Tumultuous

I guess I don't know the singular of Tumultuous. Tumult?? The Clifton house is in Tumult right now. Lexi is getting to that almost walking stage, which means she is knocking her little noggin on everything. She even fell into the bath tub while trying to reach her quack quacks (rubber duckys). I think she was scared more than hurt. She is a tough little gal. She hits something and then just moves on. Too tough for pain. Except for teething pain. She has 4 teeth coming in right now. Lots of screaming from a little person. Jon and I took turns holding her almost all night last night. She isn't very interested in eating or drinking. I need to re-read the no cry sleep solution on teething because this poor gal needs all the help she can get.

Then there is the big bed purchase. We bought our first queen bed less than 2 years ago. We've hated it since about a month after the purchase. 14 day exchange period, wouldn't you know. So we ventured out last week to buy a new bed, hoping not to pay both an arm and a leg. Our existing bed is in pristine condition since we used a water proof mattress cover, so I hated spending money on something that in theory we already owned. So we chose a Simmons memory foam mattress from a salesman who spent more time telling us how honest he is than I care to hear from a salesman. We went home and found only good reviews. Then a guy named Romeo delivered the mattress, and I was hoping it was a sign of good things. Last night between Lexi only sleeping about a half hour at a time and the bed, which was making my arms fall asleep and left me with hip pain worse than before we started this venture, well, now you see why we are feeling Tumult...

I have given Jon the 'make it work moment' (shhhh don't tell us who won project runway, we are a month behind on TV), and he will need to make the bed work for me and him, or exchange it, or get me a sleeping bag with a bit of padding. Jon and Benji both loved the bed. Figures! Tonight we are going on a date. Probably about an hour long date and then a hope beyond hope that Lexi goes to bed early so we can sleep.

Lexi is Walking, With Help

This little girl is growing up way too fast!

Tending Roses

A few years ago I read a book called Tending Roses. It was the journey of a new mom from career and keeping up with the Joneses to moving to her grandmother's old house and learning about life. When the new mom was most stressed about people taking over her work and not being able to make payments on the boat and the country club membership, she found a note from her grandmother. When her grandmother moved into that house as a newlywed, she took pride in tending her rose garden. It was a beautiful garden, and it was representative of the effort she put into being a homemaker. The grandmother's letter put aside the beauty of the garden by saying "The best times of my life were when the roses grew wild." She was busy caring for her kids.

We live in one of those neighborhoods where the Joneses struggle to keep up with each other. Many people are retired, and you wouldn't find a weed anywhere in their yard. On the other hand, meet the Cliftons. We try to keep the front yard nice. We work on the back when we can. I pulled some weeds last week that were taller than I am. But, this is the best time of my life. Go ahead and grow weeds. You'll meet your match some day!

Speaking of Lexi, I am having some challenges. The baby whisperer defines Lexi as "Spirited." She doesn't want to sit still to get changed, to eat, to dress. Always exploring, getting into everything. I feel like she is fighting me. She and I need to take a few days to re-establish a good way of communicating and work together to develop a way to change clothes without any crying by either of us. And in the mean time, please don't expect her to be wearing pants.

As I tend my gorgeous little rose, I need to take time away from the computer. It sucks me in sometimes, and I feel like Lexi needs me right now. And I know I need her. -Jenni

Fancy Dancing Lexi

The Amazing Lexi

Lexi can now climb all the way up the stairs in about a minute's time. She amazes us every day. She can pick Elmo and Mickey out of a line up of toys. She presses buttons on her musical toys until the song she prefers comes on and then she dances and smiles. She lights up when she sees someone she knows. She is all in all a pretty amazing little girl.

I feel like we are not taking enough pictures of her. Many, many of the pictures we take are blurry because she moves so much. In fact, she does not ever sit still. It's hard to explain, but she has to always be moving and exploring. Benji is not impressed with this new found movement. She'll be walking soon, before she's one, and then Benji will really have a problem on his paws.

Here are some pics from our recent trip to the westside of the state. We really miss our friends that live there. Lexi got to meet a 13 month old and a 9 month old. I think the girls really enjoyed each other's company. They were worn out way too quickly, and then the parents, who have been known to stay up until 3am, had to leave to get the kids into bed. We look forward to many more trips to see them.






We also got to spend some time with our cousin's family, who just moved from Michigan to Bellingham, WA. It was great to see them and get to know them all a bit better. They live in a beautiful area of the world. Lake view, trees, quiet. I thought we took more pictures while we were there, but again, they were all pretty blurry. Lexi loved her cousins though. It will be good to see them more often too!