Monkey Joe's

Anna, Jayden, Pax, and me at the top of the slide

now at the bottom!!


Where's Jayden?

Anna and I decided to meet up while I was out for Christmas break. It was my great idea to go take the boys to Monkey Joe's. Don't get me wrong, it was a lot of fun. But, Anna being pregnant made it a little difficult to chase Jayden around. I tried to help out as much as possible, but Paxton was a little timid and stuck on my side. We met up with some kids that I knew from school, and they were such a big help!! Then Grandma showed up to play, also. Being there really made me want my own giant inflatable!!

Wagon Ride

Great Aunt Cindy and Pax

Really cool wagon with a bucket in the back and foldable seats!

Go faster, Uncle Adam!!

Faster, still!!

The wind in his hair!!

This is the 5th post for one day, so now I'm caught up!! Today, we got to enjoy some "down-time" and a wagon ride. We passed a neighbor coming down the driveway at Mom and Dad's when we were walking and he said we looked like a roaming circus! We had 3 dogs, a wagon with a baby, and lots of people. It was fun!! Paxton really liked it when Uncle Adam pulled him FAST!!! We had a nice last day with all the family before they leave tomorrow!

Paxton said his first word today in context!! He has been working up to it, but actually said "Mama" while Uncle Adam was holding him and I walked into the room. The entire family heard it, and it was very exciting!!! He has said it a couple other times this evening in context, too!!

He is getting so big! He has started drinking from a real cup or even a water bottle without spilling too much. :-) We have tried watered down juice several times, but he really prefers water. In fact, this morning he pitched a fit until I gave him some of my water. He is also pulling up very well. He'll crawl to someone/something and manage to get himself to a standing position. Even as I type this, he's crawling up me!!

Three Days of Christmas

Christmas continued for 3 days in our household! With so many people that love Pax and want to celebrate, we got to spread it out!

Since Pax was still running a fever, we took him to the doctor first thing this morning. He said that he had a viral infection and the fever would just have to work itself out. He noticed that he had 3 teeth very close to coming in. When they weighed him, he had gained a pound in the last month. Now he weighs 21 pounds! What a big boy?!?!

When we got home, we finally opened our presents to each other. There weren't very many presents left to get for Paxton, but Brad and I got him the Leap Frog Learning Table, Leap Frog Maracas, and stacking circles. He really likes the maracas! I didn't do anything exciting for Brad, other than the calendar that I gave everyone else, too. But he surprised me with a collage that he made himself of pictures of Paxton! He even used my scrapbook materials!! I absolutely love it! Thank you, honey for the thoughtful gift!

Christmas Day

either waving or pointing at the light????

Uncle Brooks and Pax

My Very Own Rocking Chair!!!

Uncle Brooks, Pax, and Aunt Rochelle



The Dobbs Family

Aunt Rochelle, Cousin Sam, and Pax

Christmas morning came very early in the Dobbs household. We woke up and drove to Covington for breakfast at Brad's parents' house. Nannie, Uncle Brooks and Aunt Rochelle were there, too. We all ate breakfast and then opened presents.

Paxton was still fighting his fever, so he wasn't in the best of moods on Christmas. His first Christmas, and he was sick! So sad! He was a trooper, though. He again enjoyed ripping the paper.

He got some more wonderful presents! His favorite one was a rocking chair from Mimi and Papa. Brad's great-grandfather used to give the children a hand-made rocking chair on their first Christmas, that they, in turn, passed down to their first-born. However, he passed away before giving Brad a rocking chair. So, Papa wanted to start this tradition with Paxton, and they found an adorable chair for him! These are some more gifts he received Christmas morning: a savings bond from Uncle Brooks and Aunt Rochelle, money towards his college fund from Mimi, Papa, and Nannie, his very own set of car keys from Great Aunt Kathy, 3 books from Great Aunt Kay, and a laptop computer from Great Aunt Carol just to name a few.

In the afternoon, we went to celebrate Christmas with the Clive Family. We ate a wonderful dinner and Paxton received even more presents! His Great Aunt Tori gave him an adorable outfit, Great Aunt Tammy gave him an ornament to commemorate his first Christmas, Great Uncle Stuart gave him a cute little sleeper, and Great Uncle Jeff gave him a fun toy! Then we headed back to Douglasville to see Uncle DC and his family for Christmas! Thank you EVERYONE for the amazing gifts, and for making Paxton's first Christmas special!

Christmas Eve

The family enjoying a Swedish lunch

Pax opening...

his John Deere tractor!

This was the only thing that made him laugh! Poor Baby!!


The family from left to right: Brad, Pops, Amy, Grandma, Uncle Adam, Great Aunt Cindy, Great Uncle Bruce, Gigima, Pax, Cousins Jessica and Eric

Pax and Gigima

The Dobbs Family

Gigima and the two sisters

Pax and Santa

Grandma opening her calendar with Paxton's help

Paxton's favorite gift!!! Look at that smile!

Christmas Eve was a day spent at the Herendeen's with all the relatives. My Aunt Cindy, Uncle Bruce, and Grandma came from Charleston, South Carolina. My cousin Eric and his wife, Jessica, came from Belleville, Illinois. This was the first time that Eric and Jess had gotten to meet Paxton. We ate a Swedish lunch and dinner. Paxton is becoming such a good Swede; he ate Tunnbroed (Swedish Flatbread made of Barley) and more pepparkakor (Swedish cookies), and loved them both! He also tried a piece of a grape, but didn't seem to like that.

After we ate dinner, we headed to the Christmas Eve service. Pax had not been feeling well at all and had been more fussy than usual. He had a fever that spiked as high as 102.5, and that's when we called the doctor's office. They said to continue giving him Motrin for his fever (we had been doing this since Tuesday night). We were blaming this fever on teething, because I can see his top two front teeth coming in. We took him to the church nursery anyway. However, about 3 minutes into the service, they paged us and we had to go get him. They had taken his temperature and he again had a fever. Brad missed the entire service walking around trying to help him cool down because it wasn't time for more Motrin. After the service, we talked with his pediatrician, and she suggested we take him to the doctor on Friday. Until then, we would have to alternate Motrin and Tylenol. Poor Baby!! His cheeks were so hot, and you could just tell he didn't feel well. Plus, he was whiny, too.

It is a Swedish tradition that Santa physically visits the family on Christmas Eve. So, after the service, Paxton got to greet Santa and help him pass out presents. He didn't like Santa at all this time! He did much better with the Santa at the mall. The above picture is the only decent one of he and Santa.

Then we opened presents from the family. For the past several years, we have decided to forego giving gifts to EVERYONE, and drawing names to donate to a charity in that person's name. I drew Dad's name this year, and donated to Camp Sunshine in his name. This camp is for cancer patients, and a student from my class went there this past summer. Grandma had my name and donated to a charity in Charleston that helps several smaller charities. I love this tradition that we do each year!

We still do gifts for our immediate family, though, and Paxton sure did rack up!! He really enjoyed opening presents and did well, despite having a low fever still (that's why you see him lose his clothes in the end). He seemed to care more about the paper than the present itself. He got a farm playset from his Gigima, a baseball tee that's just his size from his Great Aunt Cindy , an adorable outfit from cousin Eric and Jess, and an array of gifts from Grandma and Pops. His favorite gift, by far, was his wagon! He wasn't too sure about it at first, but once we started moving, he loved it! He also liked his John Deere tractor and Leap Frog toy. Grandma and Pops had actually been giving him a present a day for the days leading up to Christmas; kind of like the 12 days of Christmas! Thank you, everyone, for the wonderful presents!!!

The Pink Pig

all bundled up

cousin Bryce

Mimi and Pax

All Aboard!!!

Tonia, Bryce, Amy, and Pax

sleepy boy

Brad, Pax, and I went and met Mimi, Tonia, Bryce, and Sandra at the Pink Pig. It was really cold so we bundled the boys up. Everyone took pictures while Tonia and I rode with the boys. We had a good time, but Pax was somewhat fussy (later we found out he was getting sick). This was my first experience, and I'm just glad that we didn't have to wait in the line that had formed by the time we were done!! I think this might have become a tradition for our family.

Our Visit to Strike

Pax petting Strike and blinking

Pax, Pops, and Rick watching Strike run

He loved sitting on Pops' shoulders--so much that he scratched his head.

Miri petting him with Caroline holding the lead.

Miri giving Strike a hug.

Paxton's horse is living with the Blackstone's for a little while. So, today he got to visit Strike. We took the whole clan over to the barn so that everyone could meet him. Caroline was so good to let us all come over. Paxton and Miri both enjoyed petting him. Strike was very good while we were there. I lunged him to get some energy out, and Paxton loved watching him run around and he laughed and talked to him.