4 months + some

Wow! Things got super-crazy super-quick. We moved into our house and then everything became (and still is) so busy. I fear that January might possibly be worse than December as far as busyness goes. There is still much to be done. Right now, I sit in the office surrounded by boxes. Our cars still don’t fit in the garage. More boxes. BUT, this post is not about that. It’s about our little 4 month angel. Oh and yes, that is what I have been calling him. My angel baby. The name fits him well, I think. I feel like Paxton is now comfortable in his own skin. In the early months, he had a lot of trouble with reflux and other tummy issues. Lately we haven’t been giving him the reflux medicine and he has been doing great. He is no longer in pain, but is still occasionally (more like regularly) spitting up. I typically do a load of laundry per day between Paxton and Holden. And most of it is Paxton’s bibs, burp cloths and clothes. I need to try the medicine again and see if it controls the spitting at all. But he definitely seems to be a happy spitter now, which is good to see. Rather than arching his back and screeching in pain. Just seeing him in pain made us all miserable. He is also completely off his tummy medicine and doing so well without it. So now, he is such a happy boy. Giving us smiles all day long! He has brought our family so much JOY and continues to dish out more daily!

Once we moved into the house, we unpacked the bumbo. We figured he would love sitting up on his own. Well . . . for short periods of time he likes it. Here he is in his first bumbo experience.

Holden checking out the bumbo (with toothbrush in mouth). There is no bumbo time after eating. That causes spitting up, which we try to avoid.

Paxton has found his little voice and is learning how to use it. He mimics our laughter which is fun to watch. And he goes in to what we like to call “hyper-mode” and he buries his little face into our necks and squeals with a huge grin on his face. His little personality is beginning to shine and I love to see it develop more each day. Holden still makes Paxton’s face light up, which in turn, puts a huge grin on Holden’s face. He loves to see his little brother smiling at him. Holden has decided that we will keep his little brother. I don’t think he was too sure about it in the beginning. But he has officially decided he loves him. When I get Holden out of bed in the morning, normally his first word now is “bubba?”. It used to be “daddy”. Sorry Jeremy. But to make you feel a bit better, it was never “momma”. I know that one day soon these boys are going to be the best of friends and are going to really enjoy life together. I am already seeing the bonding beginning which brings me complete joy!

See how they love!

At less than 3 months, Paxton visited our new pediatrician for a minor cold that was causing serious spitting up. More than normal. She suggested I start him on cereal to help control the reflux. And she wanted me to spoon feed it to him rather than putting it in the bottle. I thought she was a bit crazy since I tend to follow the rules. And so naturally, I ignored the suggestion. Part of me wanted to give it a try, but things got busy. And as awful as it sounds, I just didn’t have time to experiment with it. So then we moved. Got sort of settled. Made a shopping trip to Kroger and bought some rice cereal. So last week Paxton had his first taste of rice cereal. He didn’t love it. Nor did he seem to hate it. And I think most of it ended up on the bib rather than in his tummy. But here are a few pictures from the big event.

And after the meal.

And after we stripped him down for a bath. Look at that chubby guy! As you can see, he hasn’t missed many meals.

And here are a couple of pictures from December 26th - his actual 4 month birthday.

Paxton has been such a sweet addition to our family. We can't imagine our days without him. Life has been hectic and crazy lately with the changes we have made, but I lay down each night counting my blessings. And this little boy is at the top of my list. Oh how I love him!