Big-Girl Bed Success!

November 1st was Lexi's first night in her Big-Girl Bed (and her nice purple bedroom). I was fully expecting her to end up back in the crib after a half hour or so but to my amazement, she stayed in her new bed ALL NIGHT LONG! Granted, she wasn't alone - Elmo, yellow teddy and Grover were there with her all night - but she did make it through until 7:30 am (which would have been 8:30 had the time not changed)! Mommy made sure to have her Elmo blanket and her bink and diadey and also to turn on her night light. She didn't even have her radio playing like she normally does in her crib. Banky was a little concerned at first and only stopped barking when he discovered it was Lexi in the bed and not some stranger. He also thought he had to jump up on her bed to make sure she was ok. Matt and I turned the baby monitor on extra loud all night, just in case she woke up and needed us, but not a peep was heard all night long! After a successful night, we decided to try Sunday's afternoon nap. The nap was also successful - YAY! We may have just made the transition to her new bedroom in just one day... we will see what the next couple nights bring. If only potty training were this easy!

Butterfly!

Another Halloween has come and gone and Lexi was the most beautiful butterfly I have ever seen! Of course I am not partial because she is my child, but just look at her! The padding in the costume made her little butt plump out and it was just sooo cute. She wasn't all about trick-or-treating this year, so we just hung out in the drive-way and passed out candy to all the ghouls and goblins that came around our house. It was actually a nice evening and we handed out a lot of candy (and even a few doggie treats to the poochies next door). I am sure by next year she will want to tottle down the street and see how much candy she can collect, but for this year I am glad she was satisfied to just pass out candy to others.

Lexi's 1st Jack-O-Lantern!

It is that time of year again. Last year, with Lexi not yet one, we decided to skip the pumpkin carving and wait until she could appreciate it more. Well, this year she was definitely into it! Mommy went to Wal-Mart and got a nice-sized pumpkin. Then daddy went to work first by cutting off the top and scooping out the insides, then by drawing and cutting out a wonderful face on our friend the pumpkin. Lexi loved putting her hands in the goopy pumpkin guts and was SO excited when daddy was done with the face. We couldn't put Mr. Pumpkin outside right away, he had to stay in on the kitchen counter for at least the first night (mommy snuck him out first thing in the morning). We did manage to get a few cute poses of Lexi with her Pumpkin friend. She even had to give him a big kiss! Enjoy!

Who Would Have Thought??

Who would have thought that Shelby and I have the same brain waves going on?? Shelby and Jeff are good friends of mine and Matt, Lexi and I went over to their house last night for a cook-out. As I walked in the door and saw what Ava (their little girl) was wearing, I laughed out loud! She was in the identical outfit that I had put on Lexi!! Needless to say we all then had a laugh. After enjoying a great meal, we migrated down to their basement where the two girls colored and enjoyed a snack of teddy grahams. We always have a great time when we get together with Jeff, Shelby and Ava. Hopefully we can do it again soon!

What a Difference a Year Makes!

So, I was clicking through pictures of the last year of our lives and ran across these pictures of Lexi (with Grandma Chris) a year ago at the Smithville Smithies Football game. OH MY GOODNESS!!! Look at the difference in our little girl! She is growing up so fast right before our eyes. I know I just posted the blog about the football game, but I had to put these two pictures up side-by-side just so everyone could see just how much she is changing. By the way, she is wearing the SAME shirt in both pictures. The hat unfortunately no longer fits her growing head, but that is ok. She probably wouldn't leave it on now anyway. Probably by next year, the shirt (and hat) will be passed down to the next little Smithie we have joining the family.

Go Smithies!

Lexi attended her second ever Smithville Smithies football game on friday night. She amazingly could still fit into the shirt G.G. Eileen made for her last year. We went to the game with Grandma Chris, Great Uncle Mike, and Aunt Julie. The Smithies unfortunately didn't pull off the win, but we still had a good time (and our first bag of M&M's). It was Homecoming, so we even got to see a parade! The highlight of the night was after the game when PawPaw Chuck came off the field with the team and took Lexi in his arms. She immediately screamed for PawPaw and wanted to play (even though it was 10PM!) We probably won't make it to another game this year, but there is always next year.

Viva Las Vegas!

All I can say is... WHAT GREAT FRIENDS WE HAVE!! Our latest trip to Las Vegas wouldn't have been half the trip without the two awesome couples that were able to tag along with us. Here is a run-down of our fun-filled week in the city that never sleeps:

Monday - Flew in from Cleveland (4½ hours - yuck!) and ate at Fatburger for lunch. Stopped at the ABC Store and got a few necessities for the week. Hit the pool and/or the bed for a nap and then to Jimmy Buffet's Margarittaville for dinner. After dinner, we walked down the strip to Harrah's where they had karaoke from 6-9 and then the piano bar at 9. What an end to our first day!

Tuesday - Woke up and had a great breakfast of eggs and toast in the suite (thanks, Audrey). Then we made our way to the ticket booth to get same-day tickets to the Cirque du Soleil show "KA". After piecing for lunch and hitting the pool again, we walked to the MGM Casino and ate at Emeril's New Orleans Fish House (yummm). When our bellys were full, we then made our way to the KA Theatre and saw an awesome show - complete with people flying through the air and rapelling off the walls.

Wednesday - The day of much walking! Woke up once again to Audrey in the kitchen making pancakes. After breakfast, we headed out for the Venetian (which for those of you who know Vegas, is NOT a short distance from Planet Hollywood Casino near our resort). Then, since we were already at the Venetian, we decided to keep walking to the Wynn and cross the street to Treasure Island. After hoofing it back to the resort, we showered and dressed for Benihanna's Hibachi Grill at the Hilton for dinner. After eating, we decided that the piano bar was so much fun on Monday night, that we wanted to go back. Instead of going to the same one, we hit the Bar at Times Square in the New York, New York Casino where the pianists were even better. Great times!
Thursday - On our last day in Vegas, we decided to go south and hit the casinos we hadn't seen yet. Mandalay Bay, Luxor and Excalibur were among these. After our venture south, we got dressed for our last meal at Olives (at the Bellagio Casino). Not only were we on a balcony overlooking the Bellagio fountains, but we were there when they were going off every 15 minutes! All I can say is WOW! If you are willing to drop a pretty penny, I have to recommend Olives to anyone traveling to Vegas. We ended our trip stopping at the Rio for the party in the sky and then finally at the Orleans where Matt and I walked away with more money than we started with (which is always a plus).

I couldn't have asked for a better trip or better company. Can't wait to do it again soon!