lease is up at the end of July....soooo we decided to move.

The next question was where to move...we talked to Ryan's mom and she agreed that if we moved out to Monroe, we would be able to have 50/50 custody of Ryan, having him 3 days a week one week and 4 days a week the next. This is the same schedule that her step children are on, so it seems to work for everyone. The commute is going to be a bit longer for me, but I am hoping to transfer to the Hyatt in Bellevue in the next year or so, so that will cut down on the commute a bit.

We found a great house to rent in a very family friendly neighborhood in Monroe...pictures below!

Here are the exterior shots...pardon the trash cans...it was garbage day! Notice that there are plenty of places for my husband "aka Clark Griswold" to hang Christmas lights!

Below is the kitchen, with a full size stove mom! :) My last two places of residence have had 3/4 sized stoves...much to Mom's dismay.

Below is the Living room, which we are debating making the master bedroom...we will have to see!

Back Patio leading into the living room/master bedroom.

Backyard, on the other side of the fence is a greenbelt/walking trail.

What we can't do in our backyard, there is a park about 20 yards away from our house with lots of grass and slides...perfect to entertain Lexi when she gets a little bigger.

Pictures on demand...

I have been harrassed about not putting pictures of Lexi up for a while....the reason for that is that...well....we haven't really taken any! LOL....we took so many pictures when we had family in town that we have kind of forgotten to take pictures! Not only that, but I realized that I did not have ANY pictures of me and Lexi together! So we took care of that at the BBQ that we went to at Scottie's "girlfriend du jour's" house. :) I love her outfit in this picture, I think she looks like a little elf.

Below are a bunch of pictures that we took trying to get Lexi to smile, she has been much more animated and active lately. Here are a bunch of pics of the little lady.

A little tongue action...lol.

The one below is the closest we got to a smile!

Yawn!

Lexi and Daddy...

OK...the reason for the picture below is that Derek and I are surprised at how LONG Lexi is! The picture is a good representation of how long she is....but it looks like Ryan is torturing her....I can assure you that is not the case!!

This is Lexi after her bath in her "too cute" bath towel with hoodie (thanks Auntie Katie....this was "Peanut's" first present!).

Lexi is still a bit cross eyed, I am wondering how long that will last.

This was at one of Ryan's baseball games when Grandma Witt was here.

Below is Lexi having "tummy time", the video is kind of boring, but she is pretty alert (and not crying), so I thought you could all see her in "action".

Back to blogging...

Sorry....I have been a blog slacker...here are some updates!

This is what happens when a 9 year old is left alone with the camera....what a goof ball!

Ryan left on Sunday to head to Kansas City to see his Grandma and Grandpa, this was his first trip on the airplane BY HIMSELF! We kept asking Ryan if he was nervous and he always said...no no no....but then on the way to the airport he thought he was going to be sick and asked Derek to pull over...lol. He never admitted to nerves, but we are pretty sure that was it. :) Ryan was not the only one who was nervous....both his Dad and his Mom were quite anxious about him travelling by himself. He made it safely, and is currently having a blast being spoiled by Grandma and Grandpa!

Happy Weight Gain Lexi!

I had to return something to the hospital today so we swung by to see Mom (and let her show off her Granddaughter to her friends) and get Lexi's weight for the week....and good news, she gained 10 ounces in 7 days and is up past her birth weight to 8lbs and 11 ounces! Yeah! Good job Lexi girl! The past two weeks, she gained only 5 ounces each week, so we were very happy with the progress.....now I can move on and worry about something else...lol.

One month in...

Lexi is one month old, so I thought I would give you an overview of our month as a family of four. :)



~Lexi attended 4 little league games watching big brother play in the playoffs.
~She was originally 8lbs 3 oz, and lost quite a bit of weight, down to 7lbs 4 ounces. Last Thursday she was back up to 8lbs 1 oz, hopefully at her weigh in tomorrow she will be back up to her birth weight.
~Lexi loves baths! She is quite content lounging in the "tub" (aka the kitchen sink), and taking it all in.
~Her eyes are currently blue, but that can change for up to a year....I think.
~Lexi has gotten to meet all of her Grandparents! She has met Auntie Katie and Uncle Rob.....just have Uncle Chad and Auntie Katye to go!
~Lexi had her first photo shoot.
~Lexi has pretty good neck strength, she can lift her head up pretty good and move it from side to side when she is laying on her stomach.
~Lexi rolled over from her stomach to her back! I thought it was a fluke until she did it again! :)
~Lexi sticks her tongue out at her dad...good habit to start early...lol.
~Lexi does NOT like her crib.....we are working on that one this week.
~We have had a couple of smiles.....sometimes they are gas related, but we will take what we can get.
~She has gotten more and more alert making facial expressions and starting to focus on things in front of her.
~Lexi is really good at spitting up on a clean outfit after a bath.
~She has been in to visit Mommy's friends at work
~Lexi loves her carseat, stroller and riding in the car
~She has just this week found her thumb and put it in her mouth....not consistently, but she is not far off.
~She holds her binkie in her mouth....today she flipped it out of her mouth with one finger and promptly started screaming.
~We think she is a pretty good sleeper....3-4 hour stretches are nothing to complain about.
~Breastfeeding has been an adventure....if you are interested in details...call me. :)

Derek, Ryan and I have all fallen in love with our little Alexis, she has been such a great addition to our family, we are excited to watch her grow and shower her with love.

Red Sox in the Playoffs

Ryan and his Red Sox were in the playoffs the past week and a half. Luckily, Grandma Witt timed her trip to Seattle perfectly and got to see 3 games. The weather in Seattle has been unbelievable, in the low to mid 80's, so it was great weather to take Lexi to watch her big brother play some baseball!! We did make sure she was protected from the sun with her hat, glasses and sunscreen. :)

Ryan got to come into the game to pitch, this made Vicki and I very nervous! So much pressure for him, but he handled it like a pro and got 2 or 3 strikeouts in the one inning that he pitched. Sorry...my video skills need some work, but hopefully you get the picture.

Great pitching Ry!

We had some fun on the sidelines as well....we thought Lexi would look cute in her sunglasses so we gave them a try...she was actually awake when we took these pictures, I thought for sure the glasses would never last and that she would take them off immediately...or fuss....or something!! But she left them on for about 3 innings! I couldn't believe it....she loved them!

Grandma Witt and Lexi

Derek, Vicki and Lexi.....so cute.

She might look a little gangster here.....

Dad and hood rat Lexi

Ryan batting against the Tigers. They won 2 playoff games before losing to the Minnesota Twins...who will go on to play the Dodgers (sans Manny) for the title. Ryan had a great season and is getting used to the kid pitch league....and in the final game, he had 3 RBI's (out of his team's 6 runs...and sat out 3 innings), and his last at bat, he ripped one into center field for his best hit all year. We are so proud of him....great job Ry!