DORA!!!

Saturday mornings at 9am, you can bet Dora is on at our house. It makes no difference what Lexi is doing at the moment, but when she sees me turning on the tv, she knows what's about to happen. It's Dora time!

Lexi on the phone

This video had me laughing for many reasons. She got hold of her phone and started calling everyone she knew. The only interruption came when she dropped her bracelet, and when she picked it up, she said, "Yeeeahh, good girl Lupe". Never mind the fact that her name is Lexi...

The New House

It's been a long couple of months, but the hard work is showing rewards. We have finally put away enough of our junk that the house feels more and more like home. In this video, I was breaking down some boxes, and popping some air filled cushions. I did one with Alexa standing there, and knew from her reaction that we needed to get the camera ready.

Vacation part 2

We left Richardson on a Saturday morning and headed south, down Austin way. We were staying the night in San Antonio, and ultimately destined for Corpus Christi. We arrived for a late dinner at Mi Tierra, and settled in for a long wait. Luckily, there was entertainment, and Lexi got to hear live Mariachis. She applauded and tipped them $5 (tipping not pictured).
















We also ate at Taco Taco, where they had a banner that proclaimed they were the best tacos in America. A bold claim, but it was made by someone that gets paid to eat. We all thoroughly enjoyed them, as did Lexi.















This was the first beach sunrise for Lexi, and she was loving it. The first day was the best, weather-wise, and we made sure to take full advantage.















First time eating Apple Jacks, always a reason for rejoicing.


















You're fired.


















This is mommy and Lexi enjoying the sunrise and having a nanner.
















Lexi is turning into a daredevil, and it makes me nervous, there I said it.
















Gotta stop, pose for the frame.















Mom and Blaine told us about feeding the sea gulls, and they were pretty agile birds. 90% of everything we threw was snagged by a mob.















We wondered how they were timing it so well, and as it turns out, they were hovering in wait, just out of the normal line of sight.
















A trip of many firsts, included was the first taste of ice cream.

Not a fan at first...















It didn't take long to realize that that might have a been a hastily made mistake. After initally saying no, once she got going she couldn't get enough.

First Trip to the Beach

Quite a few months ago, we planned a family vacation to Corpus Christi. It was Alexa's first trip to the beach, so we knew there was much fun to be had playing with the waves and sand. We have been to a swimming pool, and in the twins' pool, and to Great Wolf Lodge, so we knew she was a water baby.


In this picture, she is surveying the beach at sunrise, with a storm in the distance.











In this picture, she had that moment that everyone has at the beach. What's that thing in the sand, and is it dead? Turns out it was just seaweed, but at first it looked like a sand scorpion, or some such.















These are my two ladies, enjoying the waves together.















Feels good to stomp through the shallow stuff.
















Sand is such a neat thing, fun to play with as a kid. That's one of the neat things about raising a kid, in my opinion; you get reminded of the feeling of discovering new and magical things.






























We also went to the aquarium. This was cool in many ways. We got there and as it turned out, the dolphin show was starting in 6 minutes, to our surprise and delight. They did not disappoint. Lexi was amazed and entertaining at the same time.

Last Sunday in McKinney

This past Sunday, the weather was pretty nice in the mid-morning, so we spent a little time in the back yard, enjoying the swirling breeze one last time together. We took some pictures of Lexi, and these were some that I could tell as soon as I took them that they were going to be good ones.

Lexi's changing daily

Alexa has had some noticeable advancements lately! She's trying her best to walk and talk. We happened to have the camera rolling for a couple good examples.

In this one, I am proud to say that she looks like a natural soccer player. There is one point where she says "BOOM!" right when she kicks the ball. I laughed, aloud. That's the dog at the very end.




In this one, she kinda ran with the whole "G" says "guh" thing. Only problem is, she was supposed to say the sound for "J". She gets pretty revved up when she thinks we're not listening to her.

The Zoo!

The zoo speaks for itself. There were wild animals, there were kids running free, there were senior discounts, and that was before we got in the entrance. It was actually pretty mild the day we went, compared to the rest of the week; it only got up to 96°F before we left. We had a blast, so much fun that Alexa actually took a nap in her stroller.

The water baby in Alexa was in full effect. She wanted to take a quick dip.


The Lewis Family


It was a hot one, but the shade was plentiful.


We found a huge amethyst in the kids research area.




Ryan was there too, and he got himself a hat and an alligator head. Score.



Of course, Alexa has an eye for cool stuff.


She settled for a tap on the shoulder.



She didn't know what she was looking at in the beginning...


...but she got her courage pretty quickly.




These were more ducks; she does a great duck impression.



Hand in hand with her cousin Ryan.


Inside the bird enclosure, there were some neat sights.


This chicken relative, whose name escapes me, was pretty tame.


This is Alexa "feeding" a bird.








This is a king fisher relative, sunning it's neck to get rid of bugs.


Pics don't do these guys justice.




Nap time!




Grinning ram.


Grinning ram.



Grinning Ibex.


Awesome llama; weird haircut and sideways smile.