Alexis Looking Cool

Ok, we decided we should do one last post before we leave for Portugal tomorrow for a couple weeks. Here are some pictures of Alexis looking cool wearing her new sunglasses we got her for the trip.

Alexis' 2nd Birthday!

So our little baby girl turned two on April 25! We can't believe it's been two years! In some ways, it seems like so long ago when she was born and we had sleepless nights of feeding her, dealing with her reflux, preparing for surgeries and dealing with 8 months of spica casts. Yet at the same time it seems like just yesterday that she showed us her first smile or first started calling us "mama" and
"dada". And even though she's been walking since October and talking so well for months now, that too, seems like just yesterday! So here we are two years later, having dinner conversations with our very verbal little Alexis and chasing around a very mobile little Alexis. :) Just the other day she was telling us about her day at daycare and how she went outside to play and who she went outside with, etc. Two years old and she sings her ABC's almost perfectly and loves it when we sing along with her. Two years of reading the same night-night books over and over and now she "reads" along with us by filling in the missing phrases if we pause. Two years of such joy that she has given us. Happy Birthday to our little baby girl!



Alexis' B-Day cake. Good job, Mom!



Blow out the candles!


"It's my B-day, I get the cookie!"


Everybody eating cake.


Zarina, Alexis, and Zoe playing in the pool.

Easter Pictures

Here are some pictures from Easter...



Alexis in her Easter dress





Alexis and Mommy



Alexis sitting with Vovo and Vova



Alexis hunting for Easter eggs



Checking out what goodies she got
in her Easter basket

Dr. Visit Update and Pics

So, we had Alexis' orthopedic surgeon appt. yesterday and while we didn't get great news, we also didn't get bad news. It was similar to the last appt. in that he said her left hip has improved slightly, but she is still on the borderline and not normal yet, so to wait another 6 months and do another x-ray then to see if she will need a pelvic osteotomy or not. We hope not! Her Acetabular Index (AI) angle was 25, which is right on the border between normal and "mildly pathological". It was about 27 at the last appt. in Oct. and was around 31 back in May after her open reduction surgery and cast removal. So it definitely has improved from a year ago, but it still isn't quite within the normal range unfortunately and while it has improved, it's only slightly improved. Her hip bone also has only 60% coverage in the socket, so that needs to deepen and improve as well before ruling out any further surgeries. Hopefully we will get great news in October that her AI angle is in the normal range and her socket coverage is 100%!

And now, here are some recent pictures of Alexis being cute! :)



"Ok, I'm ready to play tennis!"


"You use this thing to protect yourself when the balls come at you, right?"


"MMMmmmmm..I bet this tastes yummy!"


"Hmm..The yellow one definitely tastes better."


"I am just like mommy."

Playing Dress Up

Back in November Grandma and Grandpa took a cruise to Hawaii. They got Alexis a couple outfits to wear. Today Alexis played in her grass skirt. We also got pictures of her in the red dress since, unfortunately, it won't fit her for much longer. Alexis had a good time playing dress up.



Don't I look pretty?


Hula!



Hands up!



Dance!


Picture time? I better put on my
fake smile.

Pictures

Here are a few pics from the last couple weeks that never got posted.




I'm not even 2 yet and they're already making
me shovel snow!



Mommy and Alexis



Daddy and Alexis



Stuck inside on a snowy day



Talking on the phone

Sandwich Stacker

Alexis has been sick. It had been a whole three or four weeks with her being healthy so I guess we should be happy it lasted as long as it did. The Dr. said she has croup (which makes you sound like an 80 year old smoker -- hoarse voice, deep dry cough, etc.) Anyways, we kept her home from daycare on Wed. I brought my laptop over to the couch to try and get some little bit of work done while playing with her. When it was time for lunch I put her in her high chair, made her a jelly sandwich, cut it into quarters, put it on a plate and gave it to her to eat. I went back over to the couch and sat down with my laptop to take advantage of the little bit of time I would have while she ate lunch. She was pretty quiet so I figured she was enjoying her sandwich (my back was to her) when all of a sudden I hear her say "all done". In the middle of doing something, I half turn around and out of the corner of my eye I see her lifting up the empty plate with both hands in an attempt to hand it over to me. I thought "Wow! She must've really liked that sandwich!" As a fully turn around to face her, this is what I see.....




....She had taken her sandwich and neatly stacked it in the cup holder on her tray. I'm not entirely sure how she managed this without it falling over (she has a hard enough time stacking several sturdy blocks) As you can tell by the expression on her face in the picture, she considered this to be a perfectly normal action. I guess we should stop telling her to put the food she doesn't want in the cup holder on her tray. It's still better than on the floor I suppose.