Three years ago today, we welcomed you into the world! Three weeks early, you weighed 7 lbs. 6 oz. You were beautiful! I remember that I never thought you could be so beautiful and you were! I remember being in awe of your perfection! What a wonderful day it was. Three years have passed and you have grown in so many ways. From crawling to walking (at only ten months!), "goo goo's" and "gaa gaa's" to "you know what I mean, jellybean?" (something you said to me just the other morning!). From ride on toys to "Rocket Babe" on your tricycle, to riding the big girl bike with training wheels that we put together yesterday! From diapers to Easy Ups to potty trained! From "Twinkle, Twinlkle Little Star," to "Five Little Monkeys," to your current fave, "Row, Row, Row your Boat." Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Dora, Diego, Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo and Horseland! You have many likes and dislikes ( and I still seem to understand your words best! You are really your own person...curious, creative, stubborn, silly, smart, sassy, inquisitive and brave. You have seen difficult times that many little girls haven't and shouldn't and you have such resiliency and courage! I am proud of you each and every day.

This year we celebrated your third birthday with friends and family at Lee Zachary's Pizzeria on Saturday, March 20th. We shared the special day with our friend Anna who turned three earlier this month. The carousel theme was adorable and I worked really hard on making a delicious cake for the two of you! It wasn't easy, but it was enjoyed by everyone. You didn't seem to stop the entire afternoon, running around and thoroughly enjoying the ball pit and slide! You ended the day with rosy cheeks, a good sign that you played hard!

I have enourmous dreams and hopes for you. I can't wait to continue sharing them with you, and even more so, seeing them through with you! I knew I would love you immensely, but even I am sometimes surprised by the weight of that love. I have been blessed to have you in my life and to watch you grow. Happy Birthday, Baby! I love you always and forever! ~Mommy

Alexa doesn't have cousins, at least not in the traditional sense. Mike and I have some extraordinary, close friends whose children we consider like family. So, in that case, Alexa has cousins. But among her family tree...none...yet! Last weekend (Nov. 7-8th), Alexa, Ptah and I made a trip to Connecticut to visit Ptah's cousin Adam and his wife and children, Connie, Sofia and Joseph. Adam is Michael's second cousin. We were looking forward to the opportunity the children would have to play with one another. Something we hope to do more of as the kids grow up. We are lucky to call them Alexa's cousins!

Sofia is 5 years old and Joseph is 2. Together, the three enjoyed playing on the swingset in the back yard on a mild November morning before getting on the road to the Museum of Natural History in Manhattan. Despite an incredibly long ride (gotta love NYC traffic!), we finally arrived and had enough time to check out the butterflies and some dinosaur bones!

From the moment we entered the butterfly exhibit, Alexa had her arms outstretched determined to lure a butterfly to her. She even called out to them, "Here butterfly, come a me." Although no butterflies landed on her, Connie and Mike were lucky enough to be chosen by some. This was very exciting for the kids. As it turns out, Alexa was much happier that the butterfly chose her Daddy instead of her!

This was Alexa's second visit to the AMNH Butterfly exhibit. Well, actually her third if you count my visit in Feb. 2007, just about 8 months pregnant! It seems her curiousity for these beautiful creatures has remained a constant!

After the butterflies, we went on to see the Mammals of Africa, some old dinosaur bones and the Under the Sea exhibit.

Although it was a brief visit (both at the museum and with the Mahoney's) we found enjoyment in the day. We are looking forward to many more trips to the wonderful museums in NYC, allowing Alexa to explore and gain knowledge of our history, art and culture while having lots of fun at the same time! It will be great to do those things with her cousins too!

We danced and ate and danced some more. Alexa seemed like she would never quit. It was really fun to see all the kids play and really get to spend some time together.

We added some special touches to the party including photographs of Carole when she was a child. And thanks to Luanne, Jeremy and Mya, Carole got many products that a 60 year old should never be without!

Eventually sleep caught up with her and Alexa was out cold! We were all tired by the end of the evening and left with many memories of a special celebration!

Last Friday (Oct. 2), on a whim, Minna, Alexa and I decided to take the ferry to Plattsburgh, NY. This was Alexa's first trip aboard the ferry and despite the chilly weather, we decided to take it in from the observation deck! We were hoping to arrive in time to visit a few museums, but after leaving rather late and hitting up a garage sale on the way, we didn't make it to any of the museums we had set out to see. It wasn't entirely our fault though, these places have some interesting Friday hours!

Instead, we happened upon a beautiful, historic horse farm, accessible to the public. Yo can check it ot here: http://www.whminer.com/heritageexhibit.html Heart's Delight Farm dates back to 1903 and consists of 15,000 acres of land. Today it was empty other than the people actually working there. A total of 25 Morgan horses reside in the old barn and they were some of the friendliest horses we've had the pleasure of meeting! That said, we do still very much adore our Morgans, Oakleigh, Teddy, Pecos and all the others at Meadowsong!!!

Despite the 2 dozen plus horses surrounding us, Alexa was quite taken with one of the barn cats and, it was pretty clear, the barn cat was taken with Alexa!

Well, really it was a toss up between the barn cat and the dandelions!

Before we left, we walked to another pasture and Minna found, and fell in love with, this mare. She appeared quite content to simply stand there and have Minna stroke her silky coat! Alexa continued to entertain the cat, or the other way around, and I found the plaques explaining the expansion of the property to be very interesting, especially the  photos of the various structures that once stood in the now open acres of pasture. 

Alexa continues to build her language skills and with each new development, I find myself amazed and often laughing! Some of the new things she says are..."That's my fabrit" These days several things are her favorite, but she usually uses this phrase when she has received a certain food, such as Vanilla mini scones from Starbucks (I have a bit of an addiction to Starbucks). Alexa call Starbucks, the coffeehouse! Additionally, last week I sneezed and from down the hall, I heard her little voice call "Bless You, Mommy!" She also has begun recognizing the need to apologize for some of her behaviors, saying "I'm sorry" when, for example, she has excitedly thrown a block at my face!

Today Alexa jumped on the scale and she weighs a whopping 26.6 lbs. I'm pretty sure she hadn't had her diaper changed yet! So, she's still very much "Minna's Fabrit Peanut!"

At the end of the week, we pack p the car for another trip to NJ to wish Gramma a Happy Birthday, then vacation to visit Aunt Carrie, Tim, Jenny, Joseph, James and new baby Jillian in Florida and then back to NJ to celebrate Wyeth's 2nd birthday in Brooklyn. Look for posts along the way!

Saturday was the annual Harvest Festival and Energy fair at Shelburne Farms. What started out as a rather brisk morning (47 degrees to be exact) turned into a beautiful, sunny early autumn day perfect for playing otdoors, visiting the animals and taking in a scenic hayride!

We were lucky to meet up with several friends throughtout the day, Anna, Charlotte and Jailee were there with their mommies (and Daddy, in Jailee's case!). Denise, Sarah and Emma and Ali and baby Julia came down to the farm. Michelle brought Caleb for their first trip ever to visit the farm. Ashleigh, along with her mommy and daddy, Heather and Matt, enjoyed a hayride and some tree climbing with Alexa and there wasn't even any hair pulling! Minna and Ptah stopped by too! We even saw some old friends, Anthony and Jill whom Alexa hasn't seen since she was just an infant! What a great afternoon it was!

Alexa wanted to give face painting a try. She actually remembers her face painting from her birthday party. So she chose a pumpkin and then picked the color purple. I suggested to the woman that she could paint a flower or a butterfly, but I was quickly corrected by Alexa who exclaimed, "A pumpkin!" So a pumpkin it was! She didn't want to wash it off that night either! Although by evening she referred to it as an apple!

Naturally we could have spent the entire day feeding the horses and so it is no surprise that we ended the day doing just that! These horses are rare. They are the same breed as the horse in the Disney movie Hidalgo. In fact, "Hidalgo" lives in Morrisville on the same farm as these horses! They were beautiful and savored every piece of hay Alexa fed to them!

We are so lucky to have such a beautiful place to visit on a regular basis. It's just another reason why we love Vermont, especially in the fall!

On Sunday, we were up bright and early to make our way to Tunbridge, Vermont for the 138th annual Tunbridge World's Fair. Tunbridge is about an hour and twenty minute drive but worth it. It has an old fashioned feel to it. A little bit of everything. Rides, competitive exhibits of local fruits and vegetables, 4H competitive livestock shows, horseback riding competitions, fair food, pony rides and pig races! We met Jailee, Lisa and Doug and enjoyed the rides and the warm weather.

Last year the pony ride did not go over that well! But after our trip to NJ a few weeks ago, it was evident Alexa was going to enjoy herself this year. Alexa and Jailee waited patiently in line for a ride and once around was simply not enough! Minna also learned that Alexa did not require the help of an adult...she is, afterall, an experienced rider at this point! We rounded out the day with a visit to the Children's Barnyard and one more ride down the BIG slide, Alexa's favorite ride! We all enjoyed a hot apple crisp just before we got back in the car for the ride home! We had a great time and look forward to the fair next year!

Last year, Alexa said "moo" for the first time while we were at the fair! I remember it like it was yesterday! I can't believe how time flies and how much changes!

This weekend Alexa, Mike, Minna and I stopped by the Civil War reenactment near Shelburne Farms, hoping to get an up close look at the horses. Instead we arrived just in time for the "battle!" Lots of gunfire and fallen soldiers!! Wasn't exactly what I wanted Alexa to witness, but we managed to distract her with a visit to the campsites and eventually made our way to the horses who were cooling off after working so hard on the field! Just as we were about to leave, Minna spotted Jailee and her family across the field and Alexa was off and running to greet her buddy! 

This was the second time in two days that Alexa and Jailee "ran into" one another. They literally ran into one another on Friday at Shelburne Farms, resulting in Alexa on top of Jailee in the grass!

Here is a shot of Mike and Alexa at last year's reenactment. The weather was quite different this weekend. If I recall the rain and wind made last year's event feel as though it were taking place in Novemeber, not mid September!

On Sunday, we  headed to the McIntyre's to celebrate Charlotte's 3rd birthday! As usual, Alexa had a great time playing with "the girls," Anna, Jailee, Charlotte & Bridget too! Unfortunatetly the weather was not fully cooperating, so the girls could not enjoy the swingset. But there was plenty to keep them busy indoors. Overall, the girls played very nicely with one another, sharing toys and lots of laughter! There was a Hello Kitty karaoke machine that proved to be a big hit! And for us adults, the Barbie gifts offered many opportunities for sarcasm and laughter! (Barbie is quite provocative these days!)

Alexa even took her pants off which appears to be the recurring theme at Charlotte's birthday parties...see following photo!

Despite lots of practicing of the Birthday Song and excitement to sink her teeth into a cupcake, Alexa was less than thrilled when it came time to sing as a group. Here she is practicing and below crying with her head on the table!

But as we all know, cupcakes make everything better...and today was no exception!

Lollipops don't hurt either!

We have just returned home from a week of house/Peanut (aka dog) sitting for the Clark's while they enjoyed some family time down the shore, followed by a trip to Nashville, TN to celebrate Karen and Ken's 5th wedding anniversary. Alexa and I arrived on Saturday afternoon after an eventful drive. Alexa has been wearing Pull Ups (the name we all assoiciate with training diapers, kinda like, BandAids or Qtips) for several months now as we potty train. So, as it turns out Pull Ups are Huggies brand, Easy Ups are Pampers. I have consistently used Pampers diapers since Alexa's birth. Any changes have usually resulted in messes that noone wants to deal with. Having run out of Easy Ups, I had to run to the store to buy some, but before I could get to the store, I had to put her in swimmie diapers to get out of the house. (Swimmie diapers are not intended to absorb pee, they simply guard from other stuff getting into the water) Needless to say, we didn't make it to the store without a soaking wet carseat. While I attempted to clean the upholstry on the carseat, I put a spare seat in the car.  Looking to save a few bucks, I used a coupon to purchase Pull Ups. Two nights in a row, Alexa (who still sleeps with me) peed through them all over my bed. I was so exhausted that I piled several towels on the bed, changed Alexa and went back to sleep. By now, I should have learned my lesson...We then leave for NJ and at the first rest stop Alexa announces, "I soaking wet." She had peed through another Pull Up and now the seat was, indeed soaked!!! I had to  put a towel between her and the seat which made the straps no longer fit, "Mommy, you hurted me." I struggled for 15 minutes to adjust the straps on the spare seat since I was not familiar with it. Finally, we were on our way and I put in a call to Mike, who assured me he would have Easy Ups waiting for us in NJ!

Saturday night, we all relaxed and settled in to the Clark's house. Sunday we made a trip to Brooklyn to visit Jamie, Kate and Wyeth. We haven't seen Wyeth in nearly a year. This was the first real playdate Alexa and Wyeth had shared and it went great! We took a walk to the park and then went back home where Alexa and Wyeth played blocks secretly in Jamie and Kate's room for about an hour!

We were pleased when Jamie and Kate told us that this was one of Wyeth's most successful playdates, that he was very engaged and interactive with Alexa. She seemed to really enjoy getting to tell Wyeth what to do as well!

On Monday, Alexa and I spent the afternoon at Van Saun Park in Paramus with Gramma and Aunt Eileen. Alexa had her first pony ride and despite her very serious expression, she really seemed pleased about the experience!

On Tuesday, Alexa and I met up with an old friend of mine, Mahnaz, at Imagination Station in Roxbury. Alexa was having a blast on the slide directing me to "catch" her and eventually telling me to back up so she could do it by herself. She was feeling so confident until some rotten little kids decided to run up the slide while she was coming down. There were tears and lots of mulch to be removed from her hair, but in a short while Alexa was back to monkeying around. She finished out the afternoon by showing off her bike riding skills on the bike path.

On Wednesday, I was terribly ill and thankfully the Clark's had returned from LBI to tend to Alexa's every need!!! Alexa played with Casey all afternoon, on the swing set and in the pool. Mike and Alexa went to dinner with Grandpa Stolarz and I stayed home with some white rice and steamed chicken, hoping for a better night than the last!

Thursday, although I was still not 100%, Mike, Alexa and Aunt Chrissy returned to Van Saun Park for some more pony rides and a visit to the zoo.

We also had a train ride, took a spin on the carousel and played for quite a while in the very large playground.

There was a great attraction at the zoo that allowed us to interact with parakeets. We took sticks of bird seed and walked among hundreds of these beautiful little birds as they landed on  our arms and hands to eat.

We couldn't leave without one last pony ride. By the third time, Alexa was an old pro! I still didn't feel great and the odor of horse manure wasn't helping!

On Friday, Mike, Alexa and I went to Pt. Pleasant for the day. We intended to spend some time on the beach and then ride some rides on the boardwalk, one of Alexa's new favorite things! We played in the sand as the water was off limits due to strong rip currents. Mike dug a giant "pool" for Alexa just along the shore line. It would fill up when a large wave rolled in and Alexa would get a thrill from jumping into the water! I sunbathed a bit and enjoyed a delicious Italian Ice from the boardwalk!

After lunch, we took to the rides. The usual carousel, train ride and the "Crazy Bus." Then we returned to the beach for some kite flying!

The Crazy Bus has become one of Alexa's favorite rides, despite how sickening it makes me feel! This thing goes surprisingly high. She's a real dare devil these days! As a side note, Alexa has begun referring to all school buses as crazy buses, and sometimes she even points out crazy cars! Mike says this time Alexa was so excited once the ride got started, with a big smile on her face the entire time!

We rounded out Friday evening with dinner with Melissa, Ty and Brodie.

On Saturday, we headed to the Land of Make Believe in Hope, NJ with Gramma and Aunt Eileen. We were all pleasantly surprised by the expanded waterpark area. Mike, Alexa and I did a few loops around the lazy river which really helped to cool us off! We went on more rides and ate too much junk food, but we all had lots of fun! I had never been to this park so I didn't know what to expect. I think it was well worth the trip!

At this point in the trip my camera battery had died and I wasn't able to find the charger! A bummer actually, since we met Melissa and the boys for a few hours Sunday at Seaside. After a few rides accompanied by Ty, Alexa actually rode on her first ride alone...the baby swings. She was THRILLED! She even went on a second time! We did capture a few cute shots on Mike's iPhone but I'll have to try to upload them on my laptop at some point.

On Monday morning we stopped by for a brief visit with Keith and Dana and then spent some time at the Morristown Arboretum. Alexa made a friend and was happy to share her tricycle with her. We relaxed in the evening with Karen, Ken, Matt and Casey and it was off to bed early to be rested for the drive home on Tuesday.

As the summer days draw to a close, we are lucky enough to spend a few hours enjoying Vermont's beautiful weather and landscape! Yesterday we took a trip to Shelburne Farm with Eva, Will and Minna. We boarded the tractor and took the bumpy road to the beautiful children's farm yard.

Eva managed to catch a few chickens and Alexa thoroughly enjoyed the donkeys once again! Will suggested a walk through the woods, which was an excellent idea as the trail exited us here...

We love all the animals. Alexa timidly approachs them all and once she lays her hand on them she quickly turns and runs giddily back to me so proud of her accomplishment!

The baby goats were a different story. Alexa sat outside their pen and stroked their heads gently for several minutes.

Yesterday was great...everybody had a wonderful time. I think I'll log off this computer and head over again today! As I post this Alexa points to this photo and says, "hummin bird." Obviously, it is not a hummingbird, but how impressed are you that she can say hummingbird?

I was browsing through some older photos of Alexa and stumbled upon these photos from one year ago...