Gatlinburg, Part 1

I have been told that we went to Gatlinburg, Tennessee when I was little.  I have absolutely no memory of this whatsoever. 

So, when Scottie's brother told us that he found a great deal on a nice cabin in Gatlinburg and invited us to go, I was pretty excited!

Now let me just be clear about one thing here before we go any farther.  I'm a beach girl through and through.  I don't generally do cold weather very well.  My husband will tell you that I really don't like being cold. 

He's wrong.

I HATE being cold!

Scottie is opposite.  He would rather be cold than hot.  He says "there's only so much I can take off to get cool!"  I say there's only so much I can put on before I look like that kid in A Christmas Story that is so bundled up he can't lower his arms or even walk! (I soooooo love that movie by the way.  It replays on one channel for 24 hours straight on Christmas day and that is what we have on the tv while we open gifts every year!)

I digress.

Ok, so we packed up and went to Tennessee.  I loved the cabin.  It was so cozy and "mountain" feeling!  There was a rock fireplace inside and it looked like a log cabin inside and out. 

Or, perhaps it could have been because it was literally ON TOP of the mountain!

Nevertheless, it was beautiful!  I took so many pictures so I thought I would split this post up into smaller posts instead of one giant photo filled blog.

This was from the side where the hot tub was.  And yes, my crazy loonatic family got in one night even though is was like 15 degrees outside!  I did not however.  They all said it felt great while they were in and I told them I'm sure it did feel good.  But that 10 seconds of cold from getting out and running in the house was a deal buster for me.  Not worth it!

The front view.

View from the side.  It seemed like you could see everything from up there!

This was our room.  I love the rustic look of the log bed against the wood walls.

The fireplace was definately a nice thing to have on the cold evenings.  Especially after the crazies came in from the hot tub! LOL

We also roasted marshmellows and made s'mores! Yummm!

The kitchen.

Looking down from the loft.  That is Scottie and Jaxten walking into the bottom of my picture.

I'll be posting pictures of the family and of all the cool stuff we did while we were there next!  Come back and see!

Jaxten is 9 months old!

Jaxten, you are 9 months old!

I am so very thankful to have you.  You are such a blessing sent straight from God and your dad and I cherish everyday with you.  Here are some fun facts about you this month!

*We went to the doctor today and you weighed 18lb 15oz!!  That's only in the 25th percentile, which means you are little.  What???  Have they seen your thighs?!? lol

*You were 27 1/2in long which is also in the 25 percentile.  But we knew you were kinda short already!

*You are wearing pretty much all 9 month or 9-12 month clothes now. 

*You are still in a size 3 diaper, but I have been thinking about putting a size 4 on at night.

*You have FINALLY started sleeping all night again.  You went through a period of about 7 weeks of waking up several times every night.  Mommy and daddy are so grateful you decided to stop doing that! (It may have helped since I started putting you in your own room at night instead of in our room! I was being selfish, I know ;) ) You take 2-3 naps every day too.

*You seem to be weaning yourself off of my milk since you only want to nurse once a day.  You drink 4-5 bottles of formula during the day and eat baby food for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  I have been trying to make most of your food and you like it really well.  We just started puff and yogurt melts this past weekend and you LOVE them.  You can grab them with your cute little fingers and put them right in your mouth!  We have started offering some table foods too like pinches of bread or pancakes.  You tried chicken today and loved it too.  You don't have any teeth yet but you sure do chew and gum everything really good!

*It snowed in Pigeon Forge while we were there.  It was your first time seeing snow but I'm not sure you really cared too much.

*You said "dada" for the first time in the car on the way to Gatlinburg. 

*You have been crawling really well over the past month.  You have also started pulling up on everything!  Caden took his first steps at 9 months and 3 days old.  I don't think it will be too much longer before you start trying to walk!

It is getting so much harder to take your monthly pictures! You are all over the place and it's hard to get you to sit still even for a few seconds to take snap a picture.  Every day with you is so much fun and even though we've technically done all this before with your brother, it's all brand new for us again because you two are different in many ways!  We love you!!

(Almost every picture we took for the 9month shot have this wooden painted fish in it because he was ABSOLUTELY NOT going to sit down until I handed him the fish!)

Music to my ears!

Last night as we were getting ready for bed, the most awesome thing happened!  I laid Jaxten down on the floor to change his diaper before his bedtime feeding and he cried and fussed a little.  Then, when I reached down to pick him up he looked at me and just as plain as day I heard the most precious noise come out of his little mouth................

"mamama"!

Oh be still my heart!

I grabbed him and started "yay"-ing and I asked Scottie if he heard it.  He said he didn't hear anything. 

(Yeah, whatever.  He was two feet away and he's just in denial)
;)

But wait...it get's better!  I sat down with him on the couch to feed him and he looked at me and said it again!

"mama"

(This is where I melted into a puddle and slid right off into the floor!)
(Scottie is still in denial because I know he heard it again!)

I have been waiting for these two sweet little syllables.  Sure he was crying when he said it, (Caden also said mama for the first time while he was crying for me) but I don't care one bit.  And it wasn't his first sound, but I don't care about that either!  I'm just so honored to be his "mama" and I'm tickled if he calls me anything!!

My Wonderful Birthday dinner.

Yesterday was my birthday and I must say it was a pretty good day.  I had to work (bummer), but it wasn't too crazy there so I guess it was ok.  When I got home from work Scottie took me out to eat at Longhorn Steakhouse. 

Yuuuuummmmmmmm!

Ok, I'm back from drooling now.  My mom came with us and my dad met us there.  It was just Scottie, Caden, Jaxten, my mom, my dad and me.  You just don't realize how momentous of an event this was.  My mom and dad separated when I was 1 year old and my dad has been married for almost the past 19 years.  They are having issues at the moment (which is not totally the point here but slightly relevant). 

What I'm trying to say is that in my 28 years of life I cannot remember EVER having a birthday dinner, or a dinner of any kind for that matter, with my mom........AND my dad together (other than family get togethers where there were bunches of people).  They have always been nice to each other and on speaking terms.  They've communicated for the sake of co-parenting if for nothing else.  But as far as a sit-down-together meal, this was a first.

At first I thought "OMW, how weird is this?!?" 
Then I realized...................
I kinda liked it!

I let myself imagine for a while what it might have been like to have a mom and dad together.  I think I've always been jealous of my little brother for getting to "keep" my (our) daddy at home with him when I could only have visits.  But I don't dwell on it alot.  It is what it is and I have a great relationship with both of them. So everything has worked out fine in the end. 

But eating dinner with them that night (they even shared one of the "Two for $XX" deals) just brought up a bunch of what-ifs and what could have, should have, or would have beens.  With all that swimming through my head, I just decided I was not going to over analyze it and I just wanted to enjoy a wonderful birthday dinner with my favorite people and that's just what I did!  The food was fantastic, the company was great, and we finished it off with the best cake ever from the best bakery ever (shout out to Fancy Pastry in Lexington)!  I got money and gift cards from everyone (one of the best presents you can receive) so I will be treating myself to a massage, a manicure/pedicure, and some Pandora bracelet beads!! 

This was one of my best birthdays so far! 

I hope next year, my (2nd) 28th birthday is just as great! 
;)

Girl time at Olive Garden...Yuummmm!

Every once in a while, some of us girls go out to lunch or dinner to one of my favorite places ever....Olive Garden (please excuse me while I slobber a little)!

Ok, I'm back.  So we go out for a birthday or sometimes just because.  We went yesterday since we were all off work for Labor Day and this time it fell right between 2 birthdays so it worked out pretty good.  It was delicious as usual and it was great company too!  We brought the kids and left the hubbys to their own devices.  It's a good way to unwind and get to talk outside of the work environment.  We had a great lunch and then some of us went to the mall afterward, where I got some pretty good deals at Baby Gap!

Here's a few pictures.  I meant to take pics of everyone's meal and the awesome desserts we ordered, but my tastebuds got ahead of my picture taking finger!

Me and my boys!  This was Jaxten's first time sitting in a highchair and he did great!  I think he liked it much better than reclining in his carseat!

This is Lori (who really didn't want me to take pictures, but how would I blog without pics?!?) (who also had Lasagna, which hello....Olive Garden has really great food and you can eat Stouffer's Lasagna at home!) LOL  ;)

This is Sonya who has the coolest Pandora bracelet and now has me hooked on beads!  She only had a salad which made me look like a pig!

This is Jenny and her 15 month old daughter, Addison.  Jenny had the never-ending pasta bowl, but don't let that fool you, she didn't even eat one whole bowl!  I think Addison snacked on everything!

This is Caden with his cheese pizza that he only ate half of, and I had to make him eat that.  He doesn't eat enough to keep a bird alive!  He's also in his new Buccaneers jersey that his dad bought for him to wear when they go to his first football game in Tampa, FL later this year.  He's very excited about his jersey!

Here we all are!  Sonya, Addison, Jenny, Lori, Jaxten, Dillon (Lori's son, somehow I didn't get a picture of him at the table), Caden and me.

I'm so blessed to be able to go to work everyday with people that I love!  We are all women and we all get along wonderfully!  (We've had a couple of moments but they are few and far between and we know not to take it personal!)  It makes a real difference to work with great people since you spend the majority of every day with them. 

Love you girls!

Jaxten is 6 months old!

Jaxten, you are 6 months old!

You are the sweetest little boy I've ever known (besides your big brother Caden)!  You are such a happy boy and so easy-going.  You are a delight to be around and everyone talks about what a good baby you are!  Here are some fun facts about you this month!

*I don't know how much you weigh because we haven't been to the doctor in a while, but we'll find out at the end of this month!

*You are wearing 3-6 month clothes but starting to wear 6-9 months too.  The smaller ones fit everywhere except your legs! 

*You are in a size 3 diaper.  They fit pretty good except for around the thighs.  I keep fighting the thought of moving you to a size 4, but I think it won't be too long!  You have your daddy's legs....thick and short!

*You are going between eating really well, and not eating much at all.  You generally eat between 25-30oz of milk, about half mommy's milk and half formula.  You also get rice cereal or oatmeal twice a day and you have had quite a variety of baby food.  You have added sweet potatoes, squash, carrots, green peas, green beans, applesauce, pears, peaches, and bananas to your menu.  You LOVE to eat baby food and would eat more than I am giving you right now!

*You go to bed usually between 9-10pm and most of the time sleep through the night until I have to wake you up at 7:30am.  You go to mimi's house and play a little while, eat a bottle and take a nap.  You take around 3-4 naps per day. 

*You wake up every morning with the biggest smile on your face.  As soon as you look at me, you start grinning and burying your head in the bed like you are being bashful.  Every time I walk in from work or even from the other room in the house you smile at me and it just makes me want to melt into a puddle in the floor!

*You are rolling back and forth all over the place!  You also get on your belly and scoot.  You can scoot forward and backward so no more laying you on the bed while we are out of the room!

*You are trying hard to sit up by yourself and you can do it for a little bit.  It won't be long until you can sit and play!

*You sat in a highchair on your six month birthday for the first time at Olive Garden and you really liked it a lot better than sitting back in your carseat!

*You have started saying "mamamama" and "babababa".  I don't think you are actually referring to anyone or anything but rather just making a new noise.  I don't care though, your first sound was still "mama"!

*You still love to take a bath.  You get so excited and start kicking your legs and moving your arms when you hear the water running!

*The day after you turned 5 months old, we went to a water park at the beach.  You love to be outside and you love bath water, but you were not too crazy about chilly pool water.  Maybe by next summer....

*If we hold a stuffed animal or a mirror up to you and tell you to give it kisses, you will open your little mouth as wide as you can and slobber all over it!

*You have been noticing Pacey for a while, but when he gets close to you or licks your foot you ALWAYS start laughing!  If you can get close to his head you grab him with both hands and try to pull him close to kiss him.  It's too cute!

*You absolutely LOVE your big brother.  You are facinated by everything he does.  He can make you laugh anytime he trys.  He is so good with you and you are amazed with him and that just tickles me!

You are an absolute joy to be around!  I'm so excited about all the new things you are learning but you are growing up way too fast!  

Jaxten is 5 months old!

Jaxten, you are 5 months old!

You are developing such a sweet personality and becoming a unique individual.  Here are some fun facts about you this month!


*You weigh 15lb 12.8oz (70 %), and are 25 1/2in long (73%). (July 22nd)

*You are wearing mostly 3-6mth clothes.  We still squeeze you in a few 0-3mth outfits and have had you swimming in a few 6mth ones!

*You were in a size 2 diaper, but we just finished our last pack so we went ahead and moved you to a size 3.  Your thighs are getting a little too big to squeeze in a 2!

*You are eating really well and growing big and strong.  You eat about 28-32oz of milk a day, mostly mommy's milk with about 6-10oz of formula.  You usually eat 5oz at a time.  We started rice cereal this month and you have gobbled it right up since the very first time! 

*You go to bed around 10:00pm and usually sleep until about 4:00-4:30am.  You still sleep in a bassinet in our room, but I have to admit I have been bad a few times and let you snuggle in the bed with me for a while.  I know it's wrong but it's so sweet!  When you wake up you nurse for a few minutes and then go right back to sleep until I have to wake you up at 7:30am to take you to Mimi's house.  You take several naps a day, but you are awake for hours at a time too.

*You figured out how to roll over from your back to your belly on July 8th!  Now every time we lay you down somewhere, it isn't 30 seconds until you've done flipped right over!  Gone are the days of you staying put!  Mimi said you rolled from your belly to your back on July 12th, but I haven't seen it yet.

*You grasped a toy on purpose and held on to it for the first time on July 14th.  I think it was a little teething ring or something. 

*Everyone still thinks you are teething because you are still knawing on fingers and anything you can get in your mouth and you are slobbering a whole lot.  But I think you just like to chew stuff because it's something new.

*You absolutely LOVE to take a bath!  Most of the time I just get in the big bath tub with you.  I think it's easier than getting out your little tub and filling it with water which will then be splashed all over the bathroom floor.  As soon as you hear the water start running your little eyes light up and you start smiling!

*You have started making the cutest face!  You suck your bottom lip in your mouth and it looks like an old man who forgot to put his teeth in. 

*You learned how to make a new noise.  It's like you are blowing a raspberry or blowing bubbles.  It is so cute! 

*You do not like to lean back at all anymore.  In your carseat, your swing, the bathtub, it doesn't matter where you are,  you want to sit up like a big boy!

*We went to the beach one day before you turned 5 months old!  We had a great time.  You loved being outside on the beach, but you weren't too sure about dipping your feet in the ocean water.  You didn't make a noise at first, but then you started to whine when we did it again.  When we were holding you down at the edge of the water, you wouldn't take your eyes off the water.  You watched the water roll in around our feet and then watched it go back out as if you were thinking "please mommy don't put me in that cold stuff"!

*You are such a good baby.  Since you've been born you've never cried in the middle of the night.  When you wake up to eat, you just grunt until I pick you up!  The only time you do cry is if you are in pain (gas), really hungry or really tired (you have quit crying in the car all the time now).  Sometimes you fuss if we leave the room or you can't see us!

It is such a blessing to have you and your brother in my life!  I can't even remember what filled my days before you two!

Something to chew on, (or maybe gum on!)

My little man Jaxten turned 4 months old July 6th.


Which in case you haven't realized yet


That is ONE THIRD OF A YEAR OLD!


OMW, I'll have a toddler before you know it.


Anyway, back to the matter at hand.  Little man has started watching us very intently while we eat.  He'll watch your fork move from the plate to your mouth and then stare you straight in the face.  He will then commence to drooling and chewing on his fingers.  Poor thing, all he gets is my milk which has no taste and formula which doesn't taste good.  So, I decided we would try some cardboard flakes rice cereal.  Just mix a little bit of the cereal with some of mommy's milk and you get a bowl of tasteless baby goodness I guess.


Yuummmmmm!  This is pretty good stuff mom! (I'm thinking yuck, gag a maggot!)

(I'll try to add a picture if/when I find them!)

Overall he did pretty well with it though.  I mixed it quite runny to begin with but I had to thicken it a little.  He opens his little mouth like a baby bird.  It's the cutest thing!  I can't wait to give him some baby food and stuff with flavor!  It's so exciting all over again.

Jaxten is 4 months old!

Jaxten, you are 4 months old!

You are learning so much and growing stronger everyday!  Here are some fun facts about you this month!

*We didn't go to the doctor this month but I imagine you are getting close to 15lb at least!

*You are still in a size 2 diaper! (For now!)

*You are wearing mostly 3-6mth clothes with a few 0-3mth still mixed in!

*You eat 4-5oz of mommy's milk and/or formula every 2-4 hours during the day.  We are going to start rice cereal very soon!  You watch us when we eat.  You follow the fork from our plate to our mouth and it's almost pitiful to see you open your little mouth like you want some too!  It's coming very soon though!

*You are a great sleeper!  You still sleep 6-8 hours at night and then go back to sleep for another 3 hours after you eat.  You take several naps during the day, but you are awake for up to 2 hours at a time in between naps!

*You have really started chewing on your fingers (and anything else you can get in your mouth)!  Everyone thinks you are teething but I'm not so sure.

*We went to hear The Rochesters sing this month.  It was your first time (the first of many)!  They are mommy and daddy's favorite bluegrass gospel group. (besides our own group of course)  ;)

*You have started staying with Tiffani, our pastor's daughter, on Friday's.  She loves to keep you.  She plays with you, sings to you and even naps with you.  She loves to give you a bath and spike your hair up afterward!  It's very cute!

*We all went to a Winston-Salem Dash baseball game July 2nd.  You did so good.  You were awake the whole time and never made a sound.  You were just watching everything that was going on. 

*At the end of the Dash game they had a fireworks show.  We were really nervous how you would react to the noise but it didn't phase you a bit!  In fact, you fell asleep halfway through!  We went to see fireworks again on July 4th and you did great.  This time you actually watched them.  You were completely mesmerized the whole time!

Jaxten is 3 months old!

Jaxten, you are 3 months old!

You are laughing and smiling and it just makes me want to melt into a puddle in the floor!  Here are some fun facts about you this month!

*You weigh 12lb 12oz and you are 23 1/4in long! (May 17th)

*You are in a size 2 diaper and it's all because of those chunky little legs!

*You wear a good mixture of 0-3mth and 3-6mth clothes. 

*You eat about every 2 1/2-3 hours during the day.  You eat 2-3oz at a time in your bottle and it's mostly mommy's milk with a little bit of formula now and then.

*You are still sleeping great!  You sleep anywhere from 6-9 hours at a time each night!  You still take several naps during the day too, but you are staying awake for longer periods.

*We went to the RCR race shop for Caden's birthday party.  You weren't really interested in the race cars, but you enjoyed watching all the kids running around playing.  The highlight of the day for you was when pawpaw gave you a taste of vanilla ice cream which you LOVED!!

*We went to the zoo for the first time on Caden's birthday!  You slept in the stroller the ENTIRE TIME until the last 20 minutes.  You woke up in time for us to take a couple of pictures in front of the giraffes and zebras and then went back to sleep in the car on the way home.

*You got 3 shots at the dr's office this month and you SCREAMED.  It was so pitiful.  It made mommy cry too :'(

*You really do not like to ride in the car.  If you are awake, you will cry the whole time we are in there!  That's exactly opposite of how Caden was.  If he was fussy or fighting sleep we could ride him around the block and he would go right to sleep.  Not you!  And if you are asleep in the car and we stop at a stoplight or go through a drive-thru, you will wake up and cry every time!

*You started really laughing and cackling this month!  It makes my heart leap to hear you laugh!

*I had to go back to work May 28th :(  so you began to stay with mimi and granny during the day.  You have adjusted really well, but I think you still miss me!  I know I miss you like crazy!

Birthday, Zoo Fun, and IHOP!!

We went to the Asheboro Zoo on May 10th for Caden's birthday!  Scottie had to work :( so it was me, Jaxten, Caden and Mimi.  We ate at IHOP first......

(excuse me while I drool and slobber thinking about the strawberry pancakes and hash browns, YUUMMMM!)

 

Ok, I'm done. 

So we arrived at the zoo and parked on the Africa side.  I love the polar bears on the other side but Africa is becoming my favorite part.  The giraffes and zebras are always so close to you and the elephants really put on a show in the water!  The one thing I always hate is that no matter which way you go, you are going uphill.  It is a pain in the you-know-what (and everywhere else for that matter) to push a stroller full of baby and bags up a hill.  But I think I have figured out the key.  If you get on the tram at the entrance and ride it to the middle, you can walk downhill back towards the exit!  I'm going to try this next time.

Other than being so out of breath the whole time, it was a lot of fun! 

Here's a few highlights from our day.

Caden and Jaxten (totally passed out) when we first arrived at the giraffe and zebra exhibit.

I love watching the elephants!  They have so much fun in the water.  This one walked out to the middle of the little pond and just flopped over sideways.  She got her whole body completely under the water including her trunk.  She stayed under for the longest time.  If you hadn't seen her go under you would never have known there was a huge elephant in there!

My big boy Caden.  I love this picture because he isn't giving one of his "cheesy smiles"!

Here's all 4 of us in the flower building (the one that's usually the Aviary). 

You can't see his face but Jaxten is still sleeping.

Three generations!  There's that cheesy smile I was talking about!

Jaxten finally woke up as we were looking at the giraffes just before we left.  As you can see, he was very enthused about being there! 

My boys!

Caden "cheesy grinning" and Jaxten looks like he's thinking "I woke up for this?"

What is he looking at? LOL

I could just eat this kid with a spoon! 

We always have a lot of fun at the zoo.  At least I do.  I think it's one of my favorite local places to go! 

Now if I could just get to the San Diego zoo, I would LOVE to see the pandas!

Caden turns 4 years old!

Caden, you are 4 years old!

My little baby is not a little baby anymore.  I can hardly believe you are already 4 years old!  In some ways it seems like it was just yesterday I was holding a little baby.  (Oh, wait, I was holding a baby just yesterday!)  Anyway, you know what I mean. 

"Mom" and "Dad" are so proud of you!  (Although I really miss you calling me mommy, I'm just glad you call me anything!)  You are becoming such a young boy instead of my chubby cheek little toddler!  A lot has happened in the past year so I'm gonna do my best to at least cover the major highlights!

*You weigh 35lb (35%), and you are 41in tall (75%).  You are tall (which you did get from my side of the family, just not from me) and skinny (which did come from me)!

*As of June 30th, 2009 you are potty trained!  Well, that's the day we switched to big boy underwear anyway.  We tried for a long time to get you to use the potty, but you absolutely were not going to do it until you were ready.  Once you decided you were interested, there was no turning back!  You have had very few accidents since then and don't even have any accidents at night either! 

*Your clothing sizes are very hard.  You were in 3T last summer and most of the winter, but you hit a major growth spurt over the cold months and we had to buy all new 4T clothes.  The pants are way too big in the waist (thank goodness for adjustable waist bands) but they tend to be a little short on your long legs!  If a shirt fits really well on the shoulders, it will be too short too.  So, sometimes your clothes tend to look a little big on you, but I think that beats wearing high-waters!

*You are such a picky eater!  You get that honest from both me and your dad!  You love most vegetables including carrots, green beans, corn, sweet peas, squash, okra and many others.  You love almost any kind of bread.  You don't care much for meat but you will eat some chicken or burger or ham sometimes.  You have just recently started eating some fruit.  You have decided you like apples, bananas, grapes (only the green ones) and watermelon!  You will eat any flavor of applesauce but won't eat any other fruits.  I think it's a texture thing!

*Your favorite thing in the whole world to eat is pancakes with maple syrup and whip cream on top! 

*Your favorite candy is peanut butter cups.

*You usually sleep all night long in your room, but there are a few issues with that.  You will not go to sleep on your own in a room by yourself.....even with the light on.  So, we usually let you fall asleep on the couch and daddy carries you to bed.  Then, if you wake up, you come in our room and stand on my side of the bed until I wake up and see you.  And let me say, that is dangerous because you scared me so bad the other night that I almost took a swing and hit you right in the face! 

*Your favorite color is still green, which you must have gotten from Mimi!

*You are not into coloring and art very much.  You would rather be playing with your race cars or trucks or riding in your big F250 truck outside! 

*You LOVE LOVE LOVE all things racing!  Your paw paw works at RCR (Richard Childress Racing) and that's where we had your party this year.  Your favorite driver is Kevin Harvick #29 because that's the car paw paw works on.  Daddy has bought you almost every race car there is and those have become your favorite toys!  You know several of the drivers names and can match them with which car they drive. 

You like racing a little bit I think ;)

*You went to Bowman Gray racetrack in Winston-Salem several times last year and loved it!

*You started preschool last August.  You were in K3 2 days a week.  You did very well!  You didn't cry(most of the time) when I dropped you off.  You learned SO MUCH about your letters, numbers, shapes and colors.  It is a christian preschool so you learned a lot about God and Jesus and the Bible too!

*You have come a long way in letting go of mom too!  At 3 yr old, you were still very attached to me and had bad separation anxiety.  I think it started to change after I got pregnant with Jaxten.  I couldn't pick you up as much and then not at all at the end.  I was sick or having gall bladder attacks for a while so you had to let daddy help with your bath and bedtime.  I miss our time together, but I'm so glad you have gotten closer to your daddy too.  He loves you so much.  You are his pride and joy!

*You can talk really well for your age.  Everyone thinks you are older because your words are so clear and you are so smart.  Some of the last letter sounds that you mastered were the "L", "G", and "th" sounds. 

*You have a wildly vivid imagination!  You have learned how to pretend and any object can become something creative and fun for you. 

*You can sing really well.  You started singing at a very young age and have continued as you grow.  You stay in tune and even go for some of the "diddly dos" (as daddy likes to call them) with your voice.  I love singing with you and maybe one day we'll sing as a family with Jaxten too.  Some of your favorite songs are "Some on Pieces, Some on Boards"(written by daddy), "Every Need Supplied", "It Is Well", "I Am A Soldier", "Listen, Listen, Listen" (written by Paw paw), "Scars In His Hands", and "Three Rusty Nails".  Just to name a few :)

*You are a FANTASTIC big brother!!  I am so proud of the way you have handled a new little baby in our family!  I don't know how much you really understood at first, but you always seemed excited.  There was never a time when you had a meltdown or acted like you didn't want the baby.  Anytime I dropped you off at school or in the nursery at church, you always had to lean over and kiss my belly and nuzzle your ear on it (your way of hugging the baby, too cute!).  You started paying more attention to babies and talking about how "caah-uuute" they were.  You have been nothing but sweet since Jaxten was born.  You are so protective over him and love to talk to him and tickle him.  He loves you so much already too. 

I am so proud of the little man you are becoming.  Sometimes I think you are growing way too fast, but I absolutely love watching all the new things you can do.  You are incredibly smart.  I love you with all my heart.  You will always be my "baby" no matter how big you get!


 

Jaxten is 2 months old!

Jaxten, you are 2 months old!

You are growing so much and developing a personality!  Here are some fun facts about this month.

*We didn't go to the doctor this month so I'm not sure how much you weigh.  But I know you are growing because I can feel it in my arms after carrying you around!

*You started out this month in a size 1 diaper, but moved to a size 2 on April 26th. (I think Caden was still wearing newborn diapers at this point!)

*You still wear some newborn clothes but mostly you wear 0-3 month outfits.

*You eat every 2-3 hours during the day and go longer between feedings at night.  You eat mostly mommy's milk but we supplement with some formula too, and it's usually about 3-4oz at a time.

***I performed the ultimate mommy taste test.  You didn't seem to like any formula too good so I decided to taste them all and see what all the fuss was about.   I was surprised when the results were in.  Breastmilk (yes I tasted my own milk, and yes I know...YUCK) actually doesn't smell at all and has a faint sweetness with barely any taste.  Carnation Goodstart and Enfamil Gentlease smelled like something sour or rotten and tasted like you picked a piece of metal off of a shop floor and sucked on it for a minute.  (I would like to publically apologize to Caden for making him choke down the Enfamil as a baby.  I'm seriously sorry!)  Finally, the Similac Advance smells and tastes like a mild version of Vanilla Ensure.  Not too bad.  So, that's how we picked which formula to use.  But you still prefer mommy's milk!

*You have started sleeping really well at night!  At 7 weeks old you started sleeping 6-7 hours at a time, or from about 9:30-10:00pm until about 4 -4:30am.  You wake up and eat and go right back to sleep for another 3 hours or so.  That makes mommy really excited to get more than 3 hours of sleep at a time! 

*You started smiling the week you turned 1 month old.

*You have started (almost) laughing at daddy.  It's definately a little giggle!

*You have started cooing and "talking" a lot!  It's like music to my ears!

*You spent the night away from home for the first time (not by my choice though)!  I had to have my gall bladder removed and spend one night in the hospital on April 9th.  You stayed at nana's house with nana and aunt Heather.  I absolutely hated being away from you, but they said you were wonderful!

*You caught a glimpse of Pacey (our Shar-pei) and just kept staring at him.  It's like you didn't quite know what to think of this big, hairy, wrinkly monster licking your foot!

*Daddy played the guitar for us at home and you turned to look at where the sound was coming from.  You watched him play and watched his hand and arm as he strummed it.  It was so sweet!

*You have your first favorite thing!  It is a paper that Caden colored at school.  It has a V and and vioin on one side, but the other side is the one you like.  It has a blue U and a colorful umbrella on it.  You will stare at it for the longest time and sometimes you instantly smile when we hold it in front of you!