Paxton is a Year Old!

Despite my best efforts to stop it from happening, my bouncing baby boy has reached his first birthday.  (That sounds kind of morbid now that I read it back.  I would like to clarify that part of my just wanted Paxton to stay a baby for a while longer ... I wasn't literally trying to stop him from reaching his first birthday).  I can't believe that Paxton has officially reached toddlerhood.  It seems like the last year has just flown by!

Jay's Mom stopped by on Thursday to see the birthday boy and to give him his present (a super cute outfit) and to get some birthday cuddles in (I unfortunately was not here while she was here because I was busy having a meltdown about work over at Jackie's house).  We had 2 parties to celebrate the wondrous event: 1 on Saturday with a bunch of our friends and then one on Monday with my parents, Jay's Dad and Roseanne, and Auntie Kinsey and Adam (Kinsey and Adam skipped out before dinner, but they brought a present for the boy so I guess that's ok. just kidding!)  Paxton got spoiled rotten (of course!) and has lots of new jammies (YAY!!!) and some new toys, outfits and books (thanks again to everyone!).  I'm sort of worried that Paxton's just going to think that December is all about him getting presents when he gets older what with the multiple parties and then multiple Christmas celebrations right after. *sigh*

Anyways.  I've been thinking a lot this last week about how much our lives have changed in the last year.  I can barely remember what it was like before Paxton joined our family; what it was like to just be able to leave the house with just me and my purse (which did not contain diapers, wipes, bottles, cookies, toys, emergency clothes, etc.).  I went back and read my post about Paxton's birth and was amazed at how much of it I've forgotten, so I'm really glad that I wrote it down!  The last year has been full of frustration, exhaustion, anger, laughter and most of all JOY!  I'm so very glad that we get to have Paxton as our son since I'm pretty sure that he is the best, most happiest, cutest little boy that was ever invented (even if I do want to sell him to the Gypsies, leave him on the boulevard with $5 pinned to his shirt or dump him in a snow drift on occasion) and I wouldn't trade him for the world!

But enough of my sappy reminiscing!  On to the update on my wonderful little man (who may or may not be sleeping right now which could or could not be contributing to my upbeat mood right now)!  At 1 year, Paxton:

- weighs 25 lbs and is 29 inches tall!  This is nowhere near the weight that I had estimated!  I thought for sure that he'd be around 30 lbs by now since he was 21 lbs 8 oz when he was at the doctor at the beginning of August.  Apparently he really does burn way more calories since he's gone from crawling then to walking and starting to run now.  The doctor said he's in the 75th percentile for his weight and the 50th percentile for his height and head circumference.  So you can tell Brock that he doesn't need to worry, Kelly.  He's safe for a while.

- has amazing balance.  He can squat down to pick things up now without falling over.  Paxton can also stand up on his own now.  A few times he's almost made it from his knees to standing without using his hands, but he seems to get too much momentum and falls over.  I'm amazed at how much better he is at walking than he was a month ago!

- apparently is a Transformer.  He likes to turn into a bulldozer and knock things over (he may have picked this up from Mo since he seems to think Paxton is just another dog now and bowls him over on a daily basis).  For example, we have a triangular end table in the living room which I have apparently been using incorrectly for years now.  I have mistakenly been placing it on its legs when, in fact, the correct positioning is to have the flat surface on the floor with the legs sticking up in the air.  This is all the better for small boys to stand on I suppose.  Needless to say, this table is not doing its job of being in the way so that Paxton can't reach the electronics very well. 

- has 7 teeth.  Apparently he snuck another one in!  We were at the doctor today and she asked me how many teeth he has as she was going to check them out.  I was all like, "Oh he has 4 on the top and 2 on the bottom.  But I think he might be working on getting some more 'cuz he's been drooling and chewing on his fingers lately."  To which the doctor replies, "Oh yes, I see there's one coming in there."  I stared in disbelief at the new tooth (which I swear was not there yesterday!).  It's the next one on the bottom right if you're wondering.  I apologize to all the mothers who suffer through teething with their children.  This is just another confirmation that Paxton is the best baby ever. 

- is in his "big boy" carseat.  We put it in as soon as we got our minivan (not sure if I posted about my Mom-mobile or not.  Hmmm, I don't think I did.  I'll have to check that out.) at the beginning of November.  He likes it way more than his bucket seat.  I'm guessing that this is mostly because he's not staring at the back of the seat anymore.  It may also have to do with the fact that there is a giant window next to him in the Mom-mobile so he can actually see things while we're driving around.  Just wait until you're old enough to appreciate movies, Paxton.  The DVD player is going to blow your mind.

- needs a haircut.  We haven't reached mullet status yet, but Jay keeps telling Paxton that he's starting to look like a bum (this coming from the guy who once lost his debit card because he'd put it in his hat the night before (so as not to forget it on his way to work the next morning) and then he put the hat on with his debit card still in it.  The card was "lost" because it was held in place between the hat and Jay's head by some ridiculously long and wavy hair.  That's a whole nother story involving what an awesome girlfriend I used to be.  I would like to point out that I am still awesome, just now I'm the wife.)  I keep debating on what to do with his hair.  I know that he needs a trim, but I just can't bring myself to pay $12 for a haircut for him (I think that's what I saw on the Beaners website.  Maybe I should call them and find out if it's cheaper for a baby haircut).  I suppose I could just trim it myself, but I don't think he'll hold still enough for me to do it, and then I'll end up taking him to Beaners anyways to get them to fix it.  And no, Grandpa, I do not want Grammie to buzz it for me.

- "talks" up a storm.  He still says "da-da-da" the most, but he's expanded his "vocabulary" a lot in the last month.  And it's so funny because he just natters away like he's talking in sentences.  And then he'll stop and look at you like he's waiting for a response.  It makes me laugh all the time!

- is usually up at least once a night.  The last few weeks have been quite ridiculous for sleeping.  He slept completely through the night for 2 nights in a row, then was up 3 times the next night, and then was up 6 times the next night!  The night after that he was only up 2 times, and was up 2 or 3 times a night every night after that until last night when he was only up 1 time.  I found a pair of ear plugs that Jay brought home from work when we first got our dogs and they would cry in their kennels at night (yes we were tough when we first got them and made them sleep in their kennels instead of on our bed or the couch) and I've actually used them a few times this last week so that I can get some sleep!  I've read that apparently it's normal for babies to start waking up during the night again around the 1 year mark even if they've previously been sleeping through the night.  I'm really hoping that Paxton goes back to sleeping through the night, 'cuz I am not now, nor have I ever been good at dealing with lack of sleep when I am woken up multiple times a night and have to work the next day.

- is just so much fun to be around.  Even when he's being gumpy he's still a lot happier than many of the babies I've known.  I just love him to bits!

And now for a ridiculous amount of pictures (thanks again Cristy for sticking your card in my slot so I could have all the pictures you took at the party!)

I'm encouraging Paxton to feed himself more.  Apparently I need to be more specific about where to put the food since I'm pretty sure babies don't get nutrients by osmosis. 

I took Paxton to see Santa on American Thanksgiving and this was the result.  Paxton had just woken up from a nap and the ladies behind the camera were ringing sleigh bells at him to get his attention.  They gave him a candy cane while we were waiting for the pictures to be printed, and then he was all smiles! 

My son the triple-fister. 

The remains of a cupcake that Paxton's dayhome lady made for his birthday. 

Me and Carter before Paxton's party (he was very excited) 

Lyndsay and Carter 

Cristy and Alexander 

Jackie and Carter 

Mark and Alexander 

Blaine and Alexander 

Dee and Carter 

Oh, there's Paxton.  Upstairs having a cookie 

I love how mischevious he looks in this one 

Paxton and his girlfriend, Lainey 

Cristy and Ryan were trying to get a picture of them kissing, but Paxton was just interested in stealing Lainey's soother the whole time. 

Jess and Dan with Paxton

Let me touch the candle, Mom!  

Tell me again why you are going to take my clothes off in front of all these people? 

Eating the cupcake 

Delicious! 

With whipped cream and strawberries added (by Cristy and Jackie) 

That's right, my friends are willing to stage a "messy cupcake" shot 

Eat your heart out "America's Next Top Baby Model" 

These strawberries are sour (even with the boatload of sugar Dad put on them) 

Paxton wasn't too interested in opening the presents 

But he was pretty excited about what was inside of them! (toy from the Burris family)

Shirt from Mom and Dad 

Drum with noisy things inside of it from Ryan, Kaity and Lainey.  Revenge will come quickly.  Lainey's birthday is in March! 

Cell phone from Jess and Dan 

Jammies from Jackie, Craig and Alexander 

Jammies from Cristy, Mark and Carter (aka the Burris family) 

Super cute outfit from Dee and Blaine 

Paxton is so good at sharing already (hopefully it stays that way!) 

He likes to show off for Lainey 

Paxton likes to steal my wallet out of the diaper bag and then run around the kitchen wth it when I try to take it back.  I'm pretty sure that 1 year old is far too young to be stealing your Mom's wallet, no? 

This is the what a traumatized 1-year-old looks like.  He's probably going to have nightmares about strawberries and whipped cream accompanied by flashing lights for years to come!  Bring on the therapy bills! 

The Grandpas trying to get the toy from Grandpa Chicken and Grandma Roseanne out of the box 

Playing with the new workbench.  Paxton now has a teddy bear, a cell phone and a workbench that teach numbers, alphabet and music.  The bear is the only one that teaches manners, though.  He's going to be so educated by the time he's 2!