Birthday Celebrations

With the arrival of Paxton I wanted to keep things simple for Jack's birthday. We had a little party at his school and then celebrated at home as a family on his actual birthday. A few weeks before his birthday we were facetiming with my mom and nephew. Mason was talking about how he was going to have a ninja turtle birthday party. Jack decided that is what he wanted to. Even though, he doesn't watch Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I thought he would forget about it, but he was pretty insistent. So, I picked up TMNT plates, napkins, and cupcake toppers for his class party.

Jack was so excited about his party at school that he hardly napped and when we arrived for his party he was the only kid awake. We had to keep telling him to be quiet until his friends woke up.

On his actual birthday I decorated a little the night before and when he woke up he got to open up a rocket shirt to wear and then we went on a donut date.

When Ty got home, he opened presents and had cake.

Paxton dressed for the birthday theme!

toddler backpack

Jack was gifted this seersucker backpack for his first birthday by my sister. We keep it stocked with quiet activities and snacks to keep him entertained during church. This has become extremely important to us in the last couple of months as Jack has developed an irrational dislike of bible hour and has been sitting in big church with us. He loves going to class before big church, but one mention of bible hour and he gets hysterical. Toddlers are weird.

The most important thing we put in his church bag is Smarties. There are none pictured above, because I don't dare show them to him. He would eat as many packages as he could. It is the first thing he looks for each Sunday morning.

Other items that keep him quiet, pictured left to right:
And by quiet, I mean they each buy us about 30 seconds of peace. ;)

• Bible--doesn't really keep him quiet, but he is proud of it.
• Buzz Lightyear
• Melissa & Doug Water Wow--These are reusable and are perfect for road trips, airplanes, restaurants, church, etc.
• Melissa & Doug Color Blast--The marker only marks on the paper and not on the church pew, etc. Jack doesn't have markers at home, so I think these are special treat for him.
• Tegu Magnets--These wooden magnets are so much fun and I love that they come in a convenient carry case.

You can buy an adorable seersucker toddler backpack just like Jack's at Peekawhoo and use the code LAUNCHLK for 20% off. (Code good through July 31.)

Peekawhoo! New website!

I love giving gifts, viewing gift guides, etc. I'm the girl at the shower that genuinely wants to see every present opened. I think it's so fun!

My love of gifts (and shopping!) has me so excited for the grand opening of the new Peekawhoo website! I'm even more excited that Peekawhoo is offering all of you 20% off anything on the site with the code LAUNCHLK. (The code expires July 31.)

If you are looking for a baby or toddler gift (or even something for yourself!), then visit Peekawhoo!
They sell so many of my favorites for Jack and Paxton! We are pretty obsessed with the bunnies, but we also love these backpacks and this gown. Jack has the navy backpack and we use it as his church bag and carry his snacks and quiet toys and coloring books inside. It is adorable with his name on it! I think I'll be ordering Jack the matching dopp kit!

Paxton looks pretty cute in his gown! I love gowns for those first months. They make middle of the night diaper changes so easy.

How perfect are these scrubs as a gift for your favorite nurse or doctor's new baby?! Kelley, the owner of Peekawhoo, generously sent these scrubs as a gift for Paxton. They are so soft and there are snaps at the neck to make it easier to get the top on.

 

I'm off to place an order for a dopp kit for Jack and a few special gifts for others! Don't forget to use the code LAUNCHLK for 20% off through next Friday!

Paxton, one month

Paxton,
I'll be honest, I was viewing this newborn stage as something we just needed to get through to survive and get to the more fun stages, but you, little one, have made me change my mind. I am loving every snuggle, sound and even little newborn cry, as I know it will all change too fast.

You are such a good baby. Since day one you have been a good eater and a calm baby. You rarely cry or fuss. My favorite time with you is right after you have nursed and you pass out on my chest while being burped. You have started to have more awake periods, but mostly you sleep. You like to lay on the ground. You move your arms and legs like crazy. You also love to lay on my bathroom counter top and look in the mirror. You like to be snuggled close in the wrap, which is good, because sometimes wearing you and tending to Jack is necessary. You love to tuck your legs in close like a frog. I love those frog legs!

Jack loves you, and asks to hold you, but only for very short periods of time. He has too much energy to stay still long.

Eating: every 2.5-3 hours

Sleeping: waking every 2-3 hours to eat; you sleep in the rock 'n play in my bedroom; daddy has been working nights, so it's just you and me in there.

Stats: At your two week appointment, you had surpassed your birth weight and were doing good.

Clothes/Diapers: Newborn for both

Likes, Dislikes, Milestones, etc:

• You don't seem to like the pacifier. You tolerate it sometimes.
• You also don't seem to care too much about whether you are swaddled or not. This is way different from Jack who needed to be swaddled and have a pacifier.
• You went on your first big trip to visit family.
• You celebrated your first Father's Day and Fourth of July. We can't forget Jack's birthday too!

Since I'm writing this a little late, (6 weeks) I already know some of what the next month holds for us and it's all good! We love you and are so glad you are ours!

Love,
Mommy

THREE

Jack,
Happy birthday to my big three year old! I feel like I blinked and you became a big boy overnight. The biggest change happened in the last few weeks--you became a big brother! You have adjusted relatively well and love baby Paxton. You give him short spurts of attention and then move on to the next thing. You are a pretty busy boy!

You love to be outside and ride your tricycle around the neighborhood. You love, love, love it when Daddy gets home from work. You stick to him like glue and don't give him a moment of peace. And he loves it! You are truly the highlight of every day. You love to wrestle, play tag, and hide and seek. Your daddy will make a bird call when he is hiding to help you find him. You have started doing this when it's your turn to hide. It's hilarious. When you play tag or really any time, you will stick your hands out behind you and yell robo powers or turbo powers or super powers. You use them all interchangeably, but it apparently gives you an extra boost!

You have really started pretending and more often than not want us to call you a character from one of your favorite shows. We frequently role play with Mike the Knight, Miles from Tomorrowland, and recently Dash from The Incredibles. Daddy and I are always one of the characters too, and you will ask over and over, "What's your name?" until we say the right character's name.

You love to sing and are pretty good at making up songs. You get that from your daddy. He is real witty like that. You like doing art projects and it is so fun when you come home from school with a drawing and there is a little note written on it from your teacher telling us what it is. You have drawn pancakes and circles for Mommy and a rocket ship for Daddy.  You are pretty into rockets and we had a rocket ship birthday party for you this year. You also had a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle party at school. When you found out that Mason was having a TMNT party for his birthday, you insisted on having that as your theme too. When we showed up at school for your party, you were the only one up from nap time. Your teachers said you didn't sleep long, because you were so excited for your party.

You are a cookie monster and your favorite kind is Chips Ahoy chocolate chip cookies. You prefer these over the much superior homemade kind and ask for them for breakfast every morning. We don't indulge you at breakfast, but you do get one every night as a bedtime snack with your milk. You love snacks and would much prefer to snack over eating a meal. You do love pizza, hot dogs, cheese, pork chops, and applesauce. You eat a lot of fruit, but not so many vegetables, although you will eat peas.
You also love smarties and we save those for church in an effort to keep you quiet.

You moved to a big boy bed several months ago and do pretty good. We are in a bit of a regression now that Paxton is here and your schedule is a little off. You still sleep with bunny and have become really attached to your doggie. Doggie is small and we are constantly looking for him before nap time and bedtime. You do really well with going to the bathroom during the day, but we still put a diaper on you at night and at nap time.

Here are some bullet points from notes I have kept on my phone the last six months:

• You say "Oh dreidels" when something goes wrong. I'm pretty sure you picked this up from Miss Aya at school.
• Your prayer on 2-18-15: Dear God, Thank you for Mommy, Daddy, and keep monsters out of my house. Amen.
• Conversation while rocking before bed:

Jack: Daddy is texting me.
Me: What did he say?
Jack: He's on his way.
(This would have been when Ty was working a night shift and most definitely was not on his way.)

• "I have a question for you." He will then proceed to tell you something and not ask a question.
• "I work in Omahoma (oklahoma) City."
• "What are we going to do today?"
• "Actually"
• "I think so."
• We use the anatomically correct name for private parts. Jack says "peanuts" instead.
• One night during bedtime Jack read to me from his Bible. First he put a little fist to his mouth and cleared his throat and then said "Jesus loves us." Then he put his fist to his mouth again and cleared his throat some more and said "Jesus saves us."
• Your daddy worked 5 weeks of nights, so it was just us for bedtime during the week. I put you to bed, but you kept coming out of your room. You had an excuse every time, but not your usual excuse of needing some water or needing to go to the bathroom. This night on the second time you got out of bed you said "I just want to check on Paxton." The third time you said "Hey Mom, can you do me a favor and turn the fan off?" Such a big sentence!
• You are very verbal and always impress us with what you say.
• You do not like to sleep with the ceiling fan on and if we forget to turn it off, you will yell from your bed until we come back and turn it off. 
• You love Chick-fil-A, but it is mostly due to the fact that they have a playground.
• You love to go on special donut dates with Mommy. 
• We read several books every night before you go to bed.
• You love bath time and will play in there forever. You also think showers are pretty cool.
• You have started saying "This is awesome."

I could write forever about this stage. 2.5-3 has by far been my favorite. You are so much fun! You are such a sweet boy and always get so excited about everything we do together. Your Daddy and I hope you always like us this much. :)

We love you!

Love,
Mommy

Paxton's Nursery

I wanted Paxton's room to be soft and peaceful, and to be able to reuse all of our nursery items from Jack's room. We kept Jack's crib, crib bumper and skirt, changing table, and glider/recliner. The big constellation print was my starting point for everything. I had trouble photographing it, but it is navy and not quite as dark as it appears in the pictures. I also made several decorating decisions based on the fact that we won't likely be in this house next year and could be in a small rental during Ty's fellowship. Overall, it turned out exactly like I had hoped!

If anyone is looking for a baby book, I'm pretty excited about this one from Lucy Darling. It's adorable and very, very simple. The girl version is even cuter with beautiful floral designs. I bought mine on Amazon, but Nordstrom and SugarBit carry them as well.

A girl from church painted this as a gift for us.

 My brother recently took up carpentry as a hobby and offered to make something for Paxton's room. I knew I wanted a small side table to sit by the rocker and he was able to make exactly what I had visioned! I love that Paxton has a special piece made by Derek.

Jack and I have been hanging out in here in the evenings before bedtime. It's such a relaxing time and I can't wait to bring Paxton home to join us! Jack is really getting into pretending and using his imagination, which is so fun. Paxton's room has been our rocket ship and he is Leo from Miles from Tomorrowland. We have had Peppa Pig and Grandpa Pig visit us to help fix the rocket when it breaks down. It's always interesting! I hope he gets over his "rocket ship" being invaded.

Dresser: Ikea
Glider/Recliner: Best Chairs Tryp from Buy Buy Baby
Curtains: Threshold Blackout from Target
Baskets: Target (star basket from HomeGoods)
Pom Blanket: Target
Changing Table Pad Cover: Aden and Anais
Sunburst Mirror: Target (no longer available)
Jumbo Elephant: Pottery Barn Kids
Crib bumper and skirt: Pottery Barn Kids (similar)
Crib sheet and blanket: Aden and Anais sheet, blanket
Constellation Print: Municipal Prints
Rug: Marshall's
Globe: Pottery Barn Kids chalkboard globe, drawn on by me (no longer available)
Big sign above dresser: Frame from Hobby Lobby, board cut by my dad, and DIY by me

Recapping Mother's Day

My Mother's Day weekend was made so special by those that I love! Ty worked 30 hours on Friday/Saturday and another 12 hours on Sunday, so I didn't have many expectations for the weekend. I picked Jack up from school and he was so excited to give me the present he made complete with special wrapping paper!

I wanted to make sure to remember the spider stamp he chose to use! 

 His teacher had snapped this picture on Valentine's Day. I'm not wearing any make-up, as I guess I stayed home that day not feeling well. Jack was so happy to have me come to his class party and I love the way he is hugging on me! So happy she saved this picture and remembered to use it for Mother's Day.

I took Jack to a local grocery store after school where they were hosting a grilling roadshow. We went last year too and had so much fun. They have free grilled meats, pineapple, salad (Yes, salad! Who knew you could grill lettuce?? It was delish!), etc to sample. They also had free sno cones from our favorite sno cone stand and a balloon artist for the kids.

When we made it home later that evening I walked into a house full of flowers. Ty had a few cases at a hospital closer to our house that morning and stopped by the house to leave me flowers before heading to his main hospital. I was so surprised!

My surprise continued later that evening when I finally made my way to my bathroom and saw this mini orchid. It is beautiful!

Saturday morning I met a couple of friends for brunch to celebrate baby Paxton. They both drove a couple of hours from different parts of the state to meet up with me. Our lives are so busy and I felt so loved that they gave up a Saturday morning to celebrate this new baby! 

We got home that afternoon right before Ty. Jack and Ty both took a nap, then I could hear them making plans to give me a present. Ty hopped in the shower, but Jack couldn't wait to give me my surprise. He came out of the bedroom carrying a "Happy Mother's Day" balloon. Ty had a few other sweet gifts including earrings and a "Thank God for Mommy" book for Jack and I to read together. Ty let Jack pick out his own card for me and he chose one of those musical cards, but instead of a song it was of a unicorn farting. Ty said he was pretty insistent that I would like it. Haha. We went to dinner to round out the celebration. It was perfect!

I almost forgot! I saw these cute questionnaires last year and decided that the next year Jack would be able to sorta answer the questions. I printed this off for Ty and asked him if he could do it with Jack. Because, really, it's not like he has Pinterest. 

My favorite part is the last question: I love my mom because...Because I don't like her. Bhahahaha! I laughed so hard I had to get up and walk around to calm down. Backstory: Jack has been on a daddy kick lately. Ty has been gone a lot and when he is home Jack is all over him. Jack has started telling me, "I don't like you. I do love you though." After the first couple of times, I started asking more questions about where he had heard that. It is a lovely sentiment he picked up from school. It cracks me up that he said it for the questionnaire. Ty said he tried to ask him the question several times and got the same response each time. We talk pretty frequently about our favorite colors, so I was suprised by his red...green answer. Neither are my favorite colors. I also think "the I love it when my mom...hearts" has to do with me cutting out hearts for him to craft with. I wanted the questionnaire to perfectly capture where he is at this stage and it so did! Haha.

Sunday morning we went on a walk before church and had a low-key day.