Pax celebrated his 7th birthday last Friday, August 26th. It was a fun day and celebration that I'll post about soon. But here he is at age 7. Actually this was a few days before his birthday. And I just knew that top left tooth would fall out before his birthday and then I would be determined to get new pictures with his new smile. But lo and behold, nearly 2 weeks later and that tooth is holding on for dear life. :)
You see this sweet smile? This is how he wakes and how he remains 95% of the time. I consider myself a pretty happy, cup half full individual. So I love that this boy has a happy spirit about him. He is laid back and easy going. He is flexible. He is really funny and understands a lot of humor that I don't always expect him to get. He spends much of his day laughing. And he makes me laugh quite a bit too. He is also a sensitive little boy that likes to ask many questions. In fact, he often starts a conversation with, "Mommy, can I ask you a question?" I've never answered him with "no" to that question. Yet, he asks that question multiple times a day . :)
Pax tells me he is not an "outdoors kind of guy". His favorite activities are mainly indoor things. He reads more than any child you have ever known. I promise. Im talking 3-4 hours a day of reading book after book after book. It is not unusual for us to find Pax's chapter books wide open, face down ALL OVER THE HOUSE! We have provided him with countless bookmarks but apparently they are never around when he needs them. If he sees one of his books somewhere, his natural instinct is to pick it up and start reading it. Even if he's already read it 5 times before. I'm not a repeat reader very often. Once I've read a book, I'm done with it. Fortunately he repeats them all the time. Otherwise we couldn't afford his hobby or make it to the library fast enough. And he doesn't part with his books. I've tried to encourage him to clean out his bookshelves and give some books away. But he will not part with any of them. Something else he loves to do is build. He loves legos and building with any kinds of blocks that he can find. Another favorite activity that comes to mind is games. He loves to play games! Uno, Skip-bo, Sorry, Trouble, Battleship (this was a new gift Friday from a friend and I think we've played it every day since), Guess Who. He just loves playing games with people. He is a smart boy and he learns quickly. He does play outside. We make it happen. He enjoys swimming, riding bikes, riding his new scooter, going to the park and playing soccer and other sports. But he loves to be home, in his house doing his favorite indoor activities the most.
This summer Pax began saying he wanted to try and play the piano. He had watched his cousins play and became interested. So he started piano lessons in June. He has done very well. His teacher always tells me that he has great rhythm. And a few weeks ago he returned to the van proudly saying, "She told me to tell you that I can now read music!" He doesn't love it when I tell him that it's time to practice, but he obeys and does his practicing. Paxton is often singing around the house. He loves Toby Mac and Chris Tomlin. I'm often streaming music from my phone and he is always singing along. And he sings big! Big voice, big arms in worship, big facial features. :) He also has some pretty sweet dance moves that we see daily in our house. This boy is full of life! In the fall Pax will have his first try at playing flag football. He enjoys trying new things. Academics come pretty easily for him and his favorite subjects right now are Literature and History.
Paxton is the amazing middle brother in our family. I always tell him that his role is so special because he is the only one that is both a BIG brother and a LITTLE brother. And he handles both roles like a champ. He was our baby for nearly 4 years until we brought home Abe. But goodness, he is the sweetest big brother to Abe. Sure, Abe annoys him when he destroys a lego creation that he has built. But most of the time he plays with him so well and they have such a good time together. Just in this past year those two have grown so close to one another. In fact, just tonight Abe asked me if Pax could rock him and sing You Are My Sunshine before we put Abe to bed. So Paxton did. Abe is gaining on him in size and he was a lap-full for Pax. But he rocked him, sang to him and then we tucked him in to bed together. Abe is a lucky boy to have this one by his side. Who am I kidding! We are a lucky family to have this one.
Paxton Clark brings so much sunshine, joy and laughter to our home. I will never stop thanking God for making him ours.
