Happy 1st Birthday Paxton!

Paxton is one year old today at 9:18 p.m.

This little boy has made our family so incredibly happy. Pax fills our lives with smiles, giggles, cuddles, and squeals. We love watching him grow.

We love you Pax more than words could ever express!

Paxton's 10th Month

This past month has been crazy around here! Our littlest boy is VERY mobile! I can't believe the difference it has made in our daily lives. Gone is the laid back baby who sat on my lap, watching big brother play. Gone is the baby who pretty much only smiled and giggled at everything and everyone. Gone is the baby who left all of the big brother's toys alone :). These wonderful things may not be as much a part of our days any longer but the active, delightful, curious little guy who is quickly emerging is just as much fun and lovable!

• crawling
• discovered the stairs (the gates went up quickly!)
• pulling up to his knees and occasionally to his feet
• waving bye bye
• clapping
• dancing to music
• throws a little temper tantrum when things don't go his way (big uh oh!!!)- kicks legs and screams
• does the "bear crawl" (hands and feet) occasionally
• tries to "woof" like a dog
• throws food off of his highchair tray then looks at us and shakes his head back and forth
• when we say "no no Pax" in a soft voice he looks at us and either growls at us, shakes his head back and forth, or makes a whiny sound
• adores animals, especially dogs and of course our Coco
• loves animal sounds and tries to do them himself- they usually come out as a grunt or a sniff
• LOVES to eat everything- don't even try to eat anything in front of him without an option for Pax too! 
• laughs and smiles all day long still
• teething so the laughing and smiling is broken up with some whining but nothing major
• one tooth on top and one tooth on the bottom coming through with a few more on top and bottom showing up
• nursing only about twice a day- I think we are VERY close to being done :(
• takes a bottle before bed
• has been traveling a bit- has done really well with it for the most part
• drinking water only out of a sippy cup because he still lets much of it run down his chin and onto everything else :)
• favorite playmate is still big brother, big brother gets the biggest smiles still
• loves to play "chase" and ball with big brother

• I have let Pax eat lots of foods that I never let Rowen eat at this point- ice cream, frozen yogurt, whole milk (his doctor actually recommended we do this one), butter (also doctors recommendation), jelly, little bites of treats we are eating like cake, icing, pie, etc. I hope I don't mess his metabolism up for life! 
• still saying mama and dada the most and lots of jibber jabber

Paxton,
I can't believe you are almost 1 year old! How did this happen my littlest boy?! You fill our days with so much joy. We can't get enough of watching you explore your world with such intense interest while crawling all over our house and any where else we will put you down. Your lovable personality is such a gift to us.
Love, Mama

My son thinks I am an Olympian

Watching the Olympics is a big deal in our house. I love it and Rowen is really starting to enjoy it too. He asks to watch the Olympics and is asking TONS of questions about all of the events and athletes. Yesterday he watched a few minutes of water polo with Grammy and then they "played" water polo with pillows on her bed. He won a gold medal for his stellar goalie skills. Rowen loved every minute of course.

However, the most memorable Olympic 2012 Rowen moment thus far was just a few days ago when Rowen asked me in all seriousness, "Mommy, when were you in the Olympics? You know, for running?". I should have went along with it and told some elaborate story about overcoming the most difficult run of my life and winning a gold medal, but instead I couldn't help but smile, give my sweet boy a big hug and break the news to him that his mama has never been an Olympian. That news didn't seem to disappoint him, so all is well.

Once again, I am reminded that no matter how much it seems Ro is growing up and figuring out so much, he is still just 4 with a 4 year old view of the world. One where his mommy could be an Olympic athlete :).

Rowen at 4 1/2 (and a million photos :))

 My big 4 1/2 year old boy

 Daddy's 33rd birthday- Rowen picked out 3 signs for Daddy's garage.

 They both looked terrified in this photo but I assure you they both LOVE this game.

 learning to ride his bike- first attempt was a struggle so we took a break for a day

 picking strawberries at Greenbluff with mommy, Pax and Grammy

 enjoying his hard work

 second attempt at riding without training wheels was a super success!

 silly boy fresh out of the bath tub- this photo gives blows me away, 

I see a future teenage boy for some reason

 ice cream bars on a hot summer night (in only underwear of course!)

the best big brother with his adoring little brother

 the love between these two is so fun to watch

a proud mama with her two boys

cute brothers

 strawberry lemonade on a hot summer day

 Rowen wearing his eye patch- he chose the patch with the bike on it because he had just learned to ride without training wheels.

 Rowen and Cooper- buddies being silly

playing together

 Mama and her boys at the library

 both boys relaxing in Paxton's car seat :)

 

 Bennett and Rowen at T-Ball

 my chocoholic- I couldn't adore him more :)

At 4 1/2 Rowen is...

• spelling some words- Rowen, Volk, love, mom, dad, Pax, Roro, Papa, Nana, mommy, daddy, Grammy, (Grandpa is a bit harder), Cooper,
• very interested in signs and what they all say and mean- we discuss signs all the way to somewhere while in the car and all the way home sometimes. I have never had to think about signs in so much detail in my life! :)
• still loves snuggles from mommy the most- I hope I get these for many more years to come
• riding his bike WITHOUT training wheels! Ro is working on starting and stopping with ease still but he can really fly!
• playing T-Ball this summer and enjoying a tumbling class through the YMCA
• very protective of little brother
• loves to do "chores"- Rowen shines the most when he can be independent so we have a system that encourages and rewards Rowen for doing so...he makes his bed in the morning (not exactly like I would but that isn't what matters right?!), gets himself dressed (I lay out his outfit for the next day each night- sometimes I forget), brings his water cup downstairs each morning, often puts a waffle in the toaster by himself, and pours himself a glass of milk (only if I know the container isn't very full), gets himself a glass of ice water from the fridge; at night he brushes his own teeth and uses mouth wash on his own, puts his dirty clothes in the correct basket in the laundry room each night before bed, and reminds mom and dad to put his eye drop in
• tells me he loves me multiple times before he leaves with anyone else and always blows me a kiss, this is precious and I love it so very much
• wears an eye patch for 2 hours a day (broken up into 4, 30 minute sessions) to continue to work on strengthening the eye that has the dermoid on it (we continue to dilate his left eye every day with eye drops and his eye doctor is very pleased with his eye sight and progress at this point)
• loves to watch TV, play on the ipad, take photos with mommy and daddy's iphones, listen to music and stories on our ipod, type on the computer
• continues to enjoy to write anything and everything- lists, cards, notes, stories
• loves to run through the sprinkler and play in his sand box outside
• goes on a bike ride at least a few days a week with mommy, brother, Grammy and sometimes in the evenings with daddy
• his favorite "rock song" is Save Me San Francisco by Train
• gives mommy a run for her money every. single. day.
• wears every emotion he feels right on his sleeve, doesn't hide a thing- this is challenging of course
• favorite thing to play with is still his cars and stuffed animals
• enjoys creating things- Rowen has made an elevator, a lions den, a rocket, a rabbit trap, lots of forts with blankets, and his own "bee traps", just to name a few :)
• helps mama take care of Paxton- watches him in the play room if mama has to leave for a minute, brings Paxton's toys to play with, helps Paxton up if he falls down, shows Paxton how to do many things, feeds Paxton
• continues to be very imaginative
• continues to remember everything- amazes us with the things he can recall that seem like small events to us but obviously must be making a huge impact on him
• has many, many questions about EVERYTHING!

Rowen,
You are such a special little boy. You are so bright, loving, thoughtful, and energetic. I look at your sweet face and still see the baby boy who made me a mama. Then in the next moment I see a little boy who is growing up too fast. You bring so much joy to our lives. I will always try my best to be the best mommy for you. All I ask of you is to continue to only be yourself because you are amazing just as you are.
Love, Mama

Paxton's 9th month

At his 9 month well child visit Paxton
weighed: 19 lbs 13 oz
height: 29 inches
wearing some 9 month but mostly12 month clothing

• wants to crawl but not there yet- can get up onto his hands and knees just long enough to transfer to sitting up
• scoots on his bottom really well to get to what he wants
• loves to take things out of baskets and put them back in- will do this for long periods of time
• feeding himself really well now
• loves to eat whole wheat fig newtons, toast with butter on it, small chunks of chicken, yogurt, watermelon, puffs
• I am feeling much more confident that Pax may not turn out to be a picky eater, he is eating everything we offer to him without gagging :)
• loves the water- splashes and squeals with delight
• randomly laughs at things- we LOVE this about him :)
• sleeping soooooo well at night (knock on wood)
• no teeth yet!
• continues to think that big brother is the most hilarious thing ever!
• plays a few mimicking games with us- hits his open mouth with his hand when we do to make that fun sound, coughs when we cough, blinks his eyes when we exaggerate it, goes "bonk" with his head onto our head when we say "bonk"  
• still saying "mama" and all sorts of other very loud jibber jabber
•  becoming quite fond of daddy- he knows daddy is a pretty special guy
• wants to pet Racoco several times a day
• 2 naps a day- morning and afternoon
• hands us objects and then wants us to hand them back to him
• likes to drop pieces of food off of his highchair and looks down at the mess he has made with such delight
• playing cars with big brother is his favorite thing to play; he will also sit in front of one of our many toy containers and take toys out and put toys back in over and over again
• still likes his jumper but is growing too big for it
• has stayed the night at Grammy and Papas!
• becoming much more feisty; let's us know loud and clear now what he likes and doesn't like
• we can't imagine life without him

Recently Rowen, Eric and I were on a walk alone in Manito Park... Rowen said, "This feels strange."
Me: Why? (even though I was feeling it too!)
R: Paxton isn't here! I miss him.
Eric and I looked at each other over Ro's head with complete agreement and understanding.

Pax,
You continue to amaze us with your happy disposition and precious gummy smiles! Mama could cuddle you all day long if I could. You truly make our family so happy. We love you sweet baby boy.
Love, Mama

Kindermusik Spring Concert 2012

Rowen had his end of the year music concert on June 5th. They do a full "program" so the video (below) of him singing his solo is just a small portion of the program. Once again I cried as I watched my little/big boy participate with a shy smile and sing a song all by himself in front of an audience. Rowen's favorite song is Rudolph The Red Nose Reindeer so that is what he chose to sing.We love all of the little "mistakes" he made because it makes it that much sweeter.

Rowen did a full year of Kindermusik Imagine That for 3-5 year old children and loved it each and every week. I am amazed at all that he learns and how appropriate it is for kids his age. Rowen will be doing a summer session (once a week for the full month of August) with his best buddy, Cooper. (The mamas can't wait :) ). Then in the fall, Rowen will move up to the Kindermusik for the Young Child class for 5-7 year old children. He will begin to learn to read music and will be introduced to all of the instruments in fun and imaginative ways. We can't wait!

brothers in a box

What could be more fun to a little boy? Not much! An empty box has endless possibilities :).