Happy 1st Birthday, Son!

This post is for Paxton when he turns 16 or something like that. I plan to write a letter each year on his birthday to give him later. Feel free to skip this post if you want.

Dear Paxton,

Wow! I can not believe that a year has passed since I held you in my arms for the first time! I never knew that someone so small could bring so much joy to my life, but you have done just that!

From the moment Dr. S. pulled you out and handed you to the nurse for me to see you, I was completely in love with you and you had me wrapped around your tiny little finger! You were perfect in every way, and so beautiful! We enjoyed those first 3 days of your precious life in the hospital, sharing you with lots of visitors, and holding you in our arms. We were able to take you home on the 4th day., and start our lives as a family of three. Your daddy and I were very nervous about caring for you on our own, but we soon realized that we were not alone. You have an amazing extended family that cares for you and loves you very, very much, and has helped us out so much!

We have learned so much about you as you have grown and changed. You become more and more beautiful and independent as the days pass. We have loved watching you grow from a completely dependent infant that would sleep in our arms, to a cruising baby boy that is communicating his needs and wants, and hardly sits still for one minute. We have enjoyed every stage of this first year, and know that we will only love you more and more as you go through more stages.

I thank the Lord for you every day! You are a precious gift from God, and your Daddy and I are so thankful that He has placed you in our lives! We are so excited to see what He has in store for you this next year, and for the many, many years to come! This first year will sure be hard to top!

I love you, Doodlebug!

Mommy

4-18-08

4-18-09

Buffett or Bust

Happy birthday, Jami!

The Girls

Amy, Summer, and Jenny

Seven of the Berry B's all got tickets to Jimmy Buffett Thursday night to celebrate Jami's birthday. The concert was awesome, and I really enjoyed the girls night out! Hope you had a good birthday, Jami!

Easter Sunday

Brad, Pax, Amy, Grandma, Uncle Adam (with his eyes closed), Pops, Uncle DC

What?

cute smiles from both Mimi and Pax

Pax and Papa

Sweet picture with Mimi and Papa

Pax opening the basket from Aunt Shell and Uncle Brooks. He loved it!!

Pax sporting his easter bib that Aunt Shell picked out, and sharing the grass from the bucket.

family picture (the one on April 4 is better)

Pax on his easter egg hunt--he would actually put the eggs in the basket this time!

This morning, we woke up early to go eat breakfast at Pops and Grandma's house. Then, we went to church with them, and then drove to Covington for the afternoon. The easter bunny visited him at both houses, and even hid eggs for him at Mimi and Papa's! There were goldfish in the eggs there, and Pax loved that he could actually eat the treats in them this time instead of having to give them away! Aunt Rochelle and Uncle Brooks couldn't make it, but they also sent an adorable easter basket full of goodies for Pax. He had a fun time going through his baskets. We really enjoyed our day with family!

Imagine It!

Pax and I climbed up in a treehouse for this shot

Pax and Mimi playing in the water

After his shirt had already gotten wet, I found the rain jackets that they had for children to put on.

He really liked all the tunnels!

watching some kids that were passing by

picture on the John Deere tractor--for Uncle Brooks

We are really enjoying our "Stay-cation" this week! Today, Pax and I met Mimi at The Imagine It! Children's Museum in Atlanta. There were a lot of things that he could do. It probably would have been a little better if he had been able to walk around himself, and go where HE wanted to go, not where I wanted to take him. His favorite part was the water table area where he could "fish" for the plastic toys in the water. They also had an area just for two and unders, and he had fun crawling around and playing with the soft blocks there. There were some tunnels and slides that he had fun on, and he also had fun interacting with the other kids. He was a little confused when one little boy slapped him in the face. He looked so puzzled and didn't understand what he had done, but was still intrigued by him. He also shared with the other kids around him, taking them things that he was playing with. Oh, how I hope he continues this when he is older!!

After Mimi and I were tired of chasing him around, we went to the CNN Center and grabbed some lunch and then went to the playground in Centennial Park. The weather was beautiful, and everyone else must have been excited that spring is finally here, because there were a lot of people, so we didn't play long. Little Man was worn out, and fell sound asleep on the way home. Thank you, Mimi, for treating us to such a special and fun day!

Easter "Egg-stravaganza"

Jayden and Pax

Pax meeting the Easter bunny

me and Anna

Pax and Grandma

Sweet picture of Jayden

We went to the public library for storytime and an easter egg hunt this morning. Mom came and rode with us, and we met Anna, Jayden, and her mom there. We had a good time singing songs, listening to the stories, and "hunting" eggs. Pax even tried to do the chicken dance with the easter bunny. Once we started the egg hunt, he only wanted to shake and play with the 2 eggs in his hands. He wouldn't put them in the basket to pick up more, so Mom and I had to help him out! Then we went to Hudson's for lunch, and enjoyed more time with friends!

Bodies Exhibit

Pax loved this spinach dip that Mrs. Tracey was sharing with him.

He kept saying "more" in sign language and pointing at the dip,
instead of the bananas that I was feeding him. :-)


When the dip was all gone, he did the sign language for "all done," too.

Aunt Sarah and Pax

Pax and Mr. Nelson

Pax's favorite babysitter--Mrs. Tracey:-)

Pax and I are really enjoying my spring break, and using this time to meet up with friends! Yesterday, we went and met Aunt Summer for lunch, and Pax was in the best mood, and quite cheerful allowing us to both enjoy our lunches. Well, we had to share everything with Little Man, but he was pretty well behaved. Thanks for meeting us, Summer! It was great to see you and catch up.

Today, we went to Atlantic Station and met Aunt Sarah, Mrs. Tracey, and Mr. Nelson for lunch and then went to the Bodies Exhibit. Pax and I did a little shopping before hand, too. :-) Anyway, we met at The California Pizza Kitchen, and it was yummy!! It was extremely cold, and we had to wait outside for a little while to get into the Bodies Exhibit. Teachers got in free, so Sarah and I decided to go, and then I invited the Tracey and Nelson to join us. We couldn't use a stroller in the exhibition, so we all took turns carrying Pax around. He weighs 24 pounds now, if you remember!!! Anyway, Mr. Nelson must remind Pax of Pops, because he kept wanting him and would point and expect Nelson to go where he pointed. It was pretty cute, but I don't think that Nelson expected to have to babysit today! I appreciate his help, though! Paxton enjoyed the exhibit, was pretty well behaved, and liked to look at the cases up close. He was the official greeter, as he said "Hey" to everyone we passed. He even said "baby" when we were looking at a fetus. That room was kind of heavy, but Pax lightened the mood by recognizing the baby. We had a fun afternoon, and Paxton was so worn out, he fell asleep before we even made it out of the parking deck. Thanks to Sarah, Tracey, and Nelson for their help and for meeting us this afternoon!

Weekend of birthday parties

After the easter egg hunt yesterday, we went to Jake's 2nd birthday party. Jake's dad, Brad, and I grew up together, and now our boys are buddies, too! We went late, but had a great time hanging out, jumping on the inflatable, and eating dinner! Jake was so sweet, and such an easy-going boy. The weather was absolutely gorgeous, and we enjoyed being able to play outside. We need to get them together more often.

Birthday Boy, Jake

Tackle!

Get him, Pax!

Today we went to the Inn at Serenbe for Reagan's birthday party. She is the little girl that is 13 days older than Pax. Even though it rained, we still had a great time. They had a hayride and we got to see all kinds of animals-horses, donkeys, a llama, chickens, goats, sheep, pigs, and cows. Paxton loved the animals, and got frustrated when we had to leave. He didn't care about the rain at all--he's such a boy! He enjoyed playing with the hay, the rocks, and Pops walked him around all over the place! Reagan was so sweet and shared her birthday cake with Pax! He was much more interested in it, than she was, and he even tried to feed her some.

Liz, Reagan, and Aunt Casey

Birthday Girl, Reagan, with Glen and Liz

This was her awesome birthday cake!

Sweet friends

Pax feeding Reagan her birthday cake

Pax loved attacking the balloons so much, that we got to bring this bouquet home with us!

Pax pointed, and Pops took him where ever he wanted to go. They explored the whole farm together!

Getting ready for the hay ride. He just liked picking at the hay!

Petting the sheep

Feeding the goats

Petting the goats now.

Happy birthday Jake and Reagan! Thanks for including us in your birthday celebrations!!

Pax has started saying more things now, not on command, of course, but he says them whenever HE wants to! Some of them are-Papa (he just said it for the first time right now), hey, shoe, ball, more, dog, Daddy, woof-woof, ow, and still mama and bye-bye. He also has started feeding himself. His favorite thing to practice with is Cool-whip. We've been doing that as a reward for finishing his dose of medicine that he's on. He loves it, and does pretty well feeding himself!! Yes, he makes a mess, but it's cute for now.