But let me catch you up on life first. We came back from Iowa City to the musical scene. The day we got back was the day that Marc's hard efforts (and those of the kids and other adults) paid off - opening night! I was able to go that night. Saturday brought Grandma and Gramps to see the musical and visit for a day. Then we spent the next few days trying (somewhat in vain) to catch up on life, sleep and laundry. Thanksgiving brought a welcomed time off for Marc and we laid low getting the rest of our to do list checked off and going to bed early. It was nice to "see" each other again after 13 weeks of musical rehearsals.
The weekend after Thanksgiving we headed to Montana and had a birthday party for the little man. Marc had to be in town for a gig anyway so we just invited everyone to celebrate a week early instead of making another trek north a week later. If you couldn't guess we're a little burnt out on travel. But it is always nice to see people and we had a great time. Jaxter's party was fairly quiet with the mandatory first-sweet-make-a-mess cake indulgence being the main event. I will say, though, that having a two year old present at a one-year old's party made for quite a different dynamic than a first mom's first born's first birthday party did. =) We consistently reminded Desmond that it was Jaxter's birthday and Desmond did quite well for a guy who is used to the spot light. He even pitched in with his own harmonies to "Happy Birthday". And today when we were celebrating the real deal Desmond kept saying "Jaxter's birthday, Jaxter's!" We are blessed with two wonderful sons and we are thankful for them in our lives.
Forgive a sentimental Mama but I feel compelled to brag on my "baby" (no longer) and his accomplishments:
- He is able to cruise and pushes himself off of things to stand for a few seconds before giggling at his accomplishment which throws him off balance and causes him to fall.
- He LOVES to eat, which is a HUGE Praise the Lord! This boy had the most difficult time with solids and I am so grateful that he now out eats Desmond at most meals. He even gets upset at me, sometimes, when I try to feed him - he wants to do it himself! =)
- He has the toothiest smile which he is glad to share with all.
- He knows the word Desmond, where Desmond is and when asked "where is Des?" will crawl to Des (or to Desmond's room and knock on the door).
- He makes the noises for monkey, horse, car, cat and tickle monster.
- His vocabulary includes: ball, Dad, Des, go, Mama, whoa and uh-oh.
- He can sign eat, more, bye-bye and please.
- Shows great memory, he remembers which pieces of toys go with which toys. For ex: he will find a puzzle piece and crawl to the nearest puzzle and try to put it in.
- He mimics Desmond's every move! Every activity is a group activity now. If Des crawls to the living room, Jax follows. If Jax screams Des screams. If Desmond tickles Dad, Jax comes over to tickle Dad. If Jax drinks from his sippy, Desmond has to drink from his. And on and on, you get the picture. =)
- He has amazing control of his eyebrows. Without any effort he can raise each completely isolated from the other.
- When told to "wait" he takes a deep breath and calms down. He learned this from Desmond as that is what we have taught Des to do and Jax picked it up. (Which is really a great thing.)
This is why I can't get anything done - while I do chores, they make more messes! =)
Our weekly date with the gym at church.
Party headquarters. The theme was water because the birthday boy *loves* his bath time. So blue was the dominating color scheme. Also, note the balloons from Grandpa which is always a huge hit with the boys.
A bath time cake. Used Jello for the water.
The whole family.
Opening gifts with the help of big brother. =)
Not such a big fan of the Jello cake. (This is the mini bath tub cake I made for him.) And yes, we had our cake first so that the sugar would wear off before bedtime. =)
Its a long family tradition to serve the birthday person's favorite foods for their birthday - so here is Jaxter eating peas and noodles his, obviously, favorite.
The birthday boy on his actual birthday (notice more peas on the tray).