Pax-Man Party!

Well, Saturday was our day of celebration. What I thought would be a small party turned big. Well, sort of big and kind of chaotic at times. But I think that's just what happens when 1 invitation invites a family of 4. But I wouldn't have had it any other way! About 6 weeks ago a petty part in me desired for Pax to have at least 1 new friend to invite to his party. I just wanted Paxton's 1st birthday to be everything that Holden's had been. And Holden's included friends. So that petty part of me asked God for this. I realize God has much bigger fish to fry so maybe I should be ashamed. But I did it. I asked God For 1 new friend for Paxton's birthday. And look what happened . . .

See all of those little boys? They are some new friends. What a blessing! And that's not even all of the friends that were there. I wish I would have lined them all up and gotten a picture. And also a picture of the cake! What was I thinking. I have no pictures of Paxton's first birthday cake! Wondering if anyone else snagged one for me?? Remember, I said it was a bit chaotic.
So I will post the pictures that I do have thanks to my sis-in-law, Brandy and a few that I stole from my dad.

What a blessing that M and her family joined us for the birthday party. It really was special to have them celebrating with us. Here is the beautiful girl that loving gave us our Pax. With her permission, I'm posting her picture for the first time here! I realize that open adoption is probably strange and unfamiliar to most of the world. But what a beautiful experience it has been for us. And I believe it will be for Paxton as he grows and understands more. We feel like our relationship with M and her family couldn't be more perfect if we had written it out on paper ourselves. It really is ideal and we love this family and always enjoy time shared with them.

Daddy and mommy with the birthday boy!

And a good view of his little Pax-Man shirt. We went with a little Pac-Man theme to go with his cute name.

Opening some presents.
He is loving his rocking horse from Nana and Papa J. It is the perfect size! A new little riding toy from M. It is by far, a favorite now! The little Pac-Man cake! He just wasn't too interested in this part.
Not so sure about it.
Not liking it on the fingers.

Sweet, happy boy!
And the loot! Whoa! We have got to do some serious toy room re-org to make room for all of this stuff.

After some extremely long naps for Holden and Pax, we spent the evening relaxing at home. Just the 4 of us. Doesn't he look like a little linebacker in his cute new tee?
And this was Paxton's birthday gift from us. It was a steal on Craigslist and the perfect size for my toddlers.
Sweet love, I can't believe you are already 1! We look forward to many more sweet moments with you, that another year will bring.

8-26-2010

Our little man's birthday was Thursday. It was a typical day at home. Since Paxton is only 1, I think he is most content at his house, with his toys and enjoying his normal routine. So that is what we did on his birthday. Holden woke at his typical 7:30am. So he and I got started on the cinnamon rolls while Jeremy got ready for work. Yes, these are the ones from the can. I really do it up for a birthday breakfast. :) Pax slept until sometime after 8:00am. The 3 of us entered his room and sang him happy birthday. It took him a little while of cuddling with daddy before he was ready for his breakfast.
And then he enjoyed his first cinnamon roll. He liked it. Just not as much as his blueberries.We played in the house for a bit and then Paxton went down for his morning nap. Holden and I headed to the kitchen to make a fruit pizza. (Excuse the cheek-ful of berries.)

Fruit pizza with cream cheese icing. :)

Once Jeremy got home from work, we enjoyed some pasta salad for dinner. One of Paxton's favorites. And then we headed to the park . . .
At the park, Pax enjoyed some fun with some wonderful evening weather. (Thank goodness, the heat has been letting up!)

Then it was home for fruit pizza, baths and off to bed. It was some fun family time to celebrate our new little 1 year old. I love birthdays! And I especially love celebrating these special people in my life.

And then Saturday was the real party . . .

The baby is 1!

Crazy! Our little Pax-Man is 1 year old today! I have been in party mode all week long. But yesterday my thoughts were more with Paxton's birthmom. Just thinking about where she was a year ago from now. What she must have been feeling and thinking. We love M and are looking forward to her family joining us for the birthday bash on Saturday! And this morning, I was thinking about our family of 3, a year ago today. Oddly enough, I have no idea what I was doing the day my little boy entered this world. Holden and Paxton's stories are so simliar in some ways, which I love. And that is just 1 of the similarities. I checked back on the blog and I didn't post that day. I posted on the 25th. And I posted on the 27th. Twice. And those posts did remind me of how Holden was still such a baby when we brought home his brother! Such a little guy. But here we are a year later celebrating Paxton's 1st birthday!
Pax is a big ole boy. I can't tell you his exact size. Somewhere over 23lbs is my guess. We go to the doctor in 2 weeks. He is trying to walk a little. He is great a maneuvering his little walker all through the house. I have seen him take a few steps by himself, but nothing consistent. He is a super fast crawler, especially when we are playing the "getchoo" game. So he would rather fall to his knees and crawl. He can also climb the stairs in the blink of an eye. We have gates but I accidentally left the bottom one opened once (or twice). He is crazy fast on those stairs. Which brings me to a thought I have been having this past month. He is going to be our child that climbs out of his crib. And he may be the first to break a bone. I can just tell. He seems to be fearless. Holden is long-legged and I'm sure he's capable of climbing out now, but he doesn't. Which is why he still sleeps in a crib. He may be in there until he's 12. :) But I think Pax will be a different story. When I go to get him after sleeping he is standing on his bumpers and sometimes leaning over the railing. He has climbed the stairs (only twice thanks to locked baby gates). He tries to climb into chairs and stand up. He has no fear of any of it. I should probably put on my seatbelt now. He has also mastered the somersault (with momma's help). See his smile after completing a somesault? Paxton is quite the babbler, but we hear more from this little guy when Holden is out of the room. The words he will say right now are momma, dada and bubba. He says a whole lot more, but we have no clue what it is. Just sounds like jibberish. He likes to wave and clap. And he loves to dance anytime there is an inkling of music. If the icecream truck is down the street, he will probably start his dancing. Which consists of him bouncing on his hiney and swinging his arms from side to side. It's cute. Take my word for it.We have been transitioning to whole milk this week. He hesitated at first, but has now adjusted to the cold stuff. He does well with the sippy cup for water. And I will probably be packing up those bottles in the next week or so. He is also transitioning to table food well. As well as expected with only 2 bottom teeth. But he does have 4 top ones on the way. 2 have cut through and are forcing there way down. And 2 more are just about to pop through the gums. Back to eating, he LOVES blueberries. I think they are his favorite. He also likes bananas, strawberries, nectarines, apples, plain whole wheat pasta, cheerios, meat and cheese sandwhiches, green peas, corn, any type of bean, grilled chicken and the list goes on. For the most part, we are trying to feed him what we eat. And he is doing well with it. It just takes him a bit longer to get it to his tummy.
He is still a super sleeper! I had a scare last week that he was trying to give up his naps. Both of them! Not that I would really allow that to happen. But this week we have been back in our routine and he has been taking a morning and an afternoon nap, each 2 hours. And then sleeping at least 12 hours at night. So proud of that boy and his sleeping skills! He's following in his big brother's footsteps. :)

Some things that Pax enjoys is being chased. It gets him so excited and it starts up his giggle box, which in turn normally gets mine going as well. He loves to roll is cars. I'm sure he has watched Holden do this a million times in the past year. He enjoys playing with the dog, even if she doesn't care to play. He enjoys splashing in the water, whether it be the bathtub or outside. He loves playing with his brother. Here Holden is combing his hair with a toy spatula. Perfect. :)
And sometimes, he enjoys playing alone. He loves to squeal and screach when his needs are not attended to immediately. He loves to be held and carried around on a hip. That should be emphasized. Man, the boy loves to be held. He often chases me around in tears, nearly pulling off my clothes trying to get me to hold him. You think I'm exaggerating about tearing off my clothes. I'm not. Stretchy pants often end up around my kness when I am cooking in the kitchen. (Just one of those specific times when I can't stop to hold him.) Wondering now if that was too much information for the world? Oh well. So obviously he can't be held as often as he would like to be. He is beginning to exert his independence. I think I had conveniently forgotten how early they start to do this. He loves his paci and has it in his mouth way more often than he should. Sometimes he has 1 in his mouth and a back-up paci clinched in his tiny, chubby hand. If I take the 1 out of his mouth, he inserts the back-up. I know it's my fault. I'll deal with it when he's 2. :)

Goodness, this past year with Pax. . . well, it has been full of changes and transitions for our family. But what a happy place with a happy baby boy. Lucky. Blessed. Grateful. There just isn't a word to capture how I feel. But this boy has brought so much joy to Jeremy, Holden and myself. He is another piece to our family that God so perfectly orchestrated. Paxton, I hope you one day realize just how loved you are!

And a picture of Pax from today. Officially a 1 year old. Wow!

a game and an interview.

Last week Holden and I played a real game together. It's called blow-the-cottonball-across-the-table-to-your-partner. And so we did, back and forth. As you can see, he loved it. It took very little materials and planning on my part. And it was fun little morning activity during Paxton's nap. The blowing of the cottonball eventually turned into swatting the cottonball with the straw. After he was bored with our little game, he requested to color. As he colored, I decided to interview him. And because I'm sure you all will find an interview with a 2-year old soooo interesting, here it is:
Me: What is your name?
H: (pointing to chest) Oden.
Me: What is your favorite color?
H: gween
Me: What is your favorite toy?
H: puzzoos (this one surprised me)
Me: What is your favorite cartoon?
H: Doowah
Me: What is your favorite lunch to eat?
H: Tacos. Paxton yikes tacos. (For the record: I never cook tacos for lunch. And Paxton has never eaten tacos.)
Me: How old are you?
H: 1.
Me: Noooooooo.
H: 2! (How does he remember every single detail on the first time, but forget his age? I'm pretty sure he is doing this on purpose. When asked his age, he always answers 1.)

I was actually suprised that we even had an interview that made sense. I mean, we are having conversations constantly with this boy, but that I could sit down and ask specific questions and receive answers that made sense . . . it was fun! In case I haven't said it enough already, I am really loving this stage! One more picture of Holden for you.
Apparently monkey was congested last week.

junk in the trunk.

Some serious junk! But cute junk, nonetheless. A week from today, he turns 1!

Holden's world.

Here is what is going on in the life of Holden at 2 years + 3 months.

Even at 2 years he can still be quite the cuddle bug. A couple of times a week, during Paxton's morning nap, Holden and I will watch a cartoon together. He will sit in my lap, snuggled close and covered in a blanket (even if it's 104 outside!). He thinks he NEEDS the cubbers (he calls the blanket covers or cubbers). I think physical affection might be one of his love languages. We shall see as he gets older. He also loves to sit in a lap and have you read book after book to him. The boy LOVES to be read to and will sit for a good 30 minutes listening to story books.

This was a particular day that he wasn't feeling well. Notice the sock monkey.

I know I've mentioned how much he loves his sock monkey. And it's extra special in my mind since that was his Adoption Day gift from Jeremy and I. (I have Paxton's saved in the top of my closet just waiting for his special day!) But Holden sometimes does with monkey whatever we do with he or Pax. Sometimes he feeds the sock monkey from his sippy cup. Sometimes he lift his tail to check and see if he's poopy.

And on this particular day he decided to play airplane with the sock monkey. He makes us laugh . . .alot.

Holden just talks up a storm! It's constant. He repeats everything. We have real conversations. I love it! He is constantly amazing me by what he has to say and the way he is putting sentences together (even correctly sometimes!)

He can count to 10. Though he normally skips right over 6. And he does best when it's his own idea and he thinks no one is listening. It sounds some thing like: won, tooooo, fwee, foh, fibe, yeben, ate, nine, ten! You get my drift? It just sounds cute.

He loves to sing. Jesus Loves Me. Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. our Good Morning Song (the same one my mom always sang to us girls). I picked him up from the church nursery after morning Bible study several weeks ago. His class was sitting in a circle singing Jesus Loves Me. He was in a teacher's lap (because he LOVES to be held) and his back was to me as I entered the room. I could hear his little voice above the entire group of children. Melted my heart.

He has decided that he will eat salad, as long is there is dressing. I have been trying out several salads and he really seems to enjoy them. Taco salad. Spinach/strawberry salad with poppy seed dressing and pecans. Asian slaw salad. He is just loving him some salad. Thankful that others were right when they told me his refusal to eat veggies was only a stage. I think we are coming out of it. He won't eat everything at this point, but I can tell he is becoming more open-minded in the area of food.

I have started to let him dress himself. You can see that he doesn't always get it on just right. So he normally has a little help from Jeremy or I.

He loves the water. Whether it's bath time, the water park, a sprinkler or me just washing my hands. With me washing my hands, he completely invades my personal space. Wait. Who am I kidding? Trying to pretend that I still have such a thing as personal space. Not so.

He's tall! And everyone seems to think he's 3. Some people thought this before he ever turned 2. I bought some 3T jeans for the fall at a consignment sale. They fit him perfectly right now. Meaning if he grows between now and cool weather time, they will be high waters. 4T at age 2? Surely not. He's my long-legged, skinny boy.

He is now understanding rules. We now recite rules regularly in the car before going somewhere. This way he knows my expectations. It's a new little tip from a new friend. And in public, he normally behaves really well. He usually chooses to throw his fits in the privacy of our home, which I think is really considerate of him. I mean, at least he spares me some embarrassment. I'm only kidding (sort of). But the other day, I took the boys grocery shopping and they didn't have a big cart for us. Like the kind that have multiple seats for children. So when we ran out of room in the cart, Holden had to walk with me up and down the aisles. My goodness, he even impressed ME. He never left my side. I left the store so proud of him. Even the cashier told me how good my boys were. I laughed. Not because they aren't good, little boys. But they ARE children and she caught us at an especially good time.

Well, that is a little update on the life of Holden. 2 truly is a fun age. Oftentimes challenging. And oftentimes reminding me that I'm not really cut out to do this on my own. But what a blessing it is to watch this little boy grow, develop and learn new things. I couldn't be more proud to be his mommy! And every day I am so thankful that God gave us this gift.

Itsy Bitsy Poses!

On Saturday we had the boys pictures done by a professional, as well as some family ones taken. Paxton's 1st birthday is right around the corner (crazy!) and so we wanted to document this sweet time in his life and our family. Itsy Bitsy Poses Photography had been suggested by a friend and we loved her! I left on Saturday very uncertain of what we would see when we received our CD. Even with gummy bears, Holden's favorite puppet and a squeaky ball to get their attention, it was so hard to pull some smiles from my boys. I was able to view all of the pictures yesterday (because Brooke is super fast!) and I was pleasantly surprised. We have an abundance of cute ones of Paxton, since he offers smiles more easily. And we did this, in part, for his 1st birthday. So you will see alot of Pax below. And we also have some great ones of Holden. Maybe none of his beautiful smile, but some that I love, nonetheless. And we even got some good family ones in the bunch. Here are some of our faves. Okay, alot of our faves.