Lexi

Lexi has come so far the last few months. Something has finally clicked with braille, and she is beginning to read simple three-letter words by herself. It is sooooo exciting to watch! She still struggles with many letters, but she is getting there, and can braille most of the alphabet by herself now.

She still surprises us with how bright she is. The other day I was practicing spelling words with Xander. I gave him the word "water" and he wasn't paying any attention at all (typical) and began "b..." Lexi, who was in the room but busy with something else, exclaimed, "XANDER! That would say "bater! Silly you!" This from a girl speaking English just over a year.

Lexi is our social butterfly. She has been so blessed to find a "best friend." Her name is Erin, or "Erin C." as Lexi always calls her (there are two Erins in her class.) I will often hear Lexi in the morning laying in her bed singing "I love Erin C." to various tunes. (: Today I overheard Parker tell his friend about Erin. I thought he described her perfectly:

"Erin C. is so great because she treats Lexi like a real person. She doesn't baby her, but she's so nice to her at the same time. She actually plays with her and acts excited to be her friend."

That's our Erin C. I love that girl so much for what she has done for Lexi. They have had many playdates together and I am so grateful for that! Lexi is not fun when she is bored, so playdates are a good thing! On Thursday, Erin and Lexi were walking from school to their cars and Erin fell down and cut her forehead. She ended up with a few stitches. I'm not sure who was more traumatized-- Erin or Lexi. It took Lexi over 30 minutes to stop crying. She kept saying, "I'm so sad that Erin C. is hurt. I really really really want Erin C. to be better!" She was hysterical, and still talks about it several times a day. "Remember when Erin C. fell down?" she says constantly, and then has to relive the whole thing. Such sweet friends.

Lexi loves to be like everyone else. It is poignant to be watching a show and have her laugh when everyone else laughs even though she didn't see what was so funny. She is such easy company. She's happy to be doing anything besides sitting by herself. Jeremy has taken her along with the boys to go to BYU basketball games and she is a great sport, just sitting there and cheering when everyone else does.

Lex is a great sleeper. She can fall asleep at any time and both Jer and I love to have her join us for naps. She'll lay quietly by you and stroke your face for a second and then just drift off to sleep. So so sweet.

Lexi loves to share her testimony of Jesus. She still tells anyone who will listen how Jesus is going to fix her eyes. It can be so incredibly heartbreaking when she cries to me, "Mom, why can't He do it now?" She's been begging for a "blind friend." Anyone know of someone nearby? Sometimes she will put Jesi's glasses on (so cute!) and say, "Why I not wear glasses to help me see like Jesi?" Oh that glasses would work!!!!!!!!

I'm in love with you, my Lexi Li! I am so privileged to be your mother!!

The Abominable Snow Pants

Jeremy has these awesome snow pants. They are black, bib overalls and are super fluffy/poofy. They make him look twice his size, especially in the "posterior" region. (: I've always been amused by them.

These pictures do not do the "poofiness" justice, but I'll share anyway and add a couple of cute pics of the kids.

Last week he had the opportunity to go skiing with his boss and his boss's boss. As he was packing, I gently suggested (maybe with a little giggle) he consider getting some new snow pants since this was a business ski trip. Jeremy doesn't like spending money on himself, especially when the old pants "work perfectly fine." I worked and worked on him, telling him how much use he would get out of some new pants and how much better he would feel in them. He finally caved and ended up buying himself some nice ski pants.

I was so glad to see this picture he just emailed me of his ski trip yesterday with his brothers. The pants have been passed on to Tyler. (:

Painted Nails

Jesi and her friend were having fun painting their nails. Xander saw that Sophi was feeling left out and decided to do hers. How'd he do? (:

It's all fun and games until someone gets hurt!

This is one of Xander's and Sophi's favorite games. She's the baby, he's the daddy. Oftentimes Jessica is the mommy, and once in awhile I get roped into being grandma. I'm not sure the purpose of dragging her around in a laundry bssket, but it works for them. They love it, and I thought it very cute. Cute enough to take pictures.

Then the other day as I was rushing into my room to get something, my foot accidentally got entangled in the rope that was still tied to the laundry basket. I was rounding a corner, the rope pulled tight, and there was nothing I could do but fall absolutely flat on my face. Hard. My head, neck, and back felt like it had landed on asphalt. Parker couldn't understand why it hurt me so much. He tried falling down flat, and said it was no big deal. Guess I'm just getting OLD. A couple of days and muscle relaxants later, I was no worse for the wear, but I am a bit more strict on untying the ropes when they are done with their little game. (: