My Christmas Angel

I see the countless Christmas trees
around the world below
With tiny lights, like Heaven's stars,
reflecting on the snow.
The sight is so spectacular,
please wipe away the tear
For I am spending Christmas with
Jesus Christ this year.

I hear the many Christmas songs
that people hold so dear
But the sounds of music can't compare
with the Christmas choir up here.
I have no words to tell you,
the joy their voices bring,
For it is beyond description,
to hear the angels sing.

I know how much you miss me,
I see the pain inside your heart.
But I am not so far away,
We really aren't apart.
So be happy for me, dear ones,
You know I hold you dear.
And be glad I'm spending Christmas
with Jesus Christ this year.

I sent you each a special gift,
from my heavenly home above.
I sent you each a memory
of my undying love.
After all, love is a gift more precious
than pure gold.

It was always most important
in the stories Jesus told.
Please love and keep each other,
as my Father said to do.
For I can't count the blessing or love
He has for each of you.

So have a Merry Christmas and
wipe away that tear.
Remember, I am spending Christmas with
Jesus Christ this year.

A little overdue....

Well our boy is now 15 1/2 months old!! He's getting so stinkin' big way too fast! Here's a little on what he's been up to lately...

* Is 30 inches tall and weighs 26lbs.  That's between 10-25% in length and 50-75% in weight. Short and stocky.... that's our boy :)
* Will be getting tubes in his ears next Tuesday! EEK!  I'm nervous just for the simple fact that it's surgery.... but apparently they bounce back super quick from it and are feeling pretty good by the time evening comes. After 5 ear infections in a 6 months span.... I think I'll take the surgery over more ear infections.  At the ENT doctor he didn't do very good on his hearing test but they think that may be because of fluid in his ears so they'll test it again after the surgery. Prayers that no damage has been done so far!
* He runs ... all. over. the. place.
* He can now repeat pretty much everything we say.... including the work "sucka!"   Daddy learned that one pretty quick.
* He is still doing wonderfully at sleeping in his big boy bed. In the evening he'll often say "night night" and get his blankie and binky and walk back to his room when he's ready to go to bed. We do our bed time routine, walk out of the room, he'll usually play for a little while, and then will lay down on his bed and go to sleep.  Nap time on the weekends has gotten better but it has it's moments when it's still a  battle. I think his little body is slowly making the change to one nap a day so we'll be there before long.
* Food... boy does this boy love his food. His teacher comments on it pretty often too so apparently it's not just at home. His favorite things to eat right now are peas, veggie mini corn dogs, organic cheese pizzas, waffles, mandarin oranges, peaches, pineapple, berries, graham crackers. He's sort of weird on his veggies though.... he'll eat pretty much any veggie if it's pureed, but not any other way. I think it's a texture thing... in that case... he gets it from me ;)
* He absolutely loves to write! He carries pens and paper around the house a lot... it's pretty adorable.
* He loves to sing and dance.... and his dancing just keep getting better.
* His signing is really taking off. This was by far one of the best decisions we ever made. He now does milk, water, more, eat, please, swing, and help regularly. 
* Teeth... he is slowly but surely getting teeth. He now has the two bottom middle teeth, two upper molars, and one of the teeth that was busted through the gums on the top is now "usable" so I'm officially calling that a tooth now. 
* Christmas time has been super exciting for us. He's enjoying all the Christmas books and songs and lights and trees. He's been practicing his "ho ho ho's" as well :)

Well that's about it for our little man!!! This is my last week student teaching and then I'm off into the work of being a big girl.... I'll be posting on this adventure soon!

Tis' The Season

Well hello friends!! Long time no talk.... but I've been sort of busy... between toddler, hubby, school, papers, visiting family.... oh yeah.. and getting ready for the most wonderful time of the year....

So if you know me well you know that I am 110% obsessed with Christmas time. I'm like a little bitty kid starting at the end of November until January 1st. It's honestly probably a little sad. I love absolutely everything about the season.... cold weather, Christmas smells, Christmas lights, trees, ornaments, the colors, giving, snow, music, the idea of Santa, and even the craziness of shopping during this time of year.... literally, I love everything.

Here at our house we are almost done decorating... the only thing we have left are our outside lights. Here's a peek inside our house :)

 This is Dax's ornament this year. Since he doesn't watch TV or anything it was sort of tricky to come up with an idea for ornaments because we wanted it to be something that reflected upon his interest and likes. His first word other than momma or dada was "bird" and he still to this day loves to watch birds, so we thought it was fitting :)

 

I think my favorite ornament on our tree.... I'm sort of obsessed with Santa... and this little guy is just presh.

  

This was one of Dax's ornaments from last year. :)

 I ordered this one from pottery barn last year and money went to an organization out of Africa. I love this one and think it's a good representation of what the holiday season should be about.

So we had this perfect wreath for our front door but could not figure out a way to hang it for the life of us. The seal on the door was too tight for a wreath holder, and command hooks on the outside just fell off when the door got cold. So while spending way too much time on pinterest, I came across this idea.

As you can tell it worked beautifully!  Upside down command hook on the inside, with ribbon tied around the wreath, over the top of the door, and hooked to the hook. We've had it up for a week now and haven't had a single issue.... I'm telling you... pinterest is a lifesaver!

I'm not a fan of very many Christmas potpourri scents so I opted for ornaments in my vase instead.... LOVE it!

Did the same sort of idea with my candle holders I have out. During the year I usually have small rocks in them that complement the living room great.... so for Christmas I put tiny ornaments in one, red & white pebbles in another, and some Christmas greenery in the other. 

 I adore these stockings! I ordered them last year online and have been 110% satisfied with them. We plan on having these for quite some time and even ordered and extra blank one for a future kid on down the line.

Have I mentioned I love Santa's??  Because I do.... especially this one. So does Dax :)

 And the grand finale..... our tree!!  (and dog stockings hanging next to it)

 I love it and it's absolutely perfect to me.

And this is Dax's tree! So before we put up our tree I started planning on how to handle 1 year old curious fingers with the decorations. For Halloween he had his own decoration area that he could take down and play with as much as possible. He never once touched any other decoration we had out. So for Christmas I decided it would be a good idea to have his own little tree out with toddler safe ornaments on it so he could explore it on his own and hopefully leave the big tree alone. We've had them up for a week and it has worked just as I hoped it would! After a couple times of redirecting him from our tree to his, he now only touches the ornaments on his tree. Exactly what I wanted to happen! I highly recommend this to other with curious toddlers!

14 Months

Well our little man was turned 14 months on the 30th! Each month I get blown away at how fast the time is going.... and I'm not a fan of that.   Here's a few little updates on what our 14 month old is up to these days...
* Talk, talk, talk. This boy is quite the talker... at least around us. I think he is going to have my personality in that I'm more of a listener in situations where I'm not completely 100% comfortable. It takes me awhile to come out of my comfort zone, and even then I'm still not that big of a talker. But at home with me and daddy he talks our ears off. A few of his words he loves right now are outside, golf cart, bye bye, more, all done, bird, puppy, cracker, shoes, hello, hi, ball, book. And he makes the sounds of cars, elephants, monkeys, lions, and puppies.
* He has officially given his binky a name. It is now his "nah nah".  Where in the world this came from I have no idea! We have always called it his binky but for some reason he has named it his nah nah.
* He is still our little Linus. He loves his blankies!  In fact when we got home today I looked in the back seat and he was holding his blankie up by his head and leaning his head over on it. It's pretty adorable if I do say so myself.
* He's not only walking... he runs. Precious.
* He loves to sit on things. Like child size chairs or steps. Just anything his size that he can get on and off by himself is a hit with him.
* Still loves to read.... especially animal books and his night time story
* He would live outside if we let him. We spend time outside every evening. He loves finding sticks, leaves, rocks, and listening for the birds. I don't know what we're going to do this winter.
* Sleeping in his big boy bed is still fabulous! And he now quickly falls asleep after our bedtime routine each night. He's still going about 12 hours at night as well.
* His eating is getting much better again. We have finally up'd his menu from veggie corn dog nuggets, peas, and bread items to include ham, cheese, carrots, spaghetti, sweet potato fries, pineapple, oranges, and grapes. We're almost back to where we use to be! YAY!!
* Favorite toys at the moment:  Ring stacker, balls, his big yellow dump truck, play phone, his push popper lawn mower, and any sort of up or tube (i.e. toilet paper rolls) that he can put up to his mouth and talk into.
* He has become super lovable. He's always been a kisser, but lately he's become a snuggler too which I'm a huge fan of! He will lay his head on my shoulder or chest and pat my back. Sweetest.Thing.Ever.
* He's really funny... at least to us. He has figured out that he can do certain things to get us to laugh and he'll randomly look straight at us and do it. He occasionally throws it out at random ladies in Target too....
* He knows that when the dogs bark at the garage door daddy is home. He runs to the door and starts saying Dada over and over.


We had some major activities going on Sunday in the Freno house.... here's what they consisted of...

I guess daddy got inspired by all of momma's Reggio and Montessori talk and built this fort for Dax in the backyard out of sticks and string. I was actually totally impressed and Dax really likes it. He thinks it's pretty funny to go into. :)

Someone found his way into the dog house... and while he was in there found this patch of sunlight shining through. He was very intrigued by it. This discovery got my teacher heart going like crazzzy. I'll probably try and do some more light activities with him  pretty soon since he was so interested in it.

So Dax is very into trees and leaves and collecting things in the backyard. So Sunday we (as in the entire family) collected some things in our back yard and on a walk around our neighborhood and created these little jewels for his room! Since being outside is one of his favorite things I wanted to bring a little nature into his bedroom. So I used all of the materials we found... even the two sticks, and tied them all together with fishing wire and hung them over his bed. He really likes it.... and so do we :)

We then took all of the left over things we collected and put them in a basket in the living room for him to explore on his own.

I also added this basket to the living room. It's a collection of all the random things Dax has found around the house. He obviously finds them interesting for some reason so I wanted to keep them all together so he has access to them whenever he likes. Some of the things are toilet paper rolls, tiny flashlights, a cell phone case, a pop bottle, the cardboard from around baby food, a door stopper, and an accessory to my blow dryer. Weird stuff... but to Dax they're treasures.

So super long post but a lot has been going on around here lately. Look for another one soon on my conference I attended this last week.... I'm super excited and super inspired.

October = Horrifying

So October has not been our month that's for sure...

A couple weeks ago we went to a fantastic first birthday party at the pumpkin patch for Dax's sweet friend McKinley.  Daniel had to work late so ended up stopping by right before we left to pick up a couple pumpkins for the house. Well it's dark by now, we have the perfect pumpkins, and our boy is starting to get sleepy. So Daniel walks us to the car, we strap little man into his new big boy car seat, we close the door and I hug Daniel goodbye.  Now's when the story gets exciting horrifying...

I walk around to the drivers side door.... won't open.
Walk around to the three passenger doors.... won't open.

I quickly begin panicking but somehow realize I have to stop Daniel before he gets in his car and leaves. So I shout across the parking lot... like really, across the parking lot and he comes back and I (with my head hanging low... like worst mom of the year low) tell him the predicament we're in.
I quickly begin panicking... like almost hyperventilating, can't think straight, if Daniel-wouldn't-have-been-there-just-starred-at-the-car  kind of panicking. Thank God he's as level headed as he is because I would have just stood by the car pacing for an hour without him.
He quickly decided that it would be much quicker to just call the fire department to come rather than one of us drive home and get the spare keys... so he did just that.
About 5 minutes later we hear and see this full size fire truck coming down the rode with the lights on and everything (if I wasn't so panicked I would have been completely embarrassed btw). Out come about 6 big firefighters.... all with little smirks on their faces and shaking their heads at me. At this point Daniel also was laughing at me so I calmed down and began laughing at myself a bit as well.  I mean no one was in any sort of distress besides me... it was nice and cool out and our sweet little boy was as happy as could be the entire time and was playing peek-a-boo with his blanket through the windows at us.

At the time... completely mortifying.... now... absolutely hilarious and will be a great story to tell when Dax gets older.  :)

Now Horrifying October example #2....

last Wednesday Daniel and I both got phone calls from Dax's school saying Dax had fallen and hit his mouth on the tables in his classroom. Neither of us worried too much because they had got the bleeding to stop and he had calmed down. We peeked at it (as much as a 1 year old will let you lift up his lip and look at his gum) and you could see a spot about 1/2 inch where he busted it but it didn't look too awful. 
Everything seemed to be just fine with it... he was eating just fine, wasn't too swollen, and other than being a little sensitive when I wiped his nose for a couple days it didn't seem to bother him..

Well Monday night I was getting him ready for bed and noticed this precious little sight in his mouth...

yep.... that would be two of his top teeth (top middle and right incisor) showing through the front of his gums. Talk about panic.... geez Loise! That was a scary sight for sure.  First thing the next morning we got an appointment with a pediatric dentist.
Daddy took him to the dentist Wednesday afternoon (I have a very, very limited number of days I can miss student teaching and I need to save them for days when I may be sick).  We thought for sure they would have to sedate him or something to take a peak (you would completely understand if you had seen the way this boy fights like a UFC fighter at the doctors office... like doctor has to lay on top of him to look in his ears kind of fight). But apparently this dentist was just awesome and took a peak without even a single tear (she played with him a little first before checking him out... such a good idea ps).
Thankfully she doesn't think it's a huge deal and doesn't think they'll be any permanent damage. We'll go back in three months to see how it looks then.  Dax also got his very cute first toothbrush... a.dor.a.ble.

Well there are about 4 days left in October... hopefully not too much more could happen before then right?!  I'll leave you with this little precious picture of our boy at the lake this past weekend... he thought mawmaw & pawpaw's bar stools were pretty much the best thing ever to play under... he also has wolverine bed hair... it's pretty precious.... enjoy my friends :)

He's normal after all...

Well today I started at my second placement. It's with PreK in a Reggio Emilia based private school. It's actually the school we have Dax on the waitlist for to start next Fall.

I'm only one day in and I already know that I'm in love...

This is way more up my alley than public school.... especially second grade in a public school.

Day one and I already got to walk out to the woods and climb into a treehouse.... while checking out the llamas, goats, donkeys, geese, and other random animals the school has on the way. I also got to watch some kids do some awesome things with paint and some hardcore ramp building in the construction area.

Have I mentioned how right up my alley this place is???



On to Dax.... since we know that's why you all read the blog anyways ;)    He's been in his new big boy bed over a week now and things are still going awesome! Nap times he tends to wonder around the room until he's so tired he just passes out where ever he's at... but I think that's more of a light issue than anything else (someone is going to be like his daddy and have to have it completely dark in the room to sleep).   He is also getting a little better with his eating... but I found this online yesterday and it made me feel better.... because it just happens to be Dax to a T...

"the eating habits of toddlers are erratic and unpredictable from one day to the next. He may eat everything in sight at breakfast but almost nothing else for the rest of the day. Or he may eat only his favorite food for three days in a row, and then reject it entirely. Or he may eat 1,000 calories one day, but then eat noticeably more or less on the subsequent day or two.

Although toddlers are beginning to develop food preferences, they also can be unpredictable about what they may want for a particular meal on a specific day. Their favorite food one day will end up being thrown on the floor the next. The food that they had spit out, day after day, will unexpectedly turn into the one they can’t get enough of. Picky eating is often the norm for toddlers. For weeks, they may eat 1 or 2 preferred foods—and nothing else. They may eat a big breakfast or lunch and then show no interest in eating much of anything else the rest of the day. Don’t become exasperated with this kind of behavior. Just make healthy food choices available to your youngster, and acknowledge that his appetite or food preferences today may be quite different than yesterday’s or tomorrow’s. That’s just the way toddlers are."    healthychildren.org

Welp that's him. He use to live on strawberries... going through over a box of straweberries each week. Now, he hates them. He has opened his appetite up to any bread item (toast, waffles, crackers, bagels, etc), grapes, pineapple, cheese, veggie corn dogs, some days sliced turkey, and peas.... boy does this boy love peas! 

I also think he's teething again.... fussing at night, drool, drool, and more drool, and picky eating.   

Someone has also started saying "outside"... it's pretty darn cute :)

That's our update for now....  I'm sure you'll be hearing a lot more about my newest placement so brace yourself!

More Montessori Updates!

Well we're night four of our switch and it has gone just awesome! We haven't had any problems with Dax putting himself to sleep in his new big boy bed! The only issue we've had is him rolling off in the middle of the night and not being able to find his way back to his bed in the dark. So to try and fix that issue we're trying out a new nightlight tonight to see if it helps.  Other than just sleeping going great I've seen other changes too. Dax plays in his room a large amount more now than he ever did before. I think it's just simply much more inviting and exciting to him than it was before. We also added all of these bad boys yesterday and he loves to go in and touch and look at them...

I'm hoping to try and do an art project with Dax at least every other weekend to keep things updated in his room. Right now it's just a couple things we painted over the summer and a couple items he did at school. My friend Lauren who has a little girl just over a month younger than Dax has also made the switch to a Montessori inspired room and gave me the awesome idea of hanging pictures of our family by Dax's bed. I love the idea that he can lay in his bed and look at us. He absolutely adores these pictures and goes over and just really inspects them and points at people. The family collage I made at Walgreen's with a coupon that got it free for me. It's an 8x10 collage of all of Dax's cousins, grandparents, aunts, uncles, his puppies, and our "extended" family in Kentucky :)

Dax is all over the place when he sleeps and the first night we heard lots of bumping and banging on the wall. So to fix that problem we put our body pillow that was just laying on our extra bed in our office between his mattress and the wall. It's the perfect size and has worked wonderfully!

I also already changed things a bit on his shelves. I added wooden stacking rings on the bottom of his shelves that were put up in his closet because a month ago it caused him frustration. Well I got them down, Daniel helped him some once, and now he just loves them and is getting really good at them. I also put the foam letters that spell his name on top of the shelf and he really enjoys taking those down and playing with them. I'm starting to try and get letters in where ever I can (these foam letters and letter magnets on his closet door) so he starts getting familiar with them. I also moved his sensory basket to his tall bookshelf and have a puzzle and shape sorter on the bottom shelf.

And here's the updated pic! I'll be sure to continue to keep you guys updated on how things are going! I started collecting some pinecones, twigs, leaves, and acorns and will add those in the mix soon!

Meanwhile here's an activity we did today! I brought home an empty Kleenex box from school and Dax was instantly interested in sticking his hand down in there! So I threw in some q-tips and made it a fine motor activity! This video caught the very end of him playing (which last for about 5 minutes) but you can see his little brain just a working away!  It's the simplest things!

Took the Plunge!

Well apparently Daniel was pretty excited about our big switch to a Montessori/Reggio/Freno room and while he was off today and I was at work he was quite the little worker bee and got things rolling for us!  We worked throughout the evening and have most of the room done! Yay!!!! 
We still all the decorating to do (child level) and I want to add some more Montessori directed "toys" but other than that it's pretty much done.
We got rid of the crib, rocker, and end table we had in the room. We kept the bookcase (though right now it's a little tall for Montessori) and kept the changing table (even though that would go in a complete Montessori room) because it's really convenient and the storage in it is irreplaceable. We also went and bought a new shelf that is more Dax's level and has space to keep the toys very organized and clean for Dax.
I decided I wanted Dax's room to be a calming place so we took out all noisy activities (they'll be in Dax's play space in the living room) and are keeping it limited to books, puzzles, and other quiet activities. We tried to make a comfy, inviting area to read books and tried to make his bed cozy and inviting as well with his favorite stuffed animals laying around, and his bedtime book setting on his soft, "new" nightstand that also doubles as storage. While he's sleeping we'll also fold his comforter over and lay it on the floor by his bed in case he rolls off.

Well here you go guys..... a few pics of our Montessori/Reggio/Freno room so far! Like I said.... I have a lot more I'd like to do to it so I'll keep you guys updated as we make more changes!

 

 Dax's bed!

 Reading books with daddy in his new reading area.

 New shelf. Here I put some of his favorite books so they are easy access for the reading area (he still has his bookshelf full in the room as well... these are just his favs), his discover bottles I made (the quiet ones), and the basket has a few random things made of different textures and materials for Dax to explore.

I think he likes it :)

Going Montessori!

So it's official.... as of last night Daniel and I decided that we'll be making the big switch for Dax's room. Come December (or hopefully sooner if we can find the time) we'll make some big changes to Dax's room to make it an official Montessori toddler room!  Daniel and I are both way, way way excited! As soon as I mentioned the idea to him he ran off into the room and started planning the changes (have I mentioned how much I love this man and how he "gets" my crazy early childhood brain??) It will be our own little mix of Montessori, Reggio, and Freno ;)  but I'm really excited to make the switch. Here are a few pics I've ran across on that we'll be using for inspiration!

sewliberated.typepad.com

From sewliberated.typepad.com

http://www.theeducatedmommy.com/?p=429

http://jen-peacefulparenting.blogspot.com/2011/01/our-montessori-home.html

Here's a little info on the Montessori and Reggio views on early childhood if you're interested. I also have about a million more pages bookmarked if you really want more info so just let me know!

Montessori


Daily Montessori  ~  This is a great overview of the main objectives of Maria Montessori and has a pretty good short video on the Montessori classroom

Peaceful Parenting ~ This is a great blog done by a mom that has implemented the Montessori principles in her home with her little boy! There are awesome pictures of their home and great ideas for Montessori learning.


Sew Liberated ~  Another great blog on how Montessori principles were used in their home

Montessori Home ~ Great article on what Montessori is and how to implement it in an infant environment.



Reggio Emilia

BrainyChild ~  Great run down of the Reggio Emilia approach


Let the Children Play ~ This is a blog post that gives a quick glimpse of what a Reggio environment looks like.



Well you guys will def. be updated when the process actually begins and there are sure to be a ton of pictures so start preparing yourself!  If you have any more questions let me know! I love to talk about this stuff!

Naptime Update

Hello all of my non-creepy readers!!  Sorry about having to make reading the blog a tad bit more of a hassle with a password but a super, super creepy happening took place a little too close for home with a friends blog so I decided it was time to make this one a little more protected! Plus... I might as well make you guys work a little for all of the cute little boy pictures and tips I put on here ;)

Here's a quick update on what's been happening in the crazzzzy world that is our life this semester...

Me....
So I have two weeks left in my second grade classroom. Geez louise has the time flown by!  These last two weeks I'm teaching the class 110% of the time so prayers for me as i step into my new role!  Second grade has really grown on me and my class and coworkers are simply amazing!  I've survived second grade without being eatin alive but I think my heart is still with pre-k!  I have a class on Tuesday evenings that is kickin my tushy!!  It is a research class and it is IN-TENSE. It is taking a lot of my time. It's suppose to go along nicely with our student teaching.... but I feel like it is taking away from the experience a ton.  I am so wrapped up in getting stuff done for this research project that I can't give student teaching the attention it should require. It's pretty frustrating. But overall I am enjoying my time and my confidence has come back. One thing this experience has confirmed for me is that public schools aren't for me. I had always thought this but actually being in one has set my mind even more. I love the kids, love the teachers, but don't love the way the system works or their approach on education.Yesterday I took the last of my licensing exams. I'm waiting on the results of the last two (OSAT & OPTE) and if I passed I'll be on the last leg of being a certified teacher in Oklahoma :)

Daniel...
Daniel has now completed his time with OB/GYN, Pediatrics, and this week has started Psych. Luckily his schedule has yet to be real bad  so we've all been able to spend some time together each evening and on the weekends. I know things won't stay this way for long so I'll just enjoy it while I can :)  As far as what he wants to specialize in he's still undecided. I think he does know for sure that he rather work in a hospital setting than in an office. OB/GYN was actually really interesting to him.... and he's for sure not going to do pediatrics or psych. I think his heart is in surgery and if I was making bets on it I think that's what he'll end up doing.

Daxton...
Well I'm not going to post a whole lot on him because I gave you guys a pretty good update in the last post. But he's just as awesome as ever :)  He has the funnest personality and now makes this face at you when he wants you to laugh at him

He is signing more, all done, eat, and has done water a couple times. He has also started saying a couple 2 word sentences, "all done", and the other day "hi dada".   Our little piggy though has decided to become little mr. picky butt and only eat a select few things. Even things that he use to love he has decided are just disgusting. In my 13 month email from babycenter the other day though it mentioned this exact thing may be happening and that it's only a phase..... so I'm just waiting for that phase to end!  I also think he may be teething again which is a bummer but good thing all in one. This boy also loves his Mawmaw!! She came to visit us for a couple days and he was just in heaven the entire time.... I think he thinks she hung the moon... and I think she thinks he did the same :)

We also had a little parrot run loose in our house the other night.... I think we'll keep it :)

That Mom

It's finally come to that point....

and the first step in fixing a problem is admitting there is one....

well that's what I'm here to do...

admit...

that I'm officially "that mom"...


That's right. I'm the mom I always made fun of working in childcare. The mom that thought her child was above all others.... cuter, smarter, funnier, just over all more awesome than any other toddler out there. Well folks... I have to admit.... I'm there.

I always made fun of those moms and just knew that I would never be like that. I mean seriously... how ridiculous is it to think those things.... you have to be pretty full of yourself to think your kid is the coolest kid of all.

But like I said.... that's me. I have the coolest kid on the face of the planet... as well as the smartest, cutest, and funniest.

In the past week he has just started talking so, so, so much. From the moment he wakes until he goes to bed he just walks and walks and plays and just goes nonstop. He just loves books more than anything and would sit for probably at least 30 minutes and listen to me read. He has started getting really excited about things and  stomping his feet super fast out of excitement. He laughs and laughs.... sometimes at himself. He's a dancing machine.

His personality has just blossomed in the past week....

leading me and Daniel once again to the conclusion that he's the coolest kid around...

at least in our eyes :)

First Birthday: The Goodies!

This little boy is so unbelievably loved!  We had such a good turn out at the party and of course everyone came baring the best goodies for him. The hard part was figuring out what to do with all of it once we got home!

This was his gift from mommy and daddy!! This little boy is such a monkey that we knew we had to get him something for him to get his energy out on! We were also so excited about it that we gave it to him the morning of his party... we just couldn't wait any longer :)    He loves it and spends a lot of time climbing up and down and rolling balls and cars down the slide. It was a hit!

I knew ahead of time that keeping a one year olds attention the entire time you're opening a ridiculous amount of presents wasn't very realistic. So I didn't fret too much when he sat for about 3 presents and then took off to play with his cousins.  We occasionally rounded him back up to come see his new toys but he was quickly off again. Chasing Cheyenne & Zain around was much more fun than all the toys :)   But he really did get so spoiled from all of our friends and family! There was just so much love!

Wowzer!! This was the stash all laid out when we got back to Bixby! Good thing Daniel & I drove separate cars to OKC or I don't know what we would have done!  For about a week it looked like Toys R Us exploded in our living room but I think we have things pretty much put away where we want them now. We'll def be rotating toys in and out so he doesn't get bored with the same things all the time.  We'll also be getting rid of the couch (in the picture with all the toys). Right now it's just sitting in his play area holding all of our junk so I'd say that's a good move. Books, cars, balls, ball pits, push toys, and V-Tech toys pretty much sum up all the goodies he got!  And I'd also say we're pretty close to being set on fall and winter clothes as well!

Thank you so, so, so much to everyone who came to the party or sent gifts to Dax. We truly are so completely blessed to have such amazing, supportive, and loving friends and family. Thank you for being a part of our little mans life.

First Birthday: The Cake

Well for Dax's smash cake I went with this banana cake recipe, but left out the cinnamon (Dax is allergic) and added in applesauce (so I guess you could say it was an apple banana cake). It was sugar free but I went ahead and used regular icing with sugar and all!

It wasn't that pretty but it served it's purpose :)  At first Dax had no idea what to do with it. He sort of poked at it a little and made a weird face. So I had to dig in for him and give him a little taste. He decided then that it wasn't so bad...

He ate it.... but I think he liked the attention he got more than the cake. That big chunk that's missing from the cake was not him... it was me :)  He also decided that the icing wasn't for him and started just picking at the cake part (apparently our boy is not a fan of sweets.... but anything bread-like is his favorite food)!
He ate for a few minutes... but then started getting a little fussy like the cake wasn't what he wanted. I went and got some fruit and instantly he was better...

Apparently Daniel and I did something right because this boy rather have fruit over cake any day!  It was pretty funny!
And after cake his little face was all broke out where the icing was at... so apparently he was allergic to something in the icing.... maybe the sugar ;)