Eleven Months

This boy is too busy for photo shoots so now we just get what we can when we can. Also having one boy with a birthday two weeks before Christmas and another boy with a birthday three weeks after Christmas makes you forget to do stuff in December. But here is our winter baby wearing the same winter coat Tavish wore when he was a baby. He has some crazy hair, just like his mama, and seriously needs a haircut.
We have crank open windows in our living room and one Paxton's most favorite things to do is pull the cranks off and crawl around with it hanging out of his mouth. This boy is funny.

Ten Months

Two teeth on top and four on the bottom, but most important....he crawls! The boys and I were in the living room one day and Paxton was on his hands and knees rocking back and forth and you could just see it in him...just go forward...and he finally did and hasn't stopped! He loves being able to go exploring everywhere and follow big brother around. Our little monthly photo shoots have been getting shorter and shorter but this is a game changer for sure...now he just takes off or tries to grab the camera. And within a few days of crawling he started pulling himself up on the furniture too. Here we go!

Autumn

I miss Seattle a lot but there's one thing Virginia is far superior in...Autumn. The leaves, the weather...I love it.

Quote of the day...

Tavish: Mom I have a fart stuck in butt and I'm trying to pop it!

Didn't ask how...

He crawls!

Batten down the hatches...this boy finally learned to crawl!

 And boy is he happy to be getting around on his own.

Of course we are finding him everywhere, getting into everything.

Halloween 2013

This year Tavish decided to be a pumpkin...originally he had wanted to be something else (I can't remeber now what it was) but decided it was too scary and wanted to be a pumpkin instead. So cute.

At preschool they had a Halloween parade at the end of school which the parents were invited to attend.

For some reason this pumpkin's hat ended up laying on his head. 

 In the evening we like to start our trick-or-treating at Auntie Lana's house...

 with crazy Uncle Joe.

` You may remember this monster from 4 years ago...

just a different baby.

I still love this costume!

Then trick-or-treating around Auntie Lana's neighborhood.

We had a slow start because we were a bit early, but we had fun and then headed home and did some more trick-or-treating around our neighborhood with the neighbor boys. 

Pumpkins!

This year's pumpkins...the spider turned out the best. the bottom right one is supposed to be Frankenstein which looked cool on the pattern but not so much on the pumpkin. I'm still sold on the whole following a pattern thing though. And I think we need to re-institute the pumpkin-carving party because otherwise it's a rushed affair with pretty indifferent little boys and a big boy who wants to get back to his football game.

Convos at church

We are sitting in the chapel at church during the service when Tavish notices the wall behind the pulpit has bricks that stick out in a repetitive pattern for decoration.

Tavish:  I bet Spiderman could climb up that wall!
Me:  I bet he could!
Tavish:  Do you think he'll climb up it today???
Me:  Probably not, it's the Primary program today.

FYI...Tavish delivered his two sentence line perfectly during the Primary program (he had memorized it and we could see him tell the Primary president he didn't need any help when it was his turn) and then proceeded to wave his arms all over the place (multiple times!) to get our attention while sitting on the stand with his classmates. Rafal and I were dying laughing...but trying not to let him see it :) Crazy, naughty boy!

Nine Months

Paxton, at nine months is getting ready to crawl...he gets on his hands and knees and will even rock back and forth a little but no forward motion yet. We are trying to enjoy the find-him-where-you-leave-him phase for as long as we can. And he is still able to sleep on the fly for the most part...or crash on the floor. However he has started waking up at night and screaming until he throws up if you try to ignore him and then stays awake for a couple of hours. Not fun. My friends from work say it's a nine month thing but I sure don't remember that with Tavish...maybe it's selective memory. He is also a gagger when you feed him...it's a texture thing and there is also a fine line between enough and too much. I've never been a fan of blonde hair and blue eyes but it's pretty hard not to love it on this guy! There is still a tiny ring of green around the pupils. Adorable.

Eight Months

I will probably never tire of pictures of babies crying and the funny faces they make...
At eight months Paxton loves to be held and while being held he likes to pinch the fat on the back of your arm. He refuses to lay his head on your shoulder for more than the briefest second, if its longer than that he is sick or exhausted and then its probably for about three seconds. He also is not a cuddler, he will allow you to cuddle him to sleep but he does not cuddle you. He does cuddle his blanket though and gets very excited when he sees it. And yes he is still a stud muffin and probably will be for a while.

Homework

Tavish's first homework assignment was a self-portrait...here's what he drew. I can't tell you how much I love this! He has just recently moved from drawing checklists and sound waves to drawing smiley faces. I love that he actually drew himself smiling (the other day he told me he likes to be grumpy...and not for the first time). I love that he thinks his hair is that crazy. I love the round eyes and button nose. And BTW red is the new favorite color...in case you couldn't tell.

Pre-K

First day of Pre-K.

What does he come home with???

Homework. 

Seriously.

And I thought preschool was all about giving moms a break.

Guess I was wrong.

But he had a good time despite being nervous about a new school and new friends, because the teacher promised him at the meet-the-teacher-open-house he could play with the marbles the first day of school. So guess where he made a beeline to once his new Curious George backpack was tucked into his cubby...

right to the marbles. 

This boy doesn't forget stuff.

Paxton's First Tooth

After months of gnawing on everything and shoving his hand in his mouth until he would almost gag, Paxton's first tooth finally appeared on 8/20. This is the first picture you can actually see that tiny little white spot that caused so much drooling!

Ode to a C-17

Flying space-A is awesome.
Flying space-A on a C-17 is even awesomer.
The room...oh so much room!
The seats...so comfy!
The noise!...it's so loud you have to wear ear plugs (even the baby)...but you can't hear your four year old screaming! (Until he got so loud towards the end of the flight even the soldiers up front wearing head phones were staring at us. He still doesn't like loud noises.)
And when you get to cruising altitude...everyone pulls out their bedroll and takes a nap on the floor!
The other passengers are polite and happy!
No crazy, hectic airports!
And it's free! Even the luggage!
I'm forever spoiled now and never want to fly commercial again.

Movie time

Tavish's first trip to the movies...we saw Planes in 3D.
He wore a Planes shirt and brought his puppy, both courtesy of Auntie Lana.
His face looked like this the whole time :)
I love that he's getting old enough to things I want to do too!

Award Ceremony

We had dinner with Auntie Lana and Uncle Joe today to mark a very important occasion.
Tavish presented Auntie Lana with a medal and trophy he had made for her...his very own idea. And then we celebrated!!!

Seven Months

The many faces of Baby Paxton.

We've had many comments that he is looking more like Tavish, and there are times when he does remind me of how Tavish looked as a baby,especially as his hair is getting lighter. But totally different temperaments and personalities. And those blue eyes and that big smile...we can't get enough of it!

Getting ready

Auntie Lana came to visit today and brought Tavish a new Curious George backpack which is much more cool and grown up than his old puppy dog backpack so he was super excited. I woke up from my before-work-nap  to this...Tavish packing to get ready for Poland. Mind you we are not actually going to Poland until next year but he likes to get ready. Often when he gets a favorite treat or toy he will say "I'm going to save this for the airplane to Poland". So here is what one needs to go to Poland if you are four:

blue blanket
toy camping lantern-"for when it's dark"
red heart necklace-"in case it's Valentine's Day"
blue felt Christmas tree ornament-"in case it's Christmas"
rubber bracelet-"so I can look cool"
a few random toys-"for when I wake up in the morning"

I'm not really sure what the ribbon is for but all of this was packed in earnest and with great anticipation for the next trip to Poland...

Quote of the Day...

I'm trying to help Tavish get dressed in the morning...he has definite opinions now about his outfits that don't always coincide with mine. Today he has picked a shirt and shorts combination that totally clash, I'm trying to convince him that he should either switch out the shirt or switch out the shorts...he is refusing and the situation is escalating until finally...

Me: why don't you want to switch your shirt or shorts?

Tavish: because I want to be weird!

Ok. Done. He definitely looked weird. But happy.

Six Months

This cute boy has now discovered his not-happy shriek and uses it...usually to let us know he is hungry or tired. Still pretty mellow overall.

He has also discovered his feet...first his left foot but now he loves both feet equally and loves it when I unzip his little sleep sack in the morning and can play with them. 

He rolls over back to front now too.

Loves to eat everything expect peas (I don't like them either, little guy!)

His hair is getting lighter, which makes me a little sad, I loved his dark newborn hair and thought it would be so striking with his eyes that seem to be settling to a lighter blue. In the light you can still see a little green ring around his pupils, so who knows maybe they will change again.
He is now 20lbs 4oz and 28inches.

We love this boy! 

Check Up

Sunday morning check up.

Vital signs stable.