2010 Family Trip to Disney World

We had a fabulous time in Florida - couldn't have asked for anything more than better weather (it was rather cold in Florida)! Everyone had such a great time! Hundreds of wonderful memories and good times were had by all. Each day was filled with something new and exciting.
You forget how everything in Orlando revolves around Mickey and the gang. Grandpa took us grocery shopping the first night and look what we found at the supermarket.
On day 2 it was up early, to go meet Trevor and the rest of the family at Give the Kids the World Village. There were some special people who were going to be at breakfast. The village was so neat (it looks like a life size candy land and everything is geared towards children). Look who we got to meet before breakfast.Lexi and Trevor with Mickey & Minnie (poor Trystin was sick and VERY scared of the characters)The Trevor Gang: his parents and sister, all of his grandparents, a few aunts, an uncle, and a cousin
And since we spent some much time meeting Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Goofy, & Belle we missed our breakfast by 5 minutes. So we ended up at the ice cream shop for a quick continental breakfast and of course, ice cream. It wouldn't be vacation without ice cream for breakfast at 10 am on the first day. It was then off to the "Happiest Place on Earth"!Trystin, Trevor, & Lexi in front of Walt, Mickey, & Cinderella's Castle (the 3 famous icons of the park).
The first four days of the trip Grandma Cindy, Papa Tom, Auntie Paige, Auntie Whitney, & Grandpa Larry were in Florida so we spent time with them at the park, T-Rex Cafe, and the village where Trevor stayed (the Village had an event/activity every night for all the kids - events like the town mayor's birthday party, Santa Claus & parade). Staying at the Village is like staying at a miniature Disney World. If anyone knows Trevor they know he loves dinosaurs so we all went out to eat at the T-Rex Cafe in Downtown Disney and he even got to Build-A-Dinosaur! Trevor and Lexi were buddies for the whole trip because it was only the last couple days Trystin began to feel better and was able to hang with us.
The last part of the trip Uncle Russ & Auntie Robin came from New York to see their little goddaughter in all her glory with the Disney characters. We took Lexi to breakfast with the Princesses for her Valentine's day present and she loved it. I really think that this Disney trip was all about the characters for her. She would light up every time one of them came anywhere near her. She enjoyed the rides in Fantasyland. Her favorites were the Pooh Hunnypots, Dumbo, Tea Cups, & the carousel. We attended a Disney Playhouse show and she danced the whole time. She also, got to see her first 3D shows and it was so fun to watch her try and touch the objects in the air. We got to see the fireworks & Tinkerbell a couple times, as well as, the famous night-time light parade.
Words can't really describe how much fun we had so why don't you view this slide show we put together with all of our memories!
Disney Slideshow

We are goofing around . . .

with these people this week. We will be back soon with lots of pictures and wonderful memories!

Proud Parents!

Well some may call this bragging, and maybe it is, but when Alexis looks back at all these posts someday I want her to know how very proud we are of her as a two year old.
Yesterday, we attended the 2010 Family Day HeartTalk at the local zoo. It is a symposium for parents of children with congenital heart defects. A local non-profit organization (Nick & Kelly Children's Heart Fund) sponsors the meeting each year, bringing in knowledgeable doctors and speakers to speak on different topics regarding CHD. This was our first year to attend. They had free child care on-site provided by local hospital nurses which was nice because we were able to bring Alexis. The meeting was phenomenal! We had a great time mingling with other "heart" parents and we learned a lot.
It also, appears that Alexis had a great time playing with the volunteers, as well. We went to pick her up after our meetings and the volunteers told us she was great and was the happiest kid ever. She sang and danced for them (what a ham). We didn't think much of their kind remarks and went on our way, thankful that they said kind things about our daughter. And then today, the phone rings . . . The conversation goes a little something like this . . . "Hello, this is Margaret from the Nick & Kelly Children's Heart Fund, (I am like, oh gosh, what does she need - did we forget something at the meeting). I wanted to call you today, to let you know that for the first time ever I had a volunteer say to me, 'I met the nicest and politest little girl today.' I asked her if she remembered her name and she said she couldn't remember her first name but her last name was R*hl. I want you to know no volunteer has ever said this about any of the kids as long as we have been doing this. Your daughter left such an impression on so many of our volunteers that I thought you should know what a great job you are doing at raising her." I said, "Well, thank you very much, that means the world to me especially since she is only two years old." Margaret finishes the conversation with, "Whatever you guys are doing, you are doing right and you should be very proud of her!" I thanked her again for her kind words and taking the time to make the call. Can you believe this? This lady was nice enough to take time to call me and tell me this the day after the event. I hung up the phone and Rick asked me who was that, I guess I still had a surprised look on my face. I tell him the conversation and both of us sat there still not believing what had just happened. I almost told Margaret, are you sure you have the right little girl???? I know other parents have these times throughout their children's childhood, but this was obviously our first time to have our daughter be so recognized that we are just so ecstatic about it. This means that even through all of our naughty chair times and warnings to little Lexi that something is sinking in and even if she doesn't always show us her best behavior she does show other caretakers and I am so thankful for that. Thank you Lexi for being the nicest and politest little girl when you are with others! We love you and couldn't be more proud of you!

Preschool

Well, after we finally got back in the swing of things after celebrating the holidays we began the hunt for a preschool for Lexi. Lexi and I have been out and about touring several different schools. The first visit she held onto my leg the first 45 minutes and then warmed up to the teacher and kids the last 10 minutes. But each visit got better and she knew what to expect and that I wasn't leaving her. By the time we went to the last one she left my side the moment we got in the room and engaged herself in the activities the kids were doing. We are planning to enroll her in the fall. The whole thought of preschool is bittersweet for me and I am sure her, too. I just can't believe our little girl is old enough to go to school. Thankfully, it will be a slow transition only 2 days/week for 3 hours each day. I am sure the first day will be harder on me than her. Now the next big thing after our trip to Florida is potty training boot camp. Wish us luck, she has to be potty trained to go to school so we have 6 months!

Cinderella at the Puppet Theater

Today, we went to see Cinderella at the local puppet theater. We have been reading the story at home so she was prepared for what would happen. It was an excellent show, the best show that we have been to there. It was perfect timing because we have been reading all about the different Disney stories in preparation of our trip next month. At the end of the show, Lexi was able to take a few pictures with Cinderella.

First Visit to the Dentist

Lexi had her first visit to the dentist today and she did awesome! I am so proud of her. She had no fears about going and was all ready to open her mouth and say "awww" when the dentist asked. Well, of course, we get there and they get her in the chair and as you can see, she is proud as a peacock. So as we are waiting for the dentist there is a little boy (younger than Alexis) in the chair in the next room and he screams and cries the entire 20 minutes of his exam. I was like oh, no. But she just said, "Mommy, baby crying . . . he's sad". And it didn't affect her at all. She did great with the dentist and opened her mouth and said "awww" just like she had practiced. The only part she didn't care for was the cleaning when they put that gritty stuff on and then she told the dentist it was "gross" and tried to wipe it out of her mouth.It was a pleasant experience and she was most excited about her new toothbrush and prize from the treasure chest!

Little Dancing Queen

Lexi puts on shows several times daily if you would like to attend.

Having a very Merry Christmas in 2009!

Let the fun and excitement of Christmas 2009 begin ~

"Mommy, Santa bring trains!"Look at all this fun stuff in my stocking: princess panties, glitter nail polish, paint brushes, bubble bath . . .

taking her little dog for a walk (the best dog we could find - it doesn't go to the bathroom and you can turn off the barking when you have had enough)

After some opening of presents in the morning, we were invited to join our neighbors and their family for Christmas dinner. We made and brought our "Jesus birthday cake" to their house for dessert. Daddy says Jesus likes chocolate cake and Lexi says Jesus likes "candy canes" so we put the two together! And here is Jesus' chocolate peppermint birthday cake. The candy cane symbolizes Jesus. The shape of a candy cane is that of a "J", the white color represents the Virgin Birth and the sinless nature of Jesus, and the red colored stripe is for the blood shed by Christ on the cross. We even sang "Happy Birthday to Jesus".

Lexi has grown up with Coconut, the neighbor's dog, since she was 6 months old and they both follow each other around all the time.

Best friends ~ Coconut was so nice to share her bed with Lexi.She really is a lot more excited about her new backpack than she looks (this was after 10 hours of Christmas). When she puts it on she looks like a little girl ready to go to school.Aunt Jenny gave her paint and boy was she ever excited!Playing with Handy Man*y and his tools.

Thanks to Papa & Grandma we will be going with the rest of our family to Walt D*sney World in Florida for vacation and to help celebrate Trevor's Make-A-W*sh!Lexi can hardly wait. Here favorite line when talking on the phone is "See you at D*sney World in a couple weeks!"

And we will wrap up our last bit of Christmas 2009 in February when we travel to the "Happiest Place on Earth".
Thanks to everyone who made this holiday season so special and so much fun for us!

Christmas Eve festivities

This morning began with Alexis finding a note in her last advent calendar stocking to build a gingerbread house. Let the fun begin, she helped with all the candy decorations. She did a fabulous job until we were drawing near the end. I knew the project was drawing to a close when she started to re-arrange the candies and figured out they were in fact edible. Here's a picture of our "ginger-house".
This little reindeer was working hard on her "puter" and I missed her wearing her potato head glasses but usually the scene is very serious glasses and all.
We had a nice Italian dinner and then is was time to get ready for Christmas eve church service. All dressed up for church, so we tried to take a few photos in front of the Christmas tree.
She was so excited to see "baby Jesus" and of course, it wouldn't be real if we didn't "touch him". We were so nervous she was going to pick him up.
After church we opened a few gifts,read a new Christmas book,and put out cookies and milk for Santa.The stockings were hung by the T.V. with care . . .in hopes that St. Nick soon would be there . . .The elves did a fabulous job building Alexis a new train set and wrapping up a few other surprises.Can't wait to see all the smiles on Christmas morning and make many more 2009 Christmas memories! What fun it is to be a kid on Christmas morning!

Lights at the Train Park

Lexi's favorite park (and daddy's too) celebrates Christmas with a huge light display. What a perfect combination for a little girl who loves to look at lights and ride the choo-choo train. Here's a quick family photo before riding the train. We are all bundled up trying to bear the brutal Arizona winter.Ready for the train ride.
Lexi, our little penguin.