I know it sounds cliche but really I can't believe my littlest baby is already 1. This year has flown by. The saying, "The days are long but the years are short" (or something like that) is so very true when you are a mama! Some of the days over this past year did seem very long- being home all day, every day with my boys is incredible and challenging. I love being a full time stay at home mom. The rewards are endless. The work is also endless and can sometimes feel overwhelming. I really wouldn't change it for anything but it certainly has not always been easy for me. I will never forget this amazing year with my two boys, watching Rowen become a generous big brother and watching our littlest child grow and change and grow and change over and over again. What an awesome time in all of our lives!The years really are flying by- no longer do we have an infant, he is 1! How did this happen?
Paxton's Birthday Breakfast-
2 whole and large oatmeal banana pancakes, yo baby vanilla yogurt and milk. Pax continues to have a large appetite :).
He LOVED the pancakes!
Our family at Paxton's birthday party in the park. :)
Opening presents was funny. Paxton was of course clueless as to how it all worked but big brother was a huge help.
Paxton received many thoughtful gifts but of course he really only cared about the ball that Rowen picked out for him. Paxton loves to throw balls and Rowen knew he would love this red one!
We sang "Happy Birthday" to Pax and he seemed a little stunned. Big brother blew out the candle and then we let Pax dig into his cupcake.
Paxton had little bites of cake before he turned 1 but nothing like an entire cupcake all to himself. He devoured it! I think he is as much a fan of chocolate as his big brother is.
I am pretty sure he is asking for "more" here :).
Yum! Ice cream too! So cold and squishy!
The overall "theme" of the party was lions, hence Paxton's outfit :). Rowen loves lions, he pretends to be a lion most days so Paxton has lots of experience with lions roars and playing lion in general. So, when I took Rowen to the store to pick out Paxton's birthday plates, napkins, etc Rowen naturally chose the lion themed package right away. Rowen held it up to me and Paxton, Paxton pointed to the lion on the plate and "roared"! It worked out perfectly because it was actually a first birthday package! It was meant to be :). In addition to picking out the birthday decorations, Rowen made this darling sign (with my help of course) for the party. He worked so hard on it. Rowen is always ready to celebrate others. We are so happy to see that he was just as into his little brother's birthday as he is his own or any other family members'. Such a sweet big brother!
The kids played in the park and Rowen had a big moment- he learned how to pump on the swing! This is something he has been working on for over a year now and finally it just all clicked. All of a sudden he was flying away on that swing. Such a memorable milestone on Pax's birthday :).
By the end of the evening Pax was tuckered out!
He was a delightful Birthday Boy- loving every part of his big day.
At 1 year old Paxton weighs 22.6 lbs- 55% and measured 30.5 inches-82%
- Waves "hi" and "bye".
- Does Patty Cake- claps and rolls his hands
- Standing on his own for a few seconds before plopping down on his tush
- Cruising along furniture more and more
- Climbs up onto Rowen's bed! I didn't know he could do this until all of sudden he was sitting on the bed, bouncing away with a huge grin on his face!
- Favorite word is "dat!". Also says mama, dada and we think we have heard "this" a few times. He also jibbers jabbers in a rhythmic way, mimicking how I sing to him or chant little poems to him.
- Loves it when I chant "P-A-X-T-O-N PAXTON!" when I change his diaper. Then when we are all done he gets to stand up on his changing pad and touch the letters P-A-X-T-O-N that are on the wall above his changing table.
- Favorite songs are the ABC's, One Little, Two Little, etc, Mama Loves Her Paxton
- Loves Chicka Chicka Boom Boom- I chant the first few pages to him and bounce him up and down to the "boom boom"- lots of giggles and smiles!
- Hums- this is very sweet
- Loves to play, play, play or more like explore- will play alone for extended periods of time
- We often hear Pax laughing while he plays- he cracks himself up often! This is one of our favorite things about Pax, he just seems to be happy go lucky.
- He MUST climb (crawl) the stairs on his own EVERY time we go upstairs. If he doesn't want to crawl up himself then I know he is very tired or not feeling well.
- Claps for himself and others spontaneously.
- Starts laughing so that we will start laughing. He does this in the car and when sitting in his high chair. He is such a little clown :).
- Loves music, dances to music, plays Rowen's musical instruments.
- Stands in front of the washing machine and dryer to watch the clothes go round and round. He just recently discovered the oven and that it also has a window. He stood in front of the window of the oven and looked at his reflection (we think) for quite some time.
- 2 teeth on bottom- the middle two and 4 teeth on top- 2 are all the way through but the other 2 have just popped through. The 4 teeth on top are so cute because the 2 that are all the way through that you can see well are one middle tooth and one tooth on the side.
- Drinks whole milk first thing in the morning out of a sippy cup and maybe a few other times throughout the day. Then Pax has a bottle right before bed time. He has transitioned from stopping breast feeding to whole milk only really well!
- Gives us big open mouth wet kisses.
- Sleeps really well- from about 7:30 p.m. to about 6:45-7:30 a.m. (this seems to fluctuate), naps from about 9 a.m. until about 10-10:30 then naps again around 1:30 until about 3-3:30. It seems like he is just starting to become really predictable with this schedule. It took longer to get Pax on a schedule than it did Rowen and I think that is because we are almost always going, going, going- keeping Rowen busy is priority! So, the schedule has to be more flexible.
- Is happiest when he is dirty. Yes, he is truly all boy. I really didn't know how dirty a little boy could get until Paxton came along. This kid has a talent for getting dirty. He loves to play in the rocks, dirt, and sand box in our back yard. He will cover his legs and feet with dirt or sand and just smiles the entire time. He throws rocks and digs his hands into the dirt. He is over trying to eat the dirt and sand so that is good. I have to scrub his hands, feet, and legs with a wash cloth after he has been outside and over the past month he pretty much has to have a bath every night because he is so dirty.
- Loves to be outside. Pax with stand at the slider door and whine and point at the backyard.
- Paxton wants to do EVERYTHING big brother does. This is darling and difficult.
- Pax has been trying to climb up the play set in our back yard. He is pretty determined. I wouldn't be surprised if by next summer he is climbing up it with ease. This amazes me because Rowen was never a "climber". He wanted help doing most things like that but Pax just goes for it all with no fear.
- Screams and points to get what he wants. Ugh!
- Has discovered that laying on pillows is really fun.
- Wants snuggles after he wakes up from a nap and first thing in the morning. Lays his head on our shoulder and tucks his arms in under his chest. This melts our hearts.
- Holds his arms out with his hands facing up and whines to let us know he wants picked up.
Pax,
You are a ray of sunshine in our family. We all adore you. This past year has been so full of joy and love because of you. Thank you sweet boy.
Love, Mama
