History repeats itself.

Lately I've been watching life repeat itself through these boys. For instance, I was pulling out 12month PJ's last night for Pax (because he is growing like CRAZY) and I was thinking to myself Holden just outgrew these!!! Well, he didn't just outgrow them. But he was just wearing them last winter. And as I was packing up Holden's 18-24month clothes 2 nights ago (because he also is growing like CRAZY), I was thinking how fun it will be to pull them out again in just 1 short year. Because yes, I now realize these years truly are short. And I am witnessing Paxton repeat all the things Holden did just 1 short year ago(+ a few months). Things like screaming for fun, standing on our laps, bouncing in the jumperoo, learning to love his sleep :). It's a joy to watch it all. Even the second time around. It's still exciting, fun and such a joy! But Paxton's new silly face completely shocked my socks off. Why? Because I remember it vividly with Holden. I don't think this is necessarily a typical baby stage. And I'm for sure not the one teaching it. But I clearly remember Holden doing it and blogging about it here. And looking at the date of that post, Holden was about 1 week shy of 6 months. Now that is too weird! So check out Holden's silly face by clicking here. And look below to see Paxton's silly face. SO WEIRD, right?!!!

So Holden prefered the bottom lip and Paxton prefers the top. Are those not the fattest cheeks you've ever seen? Good for kissin!

Someone in our house turned 30!!

Jeremy entered his 30s on January 30th. He's not a party guy and doesn't like a big fuss. But I had to do something for 30. So the weekend before we had small, low-key party at the house. I didn't take many pictures, but I did catch the boys playing the Wii.
Then on Jeremy's birthday weekend, we went out for dinner as a family and . . . well that's about it. Because that's all we can manage to do with a 5 month old and 21 month old. Holden didn't want to participate for the picture with daddy. I'm telling you, he's sick and tired of seeing me with that camera in my hands. He actually runs the other way now.We ended the night with White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake and Jeremy opened a few presents. With Holden's assistance, of course. And so for 1 more month, Jeremy's wife is way younger than him. She is in her twenties and he is in his thirties. :)

Some news on Holden

Holden has been talking up a storm. More and more each week. We are often daily surprised by the things he says and repeats. Lately he has caught on to I love you. Except he say like Yi yuv you. So he will say:

Yi yuv you, momma.
Yi yuv you daddy.
Yi yuv you bubba.
Yi yuv you Babbie. (Abbie the dog)
and then sillier things we hear:
Yi Yuv you beans.
Yi yuv you poncok. (pancake)
Yi yuv you yites. (lights)
The other morning I sneezed and he said Bwess you momma. Then he proceeded to say bwess you yites (the light above the kitchen table). Bwess you poncok (as he was eating pancakes for breakfast at the time). I think he knows how to make us laugh and he likes to work that.

I have been working on his colors with him, but only concentrating on blue and yellow so that I don't overwhelm. I almost think he has yellow down. But then I wonder if he calls everything yellow, which he pronounces yewoe. Today he picked up a purple toy and said "yewoe!" so matter-of-factly. So maybe we don't have our colors yet. But he did take a blue bath last week with these fun things.

Many mornings I pull out 2 coffee filters. One to make the coffee and one for Holden's hat. And he often wears his little hat all through breakfast. Here he says "cheese" for the camera. Holden can still be quite the cuddle bug and Jeremy and I soak up these sweet moments. Along with his obssessions of airplanes in general, being an airplane on my feet is one of his favorite pastimes. Jeremy returned home from work on this scene last week. We had to let Pax in on the action.Speaking of airplanes, room pictures are coming soon. Holden's room is finally coming together and he is loving it. In fact, I put his new bedding in the crib yesterday evening and he wanted in immediately. Of course it had airplanes all over it. And so, he jumped in his crib as if it were a trampoline for at least 5 minutes. At one point I told Jeremy he might fly out of it. He was getting a little crazy and was completely hot and sweaty by the time he was done.

Holden loves his brother and is just as interested in him and Paxton is of Holden. He often stops mid-play just to go over and kiss Paxton's head. It's pretty sweet. There are still jealous moments but they are so rare. On a typical morning I would carry Holden to the breakfast table after he wakes. Since Paxton is next door to him now, they often wake together. But Holden still wants to be carried downstairs and sometimes will cry if I put him down to pick up Pax. So what am I to do? I can't pick one over the other. The "easy" solution is to carry them both. So I do. One on each hip. That's about 50 pounds of boy, walking down the stairs. For now, it's my morning workout. Here is a picture of the boys before Holden Valentine party at MDO.

See how interested they are? Much more interested in one another than that camera I seem to always have in my hands. As it should be, I suppose.

And lastly, on Tuesday Holden pooped in the potty. I'm not promising it will happen again anytime soon. But as of yet, we haven't had a poopy diaper. We cheered and celebrated and told him what a big boy he was. Then I let him flush it down and we gave him a cookie. I know, I know, probably not a good idea to reward with sweets. Especially since he is normally a 3-4 times a dayer. That would be alot of cookies. But I'm not pushing, just encouraging. Who knows, maybe he's ready. I never would have imagined starting this early. But if he's ready, I'll be glad to walk this journey with him. :)

And that is a little update on our big boy. Birthday #2 is right around the corner, which is so hard to believe. I can't even begin to describe the ways this boy has completely changed our lives and our hearts. Because of Holden (and Pax for that matter) we think differently now about things. God has used these boys in powerful ways. We will never be the same and I couldn't wish for it to be any other way.

5 months on 1/26/2010

Paxton turned 5 months, almost 1 month ago. But since I am playing catch-up, I will do my best to recapture what took place during the month.

As you can see he even got a little cuter. And I didn't even know that was possible. This boy is full of smiles, laughter and screams. But he is definately a more quiet baby than Holden ever was. My sister Amy heard him screaming through the phone today. She commented "both of your boys have done that." We call it fun screaming. Paxton has found his voice and what it can do. And so he has to exercise it. But it's volume is much lower than Holden's was at this age. Paxton is often a laid-back observer. If you've been around Holden lately, you know he provides much to observe. I also call Pax my sensitive boy. He can definitely get his feelings hurt if needs/wants are attended to as he sees fit. Today when he finished his bottle he melted into a puddle of tears with that bottom lip protruding out in a typical sad face. Not typical for him, but you know, the typical sad face. Apparently, he was still hungry. So I made him 2 more ounces and he gulped it down and then was content. Typically he has been taking four 6oz bottles and a couple of feedings of cereal per day. He is beginning to outgrow the spit-up stage, which is a huge reason to celebrate at this house. He still spits-up now and then, but goodness, my laundry load has slowed a bit. We are no longer going through all the burp cloths in one day. Paxton will also be trying out veggies very soon. Our new pediatrician told me to wait until 6 months before starting baby food. And since his spitting up was so terrible, I didn't argue. I just didn't want everything stained. But now, I think it's time. He is doing so well with the cereal, it's time to move on to bigger and better. He is now just over 19 pounds. A heavy chunk to carry around, but I think he wears it well.

The most exciting news of month 5: Paxton sleeps! At 4 months and 2 weeks we bit the bullet. He had still be sleeping in the pack-n-play in our room and waking up often during the night for a reswaddle and paci. He had a cough for almost 4 weeks. So once the cough and cold were gone, we waited for the weekend and decided to let him cry it out. Since he was going 10-12 hours without a bottle, we knew he just needed to sleep. We were ready. He was ready. He just didn't know it yet. I figured it would take many nights because of his frequent night-waking. I was so wrong. We let him cry it out in our room so it wouldn't disturb Holden as their rooms are next to one another. The first night he cried alot. And we let him. Then second night he didn't cry once. WHAT IN THE WORLD!? Could it possibly be so easy?! And a few nights later, we moved him to his room. And now he is sleeping from about 7:30pm to 7:00am. Holden loved his sleep from the beginning. We just never had to work very hard to get to this place. So crying it out is new to me even though Paxton is our second. Now some nights he cries a little and some nights he doesn't make a peep. So it's still a work in progress. But everyone in our household is getting adequate rest and that makes for a happy family. Last night was one of our silent nights. He went down without a hitch and I never heard a peep from him until 7:30am. And this morning he woke up happy and babbling, which is what I love to see. Sleep is good!

For an update on Paxton's head shape: It was getting flat on one side because he slept on his side. I did this intentionally for the reflux, thinking it would be safer if he were to spit up while sleeping. But it created a different problem. But it looks like, for now, Paxton won't be in a helmet. We are trying to position him on the opposite side of his head when he sleeps. Of course, he is an active sleeper these days so I don't think he stays put for long. But we think we are beginning to see some progress with his head shape. The "consultant" (that's right, not a doctor) put him in a low to moderate catergory saying we could go either way - helmet or no helmet. So right now we're trying to do some correction on our own and praying for his little head shape every day.

Each new day with little Paxton is a blessing. He daily brings us joy with his smiles and laughs. We are loving his little personality that is beginning to peek out. Here are a couple of other pictures of our little guy from last month.

Paxton's song.

Both of our boys have a “song”. Given to them by me, I guess. And it’s not like I intentionally picked them out. It just happened. It fit our story and it stuck. And so they both have a song that I sing to them often. I sang it to them during those middle of the night feedings. And I still sing it to them when I get the chance.

God spoke to us one Sunday morning when we desperately needed to hear from Him. This song moved my heart forward into our 2nd adoption, when I didn’t necessarily feel adequate at that time. Oh, but how I wanted to be obedient to God’s call if this was it! We knew we had to make ourselves available. And the blessing we have received through Paxton is indescribable. This adoption process has been anything but smooth. Never have I regretted. Never. Never. Never. Of course, never! You should know that. But I have spent my fair share of time in tears of worry and feeling sorry for myself. It has been an emotional roller-coaster and I wish I could say that part of it is over. But it’s not. But several times in the past few weeks, I get in the car and hear Paxton’s song. And it reminds me of that Sunday morning that God spoke so clearly. We got into the car after church that particular day and neither of us needed to speak the words. We felt this baby boy was meant to be ours. And that day at lunch, we just happen to choose and agree on his name. So as I hear this song during the chaos of what is normally a simple process, I’m reminded of God’s plan. I’m reminded that He holds us now. That He has gotten our family to this point. That we are exactly where we are supposed to be! And that even when things seem unfair to me, He is still ultimately in control. That hasn’t changed. He hasn’t changed. And without further ado, Paxton’s song:

Everyone needs compassion,
Love that's never failing;
Let mercy fall on me.

Everyone needs forgiveness,
The kindness of a Saviour;
The Hope of nations.

Saviour, He can move the mountains,
My God is Mighty to save,
He is Mighty to save.
Forever, Author of salvation,
He rose and conquered the grave,
Jesus conquered the grave.

So take me as You find me,
All my fears and failures,
Fill my life again.

I give my life to follow
Everything I believe in,
Now I surrender.

My Saviour, He can move the mountains,
My God is Mighty to save,
He is Mighty to save.
Forever, Author of salvation,
He rose and conquered the grave,
Jesus conquered the grave.

Shine your light and let the whole world see,
We're singing for the glory of the risen King...Jesus

My Saviour, you can move the mountains,
You are mighty to save,You are mighty to save.
Forever, Author of Salvation,
You rose and conquered the grave,Yes you conquered the grave!!!

Our Fun Week (about a month ago)

Well, finally I get to update you on the last month. It may take me 17 posts to do so, but eventually I will be caught up. In mid-January we had an unusually warm week. And we welcomed that weather by spending some time outside. Each day we did something new and fun. The age that Holden is at is so easy as far as entertainment. He really doesn't require much to amuse. Just a little attention and quality time makes for a sweet boy and some great memories. So here was that particular week in picutres.

Monday: Holden was at MDO. I'm sure I did something productive. And he is LOVING his time there each week.

Tuesday: Holden played in the backyard with his trucks. I was able to sit on the patio with the back door open while Paxton napped inside just a few steps away. Oh how I miss that spring-like weather! Our little neighbor boy in OKC passed these trucks down to Holden as he had gotten too big to play with them. And now Holden loves to just push them around the yard. Fun day #1!

Wednesday: Each morning we sit at the breakfast table and I feed Paxton a bottle as Holden eats. This particular morning Holden had finished eating and was waiting patiently for Pax to finish his bottle. Completely on his own, Holden grabbed his monkey from the table and fed him from his sippy cup of milk. It made me laugh. He was doing what he saw me doing. So cute!

Also on this day, we went to story time at the local library that is just down the road. Holden enjoyed the music portion (which you see in the picture) but was more interested in the buckles of our stroller than sitting in the circle for story time. We'll keep trying. To date, we haven't returned. But I plan to. It's just been busy. Fun day #2!

Thursday: While I prepared dinner this evening, Jeremy was not yet home. And Holden is my busy boy, so I normally have to keep him locked up somewhere if I want to accomplish anything. So I poured some dry rice in a mixing bowl and let him stir it. Which facinated him for a while. When that got boring, we added some food coloring and turned it green. See it really doesn't take much! Fun day #3!

Friday: This day was so nice, we pulled out our shorts from last summer! We took a little tour of our neighborhood via stroller. I know there is a playground right around the corner, but somehow, this day, we never stumbled on it. That was my intention of taking the walk. Oh well. The boys just loved being outside. And I did too! As you will see, Pax fell asleep on the walk. So off to bed he went and Holden and I went to the backyard and played with a random ball that had landed in our yard and, of course, his trucks. Then he needed to relax a bit in the big chair by mommy. Fun day #4!

And that was our eventful week. Just seeing the pictures has me eagerly awaiting SPRING!

And we're back . . .

No we have not been on some exotic 4 week vacation. Though that would have been nice. Instead the good Lord put me on a computer vacation. We have had some major computer issues. And so I have had no internet for over 3 weeks. And it has kind of been nice. It's made me a little more productive with my time. And for now, I still can't download pictures and boy do I have alot. Soon I will have to do a catch up day. Since I last posted this is what's been going on with us:

1) We played outside in unusually 70 degree January weather.
2)Paxton learned to sleep through the night! Definitely more on that later! He's now a 12-hour sleeper at night! Hooray!
3) We toured our new 'hood by stroller. (again in unusually-warm-for-January weather)
4)The Caplingers came to visit and we had much to celebrate with those friends! :)
5)Paxton turned 5 months!
6)Jeremy turned 30!!!
7)We wore coffee filters as hats.
8)Holden has been learning his colors: blue and yellow. So we turned his bath water blue one night.
9)Speaking of blue, we painted our bedroom. I'm calling it blue-tiful!
10)Holden has walked around blindfolded, which he did to himself, all by himself. Our little comedian. Video coming soon.
11)Paxton cought the croup! Man, he's been a sicky baby thus far.
12)My dad turned 62 and we were close enough this year to all meet up for dinner.
13)We had a playdate with our friend Max and his momma Amanda.
14)Paxton has become cuter and happier than ever before!
15)Holden tried out reading time at the library. And I do think we will be going back.
16)Jeremy and I have become experts (I lie) at Mario Bros. on the Wii. Well, I haven't been completely productive with my extra time. But goodness, that game is so much fun! And I am so not a "gamer".

See, I have much to blog about. But, tomorrow we are headed to my parents because my Colorado sister and her fam will be in town. So the boys get to see their girl cousins this week. So another week and no updates from our house. Maybe when I get back, Jeremy will have the computer in complete working order again and then I can pick back up on bloging- hint hint to Jeremy. :)