Here we go...daddy's 36th birthday

"Here we go...Steelers...here we go...Pittsburgh goin' to the Superbowl...Here we go..." That was the theme of daddy's birthday cake...he turned 36 on a day that was extremely cold (got below zero last night) and snowed quite a bit in the Metro area. We were going to go out, but opted to stay in and I said I would cook dinner...Nana's mac & cheese (so Alexis would be happy) and scallops and veggie stir fry...Alexis tried the scallops but didn't care for them (she does like shrimp though).
Daddy got a little help blowing out his 3 candles...he insisted on not having 36 as we thought Alexis was about to do when she dumped out the candle from the box onto the table... Alexis was so waiting for this moment...the cake was delicious...marble with buttercream icing.

And after a huge piece of cake, it was time to snuggle up with Bailey and hit the sack...

Denver Stock Show

Of course, we decided to go to the Denver Stock Show on the day that the entire city of Denver decided to go...we had to park in this overflow lot that the bus driver's didn't even know the name of...that was fun when we tried to return to our car. Anywho, we had a fun time with the kid's activities and looking at cowboy garb...Alexis had to have a hat - I think she saw everyone else with one so she wanted one...picked this was up for 10 bucks...unlike the belts they were selling for 50 bucks. There was a petting zoo and Alexis had fun feeding the goats and sheep and alpacas...I just love the expression on her face in this picture...this is what she looks like when she talks to Bailey and Schnapps.

Here is Alexis on a John Deere (this pic is for you Earl!) - she loved climbing on these and pretending to drive.

Here she is again on another piece of equipment...she turned her sideways...can't figure out who she looks like yet...

And as we are leaving she wants to go on daddy's shoulders and I guess I need to try to do something about those pants because you may remember this shot from back in October...She is so skinny at the waist that a 3T falls down a lot but a 2T is way too short...if I tried a 4T to get them a little bit longer, I would have to get her suspenders like Pappy wears.

Snow, Playing, Party Girl and Sleeping

Alexis had a boy's superhero party this past weekend...she decided to dress up as Jasmine...they are dancing here to a song and the boy next to her is holding her hand... Dancing again with the boys (and one other girl).

She helped the birthday boy blow out the candles...he was turning 4 but mom didn't have a 4 so 3+1 = 4...thought that was kind of cute.

Here is Alexis playing with her next door neighbor...they love to dress up in princess or dance costumes...some of you may recognize the dress Alexis has on...it was her first dance recital costume when she was 21 months old...and yes it still fits her...wish I could stay that trim.

Here are Alexis and her neighbor at the playground...we had unusually warm weather (60s and 70s) but today it is back to the 30s and snow is expected...

The snow we had last week unfortunately was not good packing snow...here is Alexis all ready with her snowman kit from Nana and Pop Pop but the snow just wouldn't pack...she is holding her snowball (that she then threw at me) - that is the largest ball we could pack together. She really enjoys shoveling the snow (boy, I don't miss it at all) so at least I have a helper when it snows.

Instead of a snowman, I said she could make a snow angel...for some reason, she knew exactly what to do but I don't remember her ever doing this before.

Alexis' snow angel...

And this is what a warm bath will do to you...Alexis has this thing about putting her Dora sofa on the big sofa and sleeping on it...as long as she goes to sleep, I am not complaining...

GO STEELERS!!!!

Alexis and I did some cooking for the Steelers playoff game...we made buffalo chili and our first attempt at whole wheat cornbread, which turned out pretty good (even daddy, who does not care for cornbread, said he liked it). Here is Alexis with her new apron and chef hat helping out... Stirring the cornbread...

Everyone got dressed up for the game including the dogs...they weren't too happy because they had trouble walking...Bailey was so frustrated that she just sat for the picture and I know she was saying, "please get me out of this thing!"

And then by the middle of the 3rd quarter...this was Alexis...this is called A LOT of confidence in her Steelers.

Ice Skating and Gymnastics Meet

Alexis started ice skating lessons on Saturday - it was pretty cool how they lined them up against this movable wall and then pushed them so they could learn what it feels like...Alexis loved it...we were a little surprised because some kids were screaming... Alexis is third from the left. Sorry for the not so great cell phone pictures...I didn't want to take the camera and intimidate her. Here she is again along the wall...she has the purple pants on.

The main thing they practiced in this first class was how to get up from being down....she is second from the right.And here she is trying to get up...

And there she is up...she was not quite sure what to do from here but that will come with time...next Saturday, mommy is going to start lessons so someone can take her on the ice for public skate...I am excited about learning again (last time I skated was in high school).

Then on Saturday night we went to a University of Denver gymnastics meet...wow, this was pretty amazing...it was sold out and standing room only. The guest of honor was Nastia Liukin - she had a question/answer session and then watched the meet. Below is a picture of her giving out the awards at the end. Alexis remembered watching her on TV this summer...

Happy 2009!

Happy New Year! We went to a party last night and Alexis made it to 10:00 PM...longer than I thought she would make it. We made a checkerboard cake for the party and of course Alexis helped...although she did more licking of the remnants in the bowls than baking but she had a blast and got chocolate everywhere. We did chocolate and yellow cake for the Colorado Buffs! Alexis all decked out for the party...dig the 80's style...those red shoes are the greatest...they go with everything...don't they? I think I need to get myself a pair. They now have silver and gold ones...those are probably her next shoes. We are watching the Rose Parade and getting ready for the Rose Bowl...LET'S GO STATE!!!