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.

sicky - icky & boogers

we noticed on sunday that daxy was not drinking full bottles.  he started smacking the bottles out of our hands when we'd approach.  this was highly unlike any previous behavior from our sweet baby who always opened his mouth like a baby bird when he saw a full bottle on the horizon.  it was not however until wednesday in the wee hours of the am that i started to realize he was actually ill.  at about 4am he developed a fever.  (for once when i took his temperature it was actually not the temp it should have been.  paranoid?  we've thought before he had a fever and when we took his temp, it was completely normal.  this is the first time we've seen something with triple digits.)

along with the spike in temperature came the snotty stuffed up nose.  dax is not a big booger producer.  i've seen lots of kids before who just have incredibly snotty noses, and thankfully dax is not one of those little dudes.  so, by 10am wednesday it was starting to scare him when he would sneeze and something would drip out of his nose.  he had this look on his face like - get - this - off - of - me!  momma came running with the tissues.  right now he's just super congested and hoarse sounding, so hopefully the drippy runny stage is over.

a trip to the pediatrician's office yesterday showed all of his blood work as normal (so we know it's nothing bacterial), several red spots on his throat, and the elevated temperature.  his ears looked clear, lungs sounded clear, and the dr. felt certain it was a virus that's been going around the area in the past two weeks.  he confirmed that he should be better by sunday, and if he wasn't, to bring him back to the office on monday.

we're pretty sure that this illness found its way into our sweet daxy's body by way of his beloved passie on a clip.  see, recently - since he's been belly dragging all over town - so has the passie.  on sunday he attended our kids town nursery at church, where we're sure the passie saw a good amount of floor action, along with equal amounts of passie on mouth kissy lovins.  so, perhaps (just maybe) said passie got a germ or two on it at church and found its way into our sweet dax.

and so we mope.  poor baby woke up with a temp of 102.7 this morning.  however, he did sleep straight through his last motrin dose.  after the first morning's motrin we had him back down to 100 by breakfast time.  after he ate he slept and slept and slept.  which, we're hoping was like a medicine boost and he'll continue to do snooze some more this afternoon and tonight.  yesterday he failed to take any naps (except for 1 one hour power nap in the evening), and did not fall asleep again until 10pm.  very unlike the dax we know.  a tired, sickly, cranky baby makes for tired, sickly, cranky parents.  luckily will has friday off so the dudes will get to hang out together and lay low. 

we're all collectively sad not only because dax is sick, but because we missed daxy's half brother's birthday yesterday.  we had been planning a trip to see his birth mother and older half brother for a giant birthday celebration.  we were all looking forward to getting together, hanging out, and celebrating together.  however, with super sickly dax all fevered up and contagious, we knew we just could not make it.  it broke our hearts to text daxy's birth mother to let her know we'd not be able to head over, and we hated that the first time we had to cancel a visit was for something that was going to be so special.  (i got a text back this morning that they had a magician with bunnies and monkies!  drat to missing the monkies - who has ever got to pet a baby monkey!?)  hopefully we'll be able to make it up to them with a visit over the labor day holiday weekend when sweet baby daxy is feeling much more festive!

zoom - zoom

a baby on the move is a whole different being from a baby who peacefully lies still in one general area.  we knew our lives were going to change when dax started moving around, we'd even joke about it sometimes - but we were just not prepared for how quickly he'd get going once he did finally get going - and what all he'd be into.

it seems that the tried and true statement about kids not wanting to play with their toys, but only with the box is forever reigning true.  dax wants to play with anything but his toys.  and even worse, it's not that he does not want to play with toys, but he wants to play with things that are not safe for little babies to play with.  he's like a magnet to destruction.   it seems like all day long i am saying this same phrase over and over and over again - "no, mommy's".  no matter how many times it's uttered dax just looks at me, cracks a smile, and keeps playing with whatever i am telling him not to.  he is obsessed with the following:

• laptop cord
• power strip
• telephone cord (that was nailed to the base board until he ripped it up, flinging a nail across the room)
• large books (oracle) from the bookshelf
• keyboard (from any computer, except the one i let him use)
• phone cord (yes, my work phone has a cord - how very 80's of it)
• dogs (especially the one that is not so understanding of his too rough grasp)

i feel guilty to constantly be saying "no, mommy's", but even when i pick him up and point him in the other direction he simply drags himself right back where he wants to be.  nothing can distract him.  it's like all hands on deck - mission must be accomplished - must - get - this - laptop - cord - disconnected - from - said - laptop - and - into - my - mouth!  he is one persistent little guy.  i honestly admire his dedication to the task.  it's hard for him to drag himself over to an area and raise up to grab things that aren't his (things we've so nicely baracaded and tucked away), yet he does it over and over again, and with mad skill.

we've put up more baby gates to help to keep him contained (and safe) while i work upstairs.  it's easier for us to put (friendly) the dog up here in the office with us now with this new gate in place, and it helps keep dax in the room.  this morning he decided he would use the gate as a toy and he ran his passie over the gate and screamed to hear it echo in the stairwell and foyer.  he knows how to rock it.  will says he was like a prisoner screaming "attica - attica"!

he used to be able to hang out in the walker (what we call his car) and drive around the down stairs while i cooked dinner.  however, that is probably no longer an option since we saw him standing up in the walker and leaning to one side to reach for an antique chair as he lifted one of the wheels off the ground.  game over.

if you put him on the floor in the kitchen he will immediately head to the dog food and water dishes.  they must have "baby come here" written all over them.  right now he is only safe when i am cooking while he is in his jumper.  some days he is kinda jumped out by dinner time, so i have to wait until daddy gets home and can play with him before i can actually cook.  we're considering another pack n'play for down stairs, but i hate to keep him cooped up in a netted play yard.

hopefully we'll soon find some creative things to keep daxy interested, occupied, and contained so he will be happy and safe while still on the move.

belly drag

it's the end of the world as we know it.
it's the end of the world as we know it.

Belly Drag

daxton did something down right amazing yesterday.  after work i was playing with him in the floor and he saw something he wanted (a sock) across the room and he went for it.  he used his elbows to just drag himself right across the floor to it.  for a few minutes i just sat here (jaw on the floor) in utter amazement and then when it dawned on me what had just occurred, i lunged for my phone to make a video for all of the daxy fans.  it never fails, whenever he hears the beep of the video camera begin to record he freezes (mid frame) as if to tell me i did not have his consent to video tape this event - and  like that - the belly drag was done.

shortly after this stunt daxton fell asleep and took a long nap, so i had kind of forgotten about it until we got ready to put him to bed last night.  will and i took him in his room and got him changed up for night nights and read him a story.  he was kind of energized by the "kissing" book (which tells you about multiple ways to kiss - and then you give him a little demo - butterfly kiss - doggy kiss - monkey kiss etc.), and so he was all of the sudden no longer interested in bed time.  i laid him on his tummy and got out the ball.  he rolled the ball with daddy and the dog and when they stopped rolling it back, he decided to go get it himself, dragging himself across the floor!  will could hardly believe his eyes.

today, he's continued on with the act of the belly drag, dragging himself over to punch buttons on my laptop keyboard, dragging himself over to play with the wheels of my desk chair, dragging himself over to tickle my foot, and on and on.  at one point i had to get up and close the door to the office for fear he just  might drag himself right out into the hall and right down the steps!  i am afraid little fella is on the move!

9 months

it's been nine months since daxton was born.

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

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

dax has turned into a wiggle worm. he's into everything and there is no stopping him! it's become very difficult to change his diaper on the changing table, and as of this week we've moved to the floor to keep him from pulling all of the tissues out of the box, pulling the lamp down on his head, getting into all of the diaper creams and hair butter, and rolling over and attempting to completely dive off of the table. yesterday when i was cooking dinner i heard the clacking sound of one of the cabinet door locks and when i went around the island i saw dax in his walker with the lock in his hand getting ready to shove it in his mouth. we instantly had to lock all of the cabinet locks, instead of leaving them hanging like they've been for the past year.

we've got two bottom teeth! his little chompers are totally adorable. he uses his teeth to crunch his yogis, cereals, and rice crackers. its the cutest thing to hear a little crunch n' munch sound coming from his baby cheeks. so far he's working hard to pick up tiny snacks off of his high chair tray, but things mostly get stuck to his palm, and when he tries to put them into his mouth they fall into his bib. tonight he was able to get two pieces of cereal into his mouth on his own and we clapped and cheered for his success! the doctor wants us to just keep trying solid foods, so we're going back to trying some mashed banana, avocado, green beans, and mango. he loves them in the baby food - but so far we have not been able to get him to eat plain mashed up regular food without making an awful terrible face which results in spitting it out.

dax has some favorite new toys. daddy's old droid, an old wireless phone, and an old remote control are among the electronics he loves. he favors anything with buttons and a hard black case. it's funny to see a baby with a smart phone, but he'll play with it for an hour by pressing on the apps, scrolling the screen, and chewing on the otter box case. he also loves to see himself in videos and pictures. he adores my phone just to see his own sweet smiling face. he looks at me, looks at the phone, and just smiles and smiles when he watches his own iphone videos.

he's got new tricks up his sleeves. he loves to click his tongue. it's adorably funny to hear (except when he has a mouth full of food because then you have said food all over your shirt)! he loves to run his fingers across the measurement lines on his bottle. its just like he is strumming a guitar (or a wash board). everything goes in his mouth now! he loves to steal the wipes from his diaper area during a change and put them straight in his mouth. if you take that one away he'll grab the package and grab another one! he loves making funny faces and bouncing his head from shoulder to shoulder. he knows he's silly and he cracks himself up. when he's really being a goof ball he'll stick out his tongue. he also loves grabbing his feet. his latest trick is to lean forward (while standing (holding your hands)) and bend down to attempt to grab his feet. sometimes he ends up getting into a sitting position just so he can get a better grasp.

dax is doing an awesome job sitting up these days. he's worked very hard to work to pulling himself up from the floor using his little toy lion as a brace to get him into a sitting pose. he's so happy and smiles a giant toothy smile when he gets into the sitting position and looks around. we've been using the boppy (finally a good use for that thing!) to help prop him up and it's helped with the tumbling crashes too. now when he sits unsupported he's a lot better about using his arms to catch himself. he's still into kicking his feet - he loves to hear the kicking sound on the hardwood floor or my office chair mat. while he's not crawling, he has been pushing up a lot farther when he's on his tummy and when you put him on the floor on his tummy he automatically goes down in an all fours kind of position. of course, that is where it ends and he slowly slides down and gets around by rolling around, but it's still cute.

every other "word" out of his mouth is "dadadadadadadadadada". he loves to scream dada all the time! he calls the doggies "d" or "dg" and still loves to roar like a dinosaur. he is especially talkative when he's in his walker or his jumperoo. he's very content to scoot about or jump up and down and shout out to the dada's everywhere about how much fun he's having. he also loves to make a "yeargee", "hayeeee", and "oooog" sound.  he also loves to let out shrill squeeling sounds, especially when you're some place quiet!  put them all together and you can just imagine what it sounds like in here!

it's so fascinating to watch little fella grow and change. it's amazing how fast he's picking up on things and just what a little sponge he is! we cannot wait to see what this next month holds. we can already tell that month 9 is going to be an exciting one!

it's been nine months of 1719 diaper changes.

it's been nine months of 1623 bottles for a total of 59.5 gallons.

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

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

ct scan reveals no trauma

a ct scan of the head and neck revealed there was no trauma to his head.

whoa - back this truck up.

yesterday at this time dax and i were in the er.

back up even further.

at 5pm, just as i'd signed off work, i scooped daxy up ad took one step in between the playyard set up of a swing, a playmat, and a jumperoo.  my right foot slightly caught on the leg of the swing and it sent my body, holding this sweet baby, into a lunging running desperate attempt to catch my balance.  i jerked forward about 5 feet and thought i had saved the day when i fell to my knees, then in a split second all of this went through my mind -

we're falling, oh lord no, please help us, we're really falling, quick - tuck your arms, don't fall on him, protect his head.

then, before i could even react, my elbows slammed into the hardwood floor in front of our kitchen sink - i cried out - and then daxy's sweet little head pounded onto the floor.  he let out a blood curdling scream.  a scream i've never heard come out of him before (and hope i never ever hear again).  i quickly brought him to my chest and i remember just saying - baby, sweet baby - i am so sorry - mommy is so sorry - PLEASE dear Lord watch over this baby. 

i got up and took him into the bedroom and laid him in the middle of our bed so i could locate car keys, the diaper bag, and my brain.  i called will - got his voicemail - and left some frantic message - meet me at the er.  dax just kept screaming - loud piercing screams.  i was crying - tears flowing down my cheeks.  the dogs were worried, terribly worried about what was going on - but i did not even have time to crate them.  again, i scooped daxy up and strapped him into the carseat - all the while the little fellow was still screaming.

i got him out to the car and into the back seat and waited an eternity for a neighbor to make a leisurely exit out of the subdivision.  i frantically called kathy to have her im will.  (why i did not try his desk phone is beyond me at this point, but i think i was just doing good to be operating a motor vehicle.)  i don't remember too much from our conversation, but i remember her asking me why i did not call 911.  i thought - oh my gosh - should i have called 911?  should i pull over right now on the side of the road and call 911?  i never even thought about calling 911!  i kept driving.  she got a hold of will and he said he was on his way.  daxy was still screaming in the back seat.

the drive to the er seemed to take forever.  i felt like i was behind every single solitary slow driver and that nobody cared (regardless of how i thought they were supposed to know) that i was on my way to the er with my sweet baby.  about half the way to the hospital the screaming stopped - just out of the blue the blood curdling screams turned into silence.  i reached my hand back and felt for his little hand and it was limp - he was not moving.  i did not know if he was asleep, passed out, or something way worse.  (every terrible awful gut wrenching thing runs through your mind at this point.)  i drove faster - surely breaking every speed limit in this 12 mile trip.

i pulled into the parking lot and leaned my seat forward to pull his carseat off the base and into the parking lot.  he appeared to be sleeping with his little head hung over to one side.  i touched his face, his hand, his belly and got no response.  i ran to the doors of the er.  i waited patiently as i could - tears still streaming down my face - behind another person checking in.  when it was our turn i handed over my drivers license and daxton's insurance card while the fellow behind the desk seemed to be in no apparent hurry.  he handed me a pager.  i looked at him - stone cold in the face - and said i am not sure if he has passed out or is sleeping, but i cannot seem to wake him up so i really hope you will hurry!  i turned and went to sit on a stool and saw a paramedic and nurse dashing our way.  they immediately turned the car seat around and starting prodding baby dax - nothing.  the nurse could not get him to wake up and the paramedic picked up the car seat and headed to the double doors to the er.  i followed.

as i rounded the corner my breath was flowing out of me and i felt like i was gasping for air.  the two of them dashing in front of me made everything seem so much more real - i could hardly take it.  as we entered through the doors and headed to a room things started to get a little fuzzy and i don't really remember what was done or said, but before i knew it daxton was on a stretcher with 8 doctors, nurses, paramedics, and hospital staff surrounding him.  the dr. asked the nurse - you could not wake him? as he took off his footie pajamas - she responded that she couldn't and then within seconds - he screamed (as if to say - holy crap - where are we - where did my pajamas go - and why are you taking off my diaper!). 

they did a thorough check, daxton screaming all the while, and investigated him externally from head to toe.  they listened to the story of how i fell and where his little head hit the ground.  he appeared lethargic, but okay.  they got him gowned up, hooked him up to a heart monitor, and let me sit on the bed and hold him.  once they confirmed he was stable, they told us they'd run a ct scan of his head and neck - but they suspected he had just gotten so scared/shocked/startled that he screamed and cried himself right to sleep.  apparently its pretty common with trauma to the head.  we sat on the bed together and waited for daddy.

my phone was buzzing crazy in the diaper bag, but with daxton's cords and my fear of dropping him, i knew daddy would find his way to us.  within a matter of minutes i saw his shoes coming from under the room's curtain.  it was such a relief to have him here with us.  daddy took daxton and held him on the bed.  i think i was still in such shock it was not all really settling in what had just transpired.  the dr. came back to check on us and told us they'd have him back for ct shortly.  once they confirmed he had not vomited they okayed a bottle and daxy drank the entire thing.  he started getting a little more perky once his belly was full.

they came back to get him for the ct scan and will opted to be the one who'd hold him still during the procedure.  i waited in the room.  however, within a few minutes the tech was back in our room asking me to come with her because daxy was a little squirmy so they needed me to help hold.  off we went.  we got to the room and will was holding dax's shoulders in a pillowcase contraption and i was to reach through the ct machine and hold a wash rag to hold his head in place.  easier said than done.  daxy was fascinated by the pretty green and red lights that danced around while the machine went whizzing by - i think it all reminded him of a baby einstein movie we'd watched earlier this week.  in about 10 minutes we were done and got to head back down the hall to the room to wait for the results.

daxton ended up falling asleep on the bed while we waited for the data.  it seemed like forever until the dr. finally came to confirm that the ct scans showed no issues.  relieved, we started packing up our things so we could head home.  will agreed to take dax and the diaper bag and i headed back to the other car alone.

getting in the car, i started realizing what all had just occurred.  how much worse things could have been - how in a split second things can go from la-de-da to life altering.  the tears - once again - started flowing.  i am not a huge cryer, but i am afraid that when i do actually let myself cry it becomes a hot freaking mess.  it was almost hard to drive through all of that, but a phone call from beth helped me reign it back in.  once the crying was under control the pain started to set in.  i remember thinking at first that i must not be in as bad of shape as i thought because i hit that floor pretty hard and felt fine.  i should have knocked on the fake wood in the console.  first it was the knee cap, then the shoulders, then the back, then the hip - everything throbbing.  i've never been in a car wreck, but this is what i assume it feels like.  once i got home i told will that my hip was really hurting and i showed him where it hurt, but nothing was there.  by this morning its a bruise about four inches long and three inches across.  i have no idea how i got it, what i hit, or when it occurred.  i thought i had a very clear memory of how i plummeted, but apparently not.

the doctor told us to wake daxy once in the middle of the night to make sure he was able to wake up.  he went to bed easily after taking a bottle.  we laid him in his bed and said an extra special prayer over him.  we set our alarm for 2am to get up and check on him.  i took some pain medicine, emailed work to tell them i would not be in to work the next day, and called it a night.  the alarm went off at 2am and will and i both got up to head down the hall to daxy's room.  we slipped in under the cover of darkness and found him softly sleeping.  i touched his hand, then his face, then his back, and he gave me a sort of jerking motion to signal us to let him sleep!  we knew then he was fine and let him be.  i think i slept a lot better from 2:30 to 6 then i had from 11 to 2.

we took daxy to his primary care doctor's office today.  they'd received the ct scans and reviewed everything and gave daxton one more once over.  the dr. confirmed he looked good and he really thought he was 100% fine.  we really felt in our hearts that he was good to go, but just hearing another confirmation certainly felt reassuring. 

i am sure i will be physically sore for a week or so, but it's nothing that won't heal with some rest, arnica, and advil.  my heart was surely traumatized by all of this and i think it will be a much longer time until i can talk about this without crying my eyeballs out.  we're so thankful to God that He was watching over daxy and i as we tumbled yesterday, and hope that something so traumatic never happens to this little fellow ever again.

these are a few of our favorite things

okay, so this is not oprah's favorite things, but it's the list i've come up with that help make me a better mommy.  while we were waiting for our placement, we had the nesting urge to fill our home and nursery with things we'd need when the baby finally arrived.  it was hard to sort through the internet and take good advice from a complete list of strangers, and even worse to take advice from my friends (and relatives) whose kids were at least 12 and older.  so, i have devised a list to just let you know what we're happy that we purchased/received.  (brand name dropping below for sole purpose of helping those who are attempting to make purchases before their little ones arrive, and are looking for some feedback.)

in no particular order:

1.  firm mattress - we purchased the serta royal sleeper mattress.  while it was not the most expensive mattress out there, it was definitely not the cheapest.  it's very firm, which made us feel more comfortable knowing that he would not be sinking into it while he rested.  he must like it because as soon as he lays down on it, he falls right to sleep.  (it's not organic, but the crib pad is - we will get to that in a minute.)

2.  crib - for the crib we purchased the davinci jenny lind crib.  it goes from crib to toddler bed.  it looks just like the more expensive jenny lind cribs, but for a fraction of the cost.  we were not sure if we were being placed with a boy or a girl, so this seemed to be gender neutral.  so far we really like it.  we've moved the mattress down to the middle level since we sometimes see a little baby head popping up.

3.  waterproof mattress pad - we purchased the naturepedic organic waterproof crib pad.  again, this was pretty pricey compared to some other pads, but we've washed it quite a few times and run it through the dryer just as many times, and it still fits the mattress like new.  so far no spit up or pee has gone through the pad on to the mattress.

4.  bottles - Dr browns bottles.  everyone i talked to said that we had to have these bottles.  we were skeptical at first and thought that we'd never learn how to put all of these parts together, but they really do seem to help.  it's the only thing we've ever used with daxton.  we did lose several parts to one bottle to the dishwasher heating element while visiting my sister in chicago, but they sell replacement parts at the baby big box stores.

5.  pacifiers - you really need hoards of passies.  i am not very good at clipping the passie clip onto the baby or on to the passie - i really did not do it for about the first 4 months.  we must have gone through approximately two dozen passies.  we are still finding them.  i think at some point the dogs may have been hoarding them.  who knows.  however we used avent brand passies and daxton seems to love them.  will and i have discussed that it may be difficult to break him of the passie here shortly once these teeth make an appearance.

6.  burp cloths and bibs - if you've read my blog for any length of time you can probably remember how many burp cloths i made.  i dyed about 48 burp cloths in my back yard the summer before daxton arrived.  i ended up giving about a dozen away to friends who were having babies or placements around that time, so we ended up with about 36 that are still in constant rotation.  we use them for everything.  we purchased gerber brand white burp cloths and then dyed them to look like those fancy burp cloths you see on etsy for $6 a piece.  mine turned out pretty good, and have held up really well.  fun project - but recommend washing the dye at the laundry mat rather than in your own shower and washing machine.

7. bumbo seat - i never would have purchased one on my own, it seems like an expensive item for a short time frame of use.  however, a friend from church gave us her old one and dax has loved it.  it's been a blessing to take it to places that you just cannot take a high chair to.  dax loves sitting up and looking around and he even loves doing acrobatics in it - which may be it's only down fall.  right now he is attempting to worm his way out of it to flip over, so we have to keep a watchful eye on him when he's in it.  if you get one, see if you can get it at a second hand store.  they clean up very easily.

8.  jumperoo - all time best baby purchase ever.  i know all babies are different, but for some reason i thought we should get the jumperoo instead of the exersaucer.  i did not want two of these giant contraptions taking up all of the floor space, so i figured we'd opt for one.  somehow we ended up getting 4 jumperoos at our baby shower, but we did return 2 of them for other things.  dax now has one upstairs jumperoo and one downstairs jumperoo.  if he does not get to jump for any given length of time he will actually go through jumping withdrawls.  he will then attempt to jump on anything he can find.  give the kid some jumping time!  we have two fisher price models and he likes the rainforest model the best.  they all have relatively similar attention grabbing items around the center, so just pick whichever one matches your house!

9.  play mat  - dax's second favorite item in the toy yard.  we have the boppy circus mat.  a little disappointed that  his circus came crashing down last week and the flexible arm that holds up all of the circus fun snapped in half and he can no longer have the aerial part of the circus.  i still need to email boppy to see if they'd like to replace that for us, but somehow i am thinking they won't.  it was a lot of fun though until it broke.

10.  excellent diaper bag - we started out with the $60 diaper dude messenger style bag.  when we purchased it we were matched with a baby girl, so gray and pink seemed to be like a good match.  however, after all that fell through i had already cut off all of the tags and we were committed to it's pinkness.  despite the color being all wrong (and the nursery room attendants at church not thinking it was his bag because it was pink), we determined before i left for chicago that we were going to have to live with a diaper bag until dax was at least 2 or 3, so we should stop just putting up with it's difficult packability.  it just did not make sense.  too many small pockets on the outside that just did not really hold anything worthy of going in a pocket, and then one big large center pocket that lost everything inside it.  boo.  so, we bit the bullet and ended up with a petunia picklebottom boxy backpack.  it's been to chicago and saved me in the airports.  it holds a great deal of stuff and it's relatively easy to carry since you have the backpack, shoulder, or cross shoulder option.  so far worth the $.

11.  baby shampoo and conditioner - we've purchased many brands of baby products.  when dax first came home we tried to use burt's bee's baby, then eucerine, then cara b organic, then (and what we finally ended up with) california baby super sensitive (unscented).  dax had some skin irritation, the baby acne, a rash, and all the while we were linking things to his shampoo and body wash.  i still don't know if it all just went away on its own or it was related to the products themselves, but the california baby super sensitive has seemed to work well all this time, so we're not changing it now.  (we do use burt's bees, california baby, and welleda diaper creme for diaper rashes and all three work well.)

12.  good blankets - aden + anais bamboo blankies.  not the ones you can get at target or babiesrus, but the really good ones from the boutique baby stores.  it does make a difference, and they are worth the $50 for the three pack.  we use them all the time for daxton.  they are not too warm, but they keep him warm, they block out sun when you double them over, and they are light and fold up easily.

13.  baby bathtub - we have the fisher price precious planet whale of a tub.  dax loves his bath time and he loves his tub.  it's easy to use and fits right down in the tub.  it's not easy to carry it full of water to the kitchen counter, but we only attempted this twice before we figured it out.  (sometimes we are slow to catch on.)  the toys that came with the tub are some of daxy's favorite bathtime toys, and he especially loves the slotted orange fish that sprinkles water.

14. baby friendly tunes - for everyone this means a little something different, but we could not have survived the first three months without putumayo kids and several rockabye baby cds.  dax loved them in the car, in the office, and even on the bose.  we'd rock out at all times and as long as the music was going, he was a happy camper.  we still listen to putumayo kids cds.  they are family favorites.  i don't think of them much as kids music and they are not so annoying as rockaby baby madonna (for example).

15.  ergo carrier - we went through the baby bjorn, the moby wrap, and the infantino flip before we broke down and returned those jumperoos for an ergo.  our backs were killing us with all of the other carriers and daxton just did not really like being in them.  we finally got the ergo baby sport (because we are so sporty,  no, because it's thinner and not so hot).  we have not used it immenesly, but the times we have used it daxton did not mind it and our backs were not burning like red fire ants had attacked us.

16.  carseat - we opted for chicco brand.  we got the key fit that came with the fold up stroller.  it is heavy, but it is safe.  these carseats ranked as some of the lowest on the toxicity levels, but high in car safety testing.  however, once the baby is over about 10lbs it is very difficult to carry with the baby inside.  it's very easy to install in the car, and i've tested it out on land rover, toyota, chevrolet, and vw.

17.  comfortable stroller for both you and baby - if there is a place where you can go and test out a stroller, i highly advise you to do that.  see how long the handles are and how the wheels work with your own stride.  we love our inglesina swift stroller, but the handles are not long enough and our feet tend to kick the wheels as we stroll along.  we also love the chicco stroller that came with the carseat, but it is bulky and not practical to use all of the time.  neither of them are good for the beach, but we don't get to go often enough to justify another stroller.  both of our current strollers are good for daxton for sitting up or for laying down and sleeping.  both have a canopy that is very helpful for strolling or resting on the beach.

18.  diapers - when daxton first arrived home we used earth's best chlorine free diapers.  they then became hard to locate so we switched to seventh generation.  we also exclusively use bum genius 4.0 snap diapers when we're at home.  we launder diapers every other day and we use a combination of baking soda, charlie's soap, biokleen, and seventh generation baby detergent in our front load washer.  we have 25 bg cloth diapers and really feel like it is the perfect amount for us.  if you have more then you'd wait too long to wash and that is just really not fun for anyone.

19.  wipes - seventh generation - we use these wipes exclusively and always have.  they are unscented and do not have any of that ultra strong "baby powder" scenting that i don't care for.

20.  baby food - sprout.  we really like sprout organics.  they come in packets, instead of packages with those plastic screw off lids and they're easy to toss in your diaper bag or in your travel bag for the airplane.  they are also easy to feed from, so you don't have to do lots of dishes.  dax likes all of the flavor combinations, except green beans, peas, and mint.  they are a lot less expensive than earth's best organics, plum, or happy baby - but have good consistency, decent flavor, and no added sugar.

21.  formula - we used enfamil newborn when dax was newly ours because it was what they'd been giving him at the hospital.  our doctor told us not to switch it up until he was ready to go to regular formula.  once he did, we transferred him over to earth's best organic formula and he seems to like it, because he finishes every bottle!

22.  swing - we purchased the fisher price my little lamb baby swing.  dax slept in it for about the first two months of his life.  he still sleeps in it on a weekly basis, when in the wee hours of the morning he decides to wake up before the sunshine and refuses to go back to bed.  we strap him in, turn on the muzak, crank up the mobile, and let her rip.  he loves talking to the characters on the mobile and seeing himself in the circular mirror over his head.  definitely a good investment.  this one swings in three directions, and that is handy when you move it from room to room.  the only thing i don't like is that you cannot take the headrest out to launder it separately from the rest of the swing.

23. - high chair - we received the graco 4-in-1 high chair seating system.  could not be happier with it.  it's easy to put together and transitional between your baby's various eating stages.  it should last daxton until he's much older.  the tray is easy to clean (although too large for our dishwasher), but it wipes off easily and i can put it in the sink if it needs to be scrubbed.  the harness style (racing) seat belt does seem like overkill when your baby is just newly sitting up to eat their first meal, but as they get older you see it's importance.  we're thankful he has it now, otherwise half of our baby food and our baby would be on the ground.

hope this is helpful for someone who is out there struggling with a list of things they need to get before their little one arrives home!

8 months

it's been eight months since daxton was born.

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

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

daxton has been a little traveler this past month.  he experienced his first airplane ride, his first long car ride with no other friends in the back seat, and his first trip to the lake.  he had a good time in chicago and loved hanging out with his auntie conti and uncle keeker.  he did lots of sight seeing and hung in there even when the weather was hot and the trips out of the house were long.  he also had a good time visiting his nani and gran-gran in va this past week.  he played most of the days in his jumper while i worked and then he got to go to smith mountain lake on the 4th of july.  we didn't hang in there for fireworks, but a fun day in the lake was just about all the little fella could keep up with.

daxton's been progressing with textural foods.  he's still not so sure about mashed up bananas, chopped up mango, or puffs - but he loves his strawberry yogis and watermelon!  it's been hard to find organic watermelon, but every time we locate one we make sure to get it for dax.  he loves the flavor of it and i think that the flavor even overwhelms the textural aspect that he's sometimes not so sure of.  it's definitely his favorite thing so far.

daxton is still working on his sit up skills.  he will sit, if you put him there - until a breeze knocks him over - or something fascinating (which is generally anything) catches his eye and he turns his head.  sudden turns send him straight into a tumble.  he likes sitting up, but he's still not connecting the fact that he needs to use his arms to balance himself as he's falling over.  crawling is not even on the radar.  we get the butt going up in the air, and he reaches, and stretches for objects he wants that are not in his grasp, but he is not attempting to move to go get them just yet.

we keep thinking that teeth are on the horizon.  i think we've been thinking this since he was about 3 months old - alas - there are no teeth poking through.  it's funny to watch him eat his puffs because he actually chews them - nom - nom - nom - as if he had teeth, but he's just chewing with his gums!  he'll sure have a cute little grin when those pearly whites make an appearance!

daxton's been a water bug as of late.  he's been to pools and the lake and he loves being in the water.  in fact, he got so relaxed at the lake that he fell asleep while wearing his life jacket submerged in a float in the water!  we had to hoist him out and let him rest on the boat.  when we put him back in the water later, he did the same thing again.  he loved watching everyone float around in the lake on rafts.  while on the boat he saw everyone out there and he climbed up and actually stood (while holding on to the seat) to look over the edge and see what was going on.  he never wants to miss out on the fun!  he played with his cousin ellie in the kiddie pool and thought it was pretty funny when she was splish splashing all around.  they were great buddies together!

daxton never meets a stranger.  he's fascinated and happy with everyone he meets.  he spends his sunday mornings in the nursery at church, and he goes from care taker to care taker without any issue.  he's hung out with friends of friends at the lake and with the neighbors and he's never met anyone he does not like.  he spent a good deal of time with his cousin james while he was in roanoke and he loved just laying on his play mat with him and watching what he was doing.  he's a friendly and personable little fellow.

jumperoo.  hate to mention it again, but it still goes down in the history books as the all - time - favorite - daxy toy.  we even took one apart and drove it to va so he could jump while he was out of town.  he missed it terribly while we were in chicago and i could tell he was happy to see it when we arrived in va.  we got it out of the car and set it up and he immediately started clapping and jumping!

it's been eight months of 1540 diaper changes.

it's been eight months of 1488 bottles for a total of 54.1 gallons.

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

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

chicago

daxton took his first major trip this past friday.  we packed our bags and headed to "the windy city".  we loaded up with diapers, bottles, passies, toys that did not make noise, and wishes for smooth flights.  dax did a great job getting through security and we waved to daddy as we made our way to the gate.  he got a little fussy once we heard lots of final calls and loud announcements, but with a quick bottle he was back to his chipper self.  we boarded our plane for cincinnati and my fears of an unpacified baby melted away as the plane picked up speed down the runway and daxy fell to sleep.  he slept all the way to cvg.  our layover was short and we had just enough time for a diaper and a bottle before it we were on our plane to chicago.  he was a little less concerned with napping on the second flight of the day, but the flight was short - and before we knew it - we were in chicago.

we picked up our carryon items and waited to be the last people off the plane, so i could gather everything from the overhead bin.  keeping your butt out in the aisle is the only way to pick up a baby and a diaper bag.  after we made our way off the plane we followed the signs to the baggage claim area.  once we reached the base of the escalator i heard my brother in law calling dax's name.  we were relieved to know we'd have help to lug a carseat and its base, a stroller, a suitcase, a diaper bag, and a baby on the el into the city.  chris got us safely to the car and played with dax while i installed the car seat base.  (husband had given me a lesson before dropping us off that morning.)  within 5 minutes, we were on our way. 

we made our way from the airport into the traffic.  everything was backlogged - even at 3pm - so chris took an exit and we headed into the city.  dax and i were in need of lunch and a bathroom break so chris found us a great thai restaurant to stop and kill some time.  we were waiting to be able to pick up lori (baby sister) when she got off work at 5pm.  i enjoyed my thai spicy lunch, dax enjoyed his bottle and a good stretch, and chris was glad we'd made it safely out of the traffic.

after picking up lori we made our way back to her condo and i got the grand tour.  dax was happy on the couch, but i needed to see where lori is when i talk to her on the phone.  do you ever have this desire?  i just really like to know where people are when i am talking to them.  strange?  maybe.  lori obliged and showed me around.  it was great to see all of the projects she'd worked on that we'd previously discussed over the past year.  her place was so cute i told her she'd have to come help me jazz mine up.  we settled into some comfortables and chris and lori started on dinner.  we opened up some wine and sat out on the patio while chris grilled strip steaks and lori steamed lobster tails!  it was such a treat!  we stayed up and chatted, sang, and danced on the patio until i literally started to fall asleep at the table.  tomorrow was another day.

saturday we got up early (thanks to my sweet baby) and we headed out for some breakfast.  we went to a really cute little place and dax enjoyed the wall street journal while we waited for our table.  i ordered for us and our delicious cappuccinos and versions of croque monsieurs were quickly delivered.  we sat and enjoyed the breakfast before a day of sightseeing and shopping.  dax was good in the stroller and as long as we were in motion, he had his passie, and the scenery was changing he was good.  we shopped until we dropped and daxy picked up a chicago ball cap, a counting book of city scenes, and some jingle beads for his little kicking feet.  we worked to construct these little "bracelets" for him to wear so he'd hear jingling bells every time he kicks, but he'd kick them right off every time!

sunday we headed into china town for a feast of dim sum.  we don't have dim sum cart service in raleigh, so lori found a place we could test it all out.  chris drove us to a restaurant called the phoenix.  we arrived early so we could be sure to get a table.  i waited all morning for bao buns.  every steamer basket that was presented was a bit of a dissappointment because it did not contain the bao.  we waited and waited until just when we were about stuffed to our eyeballs on baby octopus, squid, bean curd, and chicken wings - they finally brought the beloved bao.  we all took a bite and it was kind of like that moment when you hear the "whaa whaa" let down sound.  it was okay, but it was not worth all of this energy and a trip to chicago to have!

after our bellies were full we toured some more of the city and eventually ended up at lake michigan.  the water was crystal clear and the sun was hot, so i figured we'd get dax in for a little toe soak.  he did the same thing he did last time he was exposed to chilly water - tuck and cringe!  there woul be no wading in the water for daxy!  lori, chris, and i enjoyed the water and sat on the shore for a little bit to just soak in some sun.

monday's tour included a trip to millenium park to see "the bean", a tour of my favorite store "rudy's roundup" (we just love it for the name - the name rudy goes back to the days of the huxtables, and lori aka rudy aka conti - never goes by her real name), and a visit to big and little's for some ahi tacos.  dax was killer in his new sunglasses.  he kept them on pretty well, but on several occassions we found him flailing the $20 sunglasses around and i had to take them back.  silly daxy! 

dax slept really well in the pack-n-play that was formerly used for rocco (the chihuahua) after his spinal surgery last year.  i was surprised that he'd sleep so peacefully with all of the city noise and the lights pouring in through the windows.  afterall, his room is pitch black at night and where we live you can only hear crickets and frogs.  i think we wore him plum out.  he was just exhausted.  he was so tired he slept all day on wednesday.  poor fella.  one thing he did not do well while we were out of town was to eat his baby foods.  chris had gone to whole foods and purchased dax's disposable diapers, formula, and baby food.  he then lugged all of that up 4 flights of stairs - only for dax to stick his nose up at the baby food and not eat it.  it was strange, because to date the only thing he'd  never not eaten was a mixture of green beans, peas, and mint (even i thought that it smelled/tasted strange).  however, we tried to feed him in multiple places, with multiple foods, and multiple spoons, but he was just not having it.  could he really be that in love with his high chair?  i dunno.

he's a good traveling buddy.  there were 4 flights total to get us to chi town and back and daxy never cried on a single flight.  he was easily entertained with jumping, smacking me (its not as violent as it sounds), and silly faces whenever he was awake.  otherwise he slept and rested his sweet traveling noggin.  it probably won't be until 2013 when daxy flies again, but if he keeps up this sweet demeanor he'll be a world traveler before you know it.

it was great to spend so much time with lori and chris, but it always feels like it's just never enough.  we love our family and we're always missing them when they aren't with us.  until we see you again - love!

ptosis

we had an ophthalmology appointment for dax when he was just a few months old and today we had his follow up appointment.  we pretty much knew what the doctor was going to say before we got there, but we were still anxious to go just to make sure there was nothing else we could be doing.  dax was really good at the doctor today and despite a nap in the waiting room he was wide awake when it mattered.  last time he was there he was sleeping through the appointment and the doctor had to use some eye prying device to see his little eyes, which really creeped me out!

today the doctor reconfirmed congenital ptosis in his left eye and measured the eye opening to a 10 on the right, but only a 5 on the left.  the doctor did note his attempted compensation for the lack of opening in the lid and noted how he lifts his chin holding his head back or raises his eye brows.  we notice this when he's trying to look at something up close or when he gets too tired.  the doctor confirmed the corrective surgery will take place once he is 3 years old since the symptoms are only moderate and asked to see us back in two and a half years.

it's a good feeling to know he is able to see what he needs to see, the surgery when it does happen is fairly routine, and aside from a tiny scar on his upper lid - nobody will ever know the difference.  we're grateful we have medical insurance to cover the majority of this type of procedure and are happy that for right now he seems perfectly fine about all of it. 

another thing that i am so undeniably thankful for is my husband - daxy's daddy.  it's never a question to him if he "needs" to go to the appointment with me.  regardless of what it is, what it's for, what time it is, what it's in the middle of - he is right there.  we all go together in the same car (after the one time i got lost meeting him for daxy's urology appointment) and he drives us there and takes us back home before driving into work.  he's a sweet, loving, caring daddy and i am thankful he belongs to us.

7 months

it's been seven months since daxton was born.

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

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

time is flying. it seems like just yesterday we were bringing our sweet baby home from the hospital and now he is seven months old! daxton is growing so fast! it's just hard to keep control of time passing so quickly. before you know it he'll be crawling, walking, running, and off to college!

daxton is continuing to be an excellent eater. he's been given the green light to consume just about anything he can gum and we've been giving him 100% organics. he's a huge fan of a broccoli, pea, pear mix, a beet, blueberry, banana mix, peaches with brown rice, bananas with brown rice, and sweet potato. he is no longer in love with his beloved squash. i ordered a case and was so excited to see his face when we spooned it up - but, he stuck out his tongue and choked down every bite. it was no longer what he was craving. strangely enough broccoli has been the big thing of late.

eating times are becoming more entertaining. just this week dax learned how to grab hold of the spoon (full of food) and drive it right into his mouth. at first he landed it in his eye, then in his hair, and finally into his mouth. i ended up giving him a practice spoon (that was empty) so he could play with that one instead of the one full of purple carrots! one flick of the wrist sent carrots flying and i feared that the silk curtains' days might be numbered.

dax is exploring body parts. he has really discovered his feet. he'll curl up and tuck those legs in to get right at the feet. he will grab hold and pull up. he really admires them and thinks it's pretty amazing that they are attached to his body. he also learned that he has a tongue. for one, its really good to use it to press a ton of stored food out of your mouth and dribbling down your chin, bib, lap, and off of the high chair and on to the floor. secondly its really a unique tool to create the rolling "r" sound like he's from brazil. earlier this week, everything was babbled with a rolling "r". even daddy cannot do that! third, it's surely fun for making lots of racket. he knows how to make all sorts of sounds with the tongue - loud ones are his favorite. lastly, its certainly fun to never keep it in your mouth. just stick it out all the time - a little to the left, a little to the right, then straight down! he also loves to use his right hand to pet on things. he loves to stroke the back of his head, part of his pajamas with the snaps, or his blanket. it's so adorable to watch those little fingers work.

daxton has graduated from laying down all of the time to actually sitting once you get him into the position. sure, he will still end up falling over, but since it's never been on the hardwood floors he thinks it's pretty funny when he tumbles. we make a crashing sound and he just laughs and laughs. he really likes spending time in the bumbo seat now and will sit and play in there for a good long time. today he sat up in the yard on a blanket with no support at all! being upright is getting better for him each day!

dax loves music. he loves me singing "america house originals" (songs where i completely make up the words) while he eats, rests, and plays. he looks at me like - are you singing again? - and then he smiles, stares, and laughs. he has a "wiggle" song, a song entitled "it's everywhere", and a "tummy time" song. he also loves it when i play music for him on my phone. he likes to clap his hands, wiggle, and wave his arms up and down. he also likes soothing music that helps him rest, when he is just too tired to sleep. now he even likes to sing on his own. tonight we were at a restaurant with live music and dax made his own la-la right along to the music.

his favorite toy is still the jumperoo. he has two - one for work - and one for play. when i work he rotates through the toys, but he always winds up back in the jumperoo. lately he likes to take a book into the jumperoo, or a play ring, or some type of clip toy to play with while he jumps. i don't know how he can focus on all of that while jumping, but he does - and he gets such a big kick out of it. he also likes to play in his walker. he has no concept of moving forward, but he loves to take one foot (usually the left) and push himself backwards. we make the beep - beep - beep sound like a truck is backing up and he can sometimes get a pretty good momentum. hopefully one day he'll be moving the other direction.

dax is a happy baby. everyone who meets him comments on how sweet, how charming, how pleasant, how giggly, how talkative, how smart, and how happy he is. he's giggly and ticklish. he loves laughing - giant belly laughs - and they're contagious. you cannot see him laughing like that and not smile or chuckle yourself. he's content wherever he is.  it does not take much to make him happy.  he loves bright colorful rings and can sit and talk to them for hours.  he's can be calm, happy, giddy, perplexed, and a little demanding - but he is always a genuine pleasure - and our sweet - sweet baby.

it's been seven months of 1397 diaper changes.

it's been seven months of 1369 bottles for a total of 49.3 gallons.

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

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