Advancements

There have been a few stages in Pax's life where it just seems like he's learning something new all the time. There have also been phases where it seems like he's pretty content to master the skills he has already developed. Right now, he's in a rapidly advancing stage.

On Mother's Day he said "mama" for the first time (very ironic and fitting--also the first time he associated "dada" with Jared was on Thanksgiving, crazy!). I don't think he was saying it to me, and I don't think he really even meant to say it, but it was still pretty special to hear. He has said it a ton since then, and sometimes he says it when he pulls up right next to me, so maybe he realizes what it means? I'm not sure but it melts my heart every single time. I always stop what I'm doing and get so excited and repeat it. He thinks it's funny.

He has also started saying "ni ni". It's really funny cuz he says it in a super deep voice and it cracks us up. I have no idea what it means, but I like to tell myself it means night night...because wouldn't that be nice if he just told me when he was sleepy? If that's it then he must be sleepy a lot cuz he says it all day long.

Yesterday, we were playing in his room and he spotted his ball pit, crawled over and climbed right in. I watched in shock because he has never done that before. He will play in it if we put him in and he loves to get balls out of it, but he has never crawled in before.


He played in there for several minutes, then chased some balls out, and then climbed right back in! It was neat to watch. I love watching the way he plays progress as he gets older. He has a lot of the same toys, he just plays with them differently.


He was a little scared of his truck when he first got it for some reason, but yesterday he warmed up to it. He pushed it around the driveway for quite awhile.


He also kept putting toys in the bed and then standing on his tiptoes to get them out. I thought it was cute.


Pushing things around while he walks is probably his favorite thing right now. His push toys are used frequently, and he has been loving pushing around our chairs in the kitchen. Maybe he's gearing up to walk.

He also figured out how to open the back screen door...it won't be long until he can just let himself outside. We should probably keep the door closed...

And here's his newest trick:

I am assuming he learned it from the baby hokey pokey that we sing at the library...he's obsessed with that song so we do it a lot.

He can also point to his tummy if we ask him where his tummy is.

And since this turned into a video post, here's one that I just think is hilarious:

He's such a little boy and just cracks up whenever Jared makes his trucks crash.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

More Water Tabling

Since Paxton plays with his water table every single day, and his kiddie pool almost as often, we have tons of pictures of the fun times.

He has figured out how to dump water on himself. He always acts surprised when he does it and then laughs.





And he still loves throwing this guy all over the place:


And crawling after it:








And sometimes making noises into it to hear the weird echo...





He has also started leaning forward and putting his face in the water in his pool and in the tub. I think this development is pretty cool because when I taught swimming lessons, I remember having to coerce the five-year-olds to get them to blow bubbles. Hopefully he keeps loving the water.


And of course all that splashing made him awfully sleepy.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Mother's Day!

Between a baby that requires four hours of napping each day and three sets of family we need to visit, Mother's Day (like most other holidays) is a challenge for us. It's the good kind of challenge though because it means we have lots of moms to love on!

I woke up this morning to Paxton crawling right up to my face. The first words I heard were "happy Mother's day!" from my sweet husband. I walked into the living room where he had flowers, a precious card and a mom balloon waiting. Then, he cooked me breakfast. I loved it. Why don't we have Mother's Day every other month?


Paxton started out the morning like this:


But was much happier after some breakfast.


We hit Granny's house first for a cookout.


(Paxton and Granny)
He walked around with Uncle Josh:


We had to leave pretty soon after lunch to meet my mom and sisters for lunch at Applebee's. Unfortunately we couldn't go with them afterwards for Sara Sara cupcakes because someone needed a nap...

My sweet sister surprised me with some pretty pink roses:


We went to Granny Pat's after Pax's nap. He played like a crazy man on her couch and she even let him play with her phone...I think at one point he dialed a number.

We played outside and I did my Couch to 5K which is much easier when it isn't 1,000 degrees outside. When I came back, Paxton was in such a playful mood and we kept looking at each other and cracking up.

He also was showing off his new trick:

Those are some of my favorite moments of being a mom. When he is in such a happy mood and showing off tricks and just laughing with me. I love his personality and how fast he's learning things right now. I'm so glad that he's mine.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

I'm Mom Enough

This article (and cover) from Time magazine rubbed me the wrong way. I have no problem with attachment parenting. I think moms who are able to breast feed as often as the baby desires and wear their babies full-time and co-sleep are pretty selfless people. It wasn't the choice we made, and I think that's fine too. My issue with the article and the title was the underlying message. "Are You Mom Enough"?? Really?

I think that parenting is enough of a struggle already. I love (almost) every second with Paxton. Being a stay-at-home-mom is definitely the best job I've ever had, but there are times when it's tough: at two in the morning his second night home when he was screaming inconsolably and we didn't know why; after his bad reaction to the rotavirus shot when he cried inconsolably for ten days straight; at seven months when we thought we gave him Children's Benadryl instead of the infant formula and had to call poison control; our second time calling poison control when he broke a snow globe and drank some of the water; the time we almost called poison control when he put a piece of potpourri in his mouth but ended up finding out it was harmless online; and our most recent poison control scare when he ate a quarter tube of Orajel...plus all the times you're not sure if he's eating enough or too much or what he's supposed to be eating at all, or what kind of poop is normal, or what his third diaper rash in a month means and you can't find anything on google or mommy blogs and feel like you've already reached your quota of calling your mom and the pediatrician. We've had so many moments where we just look at each other and can't believe that the hospital really let us take this kid home with no instruction manual, and we've only been at it for a year. I don't know what we're going to do when discipline enters the equation.

As a parent, you're responsible for making every decision for your kid, and sure there are baby books and other resources, but I think every mom has a nugget of insecurity at her core. We don't really know what we're doing. When Jared and I made the decision to move to formula, I cried a lot. I felt like a failure. I just knew I was setting him up to be sick all the time and to not be as smart as other kids. Now I know that breast feeding wasn't right for him. He was hungry and I wasn't producing what he needed to be full. Part of the reason I felt so guilty was all of the smug moms out there writing about how breast feeding is the only way to go. I have seen the research, and I know that formula isn't as good as breast milk, but to be made to feel like I'm doing an injustice for my child is wrong. I love him more than I ever imagined and I know him better than anyone else, and I made the decision out of love. I think that's what matters. Whatever decision a parent makes is right, as long as it's made with love. And I think that's what being "mom enough" means. Moms need to stop judging other moms and focus on supporting each other. There are so many bigger problems in the world than formula and daycare and babies put in swings instead of a Moby wrap. Let's all agree that when loving your kid is your parenting priority, you are "mom enough".



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Life Lately

Paxton loves his daddy. It's so funny to watch them wrestle together and play rough (well kinda...he is still only 13 months old). It's definitely what I pictured when the ultrasound tech told us there was a "stem on the apple". Pax always thinks it's funny to try on daddy's hats.


I can't believe how much he has grown up lately and how much he's learning! I have been telling him a few of the animals and their sounds...not making a big deal of it, just adding it to how we play. Yesterday, he was holding his gorilla and I asked him what the monkey says. This is him telling me it says "oooh oooh"!


I thought it was so cool because I didn't realize he was really absorbing things or that he had the capability to make the sound on his own, not just by copying me.

We are still going outside several times a day. He has gotten to where he'll stand at the front door and bang on it and cry until we go outside. He plays with his water table a lot.





And since his main objective is to throw his toys all over the place and then chase them, and he hates crawling on concrete, he figured this out:


...the bear crawl. I love that he found a solution to his problem and he looks hilarious doing it.





We got a new grocery store in Edmond. It's a really cool place. It has tons of organic food and local products. It also has an amazing bakery, and lots of food you can buy prepared and eat there. I think we're way behind most places...Jared and I visited a store like this in Kansas City on our one-year anniversary and thought it was so neat. We went last night and just walked around in awe of all of the products. There were fruits I had never seen, a lobster tank full of live lobsters and crabs (which Paxton thought was pretty cool), and a ton of organic baby snacks. We're excited to go back.


Every morning when Paxton gets up, he talks like crazy. It seems like he's trying to catch us up on his dreams and everything that happened while we were apart. I love watching his facial expressions while he talks.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

The Boat!

We took a family vacation to the lake house this weekend. We were planning on taking Paxton out on the boat for the first time.

Thursday night, we dropped him off at Granny V's for his first night away from me. Jared kept me busy with a date. We grilled out steaks and went to a play. Afterwards, we went to Louie's on the Lake to watch the Thunder game. We were so proud of ourselves, we stayed out til 11:00! We did call and get a report of everything Pax had been up to, but I was tear-free!

We picked Pax up on Friday afternoon after packing the car, and we headed to the lake. We turned Paxton front-facing for the trip. We thought it might help if we could turn around and talk to him and let him watch DVD's. It didn't make a huge difference, but we could tell he enjoyed front facing. He was looking out the windows the whole time.


Saturday, we woke up to rain...even though the chances had been at 0% the day before. We went to the breakfast buffet which is maybe our favorite part of our lake trips. Pax got to go once last year but he was still tiny so he didn't get to try it. This time he did, and he loved it as much as we do. I think he ate his weight in food.


We were going to go out on the boat after his nap, but it was still rainy so we went to the indoor pool. It wasn't heated so it was pretty chilly but Paxton didn't care at all.



He splashed like crazy and kept trying to crawl around. Finally his lips were turning blue, so we took him out and wrapped him in a towel. He wasn't having it. He started screaming.


Jared braved the cold and got in the big pool with him. It was so funny, Pax would squeal and smile and kick his feet while Jared zoomed him around. He had the best time. If it had been warmer, he would have been happy in there for hours. When we got him out, he cried again.


We took him to the playground to make up for it, but it was wet and didn't have anything for little kids to do. He got to go down the slide with Daddy but that was it.


When he woke up from his nap around 5, it was finally sunny enough to go on the boat. We put Pax in his life jacket and hit the water.





He loved the boat. He smiled the whole time we were moving. Unfortunately, he hated the life jacket. He couldn't move very well in it.
We went to Soda Steve's for dinner and Paxton got a kid's meal. We were very surprised when the kids mac and cheese turned out to just be Kraft. After dinner, We headed back to watch the Thunder game.


Paxton cheered on Russell. He also took two steps in a row three different times that night. He has only taken one step at a time before, so this was exciting! I'm not in a hurry for him to walk, but he has a 15 month check-up on June 22nd and Dr. Campbell said one of the things he would check on was Paxton's walking. It would be great if he was walking by then.


We were planning on going back out on the lake on Sunday morning, but we woke up to more rain. After Paxton's nap, it was still sprinkling a little but since the boat has an awning, we thought it would be fine. By the time we got out there, it wasn't raining, but it was still cloudy and cool.
We took Pax's kiddie pool and filled it up with lake water. He had fun splashing in it and throwing his toys around.


We had a fun family weekend and were super relieved that Paxton liked the boat.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Lake Season

Since Jared's dad has a place out at Lake Tenkiller and a pretty sweet boat, we've been lucky enough to be frequent visitors for the past few summers. We didn't think Paxton was ready for the lake last summer since he was only a few months old, so he got to make the trip to the cabin but did not even come close to the water. This year, he's ready.

One of my friends told me that every mom has a certain nightmare about their baby...something they're just terrified will happen. I jokingly called it a mom-mare...that was before I had a kid. Now I have a mom-mare and it involves the lake...
Needless to say, Paxton will not even be going on the boat dock without being securely fastened into his life jacket. I am pretty relaxed with him...I know he needs to learn things on his own and make mistakes for himself, but this will be my over-protective side. So, the first thing I did to get him ready for his first trip out on the boat was research baby life jackets--how they should fit, what types are safest, and what features to look for. We ended up getting a great deal on one so we were ready to move forward.

The next thing we found was his hat:


And sandals:



And swim suits and a rash guard and broad spectrum baby sunscreen:


And then I found this swim suit that he was too little for last year...and this year it's awfully tight...I guess we missed the window on this one.


So now he's ready for his first trip out on the boat. I hope he likes it!

And apparently we need to pack him some Hot Tamales...because he loves these...he seriously ate four pieces today without flinching at how spicy they were...after that he found the box every time I hid it and tried to get more out. He's a fan like his mama.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad