Can you believe tomorrow is Christmas Eve? SO CRAZY! The last two weeks have been a full blown whirlwind. I went back to work so I am still adjusting to a new routine that involves processing my work, pumping, feeding and working with Paxton. Once the holidays are behind us I am sure it won't seem as hectic but last week was nuts-o! In true Sam fashion I had a "to do" list a mile long and always seem to think I need to tackle it alone. Luckily I have a husband who is patient with my type A personality and knows when to ask "what can I do to help." I don't always take him up on his offer like I should but I am definitely getting better at it. We have had a lot of fun getting ready for Santa's visit. A few weeks ago we went to visit Santa at Shadow Ridge Country Club. Luckily this year both boys were into meeting him and sitting on his lap with no tears. We got both Easton and Ben I-Pad minis for Christmas and they (mostly Easton) has been talking about getting one non-stop. We line up to see Santa and Im so excited for him to talk about the iPad mini that he will get Christmas morning......I ask him right before we make it to the front of the line "Easton what are you going to ask Santa for?" and instead of stating "an iPad mini" like he has been saying for WEEKS he goes "ice skates" WWWHHHHAAAAATTTTT!!!!!!!! First of all the child won't even try to ride his tricycle with training wheels and he thinks he needs to put on skates with blades on the bottom and go zipping around on ice? Luckily he is back to saying he wants the iPad, but geez I wasn't sure how I was going to dance around that one come Christmas morning if he was still stuck on the skates.
We also got a nice little snow a few weeks ago. It wasn't too terribly cold out (I mean I was out there taking photos and playing with them so it couldn't have been too bad). Benjamin had to get his mower out and Easton was having fun launching snowballs at me and then his buddy, Ethan, next door when he came out. We stayed out until the three of us were numb and needed to warm up with some hot cocoa. Its so fun to jump out of my adult skin and be a kid for an hour or two with these boys. They are the best stress relievers (and sometimes stress inducers) ever!
Easton is on winter break from Pre-School. So far this year we have watched him completely blossom. He is so much more assertive and outgoing than last year. At birthday parties he now just jumps right into the activities instead of being glued to me or Brian for the first 30 minutes. He cant wait to come home and show us what he did that day and teach us his lessons. He is the most amazing big brother. This morning I caught him telling Benjamin about Christmas Eve being tomorrow and how Santa says "ho ho ho Merry Christmas".....this lesson was obviously done while Easton was sitting on the toilet pooping and Ben was just in there hanging out with him.....boys! Every morning now Easton gets himself dressed, brushes his own teeth, and then helps Ben brush his teeth. This whole big boy routine just started last week so I am hoping its not some ploy to get on Santa's good side before the big day. Fingers crossed it continues after this weekend :)
Benjamin continues to keep us on our toes and laughing constantly.....He is really into learning his colors right now so we are trying to focus on that. He is so different than Easton in that aspect. He has to let us know when he is willing to sit still, focus, and learn. Easton was just always in that mode. If Ben isn't in the mood he will just say random answers and laugh....I fear we have a future class clown on our hands LOL! He LOVES Paxton fiercely and is obsessed with touching his face. Obviously thats not ideal when its the cold and flu season so we are constantly reminding him to touch any other part of Pax besides his face. He is still hanging on to his binky with everything he's got. We give it to him for bedtime purposes only, but lets be honest that doesn't work very well. We have him afraid of the binky monster so when we tell him that the binky monster will be coming to get his binky he hands it to either Brian or myself and tells us to hide it in our pockets.....usually thats how we get it away from him in the morning and then he can have it back at bedtime.....so its still a work in progress.
Little mister Paxton is growing leaps and bounds which is wonderful. We had his 3 month check up last week and he was 8lb 13.5oz and yesterday at the in home weight check he was 9lb 1oz! He is still <1% for height and weight but being a premie with PWS thats expected. His head size is in the 1% now so at least we aren't in the negatives for that one. We have a growth chart for PWS kids specifically, but obviously the pediatricians office uses their standard one so we don't pay too close attention to the percentages of that. The main concern is that he is growing in weight, height, and head size and so far he has been doing that consistently so we feel very excited about that. He has been awake a lot more and A LOT more vocal. After the two physical therapy sessions we have had he seems to want to explore a lot more movements. Its so fun to see him interacting with his brothers and trying to get at toys we hang above him. I have caught him giggling a few times which warmed my heart! We cant figure out what it is that makes him smile or giggle yet so its completely random. When we get lucky enough to catch these moments we just hold onto them and keep praying for more of them.
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| Rocking my Live Life Full shirt! Proceeds go to the best cause!!! |
Easton met some reindeer during an impromptu HyVee stop with me the other weekend. Its always fun to get out and do something one on one with each boy. You really get to focus on just the one and see the person he is growing into.
The boys were so excited to sport their matching Christmas Jammies. They fight constantly over who holds Paxton which is why he looks awkward in this picture. The only way to keep them both happy was to drape Pax over their laps....lol.
Our Church had their big Nativity Parade during both services last Sunday. Paxton got to play baby Jesus at the 8:30 service and then Easton sang and was a sheep in the 10am service. I got my double dose of Church in for sure that day (along with my parents who stayed for both services too). The Children's director kept trying to give me a game plan for it Paxton were to start crying during the songs etc. Its so hard for people to understand he doesn't really cry...not yet. He will one day and we will LOVE every scream that comes out of him, but during this phase he just does not cry. He will let us know if he is uncomfortable or unhappy but that's done with faces and grunts.
It was so special to watch Paxton play such an important role in the Nativity show/parade. Of course he did amazing as laying snuggled in your arms is kind of his specialty right now. Easton also did so good. He looked ADORABLE and sang and did all the little arm motions. I remember singing in Church as a child so its just surreal to now be the mom watching my own child do the same thing. Especially in our world right now it makes me feel so good to know that Easton is learning about the Lord and enjoying spending time at Church. Next year we will get Benny into it. This year he basically just cries the entire time he is in Sunday School so mostly he just sits with us during the sermon and colors.....or tries to socialize with everyone sitting around us.....most Sundays its just me and Easton right now :)
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| Easton is in the front just to the left of the little girl in the green dress. |
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| watching his brother from Nanas lap |
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| my little sheep (again to the left of the kids walking down the aisle) |
My mother in law bought us some awesome cookie decorating kits so we had so much fun last weekend decorating the cookies we will leave out for Santa. This is my favorite picture thus far of the boys. It literally shows off their personalities to a "T". Easton my firstborn perfectionist spent 5 minutes per cookie making them just right and using each color of icing and each option of sprinkles. Benjamin didn't even get icing on the cookies he just took some sprinkles and dumped them all over his entire pan. "I'm done" Easton was appalled. LOL
Easton was so proud of his masterpieces......now lets see how many are left for Santa
Like I mentioned before little Paxton his 3 months last Sunday. We have learned SO MUCH in three short months. Things we never knew we would have to learn, nor would want to have to learn, but we have done it and continue to do it happily. We learned that we are approved for the Growth Hormone injections that will help Paxton grow, build lean muscle mass, and give him more strength in ever aspect of his life. Fingers crossed its delivered next week and we can get trained on giving him the shots and start watching the results.
His smile is the best! When I'm lucky enough to catch it on film I take about 100 shots of the same face :) I just cant get enough.
The boys had fun making these "I Spy" ornaments with me for their friends at Mary Pats. They love those books so I found an easy way to incorporate it into an ornament. Of course in true Mary fashion she had a huge Christmas party for them yesterday and got each kid a gift. The best part was those gifts are for HER HOUSE! I am sure its nice for her to have some fresh toys for them (especially over Christmas break when no one is at school so her house is full the entire day). We continue to feel so blessed to have her in our lives. Brian and I got out to have our first date last Tuesday. We've gotten out a few times but its always with Paxton in tow. Tuesday we dropped the older two with Brian's parents and let Mary snuggle on Pax for a few hours while we had dinner at Tavern 180 (highly recommend that place). I pray that he gets to a place where he can go to her house even if its just a day or two a week. Both Easton and Benjamin benefit so much from her influence, so I pray that Paxton can get some aspect of that as well in the future.
Hopefully everyone has a wonderful and safe holiday. We are so excited to see all our families in the next three days. For my French side this is the one holiday a year where most of us get to see each other. My cousin Carrie and her family from Colorado are coming back this year and we cant wait. This is the first Christmas in 7 years that she's been back for it. On Brian's side we also have cousins from Colorado traveling back so that will be fun as well. So much love, laughter, food, drinks, and blessings...we cant wait to share Paxton with them all. He has no idea how lucky he is to be a part of such awesome families. Merry Christmas my friends. Enjoy this holiday with whomever you choose to spend it with. Lots of Love sent you way! God Bless!
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