What a Week

This has been one of the craziest weeks we've had in quite awhile. I'm definitely glad the weekend is here and we can spend some time getting back on track.

Most notably, Paxton finally mastered clapping! He has been flapping his arms and saying "yay" for about seven months now, so we were very surprised when he suddenly figured it out (sitting on a table at Taco Bell no less).

We have been having a little trouble getting him to eat veggies. He will eat any fruit in huge quantities but he only eats veggies if they're hidden. Jared thought he was pretty smart when he hid a green bean inside a spaghetti noodle (Pax's fave):


But Paxton just tossed it away:


And then cried the second time:


I thought this was hilarious...we were eating lunch with Jared last Friday when I broke out my newest toddler snack find. It was dried strawberries and bananas from Gerber. Pax was suspicious.


He ended up loving them but I love that we caught him checking them out skeptically first.

He has also been playing with his baby more often lately. He loves giving it kisses. I think it's super sweet because I was always a doll girl, but I know Jared hopes he grows out of it soon.





He's definitely a rambunctious little boy...he walks to the couch multiple times each day and demands "uhhh". He wants up to jump and fall and just basically go crazy on the couch.





He has also perfected the monkey "noises" (except for the part where he actually uses his voice box). He does "ooh ooh ahh ahh" very consistently now when he hears the word monkey or finds one of his stuffed monkeys.


My mom had to have surgery on Monday morning, so I have been with her a lot this week. On Monday, Jared had to take the day off work to keep Pax while I was at the hospital with her. Jared sent me this picture of a stroller ride to the park...Paxton was barefoot. I love those sweet little feet, and that I have a husband who thinks it's a special treat to be a stay-at-home dad, even if he takes our toddler to the park barefoot.


Now that my mom is resting comfortably at home, Paxton and I are reunited and we visit her every day.


She taught him pat-a-cake. He thinks it's awesome.


...really awesome:


Jared wouldn't let me buy these:


Jared and I were really impressed with ourselves when we found a solution for our restaurant difficulties with Paxton. He's usually happy when we're eating and okay to be confined while we eat, but he shrieks and throws things the entire time. The shrieking wasn't as bad because it was happy shrieking, but the throwing wasn't our favorite. His food would end up in the restaurant walkways and make a huge mess. We've both worked in restaurants and hate to leave messes like that for our servers. We have been working with him on not throwing food, and maybe half the time we can encourage him to eat it instead of throwing, but he still makes a mess. Today at lunch, we requested a booth and a booster seat and things went much better. He was tucked into the corner so his shrieks were muffled, and when he threw food, it just landed on Jared's side of the table and he could scoop it up and give it back to Paxton. Only one piece made it to the floor. Also, when he threw his sippy cup down, it just landed underneath our table instead of skittering across the floor to someone else's table. Everyone was happy.


And I can't help taking pictures when he falls asleep in his carseat...I think it's so sweet.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

This

As I was driving home from the grocery store the other day, I realized that I'm exactly where I want to be. This is the chapter of my life I've been waiting for. I have everything I have always wanted. As I realized it, a great song came on the radio and a glint of sunlight reflected off my ring and I reflected on what it symbolizes. I didn't necessarily grow up believing in marriage, I knew it was what I wanted eventually but I didn't really know what to expect from it and I didn't necessarily feel that mine would last forever. Obviously these feelings changed before I made the commitment with Jared, but that's where I came from.

As Jared and I started moving towards engagement, I realized that he wasn't what I expected. He was more...a lot more. I knew he would be faithful to me. I knew he would be an amazing father. I knew he would protect me and take care of me and make me feel special. I knew our marriage would work. My past was something we overcame together both on our own as a couple and in pre-marital counseling. When we got married I had a completely different outlook and we were happy. Now when I look at my ring, I think of our lives together. I think of standing in that chapel and making promises to him in front of our friends and families. I think of my best friend sitting next to me on the couch watching the Office, resting his hand on my pregnant stomach, patiently waiting to feel our son kick. I think of getting gray hair together, of bringing him cool washcloths when he doesn't feel good, and laughing. I'm so glad he picked me and that he made those promises and intends to keep them.

As I drove on, Paxton started babbling in the back seat and I acknowledged another layer of my happiness. We have a son that gets all of our attention when he's awake. He has so much love, he is surrounded by people that love him and will drop anything to spend time with him. Our families don't miss his milestones. They are here to watch his first few steps, to marvel at his first few smiles and to celebrate birthdays and to direct his path. He's ours. I get to be the first person he sees every morning. I have a carseat in my back seat and baby toys all over my living room and I couldn't be happier. This is the season of life I have always looked forward to. This is what I envisioned when I tried to imagine my adult life.

I have my dream job, we are working to buy the house we became a family in, we have pets that frustrate us to no end, but we love them anyway.

I know that we have more to look forward to. So many memories, maybe more kids, moves, new cars...life; but I don't know how anything can be as sweet as these moments as a happy family of three. We have everything.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

FIFTEEN MONTHS!!!

 Paxton is 15 months old today!  Here's what he's been up to this month:

•  He learned to walk!  This is obviously his biggest accomplishment this month.  Last month he was taking one or two steps at a time, and only if we stood right in front of him and begged him.  This month he is walking across the living room and down the hall because he wants to.  He probably walks 75% of the time now.  He can stand up without pulling up and he just goes.  If we are in the room, he will always look at us before he takes off to make sure he gets plenty of praise for his walking.  I love to watch him tottering around the house with his arms up in the air for balance.  He just looks so big!  I love when I have my back to him doing dishes or something and hear him coming and turn around and see him standing!  It always shocks me for a second.

This happened for the first time this month, he turned around and slid off the chair.

•  He is saying a few new words: "ahh" for up when he wants to get up on the couch or down from his high chair, "ahh" for eye when we ask him wear his eye is, "nah nah" which actually does mean night night sometimes...and sometimes we're not sure what it means, "uhhh-GAH" for again...usually when he wants me to read him the banana book for the 60th time (haha I said I wanted a reader).

•  He has FINALLY mastered clapping!  He has been trying since he was about seven months old.  He would flap his arms and say "yay" but could not get his hands to meet.  He finally got it down on Tuesday evening and has been obsessed with practicing ever since.

•  He loves to be read to right now.  He brings me books (usually the same two) all day every day.  He sits still and listens while I read for the most part, and figured out how to turn pages today.  When I finish the book, he usually demands that I read it again and again until we can distract him with something else.

•  He has gotten really cuddly this month.  If I'm on the floor with him, he will run into my arms and lay his head on my shoulder for a few seconds. He loves giving kisses right now (on his terms).  At the aquarium, Jared was holding him and I was standing next to him.  Paxton would give Jared a kiss and then turn quickly and give me a kiss.  He went back and forth about twenty times and was laughing the whole time.  It was really sweet.

•  He is still taking two naps a day but the morning nap is getting unpredictable.  It is sometimes much shorter than two hours and sometimes does not happen at all.  It will be nice when he drops it so we have more flexibility during the day.
• He can do some things on command such as stand up, clap, walk, point to his tummy, arms up, and we are working on pointing to his eye and ear (he gets those two confused and sometimes will just point to his nose).  When he is about to throw a piece of food, we can tell him to put it in his mouth and half the time he will obey.  He gets his feelings hurt really easily if we tell him no too sternly (it really doesn't take much), but if we don't tell him no sternly, he just smiles and shakes his head no and keeps doing whatever he was doing.  Discipline is tough right now.  We are mainly just redirecting him and distracting him.

•  He is still wearing size 4 diapers and 12-18 month clothes.  He was measured for his first pair of shoes and was at a 4.5.  His new shoes are 5's, but his 4's still fit.

•  He is eating three meals a day and snacks on demand.  He usually brings his snack container out of the diaper bag to me when he wants a snack.  He drinks about 20 ounces of milk each day and a few ounces of juice (mixed with water) some days.  He loves pizza and enchiladas and all fruit.  We have a hard time getting him to eat vegetables and sometimes bread.  Some meals he can't get enough food and some meals he throws everything on the floor. 

•  He can make the monkey sound "ooh ooh ahh ahh" but does it without much sound, he mostly makes the motions with his mouth.  He also will only do it if we do it first...so he doesn't do it when we ask him what sound a monkey makes.

Making the monkey sound

Starting to walk has made him seem so much bigger!  We really are starting to see more of the toddler side come out and he is definitely less of a baby.  He is getting really adept at communicating his needs and wants.  It really amazes me how fast he is learning to speak and understand.  We love our little toddler!

Tulsa Trip!

Last week, we were able to take a little family trip to Tulsa. Jared had to go for work and Paxton and I tagged along. We were planning on leaving around 3:00 and getting there in time to eat and swim before the Thunder game, but Jared ended up getting hit on his way to drop a proposal off.


He had to wait awhile for the police and the tow truck and then for me to come get him so we were late. We grabbed some pizza at Top That when we got to Tulsa and it was amazing. You could build your own pizza and they had all kinds of meat and fresh veggies. Paxton was super tired from getting woken up from his nap to pick Jared up so he wouldn't eat. He just sat in his high chair like this:


We thought a swim in the hotel pool would perk him up, but he almost fell asleep in his floatie so we took him to bed early. Jared and I stayed up and watched the Thunder game. The next morning we got to eat breakfast at the hotel, but Jared had to leave in the middle to get on a conference call. I was not sure what to do with a baby in a high chair, and trash to throw away across the room. It made me appreciate how convenient it is to have two adults in situations like this.


Pax and I went back to the room and he took a nap while I packed up. Jared went to the radio remote that he had come for. When he got back, we went to eat at Chuy's. We hadn't been before but heard we couldn't miss it. They had the best salsa ever!


After lunch, we had planned to go to the aquarium but Pax had definitely been taken over by the HFM disease. He didn't eat lunch and was pretty fussy. Since we didn't know yet that he had HFM, we stopped at Walgreen's to get him some Orajel. We got to the aquarium a little later than we wanted to because of Walgreen's and traffic and it was close to Pax's nap time. I thought he would be so enthralled by the aquarium that he would be happy...or that he would crash in his stroller. Either way would be great. That's not what happened.

He started out ok.


He splashed around in some water with some aquatic creatures:


Gave kisses to Daddy (so sweet):



And stared at some fish:





And thought about which one he wanted to take home:


But he definitely wasn't happy for long. We had to take turns carrying him and distracting him and feeding him snacks. We even gave him the emergency sucker we had in the diaper bag. Nothing worked. We decided to head out, but couldn't resist stopping in the gift shop to get him a t-shirt to commemorate the occasion. Jared stood in line while Pax pushed his stroller around the lobby...I think we annoyed people but at least he was happy.

We stopped outside to take some pictures:


(blue lips courtesy of the emergency sucker)

We tried one of Daddy and Pax, but somebody was done.


We hit the road right after that and he slept the whole way home. I'm glad that we found out the next day that he was grumpy because he didn't feel good. We were nervous that that was the new normal for traveling with a toddler. We had a fun trip in spite of our sick little guy, and hope to get back out there soon to try again. I bet he'll love it in a few months.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

HFM Update

When the doctor told us that Paxton's Hand Foot and Mouth Disease would last a week to ten days, I assumed he meant he would be miserable and rashy for all ten days. Apparently it's just the rash that sticks around that long.

On Sunday, just two days after the rash appeared, Paxton was pretty much back to normal. He ate really well and was much happier. He still looks terrible, and was still sleeping a little more than usual, but it was a huge improvement. I can handle a rash, but I hated when he was so miserable that he didn't want to play very much or eat anything. He is still on Advil and is fussy without it so he's definitely not healed, but this is definitely more manageable than I expected.

His poor arm:


And his legs:


That big one on his heel just looks miserable, but he's still walking around normally. He even smiled for a picture with his Daddy on Father's Day.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Happy Father's Day!

From the first time you held him, I knew that all my dreams of how great of a father you would be had come true. I could see the love in your eyes, the tenderness as you cradled his tiny, scraped head.


As his head healed and he started to grow, I watched your love for him grow too. You guys became quick buddies and started teaming up to make me laugh. I remember him laughing uncontrollably for the first time as you tickled him. I remember watching you nap together, him curled up on your chest, his butt up in the air, and your arms wrapped tightly around him.


Sometimes, I would get a little nervous watching you "rough house" with him. I know that's what daddies are for and you would never hurt him. Plus, those are some of his favorite moments: being swung high in the air, riding on your shoulders and wrestling on the floor.


And then I would see your tender side come out when he would hit his head on something or topple over trying to sit up. You would always scoop him up and pat his back and tell him it was okay. I remember sneaking in his room one night after he was freshly bathed and in pajamas. You were reading him a book and he was mesmerized. I had to capture the precious moment.


I think at Christmas you were just as excited as I was to watch him experience the tree for the first time, and to shop for presents for him. I love that you agreed that we couldn't possibly wait all the way until Christmas for him to open his first present.


I also love how involved you've been in the whole parenting process. You never missed one of my doctor's appointments no matter how busy you were at work. I'm so glad you were there from the first time we heard his heartbeat and cried as we saw him wiggle around on the screen the very first time, and as we changed doctors and were asked countless times if I was a smoker. You squeezed my hand as the ultrasound tech announced that there was a stem on the apple, and you watched daytime TV with me when I was admitted a few times for monitoring. You held me while I cried about the doctor's hateful comments and were mad at him for hurting my feelings. You never left my side at the hospital (except for literally four minutes when I made you go outside to eat lunch). You fed me ice chips every time my mouth opened, and you worried fiercely as nurses from the NICU came in after Paxton was born.


You're so careful with Paxton and his heart. It hurts you so badly when his feelings get hurt or when he hits his head on the Constitution table for the fifth time in ten minutes. When he won't go to sleep at night you always want to let him get back up and play.


You respect my fears for him. You hold him tightly when I ask you to and gracefully help me avoid situations I don't want him in.


You are always up for family activities. You've helped Paxton to experience his first lake trip, his first baseball game, his first time to swim, his first park visit and so much more. You're such a fun daddy. I can't wait until he starts appreciating everything you do for him and gets excited to do things with you. Already he is happiest when he sees you walk in after work. Those are some of his biggest smiles. I love Saturday mornings when I bring him into you and he starts breathing so fast and smiling because he's excited to see you.


You have sacrificed so much for me to be a stay-at-home mom. Even when I question it, you always vehemently refuse for me to get even a part-time job. You willingly give up vacations and expensive toys so that I could be the one to see Paxton's first smile and his first steps. That means everything to me. I can't express how lucky he is to have a daddy that is so willing to do whatever it takes to make sure he has the best of everything. We might never have a beach house in Jamaica but Paxton will never feel neglected.


You are perfectly willing to act silly in public to make Paxton laugh. You sing to him at the store, you make crazy faces at him and you push him super fast in the stroller. Sometimes I feel like I have two kids, but it sure is fun.


Even though he calls you the same thing he calls Scarlett, he still loves you like crazy. You're his second favorite person in the whole world (haha...I'm sure you'll be first in a few months). He always makes sure you're watching before he does his crazy Frankenstein walk across the living room. You guys even have a special ball to play catch with.

You have so much to teach Paxton and so much to share with him. I know that he can always look to you for an example of how to treat people and do the right things. You will instill in him a love of OU football and Thunder basketball, for fairness and good sportsmanship. You will show him how it feels to truly be able to count on someone. You will give him stability and traditions. He's such a lucky little boy. We love you so much.


(and the video where you got down on the floor with him and literally taught him to walk. Pretty cool if you ask me.)

And Happy Father's Day to another pretty special dad in our lives:


Thanks for treating me like a daughter, and for being such a wonderful example for Jared. He is a great husband and an amazing daddy because of you. Thanks for being such a sweet grandpa to Paxton. He's named after you for a reason! We love you!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad