Room to Roam

I would say that the boys are settling in quiet nicely to our new house. They have plenty of room to run, play and make as much noise as little boys can make!!!!

Paxton is on the move

Run buddy run!!

He found a bird!

And now he's after the bird

My attempt at getting the 3 boys...sheesh, what silly, wiggly the two little ones make!!

You spin me 'round

Pretty sure this was the last time I could swing Maddox around. He's getting too tall!!!

Sweet boys enjoying a swing on the back porch!

Moving Along

Well hello there! We are still alive and well and MOVING right along. Literally. We recently bought a new home (new to us at least) and officially moved in on Tuesday. We LOVE our new place and the boys seem to be settling in quiet nicely, we do have a few random emotional break downs from Maddox over the most random things, so I am assuming he is having a little difficulty with the change, but over all we all seem to be making ourselves right at home in our new home!! Our new house sits further outside of town with plenty of room for the boys to run and play and make as much noise as they want to (without driving this momma crazy). We are so thankful for this new journey in our lives and look forward to all the memories we will make along the way.

Maddox had a meet the teacher tea-party at his pre-school this week and I think it went pretty well. He liked the toys but was not a fan that I had to leave the room for a parent orientation. He had a mini melt down when I came to get him because he wanted another cookie to take home (a little girl in the class did not eat hers, so she got to take hers home and Maddox could not figure out why he couldn't have another one to take with him). I have a feeling Tuesday could be an interesting day for Mr. Maddox with all the changes going on in his little world, but I am sure with time he will adjust and love pre-school. (I am almost certain his biggest difficulty will be talking too much...hahah...such a social little guy).

Paxton is doing well. He's been SUPER fussy lately (although the more adjusted he gets to the new house the calmer he has been). And we've had some issues with his belly. We've had to take a few stool samples to hi gastro s doctor and we are waiting on more results from a second set of tests they ran after finding blood in his stools. I am not very patient and I am eager to know what in the world is bothering my little guy's belly so badly. I will update as soon as I find out what is going on.

Well the story of our lives right now is unpacking boxes and putting everything in it's proper place, and with all of that I have misplaced my camera charger and can't seem to get any of the pictures uploaded.
I will post some pictures of the new house and the sweet boys soon.

Paxton is 16 Months Old

Paxton turned 16 months old today! He is a busy busy boy these days and seriously does not stop moving from the minute he wakes up until he finally goes to sleep! He tries so hard to keep up with Maddox and follows his big brother around all day long.

A little about Paxton at 16 months old:

Weighs around 23 pounds
Wearing size 12 month clothes (moving up to 18 month shirts)
Size 4 diapers
Sleeps great at night. Loves his lovey "Ribbit" (a frog that looks like Maddox's Raffie)
Takes a 2-3 hour nap in the afternoon
busy busy busy boy. He is perfecting his walking skills and is gradually learning to walk with his hands down by his side rather than up in the air most of the time.
He still does not talk very much but he can say: Momma, Dadda, some form of babble for "Maddox", ball, gog (dog), cracker, caca (car), uck (truck), bath, ink (drink).
He is starting to sign more frequently. He can sign: more, eat, please, thank you, drink

Now, the key thing here is Paxton CAN say these words and he CAN sign these words, but he does not do it on a regular basis, causing frequent frustration for all of us, but his is making progress and that is what we are looking for.

He is finally eating a little bit better (sometimes). We have regressed to a lot of pureed foods and small things he can eat in a hurry. The pediatrician said she does not care at this point what he is eating as long as he is eating something. He eats a lot better if he can grab a bite when he is on the move and not strapped in a high chair; however, I also don't want to create horrible eating habbits for him. At this point, bad eating habits are better than him not eating anything at all, so for now, we will eat on the move and get him used to eating and then we will tackle the table manners later. (It's hard to teach proper table manners to a child who never eats...what is there to teach at that point!?!). EEEK. Sometimes, being a mother is such hard work, never knowing what is best for each child at any given time!!

Paxton James, happy 16 months! We are so blessed to have you in our lives and we love you more and more every day.

He's Back

He's Back!!! Yippee! Maddox has returned home from two weeks in Oklahoma City with Grandma and Grandpa Voda!!! Oh my goodness, he had a wonderful time and loved ALL the attention he received from grandma and grandpa and Aunt Kim and Uncle Austin, but I sure am glad to have my ball of energy back. The house if filled with noise, questions, messes, laughter and joy once again. Paxton missed his big brother, and I think Maddox even missed Paxton (at least a little bit). It felt good in my soul to miss this little man, but I sure am glad to have him back home!!

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for keeping Maddox and showing him a wonderful time. He loved every second with all of you!!!

My dear friend Jessica took some amazing pictures of Maddox a few months ago...gosh that girl does an amazing job!!

Little Stinkers

This little stinker had 4 teeth break through TODAY. Sheesh, poor little man, that mouth full of soon to be teeth can't feel good (and believe you me, he has made that known to anyone near him). Thankful that he is feeling a little relief for now. Can you see that he is getting ready to cut about 8 more!!!

Oh and by the way, this is the face he makes if you ask him to smile!! Hahah....love it!

This little stinker has spent the past week in Oklahoma City with his grandma, grandpa and sweet aunts and uncles. He is having a blast, but this house sure is quiet (well, not TOO quiet with Paxton's teething adventure) and we miss that spunky spirit of his!!

Oh and by the way, this is Maddox pretending to be Captain America!! Loving his vivid imagination these days!!!

And THIS little stinker (ME) is currently working on a long post of our trip to Oklahoma City to visit Brad's family and our family reunion in Tulsa!! 

Paxton Update

I took Paxton for his first assessment with the speech therapist yesterday. Everything went really well. They watched him play for a little while and tried to interact with him, but he really wanted nothing to do with them and clung to my leg for most of the visit. It was good that he acted like he normally does, so they could get an accurate read on him. They believe his receptive language (his ability to comprehend what is being spoken to him) is right on track if not ahead of where he should be. His expressive language on the other hand is pretty delayed. He should be babbling a lot more than he is and should be using different consonant sounds and imitating speech more frequently than he is. This came as no surprise to either of us. We have watched Paxton and just feel he should be talking or at least attempting to talk more than he has been. They feel it will not take much therapy to bridge the gap from where he is now to where he should be. It is tough because he is a boy (usually talk later than girls), he is the second born (who can't get a word in edgewise) and he was preterm. Poor kid has a lot of obstacles against him as far as language is concerned.

As far as eating goes. Oh my goodness, Paxton has just taken off and is doing fantastic with eating. I have discovered that he will NOT eat a single bite of food if I try to spoon feed it to him; however, if I let him hold the spoon (with some help of course) then he will eat and eat and eat. We haven't had any issues this week getting him to eat! Whew, what a relief.

The speech therapist suggested that at our next visit they will let him see an occupational therapist as well. She wants to make sure he does not have a sensory disorder which would contribute to his increasing fear of strangers, small places, dark places, loud noises or anything out of the ordinary. I am thankful that someone will asses him for this because his fears are become more frequently and increasing in his fright to certain things. He could just be fearful and a cautious little one; however, I just don't want to over look something that will cause more issues for him in the future. He is at such an easy age to help with any small problem and I pray I can learn and gain all the tools I need to help my boys as much as I can (without being an overbearing and worry-wort of a mom....there is a fine line people...a fine line).

Since his appointment yesterday, Paxton has said "Pup" for puppy. "CaCa" for Car, "Ink" for drink and attempted to babble more than usual. Ha. This kid. He does everything on HIS OWN TIMING and reminds us of that on a daily basis. 

 Wanted to share this cute picture of how curly Paxton's hair is after a bath. Oh so precious

Despite the aggressive look on Maddox's face, the boys were really have a "moment" here in this picture. They have started hugging and it is the cutest thing I have witnessed as a mom to two boys! They have been so sweet to each other this week. (We have also eliminated Paxton's paci during the day. I know it was such a comfort for him, but there is no way we will make progress with his speech with that silly paci in his mouth so much...he has done so well without it)

Need a good Laugh?

Two weeks ago, Maddox has Strep Throat. Not fun. The antibiotic he was put on, along with a little boy who clearly did not feel well (running a fever that reached up to 105) really messed with his personality and made him super aggressive and down right mean. It has been a very difficult two weeks with Mr. Maddox and I am praying things are finally starting to level out a little bit. Paxton has cut 3 teeth in two weeks and is currently working on all of his molars. Yuck. This week, I have had Strep Throat (Thank you Maddox for being so kind and generous with sharing those germs with me..hahha) and I have felt the worst I have ever felt. My body just hurts along with a high fever and the obvious sore throat. I am beyond thankful for my mom and sister-in-law for all their help with the boys. I seriously could not have made it through these last two days without their amazing help. 

Tonight, our air condition went out. Did I mention it was another triple digit hot summer day?? Fantastic. My amazing husband believes he has located the problem; however, all the stores that carry the part we need are of course closed for the evening. The positive part is we have all the doors open and we can smell a faint scent of rain that is supposedly heading our way. Oh and did I mention that last week our washing machine broke and my amazing husband, along with all his amazing fix-it abilities, discovered the problem, had to weld a few things, make-shift a couple things and everything works as good as new!!! Sheesh. It seems like there have been several things thrown our way that make it very hard to smile or rejoice. However, once again our sweet boys have reminded us that there is always something to laugh about, even if it a simple evening with a bunch of pillows. Sometimes, you just need a good laugh!!

This is the day the Lord has made, and I will rejoice and be glad in it!