October

Well, as mentioned on Pax's 19 month post, someone has been awfully sick. He started running a fever the Saturday before his "birthday" and had a rash all over his trunk. I took him to the doctor on Monday since he had had a fever for three days at that point. Dr. Campbell did a strep test which was negative. He said it was just a virus and should clear up in a few days.


Unfortunately, on Tuesday evening, his fever spiked to 104. We freaked out a little and called the after-hours doctor. He said that a kid shouldn't have a fever for more than 72 hours and that if it went up any more we would have to take him to the E.R. He said the next day we needed to take him back to his doctor. Fortunately, his fever went down the rest of the night and was gone by morning.


He still had the rash, but we thought maybe it was an allergic reaction or something and unrelated to whatever else had been going on.


While he was sick, he was really sleepy and calm. A couple times he took two naps a day. We tried to keep him busy with calm activities like watching Mickey on the iPad. It was one of the first times he has just sat and watched it.


I think we are finally closing the door on the throwing food stage. Lately, when he's finished eating, he will pile all his remaining food in the cup section of his tray instead of throwing it down.


He also has been trying some Halloween candy this year. Last year he missed out.





And this year, he was old enough to paint his own pumpkin.





He has been loving his Cookie Monster lately, even though it doesn't sing anymore.


And now that it's cooler, we have been bundling up more to play outside.


And mowing with Daddy.


We had a small victory as parents last night. Paxton has been obsessed with turning off and on the TV and pushing assorted buttons. Last night, we got a mounting kit and mounted it. We haven't drilled holes for the cords yet, so they're awkwardly dangling, but we didn't want to wait and risk him pulling the TV off on himself or breaking it.

He can't reach it.


He was pretty disappointed.


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NINETEEN MONTHS!!

Paxton is 19 months old today. It has started off a little rough, he has had a fever for a few days now and a rash. We went to the doctor today and it turns out that he has a viral infection similar to the German Measles...that explains why his pictures are less active and smiley than usual.


At 19 months, Paxton:

-is trying to say everything we say. He doesn't really make the right sounds, but his tone and rhythm are always an exact match. Most new words sound a lot like dada. He has a little driving toy that he plays with in the car and it says "slow down", so now the whole time we're driving he says "slow down" to us. He also says "all gone" and hands us his cup if he wants more to drink. He says "hi", "bye", "love you", and "miss you" also.


-understands a lot of what we say. We were playing in his room one night and I teasingly told him to throw his shoe to Daddy. He picked it up off the floor and hurled it at Jared. He is also starting to make connections to different versions of things. While we were in the waiting room at the doctor's office, I showed him "fishies" in his book. He looked immediately over at the fish tank. He has done things like that several times now and I always think it's pretty cool.


-has added hand and knee to the body parts he can consistently point out. He pulls up his shirt and points to his belly button whenever he hears the word "button" in any context. He has started kind of blowing kisses and making a kissing noise.


-hates having his hair brushed but has gotten more patient with getting dressed. He is still wearing 18-24 month clothes and some 2T shirts and pajamas. We moved him up to size 5 diapers because he was drinking a lot more and leaking.


-has learned how to turn on and off the TV and the accessories (like the Blu Ray player). It is definitely one of his more annoying skills and it is not limited to our house. He is drawn to everyone's entertainment systems and always tries to turn things on and off.


-has started crawling again to be funny. He will crawl super fast and just crack up at himself. He can walk backwards and sideways and run without falling down. He will also walk holding our hands IF he feels like it. He has started standing up like a big kid, he will get up on one knee and stand up like a normal person instead of pushing up to all 4's and standing up. It's hard to explain but it makes him look really big. He is still climbing on the couch and other furniture every chance he gets, but he is much more careful up there now. He can always get down safely and he stays away from the edge really well.


-wants to eat whatever we are eating or drinking. He takes my cup and just starts drinking it constantly. Fortunately, with this pregnancy it's almost always water or Crystal Light so at least he isn't getting Coke. If we give him something different for dinner than what we have, he refuses to eat. He just reaches for what we have and says "unt dis" (I want this) until he gets it.


-loves smoothies, chocolate milk, pancakes, mandarin oranges, pasta, any kind of beans and powdered sugar donuts. He eats pretty much everything right now...I can't think of the last time he refused anything. He still throws things down when he's through eating at home but has gotten MUCH more pleasant at restaurants. The last several times we have been, he has eaten a ton of food, thrown nothing down and been really sweet. He figured out coloring on 10/13 and he will do that for a few seconds instead of eating the crayons.


-has learned how to work most of his toys. Now instead of dragging his Sing Along Elmo to wherever I am all day, he can just push the button and make it sing.


-has learned how to give hugs. He lays his head down on your chest and snuggles in. It is precious.


He is such a fun little boy and this month, his personality is really starting to show. He is definitely an oldest child: he loves attention and making us laugh. He is independent but likes to be close to me. He likes to have a routine, and is starting to recognize what comes next. He has really bonded with Jared this month and has special games he will only play with him. He is learning something new almost every day.

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OU/Texas

We carried on the tradition of heading south for the OU/Texas game last weekend. We missed it last year because Paxton was in a stage where he wasn't great in the car. I think we also missed it the year before when I was pregnant because Jared was out of town. Other than that, we have gone down every year since the first fall Tabatha and I were friends.

The trip and our activities have definitely changed since the first few years, but it is still a great time...I would say it's even better now that we have kids.

We headed down Friday afternoon. Pax took his nap in the car and did really well on the whole drive.


After checking in to our hotel, we headed to the Thompson's house for dinner. Tabatha is always the best hostess. She made us chili and corn bread for dinner.

The next morning, we decided to just watch the game at their house. It was right in the middle of Paxton and Blakely's nap.

After the game, we attempted a photo shoot of the babies. Paxton had peed through his shorts during his nap, ad Blakely was ready for her nap, so it wasn't hugely successful. It was fun though.











This was my favorite part...Blakely put her hand on Pax's shoulder:


And he grabbed her hand and held it!!!


Then he held on to her foot.


He melts my heart.

This was the end of the shoot...and hilarious:


The next morning before we headed home, we stopped at a cute little pumpkin patch.

Paxton had his first pony ride:


And petted some goats:


And a chicken:


And tried out the hay maze:





He also got to try out a bounce house for the first time. There was only one other little boy in there, who was just about the same age so it was perfect. They bounced around together for a few minutes and had a great time.


We had such a fun trip and loved getting to see our besties! It is amazing to watch our babies grow up together.

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Lately

Last week, Jared had two back-to-back trips that kept him out of town for a whole week. After his first trip, he had one day at home so we took full advantage. We made homemade bread, went to the pumpkin patch, watched the OU game, and went to the mall to check put one of his client's ads that was there. While we were at the mall, we decided to let Paxton ride the rides for the first time.


It moved pretty fast so it was hard to get a good picture. He really liked it and kept turning the steering wheel (how do they learn things like that?).


Then, Sunday morning he was gone again. Paxton came to church with me and spent his first Sunday in the nursery. It was a disaster. He escaped from the nursery at one point and when I went to pick him up, they said he had cried almost the whole time. I think we might have waited too long for this one.


When we got home, all he wanted to do was be right beside me or on top of me.

He also spent some time playing with the airplane Daddy brought home from his first trip. This is definitely his favorite toy right now. He is obsessed.





Then, that night he started getting sick. He had a runny nose, a cough, a low fever and just didn't seem like he felt good in the evenings. We had dinner with Gramsy on Tuesday night, and Paxton was laughing, but at the same time he was completely reclined in his seat and just not really acting like he felt good.


We went to the doctor the next day, just to make sure he was okay and we weren't going to be bringing any germs to Texas that weekend to see our friends. Dr. Campbell wasn't in so we saw Jared's old pediatrician who is in the same practice. He had a basketball hoop in the exam room that Pax thought was pretty cool.


Dr. Simmons said that Paxton had either a sinus infection or just a cold. He put him on Amoxicillin in case it was a sinus infection. He said if it was a cold, the medicine wouldn't help and he might still be contagious to go see Blakely.

We stopped at Sonic on the way home and little sickie got a grape slush.


The medicine did help and Pax started feeling better. We spent the rest of the week without Daddy playing outside a lot.





And going to the park.





And playing with Halloween decorations.


Then Daddy came back and everything was normal again. It was tough to have a sick kid when I was "single parenting", but we are lucky to have family around and a good doctor's office that can always squeeze us in.

Yesterday, Jared had a meeting at work that he couldn't miss, so Paxton came with me to my baby doctor appointment. I was definitely nervous about how it would go, especially since the kid hates the stroller unless it's moving. I brought tons of snacks, including powdered sugar donuts.


He ended up doing really well, even though he had to wait for them to get my flu shot ready and to hook up the ultrasound machine. We ended up being there for about an hour and he barely fussed at all. I was so relieved! We came home and played on the couch, and Paxton showed me his "cheese" face.


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So How's It Going the Second Time Around?

Symptoms: I was super nauseous from the first day of Week 6 until the first day of Week 9. I never actually threw up (just like with Pax) but I felt miserable all day every day. With Pax, I would get nauseous off and on, especially if I needed to eat, but this time I was just sick all day and all night. Eating helped a little but the nausea never abated. Then, the day before we left for Chicago, I woke up feeling great. I've felt much better ever since (except for a rough few moments in the Chicago airport).

For the first few weeks, I would crash every day around 3:00. It didn't matter what I was doing, I would just fall asleep for about 30 minutes every day. Luckily, this is during Paxton's nap. I still get tired most days when 3:00 rolls around but I can usually make it without a nap.

Cravings/Aversions: I have once again lost my taste for Diet Coke. I know that drinking regular Coke was a big part of how much weight I gained with Paxton, so I'm keeping that to a minimum this time. I also cannot stand to see or even think about carrots. I have been craving eggs...especially at lunch time. Sausage and egg McMuffins from McDonald's are perfect. I have also been craving fruit this time...fruit and yogurt parfaits are one of the things that I have been eating a lot of. And, as stereotypical as this is, pickles are on the list. We were at the grocery store, I saw a huge jar of pickles and I got really excited. Jared thought I was joking...but it came home with us and we went through it fast. Water with lemon has also been something I've been wanting which is weird because I've never liked water.

Baby Bump: Yes. I had heard it would happen early this time, and it did. I am already in maternity pants and already have a little bump.

Baby Development: Little Baby Miller #2 (or Poppy as we've been calling it since it starts with P like Paxton and was the size of a poppy seed when we found out) is growing just like it should be. We had our first ultrasound at nine weeks:


And then another one today at 11 weeks:


We haven't heard the heartbeat yet, but saw it flickering on the screen during the ultrasound today.

So, things are going well. We are excited for Paxton to be a big brother. We think he'll adjust really well. He really likes babies and is really sweet with them, so we're hoping that carries over. Baby 2 has one outfit so far: a onesie we bought it at Hard Rock in Chicago. This pregnancy is going much faster than Paxton's, and I am trying to enjoy it since it could be the last one.

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Finding Out

 (This post was written in August--so some things have changed. We have told the families, the world at large, and have had our first appointment)

We were hoping that this (August) was the month. For a number of reasons, we had concluded that May would be the perfect month for Baby #2's birthday. I had taken a test the Sunday before (which was five days early) and it had been negative. Prior to that test, I was pretty confident that I was pregnant because I thought that I had felt the implantation. After the "Not Pregnant" showed up, we both convinced ourselves that this wasn't the month.

Thursday was THE DAY...and it came and went without incident. I haven't always been right on schedule so it didn't mean a lot to me, but it was enough to convince Jared that I needed to test again on Saturday morning (two days late). As we sat there and watched the hour glass, we were both pretty sure it was negative. We talked about how fast the "Pregnant" had shown up with Paxton (which probably wasn't fast at all at the time, but seems fast in retrospect), and how this one was taking forever. Just like with Paxton, just as we had convinced ourselves that it would be negative, "Pregnant" appeared! We were both speechless, but so excited!



We knew that we wanted to wait a few weeks to tell our families because some people were already suspicious. We didn't want to awkwardly get everyone together and have them basically know before we announced it. Since my birthday was a short month away, we decided to wait for that so we would organically all be together with no suspicion.

We went to Johnnie's for a celebratory breakfast (which coincidentally is the place we frequented most often for breakfast while I was pregnant with Paxton). I tried to ease Jared's nerves by telling him that two wouldn't be that much harder than one (I fully expect to eat my words on that one...but when your husband is a stress ball, you say what you have to say).



Other than the breakfast, and trying to once again limit my caffeine intake, things haven't changed much. I think we are waiting for the first appointment and finally getting to tell everyone to make it real!

Also I was able to wait approximately four days before buying Paxton his first Big Brother t-shirt, and I have stopped myself two separate but equally difficult times from buying tiny newborn sleepers.

Big News!

Paxton has a little secret...





Coming May 2013!


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