The Only One

Saturday and Sunday are Daddy days for Alexis, but I'm not sure if she or David enjoys the time more. David is great with her, and I can honestly say she laughs (which comes out as a snort and ends up as hiccups) and talks more when he is around versus when she's alone with me.

What I think I love most about Daddy time is hearing "has she ever done this with you?" I hear this questions numerous times, usually following a diaper explosion, spit up, or prolonged crying. Every time David asks the question, I have to look him in the eye and be completely honest. Does she barf and poop when he's not around... of course not! I don't what him to feel badly, but I don't know what to tell him; when she's with me she's very proper and reserved. She cleans up after herself and hardy makes a peep.

Cookie Monster

I must apologize to my husband: He has been my prime suspect for mysterious cookie disappearances lately. However, as I was giving Alexis her bath yesterday I was shocked to find CRUMBS under her chin (well, one of her chins anyway). I guess the case is solved - I have found the culprit, and it's none other than my closet-eating first born! She never ceases to surprise me.
Not only is she thinking... she's plotting

Top Ten

I often joke with my Mom about the life lessons not taught in Young Women's. I have complied a brief top ten list of important lessons not taught:

10 - He can be taught... WRONG! Prince Charming doesn't actually own the horse, so if he's not attractive without it, in the long run it's cheaper just to visit the Zoo.
9 - It's okay to not find personal fulfillment in cooking, cleaning, and grocery shopping. Thankfully there are resources like Days of Our Lives not only to entertain, but to teach perspective.
8 - You say 'tomato'... I say 'what on earth are you talking about?' Miscommunication is a synonym for marriage.
7 - Being Crafty is not a requirement for exaltation - maybe just for the highest degree. There is ALWAYS fine print.
6 - The perfect wife bakes bread... yes, you did in fact do something wrong if it doesn't look like Betty Crocker's picture. It's harder than it looks!
5 - You're expected to be a 10 cow wife... however, that means you don't SETTLE for anything less than Johnny Lingo himself.
4 - Prayer and reading your scriptures may help in the acquiring of a house/apartment... sadly however, they can't make the house clean it's self.
3 - Sugar and spice... that's what babies are made of. I have seen a lot of things come out of my daughter, but none of them resemble anything I would make cookies with.
2 - Reality is what happens after the ending credits of the chick flick. Eternity starts after cutting the cake and putting the white dress away... and it's a LONG time.
1 - Marriage is not the answer and key to every thing; it's the question... 'what was I thinking? Have I really been praying for this all my life?!?'

Disclaimer: no husbands were injured in the making of this list... Marriage and a sense of humor are not only possible, they are required.

And The Award Goes To

Last night I was trying to think if anything new or exciting happened worth posting about, as I relived our weekend the answer to my quandary was a resounding 'no'. Sadly my dress wasn't finished in time to attend the Oscars, and knowing I couldn't show up in the rags I wore last year, we laid low and stayed home. Thus my award for 'blogger best able to make something of nothing' was dropped from the program, but thankfully the academy promised to mail me my little golden man. I would have liked to thank the little people without whom none of this would have been possible.

Because nothing exciting happened over the weekend, I thought I'd share a couple of highlights... Yesterday in church Lexi was sitting on David's lap chewing on her fingers - apparently they taste better than her pacifier. As we were listening to the Stake President, David calmly reached down, took Lexi's hand out her mouth and said, "looks like it's time to move on to another finger... you've already gnawed off half of that one". It's going to be a while before he can make jokes like that actually to Lexi, but I couldn't help giggling; sounded just like something my dad would say to me.

However, the winning highlight took place yesterday after dinner; I was cleaning up the dishes and David had Lex sitting on his stomach as he laid on our bed. After a few minutes he called out that he thought Lex was being more fussy than normal and didn't understand why. When I went into the bed room to check on them, I found David 'helping' Lex stay sitting by passing her head from hand to hand as she started to lean side ways... more fussy than normal? It's still a mystery.

Bilingual

One of the hardest lessons of marriage that David and I are still trying to learn and accept is that men and women sometimes speak completely different languages. We can honestly say that many conversations have ended in frustration because one or both of us feels misunderstood.

Lately neither David nor I have been feeling 100%. After texting him that I was feeling okay, but just in a bit of a ‘fog’. He replied that he was sorry, and was worried about the ‘dog’.

Well, we obviously are still speaking different languages, but at least after two years our languages rhyme… that’s progress. Maybe in another two years, whole sentences will be pretty close rather than just individual words. We are trying to make Lex bilingual, so that she is able to speak the language of both men and women, and won’t have to relearn our lessons.

Ghetto-Con

Lex is trying to find her signature look, and at the same time blend into her Cali background. The Lexicon has become the Ghettocon...

Daddy's Little Girl

I am becoming more and more aware of the power of a father in a little girl’s life. Lex is becoming increasingly more attached to her daddy… I am starting to think she tolerates me so that she can save her energy for daddy time. She loves sitting next to David on the couch as he relaxes or studies. It has gotten to the point that David has to sit on the floor out of eye sight and not talk when she is eating, because she wants to look at him more than eat. I guess if David has to be the bread winner and put up with school, he has earned the right to be the favorite.

Face Lift

Coming up on our two year anniversary, David and I decided that it was time we had a grown-up looking room. We found a bedroom set that included everything but the kitchen sink – which is good, cause if I am in charge of coordinating different components it will NEVER get done. It is brown and blue, and not too girly – a major plus.

Slowly but surely the apartment is becoming home. We have really enjoyed the chance to make it our own, and are already feeling disappointed about the prospect of leaving one day. Why enjoy the moment, when we can look ahead and make ourselves unhappy… such a better use of our time…

3 Months and Still Kicking

On Friday the 15 Lex celebrated being 3 months old. She is a joy to have around. We have been really lucky to get such a happy baby... we may have to quit while we're ahead, cause she is really spoiling us.

She continues to get bigger. As my mom says, Lex keeps her years supply of food storage in her cheeks. As I can see it that means that she had about a 4 years supply. We are working on rolling over and giggling. She's not too sure how to accomplish either of these tasks, but is actually quite entertaining as she tries.

To celebrate her growing up, we have moved her out of the travel crib in our room, and into her own room. I wish I could say we did this for her sake, but my motives were purely selfish. In her own room she sleeps till about 8AM, rather than waking up at 6AM with David in our room... when he can feed her at 6AM she can come back.

Celebration

Last Friday we decided to celebrate not only that the weekend had arrived, but also that we had survived another Valentines. With so many options here in LA we wanted to be really chic and hip, so we went bowling. Anyone that really knows me knows that bowling - a.k.a the butt watching sport – is about as low as anything can get on my fun list, but David was too persuasive to resist.

Thankfully it was early enough in the day that the bowling alley wasn’t too crowded. David did well, and I quickly settled into a gutter pattern. However, at the beginning of our second game, my luck started to change. In the lane right next to ours was my very own bowling Yoda. His name was Jiffy, and in about 30 seconds we knew more about him than one really ever needs to know about someone named “jiffy”. He came sporting his own shoes, and ball – a fifteen pounder, mind you – and also showed me the plastic card on his key ring proving that he was a proud member of the bowling league. I instantly knew that my troubles were over when he took one look at my game and announced “I can tell you what you are doing wrong”, and he then proceeded to teach me about aiming and standing properly. I could have told him what I was doing wrong… hello, I was BOWLING.

I can honestly say that about 7 frames with Jiffy did more for my game than David or I expected. In my haste to end as quickly as possible I was actually able to knock a few pins down. We also noticed, but chose not to point out the fact, that David actually had a higher score than the bowling Yoda. Just goes to show that if dentistry doesn’t work out, he has a future as a proud card carrying league member. As for me, the next time I bowl will be in the comfort of my own home on a Wii – if Yoda tracks us there, I’ll know the force is working against me.

Half Way There

David recently finished yet another grueling week of midterm exams. He had a total of 9 exams and has once again passed them all. This accomplishment is slightly more exciting than the past accomplishments because it signifies that he is half way through what is considered to be the most difficult quarter.

Thankfully he is still enjoying what he’s learning. It seems like every other day he comes home and tells me that one of his professors is trying to persuade him to specialize. The funny part is that it is always a different professor and they want him to follow in their footsteps. One week he should be an endodontist, the next week it’s a general dentist, and most recently his future lies in prosthodontics. Everyone wants him; but thus far his heart still lies in Ortho.

Happy Valentines

Mom sent some Valentines treats for Lex, and because she couldn't decide which she wanted to try first she asked me to eat both bags. What could I do?

In and Out

For Christmas David surprised me with new running shoes, and my mom gave me a pilates workout DVD - gee, I wonder what they were trying to tell me. I am attempting to put both gifts to good use, and have even convinced David to try pilates. I know that I feel better if I get some fresh air and I think Lex enjoys the time out as well. David has been a good sport to continue with pilates even after I giggle during his attempts.

Does A Body Good

David and I are on every government program that we can apply for - there is just something about hours of waiting in line and endless paperwork that calls to us. One program that we have been really grateful for is WIC (Women Infants and Children). Through WIC we are able to get tons of milk, cheese, eggs, and other basics each month.

The one catch to this program is that I have to go into the office every other month to get weighed and participate in a group discussion. You know that we must be desperate for me to get on a scale in public...

Our latest group chat was on milk. I can honestly say that never in my life have I talked solely about milk for a half hour. Thankfully they set me straight that chocolate milk doesn't come from the brown cows, and fat free from the really skinny ones. I did find the comparison between fat free and 1% informative - so much so, that we are switching from fat free to get the benefits of 1% - more calcium and protein. As part of the presentation we were asked to sample milk to see if we could guess which kind it was. As the presenter was passing out the samples she apologized that it was only milk and not tequila. After expressing her regret she promised us that next month she would be sure to bring the 'good stuff' for us to sample... finally, a visit to the office I am looking forward to!

Technical Difficulties

My super-duper 10 year old computer has decided that it is against pictures today... so, I'll have to add pictures to the posts at a later date. Sorry for the delay.

Bad Connection

Over the last few weeks I have been on the search for the perfect cell phone. For the past two years I have been stuck with a phone that drove me crazy, so I was not about to be in that same situation for the next two years. While I was in Utah, Mom and I decided to update our phones - don't get me started on T-Mobile's 'free phone' policy; personally I'm not sure how 'free' ends up costing me $20 as an upgrade fee, and then from $20 on up for an actual phone.

Anyway, I started my search with a Samsung that was great, unless I actually wanted to talk with anyone. The phone's speaker system was terrible... I was tempted to keep this phone and always have to excuse that it sounded like I was going through a tunnel when I didn't want to talk. However, in the end I realized having a phone that sucked as a phone was a recipe for disaster... plus, David thought it was ugly.

My Samsung lasted for about a week, but that was all the commitment I had in me. I again found myself in the store looking through all the phones, without being overly thrilled by any of them. I next decided to try the MotoRazr. I liked the look and the speaker system was great, but sadly this phone only lasted about 24 hours. I found that although I could talk on this phone, the texting was very delayed and drove me crazy. Texting may be more a part of my life than actual talking, so this relationship was destined to fail.

So, I once again trekked to the store and handed over the sub par device in hopes of exchanging it for 'the one'. As I babbled on about my dilemma with the sales man, his glazed over stare and curtsey "uh huh"s proved to me that he could actually careless about the 'perfect cell phone'... come on man, take some pride in your work. I ended up with a Nokia and was informed that I am only allowed 3 exchanges, so this better be the one.

Looking back I can see a lot of similarity between my cell phone quest and my past dating life. As my parents can attest to, it was never difficult to find things I didn't like about someone I was dating. There were many times, I wondered if I would ever find everything that I was looking for in one person. And, although I may not have found everything I am looking for in my phone, I think I did pretty well with David... I'm almost finished programming him too...

Welcome Nana and Granddad!

David's parents were able to fly in for Lex's blessing, and this was also their first opportunity to meet little Lex. We have discovered that Lex takes a little time warming up to people - don't know where on earth she picked that up - but, we were grateful Nana and Granddad stuck it out. I was getting a little worried she was becoming one of those babies who is only happy when mom or dad is holding her, but I am learning she's doesn't care if it's mom or dad just as long as she is the center of attention - what a blow to the ego.

We had a great couple of days together exploring UCLA's campus and discovering the hidden treasures of Trader Joes. But, I would have to say that the highlight was Nana's hoho cake... I think I took more pictures of the cake than anything else. You have to understand that every time David and I have attempted this cake it ends up in a bowl as a layer cake, so to see it as it should be was a thing of beauty!

When it came time to say goodbye we were all depressed, but I think Lex took it the worst since the crying seemed only to start when people looked at her... I tried to explain to her that Nana and Granddad were only crying because it would be a while till they got to see her again. When that sunk in, she too started crying. I'm not sure if it was that she was sad to say goodbye, or more the realization that she was once again alone with mom...

Alexis is Bless-ed

On Sunday February 3rd Lexi was blessed in our very own UCLA ward. She looked absolutely adorable in her white dress (thanks Nana!) and she even sported a bow for the occasion. That’s right, once again the Karo syrup came in handy - only this time I was very careful - too many witnesses.

David did a beautiful job. Though, he did admit he was a bit frazzled by her ear piercing screams; for some reason he isn't used to giving blessings to screaming individuals. I promised him I'd keep that in mind the next time he gives me a blessing so he can get more practice keeping his cool. Lex was blessed that she would be a 'good example for her brothers and sisters'... you can bet that I picked up on the PLURALS right away - I am actually wondering if that's referring to actual blood relatives or the human race in general. Gonna need some clarification! If it's literal siblings, of course she'll be a good example; she's going to be at least 21 before I even think about labor again.

I have always thought it would be cool to record my kids' blessings so they can refer to them, and thanks to modern technology we were able to record Lexi's blessing and start her collection. This way, when I am typing it up I can make the proper corrections...

Raw Material

After spending almost 2 weeks with my parents, I tried to think what I can write to adequately describe the time. My mom has even made frequent mention that I should have more than enough 'ammo'. I don't what exactly she is referring to - could be the eerie resemblance they have to Pavlov’s dogs when the clock strikes noon... snack time. Yup, that's right just like nursery and daycare my parents have snack time; sadly I only took Alexi’s blankie and not my own.

I found that I really didn't have to wear my watch while I was visiting. It was fairly obvious what time of day it was; between the dog who knows down to the minute when it's time to be feed, and my parents who also revolve around their feeding schedule... between 8AM and noon they wondered around in a zombie like state muttering "snack time? Is it snack time yet?” and after their snack, until bedtime they counted down the minutes till it was time for a Pepsi - the 'ba ba'. They were very convenient to have around when I didn't feel like being weighed down by Timex.

I know I shouldn't laugh at their routine because I'm sure I do the same thing. But, I don't know who is more terrified I'm turning into my parents... me or David.

Sleeping on the Job

Okay, so I have been VERY remiss in my blog updating duties. How odd that I can find time to chat about burping Lexi, but when things worth posting are happening I don't have time to turn on the computer.

In fact, a while ago David and I were daydreaming of when he will have a practice and the schedule he wants. We were trying to figure out whether he wanted to have Monday or Friday off... should the weekend start or end early? He decided on Friday off, but I decided if I were in his shoes, I want BOTH. Yes, that is right; I am a quitter that procrastinates... I don't want to start and I want to end early.

So with that in mind, I will try and post the highlights of the past few weeks... so much to do, so little motivation to do it...