Feeling a little behind...

I can't afford to be poky about posting when little cuties like this grow up so fast! It was yesterday that she was born, but tomorrow I'm taking her to her one-month check-up!! A friend of mine was sweet enough to offer to take newborn pics of Caprice three weeks ago. True to form, I'm just now posting them here.

Didn't she do an awesome job? To see more of her work, please check Bonnie out here.

Sadly, Caprice isn't so "newbornish" anymore. Yes, she's still tiny and barely the weight some babies are when they're born, but she's definitely filling out and spending a few more hours of the day awake. We love seeing her beautiful big eyes. She even graced Daddy with her first real smile and coo the other day...I'm glad I at least got to see it! It's funny to think in just another month she'll be doing stuff like that more often!

Here are pics from her first week and her fourth to show how much she's filling out!

(This one is just for fun...first bath!)

I also wanted to send a "thank you" out into cyberspace to all the friends and family who've helped out or just sent well-wishes...it's very much appreciated! Here in the near future I plan on shining a little limelight on my other two cuties and all the fun they've had with grandparents recently but for now I'll leave you with this:

Ooo, I could just eat her up!

For family...

I posted the videos we took of Caprice on the video blog, just in case you wanted to see her in action!

She's here!!

Caprice Bree

made her much anticipated appearance here in Michigan at 9:19 pm, Friday July 9th. She tipped the scales at a whopping 6 lbs 3 oz, stretched to the max at 19 inches! We are home (yay!) and are enjoying another beautiful little princess to love. There will be more posts with details to come but for now, I'll just make the grandparents happy with the most important stuff:

These are a few of our favorite things...

I wanted to do this earlier, but better late than never, right? I couldn't let our 6th anniversary and Father's Day go by without putting up a mushy post about how fabulous my husband is. I know there are many days that go by when Christopher doesn't receive the words of praise that he deserves from me...and this blog isn't just for me to write about the kids and my projects. I can't imagine trying to fill his shoes and deal with the slightly-organized chaos that has been his life the last 7 years. Here's 10 great things our hubby/Daddy manages to do for us in between work, study, classes, callings and other responsibilities that he never shirks:

1. Bathes/dresses/read scriptures with kiddos every night (he's home)


2. Never complains about my new adventures in cooking or when I'm too lazy and we get McD's instead


3. Plays duck-duck-goose, montsers, tag & "Simon Says" better than I do


4. Still attracted to me on the days he comes home to an unshowered mess of a human still in pajamas


5. Is a pretty good sport when it comes to playing with his girls when they're in "girly-mode"


6. Never questions my "control" of the finances


7. Teases but supports my love of "Twilight"


8. Gives the best hugs and kisses :)


9. Surprises us with treats after coming home from work


10. His favorite thing to do with his free time is just be at home with us!

Thanks for being our Superman!!

Lexi-Lou and a Party, too...

So I'm already behind on getting pics and stuff up from Alexis's birthday. I don't have too many pictures but I did take some videos. If you look to the left, there's a link to the Wood family home movie blog, which will contain all the Oscar-worthy glimpses into the life and times of "us". (Really, it's more for family so if you venture over there, don't expect too much.) Anyway, head on over there if you find my lack of Kodak moments disappointing.

Alexis has no appreciation for sleeping in, even on her birthday, so the girls were up and ready to celebrate bright and early. They both feasted on a waffle/strawberry breakfast while we tried to decide if we wanted to risk aggravating the birthday girl's cold by going out to one of the various indoor children's heavens (aka Chuck E. Cheese or Bouncing Off the Walls) here in town or try to live it up here at home. We compromised and Lex and I headed off to Meijer for a little one-on-one time to pick out some stuff for her birthday dinner and then to Sonic for some cherry slush action. It was a good thing we did since her new Radio Flyer tricycle was delivered while we were gone, giving Christopher time to put it together. Well, we walked in on him putting on the finishing touches but we still had slushes to keep the birthday girl occupied in the foyer while he finished up. We decided to pull out the stopper and bring out the bike along with all the presents right then. I don't know if I fully captured it on camera, but Alexis's enthusiasm for getting gifts is one of the best things to watch, hands down.


Dinner consisted of grilled hot dogs (one of the few meats sources of protein we can get this kid to eat), chips and watermelon. Then there was cake. Now, maybe I was just a slacker mom but I didn't know what to do for her cake this year. So I had Alexis pick out the type of cake and icing she wanted and then decided to do my rendition of a "fancy" big girl cake. At least she was excited about it, if nothing else.
All-in-all, it was an exciting day for our brand new 2-year-old. Now for some stats: Lex weighs 24.5 lbs (30 %ile), is 34 in. (50 %ile) and right where she should be everywhere else. Her two-year appointment did include a shot but she was a trooper. She still has a great love for her binky but it's banned during awake hours. We've already started a "potty chart" for Lex since she has started regularly going in her training toilet. She's very good about telling us when she's "gone" in her diaper and so we figure we'll let her take the lead with potty training. She likes twirling, shrieking, naps, dressing up, her elephant, dirt, getting into her wipes, taking care of her baby, books, rice, "make-up", trash, getting her picture taken, jumping, singing, putting non-food objects in her mouth, chalk, splashing, strangers, and making mad/serious faces. She dislikes dogs (at least barking), being still, time-outs, potatoes, using utensils while eating, being quiet, when Kira bosses her around, being told "no", and textured blankets (don't ask). Again, we can't emphasize enough the joy this little girl brings into our life. These last two years have certainly been more memorable with her in them.

Happy birthday, Lexi-Lou!! We love you!

Summer sisters...

We've been enjoying tastes of summer up here in Michigan lately. It's so nice to have a fenced-in yard where the girls can be outside enjoying the sunshine and I can enjoy the fact that in my eighth month of pregnancy I don't have to run around making sure they stay put! It's finally warm enough to pull out the sprinkler and enjoy the all-to-cold hose water. Kira, of course, LOVES it, even while shivering covered in goosebumps a half hour later. Alexis, surprisingly has taken a little while to warm up to the water. I think it has something to do with it spraying in her face. Here are some photos to show the contrasting attitudes.

Alexis started to warm up to it after a few days, though.

Speaking of Alexis, I can't believe that my baby will be 2 tomorrow! In many ways, it feels like she's been apart of our family so much longer but then again I can clearly remember her birth day like it just happened. I'll be posting more age milestones and big birthday news later but I just had to post a few things about her quickly. Lex is definitely our outspoken child. She has no problem communicating her feelings. She speaks more in volumes than words, but we're working on that. She's actually starting to make even more improvement in her speech. Her new thing is to ask, "Whas dat, momma?" over and over again. I love that she's starting to talk in sentences more often and ask questions. Another more current development is her new obsession with her baby doll. We've had baby dolls in the house since Kira was little but they've never been given much attention. Now, there are days where the only person in the house that gets a kind word from Lex is her baby! It makes us hopeful that this love for babies makes the transition to becoming a big sister a little easier for everyone. Alexis and Kira certainly have a love/hate relationship most days, but it's nice to see how much Alexis looks up to Kira and wants so much to be like her. And 90% of the time, Kira is more than happy to show her how! I don't know what we do without Alexis's unending collection of facial expressions that make us laugh so hard, her love of snuggling with us (after being wrapped up in the "right" blanket, of course), her creative ways of trying to hide the fact that she snuck her binky again, her ever changing love of dress-up or stripping down, and watching this petite little thing explore and grow each day. We love you, Lex!

Motherhood...

What can I say about motherhood. Sometimes, I tend to forget that I've had experience in that field. In fact, here soon, I'll be tripling the experience. It's not that I go through my day oblivious to the two munchkins running practically beneath my feet...it's just when I think about motherhood I think about, well, my mom and mother-in-law and friends' moms...you know, the ones that have REALLY had the motherhood experience. This past Sunday, I think I officially crossed over to a full-fledged "mom" as I watched the cutest Sunbeam in the ward swallow her nervousness and bravely go to the front of the chapel to serenade me while trying to keep a toddler beside me from fidgeting too much in the pew and being momentarily distracted by a tiny foot trying to find an impossible inch of space somewhere in my abdomen, quite forcefully, I might add. I know I still have so many milestones to come to and bridges to cross on the road of parenthood, but this Mother's Day, it really struck me that I truly am a mom and it's one of the most wonderful things about me. Yes, there are days where I feel just like this:

But it's made all better by requests like this:

Of course, I couldn't have progressed to this role without the wonderful man who has made not just my Mother's Day but my week by bringing home these:

Here's to an awesome 5th Mother's Day for me with many more to come! Hope yours was just as fabulous!!