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!