Alexa's First Haircut

Not only did Shantel and I get our hair cut today, Alexa received her 1st official haircut as well. The back was completely uneven and her bangs were just nuts. Bettina cut the back into a bob and trimmed up her top and bangs. It looks SO much better and hopefully the Bride of Frankenstein hairdo will not be returning anytime soon.

Alexa did a great job. She didn't even realize what was happening. Greg was holding her and offering her some of his slushy drink. She was in heaven. Now I know the trick!

All Day Girls Play Date!

Today Shantel & Danny drove down so the boys could golf and us gals could get our hair done. My darling friend (and backyard neighbor) Bettina came to my house to do both of our hair. What a service. Bettinas daughter Devin is just a month and 1/2 younger than Alexa. It was a really fun day. Each girl took turns taking naps up stairs while one of us manned the other kiddo's. Bettina did a great job on our hair and the girls had a lot of fun together. They all ate A LOT and they loved the bubbles. Thanks Bettina for the great hair and for bringing Devin to play. Thanks Shan & Dan for making the trek clear out to our place.

Little Miss!

Alexa is often little "Miss"chievous and today was a doozie! I was only 5 feet away but totally oblivious. I was doing dishes with the water on full blast. Alexa, I thought was playing with her toys. I turned off the water to hear giggling and sloshing. There she was STANDING on the kitchen chair stirring a bowl of cereal (yes I left it there.. oops) with a spoon AND the fluffy end of the swiffer duster. She made a huge mess. As always I had the camera on hand to catch a shot of her in action.

Pigtails!

It's official, Alexa has enough hair to do real pigtails on top. They are so cute!

Weekend Fun!

We spent the weekend pretty much at home which was nice and relaxing.

Greg golfed Saturday morning with Jeremy (Brit's Husband), Gary Wilkinson and one of Gary's employees. They golfed at the Gold Canyon Golf Course. Alexa and I had a great breakfast and then got my car cleaned. We met for lunch and then had a good night at home.

Some of Alexa's girlfriends from the neighborhood came over in the afternoon and we all squatted on our "prickly" front yard. Her friend McKayla had a "quad" which she brought over for Alexa to play on. I didn't think that Alexa would have a clue but as you can see from the video, she figured it out really quick.

We also played on the portable splash pad that she got for her birthday. It was a lot of fun.

Trip to the zoo with our monkeys!

Shantel & I took the girls to the Phoenix Zoo today! Although it was stifling, it was a lot of fun. After our non-exciting week I promised Alexa a fun adventure on Friday and this was just that. Alexa really liked the bigger animals like the zebras, giraffes, horse etc. I do think that her most favorite part of the day was chomping on watermelon and kicking back in her stroller. You can see that Izzy REALLY wanted some of that watermelon. She just about crawled into Alexa's stroller trying to get it! (in the slideshow below)

Reasons To Be Thankful!

I saw this on a friends blog today. With all the drama happening in our home this past summer it was just what I needed.

With life moving in fast forward, for most of us it is hard to stop and ponder about the things we are thankful for. I am going to try and see the positive side of the usual annoyances in my life!
I AM THANKFUL:

• FOR THE HUSBAND WHO IS ON THE SOFA BEING A COUCH POTATO, BECAUSE HE IS HOME WITH ME AND NOT OUT WITH SOMEBODY ELSE.
• FOR THE TAXES I PAY BECAUSE IT MEANS I AM EMPLOYED.
• FOR THE CLOTHES THAT FIT A LITTLE TOO SNUG BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE ENOUGH TO EAT.
• FOR A LAWN THAT NEEDS MOWING, WINDOWS THAT NEED CLEANING, AND GUTTERS THAT NEED FIXING BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE A HOME.
• FOR ALL THE COMPLAINING I HEAR ABOUT THE GOVERNMENT BECAUSE IT MEANS WE HAVE FREEDOM OF SPEECH.
• FOR THE PARKING SPOT I FIND AT THE FAR END OF THE PARKING LOT BECAUSE IT MEANS I AM CAPABLE OF WALKING AND I HAVE BEEN BLESSED WITH TRANSPORTATION.
• FOR MY HUGE HEATING BILL BECAUSE IT MEANS I AM WARM.
• FOR THE LADY BEHIND ME IN CHURCH WHO SINGS OFF KEY BECAUSE IT MEANS I CAN HEAR.
• FOR THE PILE OF LAUNDRY AND IRONING BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE CLOTHES TO WEAR.
• FOR WEARINESS AND ACHING MUSCLES AT THE END OF THE DAY BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE BEEN CAPABLE OF WORKING HARD.
• FOR THE ALARM THAT GOES OFF IN THE EARLY MORNING HOURS BECAUSE IT MEANS I AM ALIVE.

Let’s all remember to be more thankful!

Football Party!

With the football season underway, Danny (G's best friend and Shantel's husband) decided to plan a football dinner/party at our house. Greg just HAD TO have the NFL package so that he could watch every Buffalo Bills game.

Dan, Shan, Izzy & Brit, Jeremy, Maya & Kenyon all came over for dinner and play time. Alexa LOVED having everyone on her turf. She even demonstrated her potty techniques for her friends! haha

I really enjoy playing hostess. It is so much fun for me to plan and get the food ready. And, my house gets a good clean-up in the process.

Here are some photos from the evening.

Greg entertaining the kids.

The Boys & Their Wild Kids

All of the children!

Danny entertaining Alexa & Maya

The girls! Impossible for them to all look and smile at the same time.

Big Girl Potty! Kind of gross I know but I am so proud!

On Thursday I decided that I would see if Alexa had any interest in going potty on the toilet. She did and she loved it. She used the big girl potty 3 times that day. Yesterday we bought her very own potty so it would be more comfortable. She was 1 for 1 with #2 but isn't even close to understanding #1. This morning we were playing outside and on the way in she said, "Potty" so we ran into the bathroom sat her down and the sensor went off with its "Royal Tune". She went #1 in the potty! YAHOO. Britany told us about the "Potty Dance" and song so now we do it each time she is successful on the potty. She dances too. It is a crack up. Anyhow, I am SO proud of her. I'm sure that since she is only 15 months old, it will take a long time to REALLY grasp the concept but at least she is starting to get it. :)

Herriman Splash Pad

Today Lynn (G's mom) and I took Alexa and Emery to a splash pad in Herriman. The girls had so much fun. Lynn and I were sitting on the bench watching and one of the spouts soaked us. My bag had my iPod, Cell Phone and camera in it. Luckily the camera and iPod were okay but my cell phone is now dead.
After splashing around the girls played at the playground and then we all headed for ice cream cones. Alexa had a mini cone and then wanted "more, more, more". Lynn gave her the rest of her cone and she downed that too!
By the end of the night all 4 of us were exhausted.
If you have tried to call me.. SORRY! I have also now lost all phone numbers so I'll need to get them from you all.

More UT Pix

Here are some more photos from UT.

Alexa & Me

Grandma Bev, Alexa, Niki & Lynn (Chris' girlfriend)

Miss Alexa

Sierra & Niki

Grandma Dean gave Alexa this fun new bath toy

Keith Urban

Keith and the Wreckers

Last night (9/11/07) I went to the Keith Urban concert at the ESA with my Mom, Sis-in-law Diane and Grandma Bev. Grandma LOVES Keith so my mom got us all tickets for this past mothers day. My Grandma flew in from Minnesota last Saturday just for the event. We all had a great time and Keith did a great job. The "Wreckers" opened for him. They were also really good.
We first ate at the Melting Pot with my bro Chris & niece Sierra then we headed to the concert. I took some pix but because we had the 2nd to last row from the TOP, they didn't turn out so too good! :)

Niki & Alexa's Trip to SL (first few days)

Playing on the stairs at the Gateway on Saturday


On a walk at Gma & Gpa Jepson's house!

Alexa and I are now in Salt Lake. My grandma Bev flew in from Apple Valley Minnesota too. For mothers day my mom bought Gma Bev, me and Diane (my sis in law) tickets to Keith Urban. My grandma has the hots for him!! :)


Anyhow, we are having a lot of fun and Alexa can't stop jabbering to everyone. I took some pictures of our trip so far. Most just of her!! :)


This video is of Alexa on the airplane. We had a whole row to ourselves and she sat in her own seat for 90% of the flight. She ate her snacks, fed her baby, looked out the window etc.. I LOVED it.

All She Wants To Do Is DANCE!

Little Lady Bug

Alexa has a lady bug book. It is the kind where you put your finger in the lady bug like a finger puppet to make it move. Well, it kind of creeps her out and when she gets close she jumps back. Here is a funny video of Greg reading the book to her. It was kind of dark in the room so the lighting isn't terrible but it is okay.

Trejan is home

Trejan ended up having to stay an extra night at the vet after his surgery. Greg picked him up Saturday morning and brought him home. We have to keep a cone on his head for a few weeks until his stitches come out. He has already torn it off once. His first day he was still a bit out of it and he wouldn't eat or drink. This morning I checked on him and his food was all gone.. yahoo! He has to be secluded so Kisha (or Alexa) don't mess with him and so that he can relax. We let him out every once in a while so he won't get too sad though.

Feeding the baby..

Feeding the baby & Multi Tasking

A good mom can hold her baby & take a sip herself! haha

Alexa thinks that she is a mommy now. She LOVES her baby and drags her around the house. She also tries to feed her food and milk.

Somewhere Over The Rainbow!

Alexa & The Rainbow

Alexa & Me w/ no make up.. scary!!

We had another storm last night. This time we had a rainbow over head. Alexa didn't care about it but it was beautiful. I also dug out my grandpa's old lawn chairs so we could sit on the front porch and watch the rain. Of course Alexa ran around in it again.

I've been tagged... (After 4 tags, I figure I better answer)

4 jobs I have had
1. Mom
2. Magazine Designer & Editor (STARS)
3. Merchant Service Sales
4. Business Development Coordinator

4 movies I can watch over and over
1. How To Lose A Guy in 10 Days
2. Sweet Home Alabama
3. The Notebook
4. Any classic chick flick

4 places I have lived (I put all 6)
1. Taylorsville, UT
2. Saratoga Springs, UT
3. Mesa, AZ
4. Chandler, AZ
5. Gilbert, AZ
6. Queen Creek, AZ

4 Guilty Pleasures
1. Chocolate Chip Cookies
2. Massages
3. Diet Coke
4. A Medium Rare Fillet Mignon

4 Places I have been on vacation
1. Every Island in Hawaii
2. Belgium
3. All Over France
4. Mexico
** Freddy works for Delta – those are just the top 4 of the many places we have been fortunate enough to visit.

4 Favorite Foods
1. Chocolate Chip Cookies
2. Fillet Mignon
3. Baked Potato
4. Tomatoes

4 websites I visit
1. Babystyle.com
2. Blogs.. blogs & more blogs
3. babycenter.com
4. dexonline.com

4 places I'd rather be right now
1. On the beach
2. On vacation of any sort..
3. Getting a Massage
4. Anywhere cooler than here!!

4 Books I love:
1. Angels & Demons
2. Twilight
3. Eclipse
4. Davinci Code

4 Things I would like to know how to do
1. Sew
2. Photography
3. Decorate
4. Paint my own Art

4 things I worry about
1. Health Issues
2. Raising Alexa the “right” way (whatever that is)
3. Keeping My House Clean (Impossible)
4. Taking care of my family

4 Happy Moments
1. Wedding Day
2. Alexa’s Arrival
3. Watching Alexa giggle & be happy
4. Weekends when we are all together all day

4 things I want to do this year or in the future
1. Move back home
2. Start Alexa’s Baby Scrapbook
3. Start reading the BOM again
4. Expand our family

4 People I am tagging
1. Brit
2. Jana (no pictures involved.. you can add to your blog now) haha
3. Sierra
4. Jennifer