One YEAR Appointment

Thursday was Lexie's one year well-baby exam.

I blinked, woke up, and Lexie turned ONE! I still remember when we took her to her first well-baby exam 48hours after she and I were released from the hospital. Steve and I were so unaccustomed to prepping a newborn for the world outside our home that it took us one whole hour to prepare; and even then, we almost forgot to pack and bring a diaper bag! Hahaha.

We're a little better now:)

Anyway, here are her stats.



For weight, she was in the 15th percentile, while for height. she was at 45%. I was a bit concerned about her almost non-existent weight gain (since she eats ALOT), but her Doctor assured me that she's just stretching out now. He stated that her overall growth progression over the course of the last several months points to her having the body type of a slimmer person, which isn't such a bad thing.

She also got the H1N1 vaccine, as well as the regular flu vaccine. I did alot of research on the H1N1 vaccine and really quizzed the Doctor about the merits of getting the vaccination. Fortunately, he had the mercury-free version, so that did somewhat allay my fears. Plus, between Steve and me, we don't want to send Lexie to DayCare (aka Germ Fest) unequipped.

We're going back in one month, so that they can check Lexie's ear for any infection (she's already had two in the last three weeks). Booster shots and another weigh-in are on tap, as well.

A Special Day for a Special Babe

Since Lexie had a relatively quiet Baptism celebration in September, we decided that her birthday needed to be bigger. Much bigger. As my Mom put it perfectly, Lexie "deserves to be celebrated."

We had the perfect weather for an outdoor party.



What's a party without balloons?




Even more, what's a party without of food? (Sidenote: You know you're at a Filipino party when there's ALOT of food!) Catering was courtesy of (1) this friendly place, (2) Lolo, (3) Lola, and (4) yours truly.





Lexie also had a clown come and play games, face paint, sing, and channel Elmo













Lexie felt especially grateful that her friends came out to help us celebrate her huge milestone. Here are just a few of her guests.









Of course, she had a birthday cake. It was an ube cake from the same place where we ordered our wedding cake several years ago.













Birthday girl after the festivities concluded

One Year and Counting

One year ago today (8:10 a.m. to be exact), Steve and I welcomed this beautiful 6.13 lb baby girl into this world.






Our lives as we knew it has never been the same again. In fact, I can't even remember what it felt like not to have her in our lives. I thank God everyday for blessing us with her and for letting me be her Mommy.

In one year, she has blossomed from a beautiful and helpless newborn into a beautiful, and seemingly more and more independent toddler. Toddler! Can you believe? I certainly can't. When everybody told me that "they grow sooo fast," I never could fathom how truly fast it is until I saw Lexie blossoming before our very eyes.

And look what one year has brought:

** Alexandria,

You make your Daddy and me so proud. You injected our lives with so much more meaning. And purpose. And love. And joy. And warmth. And laughter. You are truly our blessing and our miracle. As we celebrate your first birthday - the first of many happy ones- we cherish the changes you have brought into our lives. In return for all that you have given us, we promise you always a home, unconditional love, support, and pride in your accomplishments.

We love you so much.

Mommy & Daddy

Lexie Plays Dress-Up

for Halloween, that is.

Her DayCare teachers assisted her with making her own costume for their parade scheduled for the Friday before Halloween. She was supposed to be a butterfly, but upon closer inspection, I think she looks more like a fairy princess. What do you think?

Do you notice her hand prints on her wings? Adorable.

Her proud Mama & Papa

I think she wants out of her costume. Stat.

So that's what she wore The Day Before Halloween, but this is what turned into on October 31st:



So freakin cute. She (and I) got so many compliments for her costume when we went trick-or-treating. Some people even asked me where I got it (Babies R Us for 50% off. Score!).

Speaking of trick-or-treating, Steve and I decided to play it safe and head to our local mall for treats. Between the two of us, we had never experienced Halloween mall-style; but apparently, it's quite popular these days as it (mall) was crowded and stores ran out of candy fast.

Here's Lexie getting in on the action:



Carrying her bag of treats



and trying to enjoy the loot afterward (no worries, we didn't let her eat this Twix bar)



And what's Halloween (or October, for that matter) without a visit to the pumpkin patch?

Here's our little girl partaking in a Fall tradition earlier in the month.

Oh so many pumpkins.. which to choose?





Eureka! I think this is The One



Yahay for Fall holidays!

10 Months and Counting

Whoa. It's almost mid-October; and I've blogged once during all of September. Not good. Especially since Lexie's turning one in less than one month (o.m.g!!!), I feel this overwhelming urge to catch up in chronicling all our memories of her infancy year. So indulge me as I take a step back into September....

Mom & Dad H came for a long-awaited visit starting in early September. From Lexie's perspective, she loved all the extra attention, doting, play time, walks, and gifts that her Grandparents brought with them from Florida.

Check it out:

We celebrated Mom H's birthday during this particular evening, but look who got the gifts!

Playing shadows with Daddy & GrandMom

Fascinated with GrandDad's shoelaces

Perusing and discussing the menu with GrandMom

Loving her new "bouncer"

and horsey... "Giddyap!"

My little Scorpio baby enjoying the water like a Pisces

My sole blog post in September was about Lexie's Baptism; so I won't write too much about it here. But just wanted to share some of the wonderful photos that our professional photographer, Winnie, took during the sacred event:

September also saw the one year old birthday party of Isabella, Deb's daughter. Here, Lexie rode her very first pony. She was frightened at first, but soon enough, she did a "no-hands."

Here are some more pics from Isabella's memorable party:

Elmo & Big Bird were amongst Isabella's visitors

If you can't tell from this photo, Lexie's also fan of Elmo

Us with the Birthday Girl and her Mommy

Can't believe this was Deb and me a mere 13 months ago!

So that's our September in a nutshell. Whew! If it sounded busy, it was. And October is shaping up to be even more so.

Gulp.