12 months - one year

one year ago today we became parents. parents to a tiny baby boy. a boy who was perfect in every way. we, with his birthmother's approval, named him daxton. we had no idea then, how fitting that name would be now. every time we meet someone new they ask us what his name is and they ask to clarify and then confirm what we already knew - that this name is awesome - just like he is.  daxton could never be a broden, a tyler, or an oscar.  he's dax.  he's strong.  he's decided.  he's firm.  he's intriguing.  he's dax.

it was just one year ago that we lived a different life. a life filled with what we wanted to do when we wanted to do it. when we wanted to go out to eat, we went out to eat. when we wanted to sleep late, we slept late. when we wanted to go on a trip, we went on a trip. when we wanted to go to target at 9pm, we went to target at 9pm. when we wanted to run errands for 7 hours, we ran errands for 7 hours. still, regardless of the flexibility being "just marrieds" affords, we never felt complete. we longed for the sleepless nights, the changing of diapers, the mixing of formula, and hearing a baby cry. we longed for a little person to call our child, someone to help build our family, someone to raise with our values and morals.

so, on 11/7/11 at 4:48pm i received a phone call telling me that this sweet precious baby was on his way. it was at that moment that our lives forever changed, and things got incredibly wonderfully amazingly better. the panic set in at that very moment. the reality that our son was actually on his way into our family started to sink in. we had prepared our home and our hearts and now our day to day lives were about to be plunged right in to parenthood.

the first night home was rough, and shortly thereafter will and i both started going to bed around 8pm - which if you know us is something that just does not happen in our household. we were exhausted. however, slowly but surely our sweet boy turned into a sweet sleeper. when its his bed time our angel boy lets us change his diaper, put him in his sleep sack, lay him in his crib, turn on his sleep sheep, turn off his lights, and goes right to night night. sure, he has had a few nights when teeth and earaches made it hard for him to fall asleep, but he is an amazing night time sleeper. as time has progressed, will and i are back to our 2am bed times and working off 4 - 6 hours of sleep.

our little guy was not a huge crier. sure, he'll cry if he wants something - but he is not the kind of guy who is just going to cry for the fun of it. we're generally pretty quick to figure out what is ailing him and get the situation rectified so he'll be at ease. from the time we brought him home his little cries quickly turned into him making some other noises and babbling. then he went to what we've donned as his "roar".  he loves to let out a roar when he gets excited or just out of the clear blue, you just never know when you'll get one. sometimes he launches his entire body into the roar, shakes his fists, and tenses up every muscle he owns.  it's definitely passionate.  (matter of fact, the is doing one right now in his jumperoo.)  then, he decided to start saying dada, doggy, boom, hey, hi, and uh oh. he loves chatter and making sounds. we hear him carrying on conversations with himself in his room during "nap time" and he loves to talk in the car.

when dax was even just a tiny baby he was still a mover. he always had his left leg kicking, his hands flailing, and even started rolling over long before i ever thought he possibly could. now our sweet boy belly drags at a quick pace to anything that he's after - mostly - electrical cords, cell phones, remote controls, and any other electronics. he's still king of the jumpers and spends at least an hour a day (at various times) jumping in one of his three jumpers. as of late you can even find him pulling himself up on anything he can get his two hands on. crashing down after his victory clap is a little frightening to him, but he still cannot resist giving himself some rejoicing!

dax started out drinking bottles (and bottles) of formula and moved on to enjoying such things as butternut squash, to sweet potatoes, to green beans, to bananas, and other organic baby foods. however, lately you'll find him loving to eat baked sweet potatoes, whole green beans, chopped cooked carrots, chopped bananas, yogurt (of any flavor), and of course his o's cereal. he amazed us by eating pickled beets, turnip greens, and cheddar crackers. it won't be long until he's having what we're having for dinner. i have to admit i am patiently waiting for him to try curry and pho.

he's a social guy. he loves people (in small batches) and has never met a stranger. he makes people smile. he makes people laugh. he brings people together. he melts people's hearts. he's a charmer and he knows how to turn it on when he wants to.  he knows he's silly and he makes sure you know it too. whenever you tell him "no" he looks at you out of the corner of his eye and grins the biggest grin he can muster, knowing that he is irresistible.  he also has great friends in his "daags" or "doggee" - which are his two dog sisters.  he squeels with excitement when he gets to pet them (gently) or watch them wiggle on the carpet.  he loves them both and lights up with pure joy when he sees them run by.

its amazing how this sweet boy has forever changed our lives in the most amazing ways. will and i still (at least once a week) have to talk one another out of just going into his room to peek in on him while he is asleep. we miss him during the night and wish we could just see his sweet face. we love his snuggles when he nuzzles right in your neck and coos before drifting off to slumber.  we love those sweet chubby cheeks, the grin with little pearly whites poking out, the dimple, the curly hair, his tender little grasp when he holds your finger or your hand, those ultra long and curled eye lashes, and those adorably tiny feet.  we're so in love with him, its a love that we never previously knew. i feel like i just cannot make it clear how much we love him.  its an overflowing, awe inspiring, unbelievable kind of love.  he makes our lives so full, so complete, so rewarding. we enjoy every minute we have with him and we'll never forget all he went through to find his way to us. we're so eternally grateful to be his parents.

and so, it's with pure happiness that we've arrived at our final statistical post:

it's been twelve months since daxton was born.

it's been twelve months since this sweet boy found his way into our lives.

it's been twelve months since our hearts grew exponentially with a love we never knew.

in this past month, daxton's top two teeth have officially poked through his gums. they are still not protruding down far enough into his grin to be visible on photos where he's smiling, but its just a matter of time until you'll be seeing all four teeth in his grin. every time we see those teeth we comment on how amazingly adorable they are.

as of this past week, daxton is officially pulling himself up now. he does it best in his pack n' play, crib, and on the various baby gates throughout the house. its still pretty shocking to just turn your head and see him standing there. when he does it, he is so proud of himself that he claps and smiles as big as he can. he knows he's done something amazing.  to add to the excitement, just yesterday he decided he'd start edging around the inside of the walker and his crib, pulling himself along in a walking motion.  oh baby!  he is still not sure how to sit down once he's gotten up there, so once he's been standing for about five minutes he begins to cry to hopefully be reminded how to bend those legs and get back down where he has been for the past 11.5 months of his life!

daxton's latest trick is sitting on his knees. it's so funny to see him plunked down on his knees and calves just playing with a toy, figuring out blocks, or working to get his passie back in his mouth. he goes into this position to prepare for standing, and sometimes he just likes to sit this way.

daxton has impressed us with his eating skills lately. we're dicing up the o's cereal with cheddar crackers and he loves to crunch and munch them between his four teeth. when we went out to a restaurant this past month dax amazed us by eating an entire baked sweet potato! we kept giving him another bite, another bite, another bite - and before we knew it all that was left was the skin! he has also eaten greens, ratatouille, shredded cheddar cheese, and pickled beets. i think he's going to be a good eater. we think he's having another growth spurt because he is doing lots of eating and lots of sleeping!

lately daxton has learned to wave bye bye.  he loves to flap his right arm up and down waving when you say "bye bye dax!"  he has also found a fascination with "uh oh".  we say it when he falls down, when he throws something on the ground, or something accidental happens.  he's started copying us and saying that phrase over and over again.  he loves mimicking and being just like us.  he still loves to copy cat you when you wiggle and dance and i recently told him he has more dance skills than daddy.  this fella knows how to bust a move!  he has also learned how to reward himself for doing great things.  whenever we jump for joy, say awesome!, say yay", good job!, or good boy! dax knows he is supposed to clap.  so, now whenever he does something brilliant he goes ahead and starts clapping even before we offer praise.  man - i love this kid.

it's been twelve months of 2172 diaper changes.

it's been twelve months of 1905 bottles for a total of 71.6 gallons.

it's been twelve months of cuddling, rocking, and loving on our boy.

it's been twelve months of the purest joy you'd ever know.

baby dax, we thank you for the best year of our life and we hope every year just gets better and better in yours.  we cannot imagine our lives without you in them.  you bring us hope, joy, and love.  we wish you a lifetime full of happiness, fond memories, and a heart full of a true and amazing love of Jesus.

birthday - o n e

november 3, 2012 we hosted daxton's first birthday party.  friends and family came from as far away as illinois, virginia, and western north carolina.  it was a great day to spend with everyone who loves our sweet boy.

here are just a few of the photo highlights from our amazing photographer Sara Davis.

 

we'd decorated outside to let everyone know where the party was!

 

dax's giant number 1!

 

 

the table set up.

 

 

me, my sister beth, and my sister lori.

 

 

my mom, me, my sister beth, and my sister lori.

 

 

the delicious cupcakes!

 

 

me, dax, and daddy.

 

 

me, dax, and daddy.

 

 

daddy trying to help dax do some premature walking.

 

 

the arrival of a giant dinosaur balloon sculpture.

 

 

dax and his cousin james.

 

 

sweet feet.

 

 

dax getting ready to try cake for the first time.

 

 

dax being not so sure about cake.

 

 

dax declaring that he does not like cake or party hats.

 

 

my parents attempting to get the shot of dax eating cake.

 

daddy standing by with o's cereal in place of cake.

 

 

dax doing his big boy crawling.

 

 

dax and mommy.

 

 

dax opening his lifestory book about his birthmom.

 

 

dax and lori - otherwise known as "auntie conti".

 

 

dax and beth - otherwise known as "auntie bethy".

 

 

dax and my parents - otherwise known as gran-gran and nani.

 

 

dax and will's parents - otherwise known as poppie and namaw.

 

 

dax with mom and dad.

 

 

dax and his nextdoor neighbor dylan.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

halloween

this was finally the year that we carved pumpkins before halloween actually got here.  we put it on the calendar and made sure we had plenty of time to make dax's first jack-o-lantern.  there were several options for the first pumpkin, and a close second was an outline of his hand and foot print - but how could we resist a mighty t-rex?  so, we jotted out a little dinosaur pattern from one of dax's dinosaur stickers and added his name below it.  dax helped daddy remove the guts and even stuck his hand inside of the cut out in the back of the pumpkin.  he was not quite sure what to think of those ooey gooey guts!  we ended up with a cute little glowing dinosaur for daxy's front porch.  last year we had an "adopt" pumpkin - so we'd really come full circle!

will came home from work a little early tonight so we could snap some shots of dax in his dinosaur costume.  we got him all suited up and headed outside.  he thought the costume was pretty funny once he had it on.  he played along with us for about 20 minutes while i snapped photos and daddy played with him on the porch.  he even let us take a video clip of him roaring in his outfit.  however, when he was done with the costume - he wanted that dino head off of his own head.  he tugged and pulled at the dino head and urged us to remove that crazy thing!  we got him out of the costume and back into his skeleton pj's so he could eat dinner and be ready for trick-or-treaters.  will and i are both in love of that photo of him looking in the window.  he learned to pull himself up into a standing position today, so its great to have this little pic as a timely reminder of this milestone.

dax helped us pass out candy every time the door bell rang.  he was not sure who was ringing the door bell all night long and how come none of those "friends" would actually come in the house.  he loved every character that came to our door.  he was intrigued by a mario, a luigi, thing one, and thing two.  he was not even scared by a transformer, a skeleton with a face mask, or even a werewolf.  he would just stare at them as they took the candy and frostee coupons and watch them as they walked down the pathway.  we loved his curiosity!

we met one little train conductor that carried a lantern with him.  this fella's dad carried him on his shoulders and he was just two years old.  we imagine dax will be a little more excited to wear his costume and go door to door next halloween and we can't wait!

craftiness

i bit the bullet and finally got back into the groove of being crafty.  it's a title i've always gone by, and one i actually like to be called.  when dax joined our family the craftiness kind of went out the window with the lack of sleep and order around here, but under pressure of his first birthday quickly approaching, i am finally getting back into the swing of things.

on pinterest (God help us all with pinterest - i mean it has great ideas and all but does it make anyone else just feel totally inadequate?  i mean, i am really good at pinning things, but i never actually do them - so what does that say about me?  am i just really building a pin board of things i wish i would actually sit down and do instead of constantly pinning stuff?), i saw a party decor idea for dax's big numero uno party.  on this example they'd taken the number 5 and tissue papered it up old elementary school paper wreath style with twisted tissue paper to make a cute party decor backdrop.  i saw another example on etsy for about $40, and i thought i really needed to construct this myself.  after all, i am crafty - right?

so, i told will i needed to get some foam core board for my big project and we headed to target.  i also had to pick up one more shade of green tissue paper, since i already had two in my closet - but three were needed for the shading effect.  once we had the foam core and tissue, i was all set.  everything else i needed was in the craft closet.  i started by making the shape of the "1".  i really liked the number that was on some stickers i had, so i used that as my model.  then, i free handed the number one on to the foam core board and cut it out with an exacto knife.  once that was cut out i sliced up all of my tissue paper into tiny squares.  (it really makes no difference at all if these are the same shape, so just freely cut away.)  then the fun begins.  this is where you find an old school ink pen - like one you lifted from a hotel or something - and begin to twist each piece of paper around the base of the pen and smash it onto your glue stick covered cut out.  i had to do this over several days with many breaks because my hand got tired of the twisting.  however, it was fairly painless and something you can do while you watch your favorite tv show.

tips:
- don't use shiny tissue paper.  the glue does not hold as well with any glossy type of paper, so if you have a choice - opt for the matte finish.
- buy a good glue stick.  when mine ran out i got a "washable" glue stick from target (it was all they had) and i ended up throwing that pack away and going to the scrapbook store to get a "scotch" brand glue stick.  much better product.

i really like how it turned out and will be using this on our front door for dax's big party coming up in 11 days!  stay tuned for other crafty things going on at this event!

beach

the beach is a place of calm and rest.  will and i have taken many trips to the beach just to hear the waves crash on the ocean and walk hand in hand down the shore.  it's our ultimate get away.

we knew from the time we got started packing (which was the night before we left) that this trip was going to be a little different.  the list of items we'd need to even make it to the beach was ever growing.  we needed an entire back of the suv for the pack and play, the bumbo, the jumperoo, dax's swim gear (with float), and dax's food, bottles, clothing etc.  little people need lots of things!

vacations pre-child were a time for relaxing and stress-free vegging out.  but, vacations with children are a wee bit different because the child-care never ceases.  someone has to get up when he cries, change him, feed him, stroll him around the pool area to keep him entertained, and just look out for his overall level of fun and excitement.  will and i took turns on handling all of the parental duties, but at points throughout the day we'd just look at each other with exhaustion.

but then there's the fun you never had before.  sure, we previously enjoyed sitting in our matching beach chairs, holding hands, and doing nothing - but watching dax on the beach  being mesmerized by the crashing waves was something we'll never forget.  watching him flap his arms up and down in excitement by the sheer awesomeness of what was before him is something too impressive to explain.  seeing will hold him and just look out into the ocean was pure joy and happiness.  remembering all of the childhood vacations i went on growing up and how he'll experience those same fond memories is something we're so proud to be able to give him.

this trip ended up in an exploded family vacation.  when it was originally planned we'd been told that my parents would be in one condo a block north and so we searched for a nearby rental.  i wanted something with pools (including an indoor) so we'd be able to enjoy the trip even if there was bad weather or a hurricane.  my aunt and uncle would be staying a block north of my parents.  a week before the trip the vacationers had blossomed into my mom, my dad, my granny, my aunt, my uncle, my cousins, their spouses, their child, one of my sisters, and her husband!  and it seems that because i'd picked that hotel with the plethora of pools that we were about to be descended upon.

some highlights from the trip:

we drove all day in the rain to get to the beach.  of course i did not want it to be raining, but honestly a rainy day at the beach was better than a sunny day at home, so we'd take what we could get - after all we were on vacation.  after an hour long trip to the grocery store, a check in at the rental office to get keys, and a million trips by the husband to get everything in our room, we'd finally made it to our final destination.  it was such a good feeling to get in the room, settled in, and let dax stretch out.  the weather started to clear up and things were looking a lot more like a trip to the beach should shake out.  we decided we better get that baby in the pool!  dax was a trooper and he loved being in the water in his float.  will and i both got in the pool with him and watched him kick his feet, by now the family was making their way to the pool to see dax swim.  they all love him so much it's impossible for them not to be by his side when he's in the same town!

we learned something big about dax this trip.  he loves people watching and he especially loves littles.  anytime we'd hear a child out by the pool or playing on the beach he'd stop whatever he was doing to seek them out.  his sonar was working and he'd nearly do flips to locate them so he could watch, grin, and giggle.  he'd clap his hands when he saw something he really liked.  he had the best time watching a family built like ours splish and splash in the pool. 

one afternoon we had mom and dad babysit while will and i went to take a walk on the beach.  we weren't gone for more than thirty minutes, but when we came back to the pool we'd left them sitting by we thought things looked a little out of sorts.  we jokingly asked them what was going on and they had a story to tell.  see, when we left dax was sleeping in his stroller, but apparently shortly after we walked away he woke up.  at that time my dad picked him up out of his stroller and a gust of wind happened to blow by sending the stroller rolling at a quick pace toward the lazy river.  my dad hollered for my mom to get the stroller - the last of which they'd recalled i'd put my iphone in the stroller's back pocket - but, my mom's not such a fast mover and for her to lunge faster than the pace of the wind was impossible and before they knew it the stroller was floating down the river.  some of the details of what happened after this point were a little blurry, but we do know that mom attempted to get the stroller out of the river and it was actually saved by an innocent bystander who witnessed this event.  the stroller was dried out, the iphone was in my possession, and dax was no worse for the wear.

it was great to have so much family together in one place.  one night we had everyone all together for dinner, another night we had lots of family over for shrimp cocktail watching the sunset, and another day we had everyone over at the pool.  one night a small group of us went out to get raw oysters at a local place.  we had the best time joking around and eating 45 cent oysters.  it was great to be able to just spend time together catching up when people are spread all the way from richmond va to chicago il. 

we ate some great food.  no beach trip is complete without good seafood, so it was on our menu just about every night.  granny always takes everyone to one giant seafood buffet where we stuff ourselves to the gills with fried oysters, shrimp, crab legs, and mussels.  one night we skipped the seafood and ate hamburgers for dad, but every other night had some sort of seafood component.  our favorite meal was when will and i went out on a "mini-date" and had an appetizer sampler consisting of ceviche, a firecracker roll, shea crab soup, and a fried green tomato-shrimp tower.  another foodie highlight was a divine salad starter at a restaurant in calabash, nc.  we drove 25 minutes each way - two times - to feast on this salad with a honey drenched croissant!  yumm! 

dax is fun.  sure, we knew this before, but it was totally reconfirmed on this trip.  he was always hamming it up for the camera or attempting to make someone smile.  his infectious grin is hard to resist and he had everyone in stitches one night when will and i went out for dinner.  we saw some cell phone pics of him hanging out with great granny covey and he just had her rolling.  they love spending time together and can hardly believe one another in the amount of silliness they share.  it was good to have him spending time with her and we're thankful he was always there to pull out the funnies.

we hope we'll be able to take him on another trip next summer/fall - and who knows where we'll end up!

IT

it's the combination of orange and green.  it's cool crisp air.  it's the turning of leaves. 
it's spiced apple cider.  it's cloudless skies. 
it's pumpkins.  it's jack o'lanterns and it's spiders.
it's webs.  it's candy.  it's costumes.  it's trick-or-treaters.
it's time for a sweater.
it's fall.

fall is the season when families gather and pile into their mini-vans dressed in their pumpkiny orange attire and head to the local farms and pumpkin patches to climb on hay bales, run through corn mazes, pet baby goats, ride on hay rides, drink apple cider, eat kettle corn, pick out pumpkins, snap lots of pictures, and hold hands happily smiling together.

will and i have always loved fall.  it's always been our favorite season.  we love the cool air, the changing leaves, the colorful pumpkins, the tastes of nutmeg and cinnamon, and of course a trip to the pumpkin patch.  we've been married for 11 years and just about every year since we've been married we've headed to a pumpkin patch at some point in the month of october.  for years we went together and rode hay rides, worked our way through corn mazes and hay bales, and picked out our pumpkins while watching 99% of the other farm goers experiencing the day through their children's eyes.

this fall is big for us.  it's the first time we packed up our car with our son and headed to the pumpkin patch.  the air was cool and crisp and the sky was cloudless.  we knew it would be an amazing day, just like we'd always expected.  we made our way to the farm we've been going to since we moved to nc and will and i were both giddy just knowing what was about to take place.  see, for some people it's rocking their baby in a rocking chair in their nursery, celebrating their first Christmas, or sharing their first birthday together - but for us it was taking our son to the pumpkin patch.  IT is that magical moment when the stars align and you feel like this is something you've waited an entire lifetime for.  this was IT.  this was THAT moment.

we got to the farm and were directed to park at the very end of the mile long parking lot.  we loaded up our stroller with the camera and diaper bag and strolled our way to the gates.  we waited in a line of at least 50 families waiting their turn to get their arm bands and head into the land of pumpkin fun.  kids were talking about duck races, bouncy castles, and funnel cakes, but we had one thing on our minds.  we made our way through the gate, parked our stroller, and boarded the hayride.  this was IT.  we were almost there.  dax loved the hay ride.  he loved hearing the tractor fire up and watching the farmer drive us to the field of pumpkins.  after a lap around the farm we'd made our way to the epicenter.  we disembarked the hay ride and found ourselves a nice plot of land with 100 or so pumpkins around our family.  we'd arrived.  we were finally in the pumpkin patch with our son.  i laid on the ground and took tons of pictures of dax with pumpkins, with grass, with barns, with the sky, with daddy, (and daddy took some of daxy with mommy) - and i turned to will and said - this is even better than i thought IT would be - and IT was.

we spent the rest of the day with dax having his first swing on a swing set, his first train ride, his first stroll around the patch, and picking out his first pumpkin (he loves the pumpkins with the stem).  over and over we just kept saying how perfect this day was.  after all these years, its so hard to believe it's finally fall and IT finally happened.

11 months

it's been eleven months since daxton was born.

it's been eleven months since this sweet boy found his way into our lives.

it's been eleven months since our hearts grew exponentially with a love we never knew.

daxton is in total love with his two bottom teeth. he's got a new found obsession for them as of late. he loves to tuck his top lip in behind them, flick them with his fingers, and smile with his toothy grin. this past week he's gotten happier and happier with tooth time. he loves getting his teeth brushed and watching us brush our teeth. i think this guy is just in love with teeth. we suspect his top two teeth are attempting to push their way through the surface. his drool is off the charts and he seems to be chewing on anything he can find to insert into his mouth. we'll see how his little grin continues to change!

daxton is working on his upper body strength. he's pulling himself up on your lap, on chairs, on his toys, and on anything that's just about 1 foot off the ground. he's finally gotten into a firm stance on his arms and knees and rocks happily back and forth. of course he still ends up sliding down into his belly drag, but will has seen him give genuine crawling a go on more than one occasion. he's doing a good job standing up for short periods of time, so long as you put him in that position and give him something to grab a hold of. he showed his great granny covey how he could stand up in his pack and play and she was amazed!

daxton's latest trick is sitting up like a big boy in the shopping carts.  he loves strolling around, grabbing things on the shelves, and checking it all out.  he lasts a lot longer in the store since he can hold his head steady and thoroughly investigate all of the marketing.  i think he'll be a good shopping buddy.

daxton is still a friend of everyone. he's happy with anyone he meets and gets along with everybody. he happily hangs out with baby sitters, friends, family, and nursery room attendants at church and hardly ever cries. this past week at the beach he entertained the entire family and kept them all in hysterics with his laughing and giggling. he's a giant jokester. he loves to toss his head from side to side and watch your reaction when he wiggles back and forth. he knows he's silly and he likes it.

daxton is loving the great outdoors.  this summer was extremely hot and humid, but lately we've been able to get outside more.  recently he and i hung out on a blanket outside in the grass while we watched daddy mow the lawn.  dax got a big kick out of seeing daddy ride around on the john deere.  we cannot wait to take him to the pumpkin patch to let him experience a real tractor and hay ride!  he also loves to go on mini excursions to check the mail with daddy.  he looks all around to take everything in.  it's all very interesting to this little fellow!

daxton went on his first big time vacation this month. we'd gone to the beach for the weekend earlier in the year, but the weather was a little chilly for daxy's liking. this time he got to spend much more time in the pool and on the sand. he really liked splashing in the water and attempting to eat the sand. we tried to keep as much out of his digestive tract as possible.

aside from the sand, daxton is working hard on getting more textures into his diet. he's found a fondness for cooked green beans, fresh peas, o's cereal, and even black beans with rice. we're hoping to introduce even more "regular" foods into his daily meals to attempt to ween him off of the baby food. it used to be hard to get him to swallow anything that was not smooth, but he's definitely making progress here.

daxton started doing something amazing while we were at the beach - he began sleeping so late in the mornings that we have to wake him up! the first couple of times he did it we dismissed it blaming it on too much fun in the sun, but (knock on wood) it's continued into this week. he's going down around 9pm at night and not waking up until we get him just after 9am! not sure how long this sleep streak will continue, but we'll all happily snooze until he decides its over!

it's been eleven months of 2032 diaper changes.

it's been eleven months of 1824 bottles for a total of 67.5 gallons.

it's been eleven months of cuddling, rocking, and loving on our boy.

it's been eleven months of the purest joy you'd ever know.

packing

we've been looking forward to our annual family vacation since we booked it this spring.  even though it seemed like light years away back then, it's suddenly upon us within 48 hours.  i went to lunch with some friends this week and they sarcastically asked me if i was packed.  then they all laughed because they know i am a last minute packer.  in just about every other segment of my life i am a planner, but for some reason when it comes to packing to go anywhere - i will wait until the last possible minute to make the list, wash the clothes, pack said clothes, and get things into the car.  it probably all stems back to my childhood. 

it seems like we were always late getting on the road because we were still packing.  see, a family with three girls who all had their own suitcases and their own priorities was a pretty difficult thing to coordinate.  i think that i probably always had my jazz a little bit more together than my counter parts, but still over time began to lose the early packing incentive associated with getting your bag done early.  see, with  no reward - what was the point?  i rarely ever get somewhere and have forgotten something, i don't lay awake at night before my trip worrying about it, and i am not fretting over it while i am frantically doing it - so why not put it off?

so for this upcoming trip, while i should probably be packing - i am blogging.  we've got tonight, we've got tomorrow - after all we don't leave until saturday morning!

thirty-five

thirty-five.  what is that?  i honestly don't know.  i had to do the math to even figure out how old i turned yesterday.  it appears that 2012 - 1977 - actually does equal 35.  t-h-i-r-t-y - f-i-v-e years old.  where did that come from?  i really don't get it, i mean just yesterday i was going off to college, meeting the man of my dreams, getting married, buying our first house, moving out of state, applying for adoption, being placed with the most perfect baby - and then boom 35 hits me.

 i don't think my child like mind ever dreamed of the age of thirty-five.  see, i had things all mapped out.  at age 27 i'd have my first child.  then within two years i'd have another.  while the first would be a boy or girl, the second would be the opposite - so we'd end up with one of each.  then, when 27 came and went without a baby in our house, i said it would happen by 30.  then, by 29, when things were not going so hot in that department we decided to move out of state.  we packed up everything and made a life change to live in nc.  then, i was sure that this was what we needed to get us to parent land.  but, alas - even by 30 - 31 - 32 - it still was not happening.  by this point, i don't think i could really see past the day ahead. 

see, i am a planner.  when things don't go my way, its hard to digest.  it sometimes gets on will's nerves and he just cannot see why i need to have everything mapped out, but when you come from a family of planners (fighting over who is going to plan the plan) its hard to escape.  and so, when my plans - that i had been working on since high school - were not unfolding like i'd mapped out, it started to get rough.  i think i never let my self think beyond the day to day because i was afraid that another plan would be foiled - and that i just quite possibly might not be able to handle it.

it was around about this time that i suddenly realized that my life was not really about all of my planning, but about God's planning and that his plan would unfold when and how He wanted it to.  it was then that i kind of let myself let go of some of the how we'd become parents and the when we'd become parents and just knew we would become parents.  for so long my plan was to be a mom.  by this next birthday i'll be a mom - i used to think, or this is my last birthday not being a mom, or when i'd blow out my candles, the only wish would be to be a mom.  then it changed, and my wish, my prayer, my hope in knowing was that one day i would be a mom and we'd do it in God's most perfect plan and just that each year would be better than the last.

that birthday just happened.  yesterday was my first birthday being a mom.  it's crazy to think how much i'd stopped planning and stopped focusing on the timing.  i did not even know how old i was.  so, after all of those years of watching the clock, wishing, waiting, and hoping - the moments now are so much more important than the time that has actually passed.  it does not matter what age i am or what age i will be next september 13th.  all i focus on are the joyous seconds that i get to spend with this precious child, knowing that for this birthday, and the next, and the next - i'm his momma and that this year is totally better than the last.

10 months

it's been ten months since daxton was born.

it's been ten months since this sweet boy found his way into our lives.

it's been ten months since our hearts grew exponentially with a love we never knew.

welcome to ten months old! daxton is into the double digits now! something about ten seems like so much - so much - more than nine. maybe its the fact that we are only two months away from his 1 year old birthday party? maybe its the fact that the weather is getting cooler - very reminiscent of the time of the year when daxy was born last fall? maybe its the fact that we just cannot believe how big our sweet fellow is getting!

we'd gone just a little over nine months before daxton got sick for the first time. from what we hear, we were very lucky. daxton first came down with a virus that had him fevered and congested. shortly after we battled and seemingly won that, he was struck with another fever - this one higher than ever before. with this illness we hit 104.2. mommy and daddy were a little scared. that night we administered the children's motrin, took him out of his regular pajamas and put him into a onesie, cooled him with washrags, and took his temperature every hour. the next morning we found out our sweet fellow had an ear infection. he was definitely uncomfortable, because for the first time in 9.5 months our sweet daxy did not want to go night-night alone, was grumpy, and did not want to jump in his jumperoo. we were sad - all very sad. however, sweet pea has been on amoxocillin since wednesday and is definitely feeling better. hopefully this is the last illness he'll see for quite some time.

daxton's belly drag has a little more umph to it these days. now instead of a full on drag he pushes his rump up a bit before he launches forward. friday he toured the entire main floor of the house. he used to come to the threshold of his room and stop where the carpet met the hardwood floor. it was a good barrier to the "unknown". however, on friday while i was working in his closet, he decided to just go for it and crawled right past the invisible barrier. i knew the second i heard his palm smack the hardwood floor that things were - again - forever changing. i looked up and he was headed down the hall. i watched quietly behind him to see where he'd go. curiosity had a hold of our little fellow and he headed strait to a room that had been fascinating him for some time. he went to the laundry room. it's two doors down from his room, it houses the washer, dryer, dirty clothes, a laundry sink, and the fascinating dog crates. daxy crawled with wreckless abandon straight for the crates. (luckily the doors are closed.) he stopped just short of a face plant into the metal grate on the front of iliana's "condo" and just stared into the doggy house. he checked back to see if i was watching or better yet to see if i was going to tell him no. since there were no doggies in there i figured i would let him investigate. he thoroughly checked it over and when he was done, he pivoted, turned, and crawled with the same vigor towards the dining room. he crawled down the hall, through the dining room, around the table, past the stairs in the foyer, through the living room, and into the kitchen. he was so proud of all he'd seen. for once he had a tour of the entire main floor. this little guy is going places.

mommy found out something about sweet boy this week. see, i like bananas with no brown spots on them. there is something about the texture and the taste that is just a little too sickeningly sweet for me. if they get brown spots, its time to make banana nut bread or a smoothie. i'd been attempting to get daxton to eat bananas for some time now. he'll eat jarred baby food bananas and sprout baby food bananas, but no smashed up plain old bananas. however, when dax was not feeling well i decided to try it again and i found out that sweet boy does like plain old bananas - but that's just it. said bananas need to be old. dax likes bananas with spots. so, in a three day span our sweet pea ate 4 whole bananas! this is going to work out quite well. i will eat the bananas when they're fresh off the truck and daxton can eat them after they've been here for a week.

daxton's vocabulary is increasing. we're still working on getting him to repeat things, but both will and i have heard him say "boom", "dog", and "momma". every time he says something you'd like him to say again, he just looks at you, smiles as big as he can, and clams straight up. in that same vein, he seems to be a singer. he loves to hum and "lala" along with the music, but again - if you turn down the music to hear his sweet song - smile and freeze! we hope that we'll soon be able to capture him in the act!

daxton is super inquisitive. he loves to check things out. he spots something he wants from across the room and like a man on a mission he sets off on a path for that item. once he gets to it, he grabs it, he slowly rolls over (as to not bump his head on the floor), and inspects the item. it does not matter if it's a rattle, a toy, a book, a remote, or a sock. he's still trying to push the limits by checking out anything with a cord. he's in love with all cords - black cords, gray cords, white cords - it does not matter. it does not matter what they are attached to or what they could cause to fall down onto his head by yanking on them. he wants to latch on to the cord and yank it up and down and up and down. he smiles with an absolute joy if he can get to them before we can stop him. if you tell him "no cords" - "no mommy's" - "no daddy's" - it does not matter. he will freeze, grab that great grin, and attempt to smile his way into freedom.

daxton's learning to get control of things. he's been getting around in his walker for quite some time now, but now he can go backwards, forwards, and even turn to go in the direction he wants to go in. he's also learning to grab things like his whole oats cereal and get them straight into his mouth. we now have some cereal at almost every meal. it's so fun to watch dax feed himself. most of the time he is so proud that he does his own little touch down dance right in his high chair. he's also starting to learn to pet the doggies in a more gentle way. this one is a hard one for him and a hard one for our old grumpy dogs to comprehend. luckily we're learning the difference between gentle petting and grabbing a fist full of fur and pulling as hard as you can.

we're in love with this sweet boy's charming ways.  he's the show stopper in every room.  he gets constant compliments on his personality and behavior in the church nursery.  he is always happy and smiling.  his precious behavior makes us be better parents and better people.  he's sweet and loving.  but he is also a giant ham.  he knows how to work the camera and how to turn the charm on and off.  he's got major rhythm, and is going to love to dance.  he's someone that's going to be the life of the party.  mr. personality - he's ours.

it's been ten months of 1896 diaper changes.

it's been ten months of 1743 bottles for a total of 64 gallons.

it's been ten months of cuddling, rocking, and loving on our boy.

it's been ten months of the purest joy you'd ever know.