Fo-hawk.

Why yes, I did fo-hawk Lexi's hair today. It was too hard to resist doing and soooo cute! 

She definitely rocked it.

 

No Pants Lexi!

 The other day, I walked into Lexi's room a few minutes after she woke up from a nap, and this is what I saw: Lexi, bouncing in her crib, with her pants on the floor. She thought it was totally hilarious, and frankly, so did I! NO PANTS LEXI!!!!

Utah?! Utah.

I swore on my life that I would never live in Utah with my family. Terrell said the same thing.

However, we're going to stay in Utah.

We made this decision because of Lexi and we feel good about our decision which is VERY surprising for me; that means that it is definitely the right decision.

We wanted to keep Lexi close to Primary Children's Hospital and with her current specialists, in her therapy program, etc and decided that we were going to move closer to SLC. We won't be moving until April/May, and we still don't know where yet. We're looking into Pleasant Grove, Lehi, West Jordan, etc. Definitely not in Provo, though. Or Orem! :)

Positives of staying in Utah: Primary Children's Hospital, 2 siblings live here (with their respective spouses or almost spouse), temples are all around, access to Church stuff, mountains, extended family, Jodi will be coming out here for school in 1.5 years, and we don't have to spend as much money in our move.

Who knows how long we will be here, but definitely for a lot longer than we expected! Terrell is currently looking for jobs, so if anyone knows of any good ones...!

She's a hoot.

Happy things.

I decided to think of lots of happy things and write them down!

Lexi qualifying for her therapy program
Clearance stuff at Target.
My husband looking ultra handsome in his business attire today
Naps
Skyping with my family members
Seeing a SUPER cute, TINY water dragon at PetSmart that I named Archimedes  (even though I can't get him)
Getting a van SoOn
Lexi's infection getting better
Lexi getting better at sleeping
Hearing Lexi say DORA
Watching Lexi dance to any kind of music
A clean house
Getting things in the mail
A 2-year magazine subscription for only $15
Comfy pants
A neighbor who kindly watched a screaming Lexi for 5-10 min while I ran an errand for Terrell
The prospect of moving out of Provo in 3 months
Netflix
Reading reading reading
Lexi figuring out how to clap! SUCH an exciting thing
New cell phones next month
Best friend is pregnant and shows me all the cool baby stuff she gets
A new baby nephew in the next month or so

Daddy's Girl

Lexi just loves her daddy. She always calls for him while he's gone and they are best pals! Here is from after church one Sunday. I thought they both looked so cute, I had to take a picture. The last one is my favorite!

(PS: You can see Lexi's mark leftover from the sticker of the lips we put on her the night before! Hehe!)

Anaxemander.

He's a Chinese Water Dragon. He was named after some awesome Roman general.

Be jealous.

It's just one thing after another, I guess!

I'll try and make this short and sweet.
We received the results for Lexi's last round of blood tests yesterday and luckily her Protein C & S came back normal. Unfortunately they found something else....

Lexi has an elevated lipoprotein-a. In adults, this is a high cholestoral, but for Lexi, they aren't sure what it means. She doesn't have high fat levels - it has something to do with the consistency of her blood being prone to clotting.
This is a rare condition and they aren't sure how to remedy it for little children, let alone babies! Her hemotologist is researching what's next; we should hear back next week.

What does this mean for Lexi? It means that she is at a high risk of having another stroke. Or having a heart attack. She's only 11 months. Can you believe it??? My poor little sunshine! Luckily her brain/past stroke area is stable right now, so we're not expecting her next stroke to happen, say, next week or something (hopefully it'll happen NEVER!) Having a high lipoprotein-a also puts her at risk for a coronary heart disease.

Right now, she has a stomach/intestinal virus - ya  know - because she needs something ELSE going on! Poor girl.

She is such a hoot! Right now she's putting her pretty beads around her neck and dancing in front of a mirror! We're so lucky that Lexi is a normal little baby in every way - except for these random things she's had to deal with - and possibly with have to for the rest of her life! I'm so proud of her for her happy little sunshine-y demeanor and her absolutely silliness!

Lexi Lexi Lexi Lee!

We went to the neurologist yesterday. She was a great doctor and specializes in strokes. She is even involved in a national research project regarding pediatric strokes!

Lexi is doing great. Her development for everything (expect her right hand) is right on target, if not above what it should be. She did have a focal seizure (a partial seizure where the seizure only happens on a specific area of the brain - in her case, near the cyst) last week. Because she has had a stroke in the past, she is more susceptible to having seizures, particularly if she is sick, stressed, dehydrated, or sleep-deprived for any reason. It is fairly likely that within the next 3-12 months she COULD have another seizure, but we opted not to put her on any medicine for it. If she does have another one, however, the neurologist wants to put her on medicine. We are sincerely hoping that she doesn't have any more! :) She will be meeting with the neurologist again in April.

We will be meeting with "Early Intervention Services" to be evaluated and tested to see if Lexi does indeed qualify for their program. This program will allow her to have an in-home therapist that meets with her every so often. The neurologist really wants her to be in the program so hopefully she will qualify! These are the people that would be putting her right hand in a splint at night to help with the stretching, and positioning.

Lexi is doing so great! We are so grateful for all the wonderful doctors, nurses, lab techs, etc that have taken a special interest in Lexi and her well-being. We're also very grateful that our little girl is developing perfectly, and has the happiest demeanor of ANY baby I've ever known! Thanks to all the people who keep her in their prayers! :)

D-d-d-d-d-Dora!

Lexi loves Dora the Explorer! She just got these Dora jammies a few weeks ago and loves them! She also watches Dora on Netflix and will go right up to the TV so she can watch! She has a Dora placemat for eating since she's so messy! I say, "Lexi, who is this?" Lexi says, "D! D! D!"

(she also loves playing with my shoes, as you can see! hehe!)

Look how big she's getting! She'll be one NEXT month! AH!

KISS!

We stuck a sticker on Lexi to make it look like a big ol' kiss! She thought it was hilarious! She had it on for about an hour! Unfortunately, when we took it off, it still had the shape of lips on her cheek...for a whole other day!!!!

Update on Lexi Lee!

Lexi gave us quite a scare yesterday! She had a minor focal seizure yesterday and we took her to the ER at Utah Valley. She received another CT Scan on her brain. They found inflammation in her sinus cavities (due to a recent cold) and possible shrinkage near the cyst on her brain. Her brain was stable which meant she did NOT have another stroke which is EXCELLENT news! However, we will be headed back up to Primary Children's Hospital on Tuesday to see a neurologist to determine what it could have been and make sure everything is really peachy keen! This will probably mean another MRI to get good pictures.

She also had more blood tests today to check her levels for something or other, protein C & S, and other blood clotting possibilities. They are still working to determine what may have caused her stroke. The doctor is quite puzzled because she is so smart and so strong for her age yet has these little episodes! What a trooper!

On the bright side, she's a silly, upbeat, happy little girl! She can almost walk and loves to read books, play in the mirror, and kiss her baby doll. She is getting so much hair and it's very blonde! She likes to try and give you her binky when she knows that she is supposed to be going to bed and doesn't want to! It's pretty funny. She also likes to jump on our bed. She loves her daddy and LOVES to say "Dad! Dad! Dad!" all day long. We love our little girl! :)

11 for '11

Can you believe it's 2011?! That's ridiculous.

Here are our updates - 11 updates a person cuz it's '11! :)

Terrell

1. Begins his last semester on Tuesday!!!!
2. Looking for internship/job! (Anyone who knows of any good ones for recreation/facility management and planning - let us know!)
3. Got some cool bike gear for Christmas and has been riding in the snow!
4. Ready to be done with school (he wanted to make sure that was on here...lots!)
5. Is now a member of Gold's Gym!
6. Is the best daddy ever
7. Is the best husband ever
8. Loves Cheetos & Mountain Dew
9. Always wins at Scrabble
10. Wants a handgun. Typical guy.
11. Designed his own Toyota Tacoma online that we will never be able to afford. :)

Kellie

1. Started LexiBean again
2. Stays at home with her little Lexi-bean! :)
3. Cooks, cleans, and...that's about it!
4. Reading = favorite.
5. Really wants a crab. And a chinese water dragon (lizard).
6. Trying to lose 30 pounds by May!
7. Heroes and Bones are my current favorite TV shows
8. ALMOST wins at Scrabble
9. Has dance parties with Lexi almost every day
10. Best friend from Ankeny, Megan, just got engaged!
11. Likes to wear ponytails on top of her head

Lexi

1. Loves Dora the Explorer
2. Thinks mirrors are pretty cool
3. Can stand up by herself
4. Likes to get thrown on the bed
5. Squeals. A lot.
6. Loves to read - even by herself
7. Throws her beloved binky on the ground when she throws temper tantrums
8. Has a lot of blonde hair
9. Will be one year old NEXT month! AH!
10. Made us invest in a splat mat for under our table cuz she is a messy eater.
11. Playing in the bath is the best thing ever. She even tries to leap in with her clothes on.