Jaxten is 11 months old!

Jaxten, you are 11 months old!

*We don't know how much you weigh this month but you don't seem to be having a growth spurt right now!  I look at you sometimes and think how small you seem which I didn't think we would ever say about you!  Even your thighs are slimming down and that's kind of sad. lol

*You are wearing 9-12 month clothes but some of your 6 month onesies still fit pretty good.

*You are holding steady in a size 3 diaper.

*You are trying new foods all the time.  You eat almost anything we give you.  You like lots of vegetables and some fruits.  You like to eat chicken and beef and LOVE bread!  You only eat baby food sometimes, but mostly we feed you what we are eating.  You still have 4 bottles of formula every day.  I would give you some juice or milk in a sippy cup but you are having no part of a sippy cup!

*You have learned how to drink from a straw and it is the cutest thing!!

*You are sleeping better than you have been.  You only wake up once in a while and usually go back to sleep within about 5-10 minutes.  You still take 2 naps everyday except on Sat and Sun because we are so busy you just cat nap all day and sleep when you can.  Poor thing!  But you don't seem to mind at all because you never fuss.

*You are the most laid back baby I've ever seen.  You don't cry and fuss and you don't get too loud even when you are excited.  Everyone comments on how easy you are to take care of and how "chill" you are! 

*You are cruising along furniture a little now and you can walk behind your little push toys really well!  But you can crawl super fast so I'm not sure you are too excited to learn to walk anyway.

*You LOVE your brother!  You are fascinated just watching him (he's crazy most of the time!).  You give like to grab his head and hug and kiss him.  You laugh out loud at him all the time!

*We started letting you and Caden take a bath together and you both play and splash!  Caden has always hated water on his face and in his ears, but you don't mind if I pour it all over your head!

*You are so cuddly and I L.O.V.E that!! I could just melt into a puddle in the floor when you wrap those precious little arms around my neck and squeeze tight!  You are also very kissy and like to "gum" my chin and cheeks.

I am so proud of you and all the new things you can do!  I can hardly believe the next monthly update we post will actually be the first yearly post!

Thought I would share some of the "out-takes" from our photo shoot! It's getting harder to get a good picture of this wiggle worm actually sitting still and looking at the camera where you can see the number on his shirt.

See, told you those thighs were disappearing!

Jaxten is 10 months old!

Jaxten, you are 10 months old!

*You weighed 19lb 5oz at the doctor today! 

*You are STILL wearing a size 3 diaper.  I guess you are taking after me and just not going to have a big tush (like your daddys)!

*You wear 9 mth, 9-12mth, and 6-12mth clothes depending on where they are from. 

*You sleep pretty well most of the time.  You go to bed between 8:30-9:00pm and get up around 7:30am.  You take a morning nap around 10:00am and an afternoon nap around 1:00pm.

*You LOVE to eat!  You usually take 4 bottles a day with 6-8oz of formula each.  You eat all kinds of foods now.  We've tried pretty much every kind of baby food out there but you really like "big people" food that you can use your fingers to eat. 

*You have started saying "nanana" which makes Nana super excited and Mimi.....well.....not so much. LOL

*You are pulling up on everything!

*You have learned how to arch your back and scoot down off of someone's lap.  It's really getting hard to keep you still!

*You still love to take a bath! You don't play much, but you really like to just sit in the water.

*You had so much fun at Christmas.  You helped open some presents but Caden did most of it for you!

*You are such a good baby! You are no problem at all.  It is a joy to have you for a son!

(I think you actually look like me and Caden in this months pictures!)

Christmas at Nana's

Christmas, Part 3

After we open gifts at home Christmas morning, we go to Scottie's moms house to....

wait for it....

Open MORE gifts!!

We had a wonderful time and it was great getting all 7 of the grandkids together this year (since last year there were only 5!).  I know I have said it before but I have the BEST in-laws anyone could ask for.  I love them all dearly and I'm so blessed to be a part of their family.

Jaxten and Caden playing.

Jimmy and Caden.  Jimmy is the oldest and until this year Caden was the youngest.

Caden opening his Nerf gun.  (Thanks Heather.  Now we have little nerf darts everywhere!)

Tradition: Scottie gets a huge box of Goldfish crackers every year!

My Duke fan mom-in-law broke down and bought me a pink UNC shirt!!! Go Tarheels!!

Our family, Scottie's brothers family and his sisters family got together again this year for a huge family portrait.  We all pitched in together and bought Scottie's mom a 20 x 24 canvas to go on her mantel.  She loved it!!

Me and my boys!

Alydia is thinking "Ooooh, I'm gonna grab him!" and Jaxten is thinking "Girl, you better back up!"  They are hilarious!

Caden is showing Jaxten his Nerf gun.  "You can look but you can't touch."

He looks like he is about to karate chop someone!

One of my favorite pics of my big boy.  I was having fun playing with my new camera!

Just wanna plant one right on them big sweet lips!

Scottie and Christie playing Just Dance on the Wii.  Ya'll, it was HI-LAR-I-OUS!!!!  He was most definately "shakin' what his mama gave him"! LOL

One of the best parts of the whole day......

SNOW!!!!!!!!!!

This was the first time it had snowed on Christmas day since 1998!!  It was so special!

We had the best Christmas I can remember in a long time!

Christmas morning!!!

Now for Christmas, Part 2!!

We always come back home after spending Christmas eve at Pa's so we can wake up at home Christmas morning.  My mom (Mimi) and my granny come over EARLY so we can all open presents together.  The boys had a blast this year!  Especially Caden because Jaxten was more interested in eating the paper so Caden got to open his presents AND Jaxten's.

Here's our tree.  It's so pretty when it is lit up and the camera just can't capture it the way I want it to.

Our first family ornament!

Caden is like "Hey let ME help you with that".  Jaxten was thinking "Give me that paper kid, it looks yummy!"

Yes, we got Pacey a present too!  Doesn't everyone get their dog a present for Christmas???  Pacey loved all the squeeky toys and Jaxten ended up with the ball!

This is the BEST Christmas movie EVAH!!  Who doesn't love A Christmas Story?!?  "I triple-dog-dare ya" hahahahaha

Caden checking out Jaxten's toy.

Caden opening one of Jaxten's presents.  Caden had Cars wrapping paper and Jaxten had Toy Story.  I coordinated it so Caden would know what was his which may or may not have been such a good idea. ;)

Jaxten's favorite part of the morning!

Jaxten loved his Lightning McQueen ride-on toy!!  He looks like he is texting on his little phone behind the wheel (I would say just like mommy but texting while driving is illegal you know!) (I don't text while driving anymore but I still talk on the phone a little   quite a bit   okay, okay, if the car is running I'm probably talking on the phone!  There.  I said it!)

Also loved the dinosaur ride-on toy!

Caden playing with his new Leapster2.  (Look at those eyelashes!  He's got his daddy's eyelashes.  I have begged Scottie to let me put mascara on them just one time so I could see how pretty they would be but he just won't let me! lol)

It looks like the Christmas tree exploded in here!

Daddy and Caden.

Caden is showing Jaxten how his new toy works.  It's a little race track that spins around and shoots the cars out of the side.  Jaxten almost cried the first few times, but after a few minutes he was laughing so hard!  It was absolutely the most precious thing I have ever seen to watch them play together.  I have dreamed of this moment for a long time!

(Have you all noticed Pacey is somewhere in almost all of these pictures?  He was never far from the action that morning!)

Just the three of us, Jaxten had already fallen asleep for his morning nap.

We had so much fun this year!  I can only imagine next year will have to be even better since Jaxten will be a little older and more involved.

I love my little family!

Christmas Eve at Pa's

Christmas time is always so FULL of activity around our house, so I thought it would be best to just post several blogs full of pictures instead of trying to type out everything!! 

(That and maybe I'm just a bit lazy.....Hey, it's post holiday season.  I'm allowed!)

Every year we go to Scottie's grandpa's (Pa) house for Christmas eve.  We had a great time, although it hasn't been quite the same since his Ma died in 2005.  Miss you Ma!

Anyway, how could you not L.O.V.E. this face?!?

Pawpaw bought him yet another race car.  The kid is OB-SESSED with some racing!

Pawpaw and his little buddies!  My dad has been going through a tough time recently and I was so glad he was able to come with us!

Jaxten loved his new little toy.

Jaxten and Alydia are so funny together.  Jaxten is very laid back and Alydia is very...well...not!  She's always trying to hug and kiss him or grab him or grab toys and he just looks at her like "chill out kid".  It's super funny to watch!

Boys opening presents.

He smiled so big when he saw the glow-worm's face light up and grabbed it and pulled it up close for a big smooch!!

Our family of four. (It's still wierd to type "four" instead of "three").

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!)

Jaxten is 8 months old!

Jaxten, you are 8 months old!

(Picture coming soon, can't find the charger for my camera battery :(  )

You are growing so fast and changing or learning something new everyday.  Here are some fun facts about you this month.

*We have not been to the dr this month but I know you have to weigh close to 20lbs!  My arms can feel it!

*You are wearing some 6-9 month clothes but they are getting kinda *snug*.  You wear mostly 9 month or 6-12 month outfits.  It just depends on the store they come from.

*You are still in a size 3 diaper.  It seems like this might be the one that sticks for a while.

*You go through phases where you really like to eat, and then you don't.  Not sure what that is all about because I LOVE to eat!  You take mostly formula now, only nursing at bedtime and in the morning usually.  I have made some baby food at home (Yay, me! Had to throw that in since I really don't cook much!) and it's actually pretty good.  So far I have made sweet potatoes, butternut squash, carrots, applesauce, pears, pears with raspberries, and bananas.  You eat all of it really well. 

*You still absolutely will have nothing to do with a sippy cup.  Couldn't care less about drinking any juice or water!

*You have not been such a great sleeper for the past SEVERAL weeks which is making mommy and daddy a little crazy!  You wake up at least 2 times a night, and sometimes it's more like 7-8 times a night!  You don't wake up screaming or anything and you usually go back to sleep fairly quick.  But once or twice a night you wake up and think it's time to play or something because you won't go back to sleep for at least 45 minutes!  Sometimes in the wee hours of the night when I'm deleriously sleepy, I just bring you to bed with me and you scoot back and forth between me and daddy.  You crawl up on our chest and get right in our face until we open our eyes.  Then you flash that huge gummy grin and we can't help but smile.  I just wish you would only be cute during the day, not at night!  (I know this is awful but you are still in a bassinet in our room and I think we will be moving to the crib very soon!)

*You are halfway crawling now.  You move a knee and then a hand and then you lunge forward. 

*You still love to take a bath.  I am hoping this sticks too!

*You make all kinds of noise now that you have found your voice.  We have started putting you in the nursery at church because you can get louder than the preacher!

I am amazed at how much you are growing and learning.  I think you must be the smartest baby in the world (besides your brother at that age ;) )! Mommy and daddy are so very proud of you!

Month of Thanks: Day 2

Fun Boy!!

 

Happy boy!!

Today, I am thankful for healthy children.  I have the 2 most wonderful boys anyone could ask for. 

There are so many children out there that have health problems and it breaks my heart that they have to suffer.  Several blogs that I follow are about these brave little souls and the struggles they have.  There is a great lesson to be learned from those precious children.  Most of them just smile right through all the pain.  It humbles me to think of them when I'm complaining about being stuck in traffic or when McDonald's gets my order wrong.  I'm ashamed to say that sometimes when I watch Caden running around the house like a wild monkey my first instinct is to get aggrivated.  But quite often I catch myself before the mad, angry yelling mild words of correction start.  In that moment I am so overcome with joy that he is able to run around and act like a monkey that I can't even be mad about it! 

I thank God for my children.  They are wonderfully healthy and perfect to me!  They are so adorable, and very smart if I do say so myself!
;)