ABC

(if you can't tell, she's singing the ABC's along with her new fridge phonics...thanks CADY!! ; )

Wordless Wednesday

Happy Father's Day

I know, I know...2 days late for this post, but I wanted to do it. Today is the first day I have had to sit and be on the computer alone...

Paxi's school didn't meet last week and we were gone out of town for the past 2 weekends...blogging has been the farthest thing from my mind.

So, for Father's Day weekend, we were in Oklahoma. Our cousin, Colby, married his longtime girlfriend, Molly. They are PRECIOUS and the wedding was gorgeous. It was outside...in June...in Arkansas...BUT, Pax did awesome. She even said, "ooooooo mommy, pretty dress!" when Molly walked the aisle. She IS my girl. ; )

I was horrible with my camera that weekend and took not ONE photo. But, honestly, we were all sweaty, dripping messes--so, I'm kinda glad I just left the ol' Canon tucked away.

Anyways, HAPPY (belated...in blog world anyways) FATHER'S DAY to some of the most amazing men in our lives. =)

Birthday celebration #2

Cody's family always has monthly parties for each person's birthday. Paxi is one of the only June birthdays-so she gets to be the star of the show (not that she isn't already when we're there!) Cody's aunt Becky and her cousins, Halle & Mia, were so sweet and decorated grandma's house with a Dora theme. If you can't tell, Pax is obsessed with all things Dora. She was super excited to see all the fun decorations. =) They did a great job.

I LOVE Sunday dinners at Cody's grandma and grandpa's. It gets a little crowded at times, but it's worth it and great for Pax to be apart of it. My family is so small and Cody's HUGE, but by this point she's pretty used to all the noise and people.

Pax is so loved and everyone got her such nice things. It was a really fun time! Pax had a busy day and a very tiny nap--she was worn out by the time 8:00 rolled around!!

We went and swam Sunday at Halle & Mia's house. They were so good with Pax, playing ball with her and holding her in the water. She DID NOT want any of us to let her go, even with her life vest on. I tried to show her she would float with it on, but she wasn't having it.

That night was the dinner and birthday party...

Balloon fight with great-grandpa. =)

Guess where she wants to go?? OUTSIDE!! Grandpa has a golf cart that he rides around the farm and Pax is obsessed. We can't even get in the door before she remembers and starts hollering, 'CART, MOMMY??" She LOVES to ride it around the farm--




Mia, Paxi, & Halle. There are normally way more little cousins running around, but they all couldn't make it. I think Halle and Mia were happy to have Pax all to themselves. =) They made these cute flower decorations.

Ok, this is the funniest toy ever. I am not really sure how SAFE it is, but Pax loved it! Until she bit the dust and then she was over it. I let the girls take her outside and when I went out to check on her, she was sailing down this 'car coaster' 40 MPH!! I have to say, my heart skipped a beat or two.

I got a short little video of it...it was way funnier when she went down without us holding her. Her face is priceless.

WEEEE!!

She played in the water on the slip & slide with Halle & Mia. She never would go down, but she had a really fun time.

After dinner it was time for cake and presents. Grandpa and Bambi brought Paxtin a Dora the Explorer cake!

Not quite sure about all the singing!

she got some pumpkin seeds to plant. Great Grandpa just planted his pumpkins for the Fall, so we have to find Pax a place to plant her seeds. It would be neat if she could grow her own pumpkin to carve this year!




We had a fun weekend, but are happy to be back home. Birthday celebrations are OVER for this year!

butterfly fairy

Pax got a lot of cute dress-up clothes for her birthday this year. She has never really been into them--she wasn't ever a fan of changing her own clothes. But, she's slowly getting into them now and this day she decided to be a fairy princess. =)

go shorty...

We have a new favorite song around here...'The Wheels on the Bus'

I guess they sing the song quite often at MDO because Pax comes home singing 'beep, beep, beep' all afternoon. =)

I also wanted her to show off some of her dance moves. ENJOY.

Show us Your Life--China patterns

Today's Kelly's Korner, Show us Your Life is all about dish patterns. I am not really all that into dishes and china--my mom had to talk me into registering for all that stuff when I got married. I just don't see the big hoopla about it. It's not my style to get hung up on having all my dessert plates or salad forks. Maybe one day I might get into it. Anyways...

since she convinced me to register, I went with my taste...not price. Which actually was a BIG mistake. I didn't receive near the amount of these dishes that I thought I would simply because they were so expensive. I chose the Vietri Pallini dishes.

I accented them with solid color plates to do a mix and match type feel. A lot like Fiesta ware. If I could do it all over again, I would definitely choose various colors in Fiesta.

Fiesta is cheap and it's more my style. More mix and match and not matchy-matchy.

I also got some fine china, but I can't for the life of me remember what they are. Lenox something...

they look a lot like this!

I would one day like to have some holiday dishes. I think that's kind of fun. I don't know if I will ever be hosting a Christmas dinner at my home, but how cute are these??

these are the same brand as my everyday dishes, Vietri Holiday Dot. I guess I have a thing for polka dots?!?! =)

24 months old...

it's been two amazing years...

sometimes not the easiest job in the world...

but by far, the most rewarding.

we've watched you grow and grow...

blossoming along the way...

and now it's hard to say, but...You're TWO!!

I really couldn't believe how fast a year went by when Pax turned one and I'm just as astounded at how fast the next year flew by. TWO...my baby is TWO. I'm going to turn around and she's going to be 18...kissing me as she leaves for college. OK, OK...maybe not that soon, but it feels like we are moving at that pace! TIME MUST SLOW DOWN...I don't want her to grow up anymore! If I could bottle her at any age and keep her forever it would be right now...this very age.

Our Paxtin at TWO:


She is the. most. independent little thing I have ever seen. She isn't 'headstrong' or a tantrum thrower, she just wants to do everything herself. And we let her. She's SUCH an amazing helper...she helps me transfer laundry, unload dishes, she loves to find trash and throw it away...anything that she can do 'by herself', she's into. That also includes feeding herself and recently dressing, too. I, of course, still pick out the clothes, but she is WAY into choosing her shoes! Can't imagine where that came from...


Her appetite has gotten a little more picky than it has been before. I have a hard time getting her to eat at some meals, but she seems to be picking up a little better since her last molar came through. She loves all the standard toddler foods...hot dogs, pb&j, crackers and cheese. She's also still my strawberry girl. Any fresh fruit really...she just can't get enough. She weighed 28 lbs when we went to the Dr last-which is just where she should be. We go again in a week to get her 24 month stats. She was, however, almost 3 feet tall!! This is a little in HIGH percentile range for a 2 year old. I'm 5'3-she is already more than half as tall as I am. This scares me slightly.


Pax and I have really made lots of effort to meet new mommies and babies and we do play dates/walking dates a lot. I really enjoy making new friends and having babies in common makes it easy to chat..always something going on! Paxtin had a full house of little friends at her birthday party and I was so proud. I hope that I can instill in her the values of being a good friend...lots of people lose this quality the older they get. I don't think I will ever have to worry about her not being a friend...she is so nurturing and loving.


I sit back and think to where we were two years ago today. I was nervous, but at the same time oddly calm during my entire pregnancy & delivery process. All I wanted to know was who she looked like, if she had all her fingers and toes, and how BIG she was! She's just as much a miracle today as she was two years ago. She keeps on amazing us.


So many wonderful memories have now been made since this angel came into our lives and many, many more will continue to be made. What an adventure!! Let's hope we skip out on the 'terrible two's'

HA!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEET PAXI GRACE!! WE LOVE YOU MORE AND MORE EACH DAY.
=)