my precious alexis... a teenager???? no way!!!

today, my precious lexi lu lu turns 13.  i'm pretty sure she hates when i call her that!  but since she offically turned a "TEENAGER" today, making me OLD... i'm going to call her lexi lu lu!! 

 

wow!  holy "no make-up laurie!"  but look at lex... man is she gorgeous!!!

 how precious is that... lex and her daddy!!

 

 

when my kids have a birthday, i try to blog about them... make them feel as special as they really are to me!!

 

with brady and brittin, i can share the stories of their births... but with my other four kids, i can't... i wasn't there...  but i do remember the first day i met lex...

I will never forget the day I met Lex. It was a Thursday. It was our first “family date”. She and Mike came to our house to eat pizza and play Wii. The kids had so much fun together, they begged to have a sleep over! I fell in love with Lexi that day.

 

here we are in 2010!!  look how YOUNG she looks!!!! 

 

I’d be lying if I said that our journey together has been perfect. Just because Mike and I fell in love doesn’t mean Lex had the same feelings! I think we had the “honeymoon” period where we were all so excited and having so much fun. Then the task of parenting starts. Brady and Brittin have had their whole lives to learn my “quirks” and personality flaws. Lex was thrown head first into my world!

 

 

Lex is amazing. I mean AMAZING! The day I met her… she was half hidden behind her dad, peeking out, all shy! When we’d go to a restaurant, she was too shy to order her own food. In a large group, she was quiet and reserved. I could tell she was missing out on so much fun! She was afraid to cut loose and be a kid! 

 

our first family vacay!  notice lex was SHORTER than me... then!!!

 

I love watching Brady, Brittin, and Lex together! It makes my heart smile! Mike and I know how lucky we are. So many times blended families don’t blend! Our children have gotten along from day one. And lexi is AMAZING with brittin! Not every child would embrace what it takes to be part of a family with a special needs child. Lex could easily be kind to Britt yet keep her distance but she does just the opposite! Lex knows everything about Britt! She takes care of her, helps her, plays with her! The other morning I went in to wake lexi up and I found brittin curled up in her bed with her. I said “why are you in lexi’s bed?” Half awake, she told me “because I love her”. (tears!)

 

 

lex and britt!!

 

 

lex has proven to be a MUCH STRONGER person than i think she ever thought she could be!! after six years at the same elementary school, lext made the big leap to becoming a JIMMIE!!!  in 6th grade, lex joined brady and began attending Jimtown Schools!! 

first day of 6th grade!  look at the terror on her face!!

 

 

not only did she switch schools... she also started playing her first sport... VOLLEYBALL!!! another huge leap!!!  I'm so stinking proud of you!!!

 





 WHY CAN'T I ROTATE THIS?!?!  Ok... turn your head i guess :(

yesterday, i put on this "snap back" cap and we were at church... i was joking around giving lex a hard time... and she BEGGED me to take it off.  apparently she's too cool for "snap backs"!!!

 

but she'll never be too cool to cuddle with our puppy rudy!!!  they were all tuckered out after a long drive!!  lex was always willing to go on a "friday adventure" with me during the summer!  i missed her soooo much when she went back to school.  she may not know that.... 

 

 see lex on the right... notice we are now THE SAME HEIGHT!!  who am i kidding... i'm in heels... she's TALLER than me!!

 

 

lex... you are simply spectacular!!  i love you in a million ways!!  thank you for being such a sweet and caring person!!  your heart is so big, im surprised it doesn't jump outta your chest!!  i appreciate you more than you will ever know and thank God for bringing you into my life!!!

 

i love you forever!!

laurnadoone