summer nights

I got Pax a little octopus sprinkler at dollar general-for next to nothing. I love that store!




Since it is soooo hot during the day and I have to be the one to suffer in the heat, we wait til after dinner to do the sprinkler. Please excuse our yard. :( It died last summer and we haven't been able to get it back. It is the thorn in my husband's side! You know how dude's are about their yards. ; )




I added a couple videos of Pax being her usual self. Goofy as always! Check out her whistle...so funny!!

Have a wonderful holiday weekend!!!

The First Haircut

Technically, this is the 'first' haircut, she did have a minor trim when she was around 18 months...but, this is the first MAJOR haircut for sure!!

Paxtin has always had TONS and TONS of hair. She was the only baby in the hospital nursery who had to have their hair shampooed (not just with a wet washcloth sponging it--- actually washed, everyday.) I think the nurses secretly loved it because she would have several different bows on throughout our four day stay there. =)

Her first two years-her hair didn't really grow all that fast. But it did grow. She never lost a bit of hair-and she always had little girl hair, never baby fine, wispy hair. It was thick and had pretty curls. She just had the best hair.

This past year, her hair has been on steroids, I swear. It grew so fast and got so long! I look at pictures of her from last summer and her hair was just past her shoulders. Before this cut, when her hair was wet, it was to her bottom. NO LIE. It touched her bottom!! Her only saving grave was that it had a little curl-but, the longer it got the more stringy it looked to me. She was always wanting it put up, it was hot, and it was always something she was pushing out of the way.



SO, I asked my dad (who's a hairdresser) to give her a trim. I meant a good bit, but he cut about 1/4"....MAYBE. You couldn't even tell!! So, I thought-I will take matters into my own hands. I wanted her hair at least to her shoulders again. How hard could that be? Straight across!

I happen to have a pair of barber scissors (perks of being a hairdresser's daughter, I guess) and after her shower, I got to it. I eyeballed where I wanted to cut it and away I went. BUT-it's literally like my hand and my brain didn't coordinate AT ALL. I cut off probably 7 inches, at least. WHOOPSIE. So, what can you do? I had to keep going. Cody started freaking out, telling me I didn't know what I was doing, which I didn't. I have never sweated so much in my life.

After about 30 minutes, tons of side glances from my husband, and a shot of whiskey...I was done. I had a few trims to make the next morning, but I think it turned out SO CUTE. I mean, who do you know (that isn't a hairdresser) that could just cut their kids' hair??? I'll chalk this up as a lesson learned. I will most definitely not be pressing my luck to cut it again.






Since I did this at home and my HAIRDRESSER dad didn't, I was SO scared to show him. I knew he would be mad...he likes Paxtin's hair long. But, to my surprise, HE LOVED IT!! My mom LOVED IT! Everyone who has seen it LOVES IT!! I may have a future career...

or not. ; ) I bet people wouldn't appreciate me shooting whiskey and sweating bullets while I trim their hair.

=)

how to talk to little girls

I recently ran across this article on a friend's facebook page and it left an incredible mark on me. I suddenly am re-thinking everything I've ever said to my daughter....

if you are a mommy of a little girl, read up.

HOW TO TALK TO LITTLE GIRLS

RIP Jake

Monday night was a very long, crazy night for us. It's crazy to me how quickly life can change...literally in the blink of an eye. Unfortunately, we lost our big dog, Jake that night...he was happy and healthy at dinner, but by 2 am, he had all but shut down on us.

We were completely clueless of a complication called 'twisted gut', but apparently it is a very common thing in Jake's breed of dogs-Weimereiners and Great Danes, too. To sum it up, the stomach traps a large amount of gas within it, expands, and then more or less twists itself closed at each end-the esophagus end and the other...extremely painful. Basically, all circulatory blood flow is cut off and the dog goes into shock and later cardiac arrest.

Of course, we had no idea that this even happened to dogs. Had never HEARD of such a thing. We called the vet and while he did TELL us about the possibility of twisted gut, he thought that maybe Jake just had gas and to give him pepto, mineral oil, and gas-x. He told us that if that didn't work and he was in fact suffering from bloat, there is nothing that can be done without surgery...which would have to be done hours away due to lack of staff at our vet. We later tried to call our vet back and never could reach him again. He never returned our calls.

Bad went to worse and we knew that Jake was suffering with something that we could not stop or treat. We called TONS of vets all over town and none were available or even helpful for that matter. I was absolutely LIVID. And scared. We have no 24 hour vet services in this town, so I started to Google places around us that we could take him. We feared the worse, but thought maybe we could get him in for surgery that night-somewhere.

I found a hopital for him, an hour away! My husband loaded Jake up and drove him at 2 am to the 24 hour clinic. The vet knew as soon as she saw him that he was in bad shape...apparently minutes from dying. His breathing was ragged and he did in fact have severe twisted gut. It had moved his intestines out of place, relocated and split his spleen-it was not a good picture. They offered surgery to us and we had a decision to make. Pay $2,000 for the surgery, that he had about a 20% chance of surviving. OR-put him down. I know my husband was so upset, but when you simply don't have $2,000, you don't have it. And with those odds, he likely wouldn't have survived the surgery anyways. We decided to let Jake go. =(

Cody has taken it pretty well-he can't really talk about it much. And Pax still doesn't know that he is gone. When she asks us where Jake is, we will tell her. She is very tenderhearted and can get emotional easily and I don't want to upset her until she is curious where he is.

We had Jake 5 years-before we had Paxtin and just after we had gotten married. He was a great dog-super goofy and a big baby. We will all miss him very much.

This was Jake the night he died. I was trying to talk to him and make him comfortable-you can see in his eyes just how bad off he was. =(

Birthday Party (ies)

What's the fun in having one birthday party? What if you could have TWO...and possibly a third to come?!?!? Seems fitting...for someone turning three! =)

I fought my inner self for months about this and kept feeling like such a failure as a mom. I simply wanted a nice, QUIET family party for Pax this year. The past two years have been so elaborate and over the top...I spend tons of money and I don't even know if Pax had a good time. I feel like as she gets older, she will come to realize that birthdays are fun to spend with your friends...having fun parties, but right now, she just doesn't care. And I'm not the type to have a party just to impress other people. Give her some presents and cake and she's happy. Heck, just cake would make her day!

We also have VERY limited party venues in our little town. Like 5-6 possibilities. I really would like to save those for when she's older and we need those places. Cody and I thought about maybe having a park party, but unless we have it at 8 a.m., it's just too hot outside in June or at a local pizza/game place...but, then again...we are spending too much money. SOooo, we opted to take her some FUN treats to school and have small, family parties. We brought some yummy cookies for all her friends at school to take home. I know they sing to them and make it a big deal... I knew she would like that.

Then,we had her 1st party with my family the Sunday after her birthday. Just close family, nothing elaborate. Paxtin requested a "pink, strawberry, Princess cake" and that's exactly what she got! We love Ms. Harriet's cakes-she's the BEST!!




My mom made her amazing enchiladas with beans/rice. It was DELICIOUS!! After lots of begging, Paxi finally got to open her gifts and she was so excited. She is such a lucky little girl-loved by so many great people. She got some new Barbie's, a big girl bike from mommy and daddy, new dress-up, and a splash pool from Nannie & Pop!!










Her second party was with Cody's dad's side of the family. They have monthly parties for all the birthdays in that particular month...it can sometimes be a very hectic party! Pax is the only June birthday (how in a family of about 40, she is the only one, I haven't a clue!) so she got to be the center of attention.

Dress is by TOO CUTE CREATIONS.

Dinner was so yummy and Paxi had the cutest Princess cake...see a theme here?! She is SO into the Princess thing right now. Pax got more great presents; a few puzzles, a cute little dress, and a singing, dancing Dora-by far her favorite present of the night! Not quite sure it's MY favorite. ; )










We had a great time seeing all the family. Cody's grandma is so fun-she set up little splash pools for all the cousins and this bucket was just Paxi's size. They had water gun fights and I'm pretty sure everyone there got a WET welcome. =) Grandma even made fun little goody bags for all the cousins-complete with citronella bracelets!! So cute. I just love her!!






We are definitely partied out for the moment. We may have one more little celebration with Cody's mom in Branson sometime soon. Having more than one big party does require more traveling, but I know Pax has had a great time at all her parties! I'm sure next year we will be ready to have a big birthday with all her friends. =)

THREE Years Old!!

Paxtin...you're THREE!! I can not believe it, but it's actually here!! And I have to say, I'm LOVING the three's....what a FUN age this is. =)I miss this tiny baby, but I am loving this age much more. I sprinkled this post with some of my favorite pictures from the past three years. ENJOY!!


I've got lots of updates on you and I've really been working hard at trying to remember all the funny, UNIQUE, and silly things you say from day to day. I never want to forget how funny you were when you were THREE!! I know I will have LOTS to add to this over the next year.




First off, we had to make an appointment to see your doctor for the well-TODDLER check-up. We actually haven't been to see the doc in awhile, which is a GOOD thing. Since our last visit, you are now on THREE different allergy meds, which is crazy, but seems to be helping you tremendously. Hopefully we will be able to avoid a trip to the allergist.



I was excited to see how much you weighed and how TALL you were. I know you've been growing like crazy because your shoes and clothes are all getting tighter and tighter...clothes and shoes we JUST got. oh well, just an excuse to SHOP!. You weighed in at 36 lbs and were 38 in. tall. Such a growing girl!! Your doctor was very impressed with your accomplishments on the potty and also with giving up your passy. He was VERY proud of you! Overall, you were exactly where you needed to be for an active toddler of three!! =)







Here are a few things you say/do that we love...that make us smile...or are just YOU.

Best Buddies:

You are always asking me and daddy if we are your best buddies. Or you tell us, "daddy you're my best buddy." It is the SWEETEST thing to hear. =) I make you promise me you will be my best buddy forever...even when you are 16 and hate me. You have also started naming your 'best buddies' from school, which is PRECIOUS. You have just a few best buddies: Caroline, Easton, & Sadie.





Daddy's work:

I'm not really sure how you know this, but every time you see a UPS truck, you ask me, "mommy, that's my daddy's big brown truck?" I don't ever remember mentioning to you that daddy drives a UPS truck or if you've ever seen daddy in one, but you sure know all about them! And anytime you see the letters UPS on something (paper or a t-shirt) you say, "those ABC letters are daddy's work" SO SMART!


Girly Girl:

I shouldn't be surprised by this, but you are such a girly girl! I think it secretly drives your daddy batty, but he shouldn't be surprised either. =) You LOVE to dress up in your princess outfits, complete with "glass slippers" and "jewels." You would definitely wear dress-up everywhere we went if I let you. You also are always wanting to "do the make-up." You ask for lip gloss, "scara" (mascara), and "pink cheeks" every day. It IS fun playing make-up with you...sometimes. ; )




Treasure Chest:



For some reason you LOVE any kid of box, purse, or basket. Mostly because since you were TINY, you have been a pack rat. You love your stuff and with a purse or box, you can keep it all in one place. Your Poppy bought you a make-up, train case and stuffed it with "jewels" and you were so excited to get your very own "treasure box!" I have to go behind you and check your purses for things that I am missing. ; ) You are adorable carrying your purse to stores or the movies...and I noticed you wear it over one shoulder, just like me. =)


Outside:

Outside is where you would rather be...at all times. You don't particularly like to get dirty...at ALL, but you love to do things outdoors. Mostly help daddy work on stuff, drive your cozy coupe, or do sidewalk chalk. You've finally gotten really good at riding your bike and enjoy that a lot, too. You love to pretend that you are going somewhere in your car or on your bike...you always stop for gas and at the store! Just like mommy.



Make-Believe

I know just about all three year olds like to play pretend, and that's what takes up the majority of your day! Playing mommy & babies is one of your favorites. You love to discipline your babies, too! It's always funny to hear you put your babies in time-out...let's just say you are REALLY listening to ME when you get in trouble! haha! I love that your imagination is so vivid and how creative you are. You come up with the funniest games and I can only imagine how silly you are at school, surrounded by your other imaginative friends. ; ) We love to hear you talk sweet to your babies, putting them to bed, and being gentle. Melts our hearts.

School:

Speaking of school, your daddy and I couldn't be more proud of you. I admit, I was SO worried about putting you in a program away from me for the day, but it was easily the best decision I ever made. They provide you with opportunities I never could. You are such a good girl at school, a friend to everyone, and definitely a teacher's pet! =) I really hope your love for school continues for a long, long time.




Fruits/Veggies
I LOVE your LOVE of food!! You aren't as brave as you used to be, but you are still eating veggies and fruits like a champ...which makes me happy and feel like I did SOMETHING right!! You are without a doubt the only kid at the lunch table with a Tupperware full of broccoli!!





Clothes and Shoes

You are SUCH a clothes and shoe horse, paxi!! I kind of figured you would be...you ARE my daughter after all. ; ) We usually have mini arguments every morning about what outfit you are going to wear and with what shoes...and what hair accessory. You wear me out!! I learned long ago to allow ourselves an extra 30 minutes to get dressed in the morning. You are definitely NEVER in a hurry. =)





WE LOVE YOU PAXI. HAPPY THIRD BIRTHDAY!!! =)