Okay, everyone clap...I finally figured out how to once again upload pictures on our blog...successfully! Alexa is officially one year old as of yesterday! She's walking great and even almost half running! She's even started to say a few words like "ball" and today I got her to say "Thank You", granted it wasn't perfectly clear but I still think my kid is a genius!
We had a blast at her first birthday party here at our house last Sunday. I def. went overboard for a Sesame Street first birthday party that she'll never remember but it was still fun had by all. My oh so sweet family traveled from far and wide to spend the weekend with us and attend her birthday party! It was crazy but it was fun! I can't believe how big my neices and nephew have gotten!
It was a big day for Kyle and I because we took her last and final scoop of formula! Yayyy! That stuff is worth it's weight in gold but now we've made the switch to whole milk!
Alexa's personality is shining through more and more! She automatically goes to whatever she's not supposed to at all possible chances! She loves giving kisses and loves, especially to her stuffed animals. She's a very loving and happy baby and loves to be the center of attention! And just like her daddy she knows how to work the crowd!
So we celebrated her birthday early because it was actually on a Wed. I tried to make it special as we drove down to Springfield for our family pictures at Portrait Innovations! I don't think she even knew anything was different...except she did get to turn her car seat around and go forward facing! She didn't know quite what to think she just kept starring at Kyle and I and the road ahead of her like something wasn't right. I also didn't make her do anything on her birthday that she didn't want to...that means no brushing her total of 5 teeth and no vitamins that morning! But then I kicked myself in the butt the next day because apparantley she thought that it was her new routine! Oh well!
I am anxiously awaiting Saturday because my swee husband got 4 box seat tickets to the Rob Thomas concert in St. Louis. Granted it's on Halloween night but Alexa needs some Grandma time anyway :) I also have the pleasure of my big sis Shannon and my good friend Jill and my husband to share the joy of the concert with! Don't worry we're changing Halloween to Friday night (because we're just that cool) so we can still dress up our babies like furry little mammals and parade them around to show them off...which is what it truly is because Alexa & Addison can't even eat candy!

So I understand this is a long post but I did have a lot to catch up on so surely you guys can understand...and hey I'll never know if you skipped through everything just to see the pictures!...unless you have a guilty conscious!

Here are some of the many family pictures we had taken yesterday...

I know, I know. There's still no pictures but no one had any suggestions with my little computer problem and I can't handle the frustration of doing all the work of loading them and it not working out again! So you'll just have to make do with my words!
I can't believe it I am seriously planning Alexa's 1st Birthday part! Just thinking about it makes me get a little sentimental! She has grown up so fast and she just keeps getting more and more fun everyday!
She's walking now and getting better and better! She's also quite the little flirt! She has learned how to wave..but she only does it on her terms! The other day we were at the mall and this little boy her age walked up to her stroller and she waves at him and then leans in a gives him a kiss! She's startin' way tooo young! My heart can handle this yet! I thought I was safe at least until she was a teenager! I guess not!
We are anxiously awaiting her Sesame Street Party and I am putting a lot of energy and effort into something that she won't even remember but that doesn't seem to stop me. She loves giving kisses and so far she does it on command..except her version of a kiss involves just leaning in and touching faces! She loves hugging her stuffed animals and kissing them! She has also gotten quite attached to her water baby (one just like I used to have) and she will push her around in the stroller and sometimes stop and lean in for a kiss. However, she isn't so quite of the vacuum still. She doesn't cry (gratefully!) but she will shimmy over to the tallest peice of furniture for safety, only if she can keep her ! Last time though her baby and stroller were right in the path of the vacuum and I could tell she didn't really want to but she summoned up the courage to run over frantically and push her baby to her "safe" spot out of the way of the vacuum! What a good little protective mommy, and she's only a year old!
Along with her first steps came the urge to get into more things she's not supposed to! Kyle & I recently purchased a new front loader washer and dryer and she loves sneaking into the laundry room and just watching the clothes spin around and around! She likes toys but even more than that she likes wobbling through the house and finding random things and making them her treasures which creates a big mess sometimes but oh well she's too cute! As long as she's having fun and safe I really don't care! She loves buckets and purses and just bags in general and even if they're too big she's still determined to carry them around the house...even if they don't belong to her! I could go on and on about her and all the cute little things she does but words don't do her justice! You'll just have to come visit and see her in action!

I've not had the best of luck with this blogging stuff. First it's the pictures messing up and then yesterday I blogged and when I got done the computer died and I lost it all. So I'll try to remember what I wrote and cross my fingers that it all works. Unfortunatley I don't have the patience to try the picture thing again but I can tell you what's been going on with the LaBrue Crew.
Alexa is getting faster and faster at crawling and even stands up on her own. We're working on her walking but she's not real into it yet. She's very talkative and randomly screams crazy sounds...and she doesn't mind if we're in church! She's so cute I can't hardly get mad at her!
She's 10 months old now and when I started planning her first birthday part I had a sentimental moment! I can't believe how old she is! It seriously feels like we were just coming home from the hospital with her the other day!
Kyle's insurance business is doing good and he's a very hard and inteligent worker! Which Alexa and I are very grateful for! Alexa is a great little swimmer and she loves the water. The only problem is she doesn't like sitting in the little boat and she doesn't like us to hold her. She's very into dancing..especially to Michael Jackson *but that might be my fault because I listen to it all the time. Anytime there is music no matter what kind she feels the need to crawl like a banchee over to something she can hold onto and shake what her momma gave her!
She has learned to give kisses but only on her terms..she's very picky about when and whom she gives them to.
We love playing with her and just watching her with all the different things she finds and gets into.
We've had a great summer and it's flown by! Alexa loves being outside and playing in any kind of water!

The LaBrue Crew.... New & Improved

So it's officially been over a month since I've posted on our blog and for that I apologize! Hopefully you guys will forgive me in time! Life has been pretty crazy! Alexa started crawling and ver fast at that! This is what I get for saying I wanted to start working out!She is in the 90th percentile for her height and that only means she can reach higher when she starts swiping stuff! I've learned that silence is never a good thing! Sometimes I'll hear something falling off our bookshelf and I'm just cringing in waiting for that high pitch scream!She loves standing up and pulling herself up on stuff and consequently that means a lot of falls too!Kyle and I try not to freak out when she falls and funny enough she doesn't either! She'll roll over and grab something else and won't ever make a sound...usually! Alexa loves playing peek-a-boo and yesterday she got herself all wrapped up in the curtains and couldn't pull them off of her head like she does her blanket!I was laughing too hysterically to go help the poor child and eventually her little head popped out and she thought it was just as funny as I did! Her little personality shows through more every day! I love crawling and chasing her around the house! Every time I laugh or smile she'll make herself laugh even though she has no clue what's going on! She'll be 9 months old next week and is growing up soo fast! It feels like just yesterday we were coming home from the hospital with her! We've had our struggles with certain things like naps and some days are better than others but every time she laughs or does her cheezy little smile it makes it all worth it!

I could not ask for a better Father to my children than Kyle! He's great with her and she gets oh so excited whenever she sees him walk through the door! He helps out so much and changes just as many diapers as I do! So I know your wondering "Where are the pictures" and I myself have that same question! I have tried multiple times on multiple days to upload these pictures to my blog and when they have loaded and I click on upload pictures no pictures appear in the blog but instead computer mumbo jumbo! Can anyone help me with this because...I'm about to go crazy!
Your patience is appreciated!

Viva Las Vegas!

Kyle, Alexa and I took our family vacation to beautiful Las Vegas thanks to cheap flights and a good deal on a hotel! We were there from Monday the 18th through Friday the 22nd. Kyle nor I had ever been before and it was a great experience! Alexa did great on the flight and either slept or played peek-a-boo with all the people and pulled hair of the people in front of us!Everyone was very sweet and thought Alexa was the cutest...who wouldn't? We didn't rent a car since our hotel (Tropicana Resort) was right on the strip so we just walked...A LOT! It was a lot of fun and it was very hot! We went swimming everyday and Alexa loved it! She did great with all the walking...of course she just got to ride in the stroller and sleep whenever she got tired! She loved all the bright lights and tons of people! She got a lot of attention seeing as how there are not a lot of babies in Vegas! Who woulda thought?
Kyle tried his luck at the poker table to the first night and actually won some money which was pretty exciting! We splurged and went and saw the Bodies exhibit at the Luxor, which was soo interesting! We highly recommend it! It's a little disturbing at first knowing that they are real dead bodies but sooo woth it! We saw the lions at the MGM which was right across the street! And did our fare share of eating! The dancing fountains at the Belagio were beautiful and there were a lot of interesting things and people to watch all around us!
We also went to see a Circus del osel show (sorry, I know the spelling is wrong) called Mystere and it was amazing! Alexa loved all the extravagant costumes and acrobats flying around! On one of our days walking around we came across this Stone Man that was a real guy and he was very impressive! Every move he made was robotic! So I gave Alexa a dollar and told Kyle to go help her give it to him and then motioned for me to take a picture of them all together and he started rubbing Kyle's ears! Kyle about died...if you don't know already...he absolutley hates his ears rubbed or even touched for that matter! He was soo miserable it was funny!
We had a blast but going away for so long really makes you appreciate your own home! As I would like to say, there's a lot to see in Vegas and a lot not to see..if you know what I mean! : )

I have to start this post off with an apology for posting no pictures of Alexa. I have tried many times but my computer is acting up so you'll have to make do with me talking about her!
We celebrated her 6 month birthday last week and had our own little family party at McDonalds, complete with us eating french fries in front of her! Her very sweet and thoughtful Dad bought her two dresses and sunglasses and even wrapped them up so cute for her to rip apart that day! She is rolling over a ton and has been sitting up on her own for a while now. The funny part is she will slowly tip over sometimes when she's tired and will fall face first into the carpet but won't cry or make a sound except "thump", she just rolls over on her stomach and continues playing! She's sooo funny to watch and believe me she gets plenty of kisses from her Daddy and I, and lots of other people! I can't stop kissing her and telling her how much I love her!
She is still working on getting some teeth, I can see the white underneath her gums but we have yet to see one break through, she is constantly chewing on anything and everything!
We took her to the park to swing the other day, which she loves, and this little girl was playing with her and she looks at us and asks "Why is your baby so excited?"
It's true, Alexa gets so excited for everything simple thing, it's so cute how she'll start kicking her legs and panting! She will be one really happy girl when she can walk on her own! She walks great if we are holding her hands for balance and we are working on crawling! She is eating baby food and loves anything we give her, she was born with those genes!
We are headed to our first family vacation with all 3 of us here in a couple of weeks to good ol' Las Vegas! I'm very excited and a little nervous how it's going to be flying and traveling such a far distance with a baby! Alexa always does great no matter what and she's so happy and content with everything it's so easy but I get stressed out easy so I'm the one that's a mess and worrying about EVERYTHING!
I will try and work more to figure out what's wrong with my computer so hopefully next time I will have all the cute pictures posted that I have!