Thursday, March 28, 2013

Baby 2

Well, it's happening. Baby #2 is officially scheduled. I went to the doctor today expecting another routine blood pressure check and hearing the sweet heart beat and got way more than I bargained for.

I had to bring Pax today and I knew it wasn't going to be perfect when he started crying in the waiting room...before my appointment even started. I gave him some snacks and Scout and hoped for the best. We went back to the exam room where the nurse mentioned that Dr. Lewis would be checking me today. Umm what? I was POSITIVE that when I asked last time they said they started checking at 36 weeks which is still 7 whole days away. Then, as I laid back on the table for her to listen to P2's heart beat, Pax lost it. We're talking level 10 freak out mode. He threw everything he could get his hands on and was literally screaming. I tried to talk to him and sing to him and turn on Mickey but he was hysterical. The nurse was not so friendly about my situation and threw the sheet down on the table and walked out without a word. I quickly called my mom, who works a mile away, to come watch Pax for the rest of the appointment. Fortunately, she made it before the doctor came in.

She gave me my Group B strep test and checked me. I was already a fingertip dilated which freaked me out a little. With Pax, nothing happened until I think 38 weeks. She asked if I wanted to be induced since I had to be induced with Pax and since my blood pressure still isn't ideal. I said I did. I liked the idea of going into labor this time just to see what it was like, but with needing someone to watch Pax and the fear of thinking I was in labor and going to the hospital and getting sent home, I decided that induction would be just fine. When she found out that Pax was 9 pounds the day after his due date, she suggested we get things going at 39 weeks. That sounded pretty good to me so we scheduled the induction for April 25. Holy crap. That means P2 will be here in 28 days. We have 4 more weekends to get EVERYTHING ready! It's weird because we knew this was coming...it's only a few days sooner than what we were expecting, but having an actual date set made things seem so real...and imminent! We're having a BABY in less than a month!!


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Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Paxton's Second Birthday!

 We decided to do a Mickey Mouse theme for Paxton's party this year since he is obsessed with Mickey.  It was hard to find Mickey-themed things that weren't too cartoony, so we went with a lot of red, black and yellow.

I made a monthly photo banner again because I loved it so much last year:
 And my sweet friend Tabatha made a Mickey banner to hang up when guests walked in:


 I made some chocolate Mickey cupcakes:

 And we put out a bunch of Paxton's favorite foods.  We had Mickey-shaped peanut butter and honey sandwiches:
 And blueberries and strawberries and Cheetoh Puffs.

 Tabatha also made this Paxton banner:

 Here is all the food--Butter Pecan cupcakes, chocolate Mickey cupcakes, Cinnamon Roll cupcakes, chocolate cake balls, sandwiches, fruit and Cheetohs.
The Thompson's were the first to arrive and Paxton was excited to see Blakely when he woke up from his nap.

The party was supposed to be in the back yard, which would have been great for the amount of people that came, but the forecast kept changing in the days leading up to the party and it ended up being cold and drizzly so we had to stay inside.

After everyone arrived, we headed to the kitchen to sing Happy BIrthday to Paxton.  As soon as the candle was lit, he started singing Happy Birthday to himself.  He was really excited when everyone sang Happy Birthday to him.  He just smiled and looked at everyone the whole time.

 When the song was over, he knew it was time to blow out the candle:

blowing the candle out
 And then eat his cupcake:

Paxton was finally big enough to open his own presents this year!




He got lots of fun presents...some that he wanted to open and play with right away.

Like this truck from Addi Claire that he and Blakely played with together:
(this one is for their wedding slide show)


 And his new Pillow Pet, Boomer:



Pax and Granny V
After presents, we just let the kids play together.
Pax and Addi Claire
Blakely
Kaleb
 One of Paxton's favorite presents was his circus tent from Blakely.  He loves going in and out of it:

He also loved his Kawasaki from Grandpa.  We have to watch him carefully on this because he definitely tries some XGames style stunts.
Paxton ended his party with a good-bye kiss for Blakely:
Even though the weather didn't work out for us and our living room was really crowded, it was still really special to have so many people there to celebrate our little boy.  He had a great time at his party this year and loved seeing everyone.

Thursday, March 21, 2013

Birthday Eve

Somehow it's here again...the day before Paxton's birthday. This one isn't a milestone birthday like last year when he went from a baby to a toddler overnight, but it still feels big to me.


After seeing how fast his first year flew by, I tried to enjoy every second of this year. I tried to savor every park trip, every second of smelling his hair while he cuddled in my lap to listen to a story, every precious night rocking him before bed. It still flew by.


This year we celebrated as he learned to walk, then all too quickly to run. We listened as his vocabulary developed and patiently tried to teach him that every word is not pronounced "dada". We bought him big brother t-shirts and read him books about babies, we tried to prepare him for the big change he has in store in a few months. Most nights we laid in bed whispering about all the funny or amazing things he had done that day. We peered anxiously into his mouth, waiting for more teeth to sprout. We took video footage as he finally mastered sliding on his own and as he learned to shoot hoops. We watched his feet grow and his hair grow. We saw his leg rolls start to disappear and turn into muscle. We saw the beginnings of him becoming a little boy.


We have big plans in store for our family this year: a new baby, possibly an across-the-country move...and I know this year will fly by even faster than the past years. So once again tonight, I will make a silent promise to Paxton to be present in the coming year. I will watch all of the tricks he shows me. I will listen to his new words, and hopefully as the year progresses, his stories. I will make him giggle and laugh my hardest when he returns the favor. I will not say no to another book, even after the thirtieth time we've read it that day. I will close my eyes and enjoy every hug he gives me and savor the feeling of his tiny, spitty hand in mine. I will be the best mommy I can be to him. I never knew how much I would love this sweet boy, and I will do everything I can to make sure he feels every drop of that love.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Sunday, March 17, 2013

Out-sah

Paxton requests a trip outside at least three times a day. Since it seems like spring is finally here in Oklahoma, we have been going out a lot.

He really likes to climb up in Daddy's chair. He thinks he's so big.





He also likes his basketball goal and always yells "hoop shot" when he dunks it.


We brought his water table out for the first time this year and he was so excited. He didn't even want toys in it, he just wanted to splash.


Since it was 72 degrees on Thursday, Pax and I had a lunch picnic outside. He sat and ate for a few minutes and then just ran around the yard with his food.


His very favorite thing to do in the yard is for Daddy to jump over him. I'm not sure why he likes this so much but he just cracks up the whole time.


(My husband has ups)

Paxton has also started requesting park trips a lot. He has finally mastered the slide. He can climb up and slide all by himself.











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Monday, March 11, 2013

Our Love Story

When Jared and I were in premarital counseling through our church, one of the things that most stuck with us was that our relationship needed to come first.  Jason told us that once we had kids, we would love them an awful lot, but to remember that we needed to put our relationship first...spouse before kids.  We started talking about it then.  We knew that was something that we wanted to always pursue.  We wanted our kids to know we loved them, and that we loved each other.  I think it's important for Paxton and any brothers or sisters he might have to know our love story.
We met when I was in 7th grade.  The bus stop was across the street from Jared's house.  We saw each other every morning, and his mom even let all of us wait for the bus on her porch or in her entry way hall when it was raining.  I remember seeing his little sister (about two at that time) playing on the floor in the living room while we were waiting for the bus at his house.  We talked a little and Jared even signed my yearbook in 8th grade: "Have a good summer. -Jared Miller (from the bus stop).
Fast forward through some not so great relationships for both of us to fall of 2002.  I worked at Marble Slab with a girl named Val, and we got to be pretty good friends.  We hung out a lot and I even started dating one of her friends.  I started hanging out with her friends some weekends, including Jared.  After about a month, the friend and I broke up and Jared made his move.  He came up to me at my locker and asked me on a date.  We went to dinner at House of Hunan and to the school play, Steel Magnolias on December 6, 2002.  My sister started dating one of his friends and we mostly hung out in groups.
We took a short break from April 2003 to July.  We started hanging out again and were starting to get really serious.  We were both nervous that I was going off to college (at OU...just 30 minutes away, but it seemed far away) and he had one more year of high school.  We made it through the "long distance" and so much more.  I went to Florida for an internship with the Walt Disney World College Program.  Jared was there for the drive there and the drive home, and everything in between.  We missed each other a lot and it was probably the hardest thing we've gone through but we made it.  I still like to look back at those emails he sent me during that time, I could definitely tell how much he loved me.


We took another break from September 2005 to September 2006.  We talked a lot while we were broken up.  I know we both still had feelings for each other, but we also both had a lot of growing up to do.  When we got back together, we knew it was for real.


On April 15, 2008, I came home from work to find my living room dark.  There were candles lit and flowers on the table.  Jared had made a beautiful dinner of steak, baked potatoes, rolls and salad.  He was wearing a shirt and tie.  After we ate, he took me to "our spot" at Lake Hefner.  Our first Valentine's Day together back in 2003, Jared had taken me to House of Hunan and we had taken the food out to Lake Hefner and shared a sunset picnic by the water.  That was where we were sitting when he took my hand, told me how much he loved me (and some other things) and asked me to marry him.


  We planned a wedding and bought a honeymoon package.  Jared helped me make almost every decision about the wedding.  He was so involved and I knew I was lucky.  We got married on June 6, 2009 at Boulevard Chapel.  It was a medium-sized wedding (big for that chapel), and it was perfect.
We left the next morning for our honeymoon in Puerto Vallarta.  It was the most amazing week of my life.






We came home and settled in with our pets.


Jared graduated from college,
and got his dream job at Third Degree Advertising.


I graduated from college and got a big girl job too.


We had heard that the first year of marriage was the hardest, but we cruised through it.  We celebrated our one year anniversary with a trip to Kansas City.


 Not long after our trip, we found out we were about to be a family of three.  We were excited to tell our families and couldn't even wait to go to the doctor first.  The day after we found out, we made the rounds to everyone's houses and told them.  Jared was amazing throughout the pregnancy.  He refused to let me pick up anything heavier than my purse, he came with me to every single doctor's appointment and made me feel better after my doctor told me I was getting too fat.  He discussed baby names as well as every single development Baby Paxton was making in my tummy.  He was ecstatic to find out we were having a little boy.  Every night we would lay in bed with his hand on my stomach and feel Paxton moving around. 






We became a family of three on March 22, 2011.  Jared has been the most amazing dad and husband.  He changes the poopy diapers when he's home and Paxton loves playing with him.  I am so grateful that he has put up with me for all these years and helped me grow up.  He works so hard so that I can stay home, and he never complains about the sacrifices we have to make.  In fact, when I complain sometimes, he reminds me how lucky he and Paxton are to have me at home.  He really is perfect.
In August of 2012, we found out our family would be growing some more.  We wanted Paxton and his sibling to be two years apart and grow up close together, we were on track to get our wish.  Again with this pregnancy, he has been there for me.  He puts his hand on my tummy almost every night to feel P2 move.  He was just as excited as I was the first time he felt him move.
I know that I picked the right guy.  I know this is the man that is supposed to be the daddy to my boys.  I know this is the man that is supposed to take care of me each time I'm sick or sad or stressed.  Every day we get a little closer together, we learn how to compromise and how to fight fairly.  We have come a long way in the past almost four years and I would have to say that things are perfect.