Almost 1 year

Lexi turned 11 months this week and that means mommy and the aunt-ourage must begin planning the first birth celebration. Like any true diva, Lexi must have multiple parties in multiple cities. So while we figure out how to plan a celebration for the princess, check out these highlights from her 10th month.

To combat the string of ear infections L suffered this winter (7 of them), Lexi's pediatrician recommended we consult an ENT about having tubes put in her ears. Of course the thought of surgery, no matter how small, sent me into instant panic, but I just wanted my baby to get better. On surgery day, she charmed the doctors and nurses and made mamma feel so much better. About 20 minutes after they took her back, we were called back to recovery. We had been forewarned that she would be cranky and inconsolable for about an hour as the Anaesthesia wore off. That was the hardest part. Within a couple of hours, she was playing, dancing and talking up a storm. That day when I said "mamma" she immediately repeated after me. With the fluid out of her ear, my baby could hear!

She's been great since surgery. Lots of babbling, nonstop dancing, signing and clapping and plenty of kisses for mamma and daddy. She's sleeping through the night and stands in her crib calling daddy when she awakes. She taking steps toward independent walking but still doesn't have any teeth.

We're enjoying this sweet phase and she seems to be enjoying us, too.

Lexi enjoyed spending time with her Uncle Dave who was visiting from Bangor, Maine.

Off to church with Daddy on a cloudy spring day.

Eating an orange. Lexi loves fruit.

Just another day on the job. Lexi is the newest member of Smash! Experiential marketing.

9 months! Lots of illnesses and finally "mamma"

Lexi turned 9 February 12 and her 9th month was by far our most traumatic. She had a tough winter, contracting every virus her friends brought to daycare. Some of those developed into painful ear infections, which meant lots of sleepless nights for all of us.

Things went from bad to worse when she contracted RSV, which made it difficult for her to breathe and has made her more likely to develop asthma. Her bout with RSV meant 2 over-night trips to the ER, breathing treatments and lots of prodding and poking. A lot of the medical care was emotionally harder on mommy and daddy, but the doctors and nurses at Le Bonheure Children's hospital were fantastic and we all made it out OK.

Receiving a breathing treatment at Le Bonheure East. Her Oxygen saturation level was 83%. It took a few treatments to get it back up to an acceptable 95%. She also has 104 fever and we discovered she was anemic.

This medieval torture device is actually a baby's chest x-ray machine. The nurse told us to expect her to scream but she won't be in any pain. She did not make a peep. What a champ.

Here she is in her tiny hospital gown during a separate visit to the ER.

All these illnesses meant Lexi didn't gain any weight during her 9th month, despite a normally healthy appetite.

STATS

Weight -- 18 pounds 7 ounces (48th percentile)

Height -- 27.5 inches (50th percentile)

TRICKS:

Lexi is the queen of babble. She says "dadda" and also started saying daddy. She calls our dog "Jackie" or something like it. Most days it sounds like she's just saying "Jack."

She usually calls me "Tasha" or "Tata" and out of the blue on Valentine's Day she said the sweetest thing - mamma. She uses it sparingly, which makes it so much sweeter when she does say it. She claps and started waving "bye bye" but only when she's in a good mood. She's cruising, holding on to furniture to walk around the house and has gotten so good a crawling, we have to run to keep up with her.

Lexi's first visit to the aquarium. We made the 5 hour trek to the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga.

Her first snow day. We got 6 inches and all the kids went out to play.

It's been a while ...

When we started this blog, I was sure we would be able to keep up the updates. I mean, how hard would it be to spend 30 minutes every week writing about Lexi's latest antics? Well, the answer is harder than I thought.

BabyBoogie took a backseat to trips to the ER, countless visits to the doctor's office and lots of sleepless nights

Our girl is 10 and a half months now and the last two months have been filled with all kinds of new tricks, illnesses, laughter, tears and lots of surprises. The next two posts will take you through her 9th and 10th months. We'll try to fill in every juicy detail.

8 months!

It's been hard to tear myself away from Lexi and her many cute antics to update the blog. In her 8th month Lexi is just a ball of joy!

First, the stats. Weight: 18 pounds. Height: 28 inches

Now for the tricks! Lexi is a crawler. A very fast crawler. She also pulls herself up on the furniture and will walk if she has something to hold on to. We've caught her standing unaided a couple of times, but as soon as she realizes she has no support she drops to the floor. She enjoys standing so much that she only wants to stand for diaper changes. That's a lot of fun.

And there's the babbling. Lots of it. She calls J Dada or Daddy. And I've been called everything: Yaya, Baba, but mostly she calls me "Tata" or something that sounds like "Tasha."

Everyday with Lexi is a new adventure. I can't begin to express how much we're enjoying her silly faces, her slobbery kisses and the excitment of not knowing what she's gonna do next.

Separated at birth -- Lexi and Horton

Lexi wrestles a bear

Lexi loves her bear-skin rug, a Christmas present from her Aunt Emily. Updates from the Stuart Family Christmas coming soon.