Getting to know you: Lexi

At almost two, you were such a cutie pie. I loved all of your little girl traits, from shrugging shoulders to pony tails to loving baby dolls to dressing up. You were starting to assert your opinions and personality. Two favorite phrases were "no!" and "my turn!" You also tended to ask a question like, "Go outside?" and answer it yourself with "Sure we tan."  You also copied whatever your big brothers were doing. One comical thing was stretching your arms across a doorway and yelling "password!" to anyone who wanted to cross your path. Silly girl.

You had a bad habit of waking up for long stretches at night. You were really just working the system, and for a while we let you. You would wake up crying and ask to "tuddle" with Mommy (who went to bed early) or Daddy (who stayed up late). We started getting strict and made you cry. You didn't appreciate the new routine AT ALL, but we all needed more sleep.  Luckily you got the message after a couple of bad nights and started sleeping again.

Gavin was your mentor in all things naughty. He opened latched cupboards, drawers, doors, and cabinets so that you could access fun stuff in the kitchen and bathrooms. You tagged along whenever he escaped the house.  One day while I was in the bathroom you and Gavin were standing on the stove together.  Gavin opened the door to the microwave, which was built into the cabinetry above the stove.  The microwave door sideswiped you and you fell from the stove.  On the way down you hit your face on the chair you had used to climb up.  Your teeth cut the inside of your mouth.  You had a cut on the outside of your lip and a terrible bruise across most of your cheek.  I was so grateful that your injuries weren't worse!  They certainly didn't curb your climbing.

When left to your own devices you sometimes made trouble, but more often could be found tucking baby dolls in bed, looking at books, coloring, or putting on pretty necklaces. You wrapped your dolls in blankets, pushed them in the stroller, and fed them in the high chair. You also liked to be wrapped in blankets and frequently dragged them around the house. Occasionally a crayon from your collection made a mural on the wall.

Since birth you had crazy skin. From the bruises that came during delivery to baby acne to early-onset eczema, it seemed you had always had one skin condition or another. We managed eczema with thick creams (your special "otion"), but had a harder time getting rid of a pesky viral rash. The doctor said it was basically untreatable and could last more than a year, but would eventually resolve on its own. It covered the right side of your torso with tiny, harmless, flesh-colored bumps. When it started creeping down your arm you seemed bothered and people began making comments about chicken pox, so we looked into alternative remedies. In March we began an oil treatment twice a day. You hated having to hold still while we applied the oil. We would sing songs and chant "Go away bumps!" for a few minutes until we were done. We hoped that the treatment would help sooner rather than later!

Some of your favorite foods at that age included bananas (mamas), fruit snacks (hoo nacks), cheese, chicken nuggets, hot dogs, and milk. Sometimes you ate like a ravenous wolf, and other times like a dainty bird. We could never understand what produced your conflicting appetites.

Your hair was about shoulder length and, thanks to your cowlicks, it hung in your face unless I pulled it back. You were mostly content when I fixed your hair. You liked standing on the potty or sitting on the counter with your feet on the sink. You also preferred to choose which color of hair bands I used. I liked them to match your clothes but you weren't so picky!

When we found out our fifth baby was a girl I was shocked at first (I was so sure it was a boy!), but I was completely thrilled that you would have a sister right next to you in the family. I imagined all the fun things you could do together as you grew up. As I looked at your baby pictures, I quickly became excited to have another sweet princess in the house. You were a darling addition to our family!