Dedication/Father's Day

June 19, 2011 was Father’s Day and Parent/Child Dedication at church. I’ve wanted to do the parent/child dedication for a while and I’m so glad we finally got the opportunity. I just pray and hope that we can raise Jaxson to know God and to have morals and values. Today's world is tough and the temptations are awful. I worry that I won't tell him or warn him about certain things enough. And then there are always the "what ifs" What if he hangs out with the wrong crowd? What if he is a little rebel child? Our family and friends came to witness and support us and we were so glad they were there. I believe that it will take all of us as a team to raise Jaxson to be all that he can be and to help him prosper in this world. Jaxson did so good on stage and got a few little goodies. The church gave him a little blue Bible, he got 2 adorable picture frames, bubbles and a new pair of flip flops. A boy can never have too many shoes! Who said girls get to have all the fun! Speaking of shoes, Jaxson thinks he should be able to pick out his own shoes. This morning we had a battle because he picked out the navy blue Keds to wear but they didn’t match his outfit. I wanted him to wear the brown sandals. “Jaxson, you need to wear these shoes because they match. NO” I know I know…pick your battles but a) he’s almost 17 months and b) he’s a boy…just wear the shoes I pick out!  

After church we went back to our house for pizza with the family. I’m so glad we were able to spend Father’s day with our Daddy’s. I love my Daddy and have always and will always be a “Daddy’s girl.” He’s always been an excellent provider, caregiver, Daddy, Mr. Fix It, my personal mechanic…he’s got it all! I know that Emmett was glad to get to spend time with his Dad on Father’s Day as well. Emmett is such a WONDERFUL Dada to our Jaxson Cole. He’s always calm & collected and doesn’t get upset easily. Forgetful and pretty much useless when it comes to house work…yes he is definitely that but we love him anyway! Hey, you can’t have it all!

"Donuts with Dad" at daycare

Father's Day 2011

Update in Pictures

Carpet Burn Nose

Flip Flop time!

Jaxson & Grandma Shaffer

Daycare is just exhausting!

1st Predators Game (Easter)

MIA

I’ve been MIA from my blog for a while long time…We’ve had so much going on and so little time to get anything done! I’m a horrible bloggingmother. Emmett has been on a couple of work trips lately, leaving me home with 2 dogs and a crazy-wild 15 month old. It’s amazing how clean my house stays when my 27 year old child isn’t there…we sure do miss him when he’s gone though!

Jaxson has gone from being wild to being crazy-wild! He is constantly on the go and doing something he doesn’t need to be doing! He has definitely learned how to test his limits. He knows there are certain candles/decorations he’s not supposed to play with. I will catch him sneaking over close to the untouchable, putting his finger on it and then looking to see if anyone is watching. He loves to talk and carry on conversations, although we have no idea what he’s saying. He does a lot of grunting and whining because he doesn’t know how to express what he’s thinking. Oh the whining-he’s still throwing those fall-out-in-the-floor tantrums and they drive me INSANE! Our action plan: walk away or out of the room when he starts to throw a fit. He usually stops shortly after, gets himself up off the floor and goes on about his business. He’s just like his Moma sometimes-has to get it out and then feels better!

He’s so smart-no really-he’s a genius! :) He knows what certain words mean. If I say go get your jacket or where’s your cup- he knows. He will look for the dogs if I ask where they are. He will pick up shoes if they are lying in the floor and take them to their owner. He’s such a little helper! He will pick up anything and bring it to you. If he gets into a cabinet, I ask him to close the door-and he closes it! Words: ball, dog, cat, milk, cup, truck, dada, nana Sounds: d, n, m, p, c, b, t, g (favorite this week!) Dog: rarara Cow:ooooooo Count: say 1 and hold up 1 finger-and then clap for himself; if I count 1-2-3 he claps for me :) He loves to drink milk and V8 Strawberry/Banana. He will eat most anything you put in front of him. He’s such a good eater-loves bananas lately. He loves to play peek-a-boo and hide & seek right now. His favorite thing to do is to hide under the clothes in the closet and have someone “scare” him. He LOVES (understatement) to be outside! If you take him outside, prepare for a fit when you take him inside. I think he could live out there just pushing toys back and forth and running around the yard. He loves to ride the 4-wheeler, lawn mower and anything else that moves.

He had his 15 month checkup on May 5, 2011. He weighed 21 lbs 4 oz and was 32” tall. He’s still slim-wearing mostly 12 month pants but 18 month shirts because he’s long in the torso. His checkup went fine besides the immunizations he had to get. Good news-no more until he’s 4! Size 3 diapers still but I think it’s about time to move up to size 4.

He had a checkup with the ENT on May 17, 2011. Dr. Logan said the tubes looked fine and seemed to be doing their job. Jaxson does not enjoy the doctor’s office and immediately begins to cry when the doctor walks in. Drama Drama…

I will try to post some pictures soon…yeah don’t hold your breath. He’s getting so big and really isn’t a baby anymore. And I am not ready for baby #2 AT ALL! I am slowly trying to plan our first family beach vacation-it will be mine and Emmett’s first vacation since our honeymoon! I went to Florida last summer with my mother, mother-in-law, sister-in-law and grandmother-in-law but Emmett hasn’t been anywhere since fall 2007! Poor guy. I can’t wait to get Jaxson on the beach although I’m sure he will despise the sand like his PawPaw.

Dada will be turning 28 on Monday! Geez…old man…

SICK of being sick!

That’s Jaxson’s exact thought right now! Here’s a recap of the past month or so…

January 27 (2 days before his birthday) he had the flu…

February 9, he got the stomach virus for a full week…it was AWFUL…

February 17 (2 days before my birthday) he got RSV and then bronchitis…that brought with it something new for us…breathing treatments. His nebulizer is a fire truck though so that helped a little. He despised the treatments at first but towards the end of the week he did okay with them. The emergency room doctor diagnosed him with pneumonia and RSV and sent us home with an antibiotic prescription-thanks but no thanks-we were at his doctor the next morning (February 18) because he was having problems breathing and his doctor said he actually had a touch of bronchitis and RSV. He started him on the breathing treatments and those really helped. His oxygen level that morning was 95-which isn’t bad but isn’t good. Because it was okay, he did not have to be hospitalized which I was VERY THANKFUL for! But the doctor said if he didn’t get any better over the weekend to bring him back to the ER to be admitted. Luckily, he was better in about a week. At our follow-up appointment on the following Monday, his oxygen level was better and the doctor said his chest/back sounded almost 70% better compared to Friday.

That was definitely one of the most stressed months of my life I think…I just want my baby to be happy & healthy!

March 6 he started having cold-like symptoms but it may be allergies. I also think he’s cutting a new tooth because he’s chewing on everything again. He hasn’t chewed like this in a long time!  He isn’t running a fever so we aren’t making a trip to the doctor yet.

PRAISE: no ear infections since January 7!!!!

This picture is a little scary but he was excited!

Long overdue Update:

I can’t believe I haven’t updated the blog since his birthday! I’m really behind on things. Since then he got his first haircut on February 5, 2011 at Danny’s Barbershop in Bolivar. That was quite the experience! Jaxson was not happy and squirmed the entire time making it a little hard to get those hair lines perfectly straight. Every now and then he would stop screaming and turn around and look at himself in the mirror. I think I had just as much hair on me as he did!

Since then we have just been running like crazy as usual…always on the road! My birthday was sort of a bust…I was happy that my parents came up and I got great gifts but Jaxson was really sick so I was stressed and not really in the mood. Last weekend (March 4-5), Emmett and I went to see Jason Aldean and Erick Church in Lexington, Kentucky with Emmett’s parents, his sister and her boyfriend. My parents took off work and came up to stay with Jaxson. It was a quick but nice trip.

Jaxson walks/runs around like a crazy man ALL DAY. He absolutely never stops and I’m not sure where he gets all of his energy. He loves to play, aggravate the dogs, eat and be outside. He loves to eat yogurt-I think he would eat it for every meal every day if he could! He also loves spaghetti/pastas, chicken & dumplings, nutri-grain bars, goldfish, fig newtons and MILK MILK MILK! He will eat most anything these days which is better than the transition phase we were in about a month ago. He will be moving up to the 1 year old room at daycare on April 4, 2011. He loves to push his trucks and make the noises to go along with it. He pulls out every book he owns and throws them on the floor. He will share his food with anyone and then say “tank who”. Still not really saying “mama”-I blame it on him just being hardheaded! Loves to say “dada” though when I slowly say “mama” to him. He is a nosy-rosy and is a people watcher like his mama. He loves to be outside and will cry/throw a fit when you make him go in the house. He will grab one of my brushes and brush his hair. He has started biting some but I hope it just goes away….He will say “yep” and nod his head up and down when you ask him something. I think he repeats me when I say “done” when he is finished eating. I pick up on these ½ words although I’m sure no one else can understand him...haha. He loves to chase the dogs with his toys and loves to have his belly tickled. He wants someone to hold his hand when he’s walking. Still doesn’t enjoy having his diaper changed and I’m not enjoying it much either since he’s on regular food now. He is such a little man now and it makes me sad but he’s still such a mama’s boy! I love picking him up at daycare and him smiling and running to me….BEST FEELING EVER! I recently bought him a pair of Puma tennis shoes (cutest things ever!) and he got a Hurley shirt to match his Daddy’s and it just makes him look grown. Oh, and he’s obsessed with his bowl of snacks…if he even spots the bowl he has to have it in his hands even if he doesn’t eat the snacks! Most kids get attached to a blanket or stuff animal…not mine! He is a messy messy eater and could care less if he gets the food all over him or the floor or anything else that will stand in the way-dogs…

I think that about sums up our life lately. We just take it all day by day and praise God for all that he has blessed our family with. I have really enjoyed church the past couple of Sundays and the sermons have really spoken to me. It’s just a good feeling knowing that He’s on our side during this crazy world we live in. When I get really stressed I have to remember to just pray about it and let God handle it for me.

Updated pictures of my handsome little man...

Playing at the Park

 Jaxson at Averly's 1st birthday party on March 12, 2011

LOVES riding the 4-wheeler, lawn mower and anything else that moves!

1 year checkup

Today was Jaxson’s 1 year checkup…I still remember the 1 month checkup appointment! He now weighs 22 ½ pounds and is 30” tall. His head circumference is about 45 ½. He’s just a little guy but he’s sooo active. We will take away the bottle tomorrow (fingers crossed) and he started whole milk today. NO MORE SIMILAC FOR THIS FAMILY- WHOOOO HOOOOOO!!! The past two weeks we have started more table food and have tried to start transitioning him. I still have a couple of jars of baby food in the pantry but I don’t plan to buy anymore. He loves green beans, chicken nuggets, peas, mashed potatoes, carrots, puffs, macaroni & cheese, cereal/oat bars and oatmeal is okay. I’m still scared to give him a lot of stuff because I’m scared of him choking. He likes juice and water and loves drinking out of a sippy cup. He is a pro-walker now a month after getting tubes. He very rarely crawls anymore. He loves to play with his toys-all of them for a minute or two a piece-ADHD? Slightly . He still wears a size 3 diaper and I may move him up to a size 4. He wears 12 month or 12-18 month clothes. 12 month pants fit well but are a little snug in the waist when he sits down but 12-18 month pants are too baggy. He had to get two shots today that he was not happy about. I’m not sure when we will lose the paci…it may be a while. He still sleeps in his bed. Last week he didn’t want to be rocked so we would lay him down and he would cry for a minute or two and then go to sleep. This week-he likes to be rocked. He will sleep in his bed sometimes all night and other times he’s up at 2 or 3 a.m. I’m pretty sure I haven’t slept in a year. He still says “dada” and babbles a few other things. No “mama” yet.


Now that I am finished with the party planning I feel like I can work on other things. My goals for the next few months are to get caught up on his scrapbook and get my blog published into a book to collect dust at our house. I feel like I have to document EVERYTHING in several different ways because I’m afraid I’m going to forget something. I love looking through my baby keepsakes & calendar and I just hope he has that same appreciation one day-scrapbook, blog and event calendar. There’s also a few other things going on with our family right now. Emmett recently received a job promotion that will allow our family a little more financial flexibility. We have always been stable but after having Jaxson things just became month to month. It wasn’t as much saving as before. His new job will allow us to save more and will give me a little more room to breathe. I also got a promotion at work but my pay raise is miniscule compared to Emmett’s, which is okay. I will take what I can get!  We have talked about buying land and building a house but I’ve come to the conclusion that I just don’t want to deal with all of that right now. I just want us to be able to take vacations and save money for a while. I want to build the house I want with all the things I want so it’s better if we save and just wait a little bit longer-can you tell I keep having to tell myself that?! Haha…to satisfy my urge for a new project I think we may have a fence put up around our backyard and attempt yet again to get grass to grow in the back! Some people are fine with living in a neighborhood but I was raised in the woods & I need to go back there! It’s just so calm, peaceful and relaxing out in the country.

Happy 1st Birthday Jaxson!

Our baby boy is 1! I keep repeating that because eventually I will believe it. The past year has flown by and he has grown into this little man that is energetic and full of life-he’s also full of temper tantrums when he doesn’t get his way! Unfortunately, 2 days before his birthday we found out he had the flu. I was really sad because I wanted him to have the best birthday and I wanted everything to be perfect. I had worked on planning this birthday party (milk & cookies theme) for months because I wanted him to have the most perfect 1st birthday party. Thankfully he was back to normal on his birthday after a little tamiflu and was able to enjoy his big day! Since he had the flu, I advised several of our party guests not to come because I didn’t want their children sick. So we just had a little family party, which was fine. Jaxson enjoyed his cake and cookies and tried a little chocolate milk. For his birthday he got clothes, books, a quilt, toys and money. All things a little boy needs! He also got a cozy coupe that has been a complete nightmare so far  I’m only half joking…he LOVES it. He climbs inside of it-closes the door-grips the steering wheel-and waits for someone to push him. He just rides around the house with a content look on his face like he’s on top of the world! We also did a “time capsule” at the party and everyone brought or sent something to put inside. Jaxson will open his time capsule when he’s older. I wrote him a letter so I won’t post my sappy story about how big he is and how much I love him on here. His one year checkup is scheduled for February 2, 2011. He desperately needs a haircut so that will be happening on February 5, 2011. I plan on taking him to “Danny’s Barbershop” in Bolivar because that’s where Jason got his first haircut and that’s where Daddy always gets his haircut. It’s a small, old-school barbershop on a street corner in downtown Bolivar. They are used to little boys coming in for their first haircut so I’m sure they won’t mind me taking a few hundred pictures.

Below are some pictures from his big day. I got a lot of inspiration from Anne Powers. She has some of the cutest ideas and I love reading her blog!

Handmade Invitations

Time Capsule

The Birthday Boy!!

Party Favors 

Cozy Coupe-Jaxson is obssessed!

Top of party favors (I took off the ribbon and tied twine on instead)