And the stockings were hung....errr...propped on a chair...

I finished wrapping the last present on Christmas Eve and, I have to admit, I went a bit overboard. I've been buying and stashing toys, books, etc. for Dax since probably around September and finally brought them all out to wrap last week. I don't think I realized how much I accumulated. Granted, most things were purchased when I found them on sale for a great price, I had a coupon, or some other money saving time like that. And, I've been saving some things like new books, new, cute bibs, etc. for stocking stuffers, but still. Mommy outdid herself on the quantity of items for Christmas. So much so that I couldn't even hang Dax's stocking on it's holder because it was too heavy. All of this and he's not even going to notice or know what's going on. He's just going to go about his day as usual except will get to tear open some colorful paper and have his family over to spend time with. Should be a fun day!
Oh, by the way, these pictures don't include his "big gifts" that Santa is bringing.

Decorating for Christmas=FAIL

So, every year I decorate for Christmas. I have been adding items to my stash for years: faux snow, beautiful flowers, all things glittery and bright, etc. So this year I was so excited to bust it all out again and show Dax how beautiful our little cluttered house could get for the holidays. I had Mike bring the boxes down after Thanksgiving and figured I would be done by Dec. 1st. Well after a hellish week of working at PB, I was too pooped to do anything for a few days. And then there was digging through all my old clothes that I cannot squeeze into anymore for a consignment sale. And then there was the moth problem and days of laundry. The list goes on and on. So now, it is Dec. 17th, the Christmas tree was decorated last week, the stockings are hung, and that's about it. No snow, no glitz and glitter, nada. Such a sad house for the holidays. This was supposed to be the easy year to decorate with a new baby because, well, he's just that, a baby. Not mobile yet. Not super needy. But there was just always something else that I needed to get done first. So I'm having to come to terms with the fact that my house won't be spruced up for our 1st Christmas with Dax. But, at least we have a tree...

Drive through Santa...

So I was headed to the mall to meet some friends and thought "why not?" So I quickly changed Dax's shirt and we drove to see Santa. Even though Dax had no idea what was going on, I was kinda excited. I hadn't decided if we were going to take a picture with Santa this year, but thought it might be fun. So we got there, stood in line, and watched all the kids take their pictures and get there treats. Then it was our turn. First, Santa had to get up and have a word with the girls taking the pictures. Then, he was a little frustrated as he sat back down. He motioned to me that he was ready and I sat Dax down on his lap. Dax looked up at him, then forward and me and towards the camera and "click" picture was taken. The girl said "it looks good". I glanced at it and it seemed ok, and we were rushed in as they escorted the next child to Santa's lap. It all took less than a minute. I paid and we were done. When I finally got home I anxiously got the CD with the picture out and uploaded it on the computer. That was the moment that I noticed that 1) Santa wasn't holding Dax very close, 2)his pant leg was riding up, and 3)he had this confused look on his face. Not quite the experience I was hoping for, but oh well, I guess we got our picture.

6 month stats

Just a quick update since we went to the pediatrician today for Dax's 6 month appointment. Our child is growing like a weed. He is now 18 lbs. 12 oz (yikes!) which puts him in the 75th percentile in weight and is 27 1/2 inches long which puts him in the 88th percentile in height. He's a big boy! Just a reminder that at birth Dax was in the 10th percentile weighing 5 lbs. 4 oz and was 19 inches tall. I love my chubby baby! Apparently this is his "plump" time since he's eating solids but not mobile yet according to the doctor. Oh, and on the subject of food, he has now successfully tried the following: peas, green beans, broccoli, avocado, prunes, and bananas. We started with the greens first, the prunes were to help a *ahem* problem, and the bananas were an intro into the good stuff. He still eats oatmeal twice a day and loves it. Next on the list is pears, carrots, sweet potatoes, apples, and pumpkin. I'm making the majority of it myself which is quite fun. I love knowing what is going into his food. Oh, and he has tried a sippy cup. Loves to hold it and play with it. He does successfully drink from it here and there but most of the time just "chews" on the spout. Other fun facts are that he now sits for long periods of time unassisted, he is starting to scoot on his tummy a little, loves to turn around and around in his exersaucer, and thinks it's cool to make farting noises on his arm with his mouth. He hasn't quite rolled from his back to his tummy so he still sleeps on his back and still has a bit of a flat spot because of it. He is such a happy baby and smiles all the time!

Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!

It only lasted for about 30 minutes but it actually happened and we got a picture of it!

Happy 1/2 Birthday Dax!

My baby is 6 months old today. Really? It's been 6 months? I can't believe how time has flown and what a whirlwind these past 6 months have been. Every week has been a new experience, Dax changes practically overnight (I swear he grows during the night), and I've even changed as a person. I never knew I could love someone so much and want to give him so much. He is my world and I can't imagine life without him. Yes, we've had our rough patches, and I know we'll have plenty more, but he truly is a gift from God.
Dax is the happiest baby I know. He smiles all day, every day. The best is when I go into his room first thing in the morning and peek over the crib. Once he realizes that I'm there, he throws the biggest grin at me and every part of him moves as he squeals in delight. I squeal along with him sometimes. He loves to dance. I turn on music and start dancing in front of him as he sits on his mat, and then he just starts kicking his legs and waving his arms, and rocking back and forth to the music with me. He definitely has rhythm. At this point he sleeps through the night about 12 hours with some occasional 4-5am wakings to keep us on our toes. He started eating veggies a couple of weeks ago and eats like a champ. He even started drinking from a sippy cup. He's growing so fast.
Ok, that's a few things about him...I will post more later after his doctor's appointmet on Monday and once I get the rest of his pictures from his 6 month photo session. Happy Birthday my angel!

The sweetest sound ever...

is my baby laughing. Yea, he smiles and giggles here and there but the times where he cracks up are the best. Just thought I would share a couple of videos. One is of me doing the Itsy Bitsy Spider with him and the other is a friend of mine making him laugh while he's in his exersaucer. Enjoy!

Rollin', Rollin', Rollin'...

I meant to upload this video last week. I'm still trying to get used to blogging. So, I finally got to witness Dax rolling from tummy to back. Mike saw him do it once a couple of weeks ago but he never did it again. So last week while he was playing on his tummy, I walked away to get his diaper bag ready to go. When I came back, he was on his back with a wide eyed look on his face. I was a little confused at first thinking that that was how I left him. And then it hit me. He rolled again and I didn't get to see it. So I put him on his tummy again and waited. He wouldn't roll. So I walked away, again, and when I came back, there he was on his back again. I was determined now. So I waited and I finally got what I wanted...to see my baby FINALLY roll! He hasn't really wanted to do it and I think it's because he's never really enjoyed tummy time so he would only play on his tummy for very short increments. And, he gets really confused about what to do with the arm that he's rolling over. But he figured it out! And I got it on video! Since this video, he's only rolled one other time because he's still having problems figuring out the tuck the arm under thing, but hey...he did it! Now if he could just show some interest in rolling from back to front. I think he'll end up crawling before he does that.

Who needs an alarm clock...

...when you have a baby. For the past couple of days, Dax has decided that he wants to wake up around 5 a.m. Yep, you heard me...the crack of dawn! This is not the first time he's done this, but my good little sleeper has been waking up at 7:30. The first night, he fell back asleep. The second he screamed bloody murder until we gave in and fed him. This morning, he did his usual I'm sleepy whining but couldn't go back to sleep. I finally went in there and after about 15 minutes, got him back to sleep. Yay success! Went back to the bedroom and gloated a little to Mike before I crawled back into bed. Not a minute passed after I closed my eyes that the whining started again. Ugh. That's what I get for gloating. And this time, there was no shushing back to sleep. He was screaming bloody murder again. So we gave in and Mike fed him. Not sure what's going on. Maybe this is his way of saying that we are not feeding him enough during the day? I don't think he's ready to start his day at 5 because he does go back to sleep until 8 or 8:30. Or maybe this is his way of telling me to get my butt out of bed and workout. Who knows. I'm hoping it's a phase he'll grow out of by tomorrow morning. Keeping my fingers crossed!

5 months old!

I cannot believe that it's already been 5 months. This is the reason that I started this blog. To be able to account for what Dax is doing every month, every week, and possibly every day (or every other day) if I can get around to it. My baby is getting so big. He is starting to sit up on his own now. Still hasn't decided that he wants to roll over again but he just keeps growing and doing new things. Right now he loves to eat his hands and chew on his Sophie. I think he's teething because of this and the fact that his shirts get so soaked from all the drooling he does. He smiles and talks to me every day. I even swore he said "mom" one day. Dax is also getting more comfortable on his tummy. So much so that he now is taking naps on his blanket when he gets pooped from tummy time. Sometimes he seems to get a little frustrated too because I think he just wants to move. He pushes up on his hands and tries to get his kness under his body but he can't push up on both his nads and knees at the same time. That's ok...I'm not ready for him to be mobile just yet. Right now I just enjoy how he stares at me like I'm the most fasinating person on earth. Yes, he drives me crazy with his incessant screaming when he gets tired and fights his naps but otherwise, we have a lot of fun together. He's growing out of his 3-6 month clothes and is moving into the next size. We are loving our daily walks. I actually think he looks forward to them and he's up to 2 feedings a day of oatmeal. Haven't decided if we're going to start purees soon, but he seems content for now. Oh, and he loves his baby yoga and reading books together! Sorry this is so long, just wanted to get everything down. Happy 5 month birthday Daxton! We love you!

Archiving: Halloween Fundraiser

We attended our first Halloween fundraiser at the Urbans house this year and had a lot of fun. Met a lot of moms and babies from The Bump and were able to raise a lot of money for MD Anderson. The best part was the Lyndsay from Life in Motion Photography took these great complimentary pictures of all the kiddos in their costumes. These are just the ones of Dax but you can check out the rest of the cuties at http://www.lifeinmotionphotography.com/photoblog/?p=3290
Thanks MC and Lyndsay!

Halloween

I know, I am just getting around to posting pictures from Halloween. I'm a week late but I guess better late than never. After a long day of no naps and Lucas's football game, we went over to Liz's house so Dax could spend his first Halloween trick or treating with his cousins. Mike and I have gone with them the past couple of years so we decided to keep doing it. We made it to about 5 houses before Dax threw enough of a fit for us to go back to the house and get him ready for bed before we headed home. It was still fun though. We had him in his "1st Halloween" shirt all day that Aunt Sally gave him and then he changed into costume #2 (he was a glow worm earlier this month). Happy 1st Halloween Dax!

Archiving: At the Pumpkin Patch 10/24/09

We went to our first pumpkin patch this past weekend and had to take the obligatory pictures. Of course Dax, as usual, had no desire to look at the camera so we took quite a few pictures and caught a glimpse and even a smile here and there. It's almost Halloween and we haven't done anything with our pumpkins yet. Oh well, they are at least making the kitchen counter look more festive. It was quite a coincidence that we ran into Roxana there. Her son Dylan was having a drumming concert/ show so she was being the proud mom and taking pictures. Dax had fun listening to the music but as soon as all the kids starting drumming together, he would scream. I've gotta get him used to loud noises! All in all, a fun day.

It was another "Calgon take me away" kind of day...

So, as I think about the day that I had today with Dax, one question comes to mind. How can a human being that gets 12 hours of sleep at night and 3-4 naps a day, be so grouchy. I mean, seriously. Non stop fussing, whining kind of grouchiness. Maybe it's teething...not sure, but he was going to town on his Sophie today. I will cut him some slack if that's what it is because that's not fun. It's just that, on top of all the fussiness, I had a headache today, so the high pitched screams in my ear didn't help. But that's besides the point. If I got 15 hours of sleep a day, I think I would be a ray of sunshine. Yes, I make him do tummy time, yoga, practice trying to roll again, and sit, but seriously. He's got it pretty good. I feed him...on demand. If a toy is out of his reach, I bring it to him. If he poops, I clean it up pretty immediately. We giggle, and play, and...I can't believe I'm admitting this...watch a little TV. Life is good. I'm hoping he just woke up on the wrong side of the crib this morning because tomorrow, we're getting out of the house. It's a good thing I love him so much!

Sitting all by himself!

We've been practicing sitting up for a little while but this was a first. He not only sat up, but stayed there long enough for me to grab my phone, get myself positioned, and take a picture! I'm so proud of him. He's been doing ok propped with the Boppy, but this is the first time, by himself, for more than a second. Of course, he did end up falling sideways afterwards, but it was pretty exciting to see. My baby is growing up! He also likes to play with toys while sitting up. He does start to kick them though and then they roll away and he falls over reaching for them. Now, if he would only roll over as well....

My son likes to stick his tongue out at girls

So yesterday I talked about how Dax sticks his tongue out and only did it for me and not Mike. Well today at lunch, he not only stuck out his tongue at me, but also Susan and Erin whom I was having lunch with. And then, a friend of mine reminded me that he stuck his tongue out at her. So, I've come to realize that this is how my son flirts with girls. Not sure if I'm proud or embarrassed but it's cute either way.

He likes to stick his tongue out at his mama...

So, Dax has been sticking his tongue out at me all.day.long. It cracks me up every time so I'm sure I'm encouraging him, but it's so freaking cute! The funny thing is that he doesn't do it for Mike, just to me. Gotta love it!

Our first blog post

I'm finally doing it. I'm going to attempt to blog and keep up with posting pics, videos, and updates of what is going on with Dax, Mike, and myself. I've been wanting to do this since I was pregnant, but never got around to actually doing it. I hate that I'm barely starting as Dax is already almost 5 months but I guess it's better late than never. Will probably post a lot of old stuff for a while just to get everything on here and archived. Time to get started and hope you enjoy!