Macie's 4 yr & Pax's 1 yr Photos

Once again I decided to do my own pictures of the kids and save the money.  Macie absolutely refused to smile at the camera- she said she didn't know how!  And Paxton is always smiley but now that he walks he has no desire to sit or stand in one spot for more than a few seconds.  So needless to say, this was a challenging day for me!  When we left I thought for sure I wouldn't have any good pictures and would have to do it again, but turns out I got a few cute ones!

Paxton is 1!!!

I seriously can't believe it still, but Paxton turned 1 last week on March 18th.  We didn't do much on his actual birthday.  Macie and I sang Happy Birthday to him when we went in to get him in the morning.  We ran some errands then stopped by my grandma's house (she owns a balloon/party store) to get his birthday balloon (a giant firetruck) which he loved.

On Sunday we had a little party for him at our house.  He was a little overwhelmed by all of the people and was very clingy to me and a little confused by all the commotion.  He had fun, though, and loved having a cake to himself and getting lots of new fun toys and clothes!

Good morning birthday boy!

Opening presents at Pax's party- he loved his new basketball!  His body shape is more of a football player but he loves to play basketball!  (Not sure if his birthday being during March Madness has anything to do with it...but I have a feeling I'll have a little partner to watch the UNC basketball games with!) My parents got him a little basketball hoop and he plays with it all the time!

Singing "Happy Birthday" with his 1 candle in his own cake...I attempted to create a basketball cake but forgot to set aside some white frosting before dying it all blue for the cupcakes, so it's a basketball with blue lines!  It wasn't very pretty but it obviously tasted okay because he didn't complain when he dug right into it!

 

It's crazy how 12 months ago I was holding a newborn and now he is running all over the place!  He is saying even more words:  "papa" (grandpa), "maa-ma" (grandma), "whasat" (what's that?), "oh buddy" (I think that's what he calls his binky?), and he's always copying my sounds and words.  Like sometimes I get mad or frustrated so I'll kind of grunt, and he copies me...it's hilarious!  We went to the doctor for his 1 year checkup last Monday and he weighed in at 24 lbs (75th percentile) and right above 30 inches for height (75th percentile).  He had to get 4 immunizations and they did a number on him...he's just now acting normal again!  He has his 2 lower front teeth but the 2 top front ones are right at the tip of the gums just trying to break through so it won't be long before he has all 4.  I think his molars are starting to come slowly as well!  Poor kid! 

Anyway, I can't even imagine what our lives would be like without this little guy!  Before I had him I wondered if I could ever love another child as much as I loved Macie, and when he was born it just came so naturally.  He has brought so much joy to us and makes us laugh everyday.  He is a little tease sometimes and loves to torment Macie, but at the same time they are such good buddies and they make each other laugh constantly.  We love you Pax!

Crew's Birthday

Our nephew Crew turned 3 this month and had a Spiderman party! 

Crew looks mad....but this is just his Spiderman face!?

Kaden's Baptism

I'm super late posting this but our nephew Kaden turned 8 and was baptized at the end of January.  We had a little luncheon after the baptism...it was a nice day.  We are so proud of his decision to be baptized!  Congrats Kader!

Macie's Best Buddy

This is Bluie (Blue-ee).  I took Macie with me to North Carolina when she was 13 months old and while we were there my friend Holly found her this little teddy bear in the UNC bookstore.  I told her she didn't need it but Macie held onto it and wouldn't let go and Holly ended up buying it for her....it was $10.  On the plane ride home she cuddled it the whole way and she's never really let him go since!  She has to sleep with him every night and cuddles him anytime she's laying down watching a movie or taking a nap.  She carries him around and plays with him daily, and it seems like every night it's a hunt to find Bluie for bedtime (he's a good hider!)  I had to make a rule about Bluie not leaving the house (unless it's for a sleepover), because I can't imagine what would happen if he got lost!  He used to wear a UNC Tarheel shirt but Macie decided he didn't want to wear it anymore. He's very worn and has been through the washing machine MANY times....I dread the day that he falls apart. Thanks Bluie for giving Macie comfort when she needs it! 

11 Months

My baby boy is 11 months old....which means in a few weeks he's going to be 1!!!  I'm trying to make this month go by really slow so he'll stay a baby, but it's not working out so much!  Anyway, this has been a big month for Pax.  He got both of his lower anterior teeth and he got his first black eye from falling into an unknown object in Macie's room (there goes my mom of the year award!) Between teething symptoms and a little cold he's had kind of a rough month health wise, but even when sick he's always got a smile on his face! 

He started blowing kisses which is absolutely adorable and his newest words are "nigh nigh" when we put him to bed or tell him it's bedtime and "aw gaw" when something is all gone.  He's also said his own version of grandma a few times, but I'm not sure how I'd write it the way he says it.  He is eating everything but peanut butter and shellfish (not that I would be offering my 11 month old shrimp?!)....and we're going to start working on the transition to cows milk pretty soon.   He loves to play ball and he's into EVERYTHING!  I am beginning to have flashbacks of when Macie was walking confidently and remembering how exhausting she was....everyone called her the energizer bunny....and I think Paxton might be even MORE energetic if that's even possible!  I seriously need to take an energy pill or start drinking coffee to keep up!

Anyway, Pax weighs 23.5 lbs and is facing forward in his carseat since he outgrew the baby seat a couple months ago.  His smile has gotten even more adorable now that those little teeth are there....and my favorite thing is when he just starts laughing and comes running to me and gives me a big hug!  He is still a major momma's boy...and for the most part I love it...unless I'm trying to get ready in the mornings, then I wish he'd love someone else!

 A little closeup of his black eye (nevermind the crusty boogies on his nose!)

Valentines Weekend

For Valentines I suprised Tony with a day of fun on Saturday.  My parents watched the kids and we headed to Ogden where we started out indoor skydiving!  We didn't get a single picture because you can't have any loose items (including a camera) when you're in the wind chamber and I didn't want to bother any strangers to try to figure out which of the 8 people we were (since we were all dressed the same!)  It was so much fun, though.  There were 3 other couples that were in our group.  We all took a turn going for just 1 minute, mostly just getting used to the positioning and the air.  Then on the 2nd turn the helper guy had the air guy turn the air up and we went flying high and he got us spinning around and dropping and flying...it was awesome!  I had my hair in a ponytail, tucked into the helmet, and when I came out I had hair coming through every little hole on the helmet....it was very windy! :)  We both had a good time and are seriously considering doing the real thing one day!

Next we went down to the indoor surfing where we had 1 hour to surf.  I could not catch my balance to surf for the life of me and ended up falling several times before I finally gave up and went to the other side where you body surf or knee board.  I got on my knees and did good for a second until my board went sideways and I went flying, smacked my elbow, the board hit me in the eye, and I lost my swimsuit bottom for a second!  I decided after that that I am not a surfer and decided to watch the rest of the time.  Tony started out shaky on the surf board but by the end he totally got it! 

We were supposed to go rock climbing but it was too long of a wait so maybe one day we'll go back for that.  We went to lunch then headed back home to get the kids.  It was such a fun day date and a fun change from the regular old dinner & a movie date that we usually do!

On actual Valentines Day I let Tony be in charge since it was his turn. I was pleasantly surprised!  He bought me and Macie red roses and me my favorite perfume!  Then he took me to dinner at the Bonsai, which is probably one of the best restuarants EVER!  We hadn't been there in years and I had forgotten how incredible their food is!  Highly recommended if you haven't been there- it's like the Tepinyaki/Benihana experience, only better!  It was such a great Valentines!