Flower Girl Take #2

Brooke bravely asked Alexis to be her flower girl despite the fact that the first time Alexis was a flower girl, she bailed and went running backward down the aisle crying. And a second brave move she made was asking Max to be her ring bearer. Basically, we have been talking this up with Alexis for approximately 7 months. She kept promising that she wouldn't cry. We even gave her this big responsibility to hold Max and Morgan's hands to make sure that they made it down the aisle with her. She felt like such the big girl!!! Fast forward to April and we made the big trip across the country with me 30 weeks pregnant, a 4 year old, and an almost 2 year old. What the HELL were we thinking????? When it comes time for the rehearsal, all three kids get their turn to take a practice walk down the aisle and BAM.....they all 3 start crying. Oy, this is not going to go well. Luckily, a little later, Alexis did take a few practice walks once everyone else left, but knowing that 200 people were going to be staring at her the next day did not make me any more confident. But as Brooke's big wedding day rolled around, Alexis got to spend the whole day with all the girls in the bridal suite. She felt super special. She got all dolled up.....

It came time to line up and she was pumped. First, Morgan started to cry and I though it could be down hill. Then, all of sudden, Max wanted to be carried. And every time I put him down, he started to cry. Great! As the bridesmaids start walking down the aisle, Brooke whispers a change in line-up...."just carry them". So Morgan's mom carries her, and I carry Max.

And my big girl, walks all by herself down the aisle!!!!! Proudly with a smile on her face!

Flower Girl Take #2 was much more successful than Flower Girl Take #1. She is now a seasoned veteran and available for hire should anyone so desire!

Pure Joy

Finding absolute, pure joy in something solely for another person is almost humanly impossible. I mean think about the times in your life you have actually felt complete satisfaction and enjoyment for someone else that had absolutely nothing to do with you. I really think it is human nature not to feel this way for anyone other than your children. Luckily for me I have two of them (almost 3!). I have to say this is what I felt when at Disney World with Alexis. I found myself to be completely content just because she was so happy. I could not wipe the smile off my lips or my heart simply because she was happy. It is so cliche to say there's no place on earth quite like Disney World, but when looking through the eyes of a 4 year old, it is oddly true. There is some bizarre aura that allows you to forget about everything that you have left behind and be so completely engulfed in the moment. I have to admit I can't even remember the last time I could say I was totally immersed in a "moment" where I did not have 15 other things rotating through my mind. But for 3 days, I was there. Only experiencing awe and amazement. It is so refreshing to view the world through Alexis's eyes where Cinderella is real, Tinkerbell flies, and the biggest worry is finding Daisy Duck. At first, I thought "why does life not stay as simple and magical as when we are 4"? But to answer my own question, it can. All I have to do is look at Alexis and I can relive the magic.

Alexis meeting her idol!

Connecticut - Part 2

To continue relaying our adventures.....

Sunday was a fabulous day in Connecticut. They actually have the season of Fall there and everything was so beautiful with all the trees in colors and leaves on the ground. It was great seeing everyone. Here are a couple highlights from the day.....

Alexis and Jessica.......Jessica loved having a "little" girl around and Alexis loved having a "big" girl to follow around. I mean seriously we got to their house and Alexis just vanished for hours on end!
Finally a nice picture of the two of us without Alexis either crying or making her cheeseball smile.
Alexis and Erica, the star of the day!!!
Alexis boogying down with Maddie. Alexis and her bad self did not leave the dance floor all afternoon. Seriously, the kid wouldn't even eat or pee. All she wanted to do was dance.
While Alexis was tearing up the dance floor, Max preferred to overtake the stage. He liked to be up front and center with all eyes on him!!!
Or he could be seen hammin' it up somewhere!!!! Not my shy kid. Don't know where he comes from. Oh, you mean, Ben.......
The best thing about my kids though is that they love goofing around together and bring out the best in each other.
And to end the party.....the sweetest picture of Alexis and Maddie!

Connecticut - Part 1

Ahhhh......finally unpacked from our trip, but now it's time to share the memories. We left late Friday night, our flight was at 8:30....bedtime. Which could have gone one of two ways---really good (Max would sleep the whole time) or really bad (Max would scream the whole time). We actually fell somewhere in the middle because he cried for about 10 minutes on take off and landing, but slept in between. When we finally arrived at the hotel it was midnight and the kids literally collapsed into their respective beds. Max in his pack n play and Alexis in her bed. The only problem was that Alexis was "afraid" to sleep in the bed by herself. It did not seem to matter to her that I would be in the bed right next to her. So I slept in bed with her. It was such a pleasant night for me.......getting kicked in the face (yes, somehow she ended up backwards in bed), getting laid on all night, and listening to Max suck his fingers all night. So I was really well rested on Saturday. Saturday morning we went to a breakfast/lunch place where Alexis got to eat her very first Rainbow Bagel. Then we went to a Children's Museum which was AWESOME. We could have spent well over the two hours that we were there. We got to visit the Rainforest where Alexis played with gorillas and Max dressed up like an little expedition man!Then we went to the Healthy Kids exhibit where Dr. Needle got to clown around. She morphed into a dentist, a doctor, an ambulance driver, a healthy shopper, an exerciser, etc. We also decided to see how many weird places we could put Max. He was inside the giant mouth, inside drawers, on shelves. He didn't even really seem to mind. Next we made it to the TV area where you could experiment with a green screen, but they didn't really think it was as cool as Ben and I did!!!!But they did like the construction zone. Of course Alexis waited until it cleared out before she would go in the building, but Max was a maniac.Finally we made it to the water play area which was awesome. It had a stream where you could send boats down, a whirlpool that you could send balls down and they would spit out the other side, a table where you could make water into steam, and a weather exhibit. I think we thought it was cooler than the kids did. And then outside was a whole 'nother play area! Just not enough time!!!! I remember when I was a kid my brother had tinker toys. All different shape plastic blocks that could interlink. Well, this place had a collection of life-size tinker toys. Alexis went to town building a bridge and a small city, while Max ran around with a noodle lookin' thing slapping it around everywhere. Very fitting.
It really was time to be at our next destination, but we figured it was going to be impossible to get Alexis out of there without a complete fit. Thankfully we have some bratty and obnoxious kids to thank for helping make her transition easier. Some kids started stealing all of her blocks so she got mad, cried, and said she wanted to leave. Perfect!

For the next installment, tune in later :)

Apple Picking

We decided on Sunday to take a trip to the apple orchards. We also decided to take a DVD player in the car so that the long trip wouldn't be so painful. But of course, Max is still facing backwards because he has barely crossed the 20 pound mark and we decided to leave him backwards for a little longer, so he would not be able to see the DVD player. So Ben and I decided to make the milestone and turn him around. He was hilarious just looking around with these big eyes for a while. We drove about 1 1/2 hours to get there which with a small 3 year old's bladder always makes for an interesting trip. We were about 10 miles away when Alexis states that she has to pee. I decide that she can hold it. We get about 8 miles away (out of all civilization) and she starts crying that she can't hold it. So we pull off the side of the road and she pees behind a small brick tower. Of course, Ben decides to take a picture, but he missed the action so here is the after shot. Finally we arrive. The first thing we do is take a "hay" ride. But, hay rides are not what I remember them to be from when I was a kid. I remember a whole wagon FULL of hay that you sat on and played around in. This hay ride was a bench with bales of hay under it. But, nonetheless, it was fun. Then we went to the petting farm. The petting farm including sheep, goats, a pig, turkeys, chickens, and rabbits.Maxwell liked the "petting" part of the farm a lot better than Alexis who liked to walk up close enough to the animals but not close enough to touch them. Although, she did pet this baby goat I think. She would claim she wanted to feed them, get some food in her hand, and then as soon as the animal got close enough to eat it, she would throw the food on the floor. But my mom did like getting up close and personal!
After the petting zoo, we finally made it to the orchards. Of course as soon as Max saw the apples all he wanted to do was eat one. So I let him. Yup, right off the tree. I'm not sure if that was against the rules and I know it wasn't clean, but, hey, it was fun. And it sure beat the knock down drag out fit he would have thrown if he couldn't eat one. Alexis did enjoy picking apples that were low enough for her to reach, but the real thrill and challenge was being able to pick one that was high up. She had this idea before we got there that there would be ladders there (she must have read about apple picking somewhere because I have no idea where she got this from). When we broke the news that there were no ladders, she decided to make her own. Here are a few other highlights!!!!

The Unflower Girl

The main purpose of our trip up North was for my cousin's wedding in which Alexis was the flower girl. We practiced and practiced walking up and down our pretend aisle holding our invisible basket and tossing our imaginary flowers. The big day came and Alexis was so pumped up. She looked absolutely fabulous!She was so excited to be the flower girl and wear a big fluffy white dress just like Marisa. We arrived in the bridal suite and she was just in awe!!!
But as time ticked by and more and more unfamiliar faces began to appear, she started to get cold feet. She would not take any of the professional pictures. Here she is screaming while trying to get a bridal party picture:
After pictures, she was still very serious about her job of putting flowers down for Marisa. She stayed back with my mom while I went to sit up front so she could walk to me. She made it about 1/4 of the way down the aisle before realizing that 200 people were staring at her. She turned around and bolted for the back door.
I had to chase her down and drag her down the aisle. She still wouldn't throw the petals, so guess who threw them for her.....yup, me! I'm a bit old to be a flower girl, but I think I did a pretty good job.

After the trauma of the aisle, once the party began, she was ready to boogie down. And boogie down she did....ALL AFTERNOON. I don't think she left the dance floor at all.
She and Max were just too adorable!!

I think they both had a fabulous time! Even though Max was the only one to actually demonstrate his exhaustion, I think we all felt like this afterwards: