Don't worry about me, I'll tend him

Pax is so excited that school is out since that means we can go to the school playground by our house. So today we ended our run at the school. He had forgotten about all the different slides and things to climb on. There are tons of monkey bars (which he is really into) and a few climbing wall things. So we played for a while ... he is much too brave for me but he ended up climbing this ladder that goes up and down like a caterpillar and it took him so high that I could only touch his toes if I was standing on my tip toes. I told him he was making me nervous. He just looked down at me, grinned and said, "Don't worry about me! I won't fall!" What a little smarty! Once he got back down he jumped up and down so excited that he was able to do the whole thing by himself.

Pax's other favorite thing to do is "tend Tyler." Of course, they are never actually left alone ... he just watches him while I walk in the other room and put clothes away or something and most of the time they're actually in my sight, but he does a great job. He gives Tyler his pacifier if he's starting to fuss or comes to tell me that Tyler really wants his Mom. He LOVES being a big brother!

i'm building a HUGE fire

Pax and Bryce roasting marshmallows in our fire pit!

The best part of our Memorial Day Weekend was having Bryce home for four days! Its always hard for us to let him go back to work! Pax spends every Monday asking why it can't be the weekend anymore and how come Dad had to go work on people's teeth?

We mostly spent the weekend doing different projects outside ... despite the cold weather. We finished our back fence and started on the back deck. Pax spent part of yesterday picking up sticks and putting them in our fire pit, explaining that he is building a BIG, HUGE FIRE! So before bed Bryce built Paxton a fire and helped him roast some marshmallows. Maybe we'll use the fire pit more this year since Pax gets so excited about it!

We also spent a lot of time with family. It was Bryce's Grandma Shepard's 80th Birthday Party. It was fun to see family that we don't get to see very often. Then we got together on Sunday to finish the leftovers from the party. Monday we went to the cemetary. It was nice to be able to explain to Paxton who's graves these were ... I also learned a lot about some of Bryce's family members that I didn't get to know.

a day out with thomas

Pax is still very into trucks, trains and basically anything with a motor ... we're hoping Tyler is too so we don't have to get all new toys! anyway, Thomas the Tank Engine came to Heber, UT. we decided to make a trip out of it and stayed at my parents for a few days. they came with us to the big event!

Pax in his incredible excitement! we are boarding the train!

Pax and I in front of the big, black train! he is excited to be able to touch it.

Tyler and Grandpa Williams ... Tyler had fun riding the train too!

Paxton touching Thomas the Train ... we had to wait in line just to get our picture with him!

Pax playing with the fun train sets! there were all kinds of other things to do at the event ... bubbles, trains, story time, meet Sir Topenhat, feed baby goats and lots of other stuff! what a fun day!

over the hedge

Paxton's chart all filled up! whenever i take a picture and ask him to hold something up he ALWAYS covers his face!

Pax smiling and holding his chart! so excited that we get to go to Over The Hedge!

Paxton worked on filling up this chart for 2 weeks! he earned stickers for using his good manners, sleeping well and answering people when they are talking to him. he had started acting funny and shy when people (mostly people he doesn't know well) ask him questions so we wanted to reward him for responding. he has gotten better at it now ... on Friday he was trying to earn the last of his stickers and this old lady was walking by and said how cute the boys were. Paxton just started talking to her and telling her about Tyler ... maybe we didn't mean for him to just talk to any stranger ... anyway, he LOVED the movie! he's been quoting it ever since!

sandbox

Bryce digging up the roots of the huge wild lilac tree we removed to put in the sandbox ... i say we but i just loaded up limbs into the truck!

Paxton the BIG helper ... this is taking a LONG, LONG time! he is learning patience!

Paxton is so excited that his sandbox is FINALLY finished!

we spent Friday morning building Paxton a sandbox. he loves it! it really didn't take that long to build but Pax kept saying, "this is taking a LONG, LONG time!" his favorite part of the day was probably going to pick up the sand. he loved watching the front loader dump the sand into Bryce's truck. he has told me the story several times!

the finished sandbox.

this is my portion of the sandbox project. we decided to put a small brick patio around the sandbox since inevitably some sand will end up out of the sandbox. we thought this way the grass around the sandbox won't die. it took me most of Friday and Saturday to finish the patio but it is perfectly level!

mobile excitement

so yesterday Tyler got a new mobile. we were using Paxton's old mobile and he LOVED it. well i went to turn it on and it broke. the mobile would hang but the music wouldn't play and it wouldn't turn anymore. Tyler was not happy about this ... he used to fuss a little when it would stop and i would turn it back on for him but now i couldn't. so i decided to get a new mobile since he can still use it for a few more months.

so it arrived in the mail yesterday and Paxton was very excited to help put it together. i promised Paxton that i would let him turn it on for Tyler since he was sleeping while we put it together. well Paxton fell asleep before Tyler woke up (nap times have been on opposite schedules lately ... i really liked when they both napped at the same time). then Tyler wanted to nap again before Paxton woke up. so i sang him a song and laid him in his crib and he was nearly asleep. i thought he was asleep but when Paxton woke up i heard Tyler playing in his room. i went in and he was just staring at his new mobile. Pax turned it on for him and he started kicking and talking up a storm. after i had let him play for a while i could tell he was exhausted so we did the nap time routine over and he went to sleep.

then last night Bryce went back to work to finish up paperwork so he wouldn't have to go in this weekend. i fell asleep on the couch waiting for him. when he came in he asked if i knew that Tyler was awake staring at his mobile. he was beginning to fuss and was once again exhausted. this time i moved the mobile over to the side and laid him on the opposite side of his bed. what a funny little guy! hopefully the excitement will wear off soon and he'll be able to sleep again but at least we know he really likes it!

sharp fingers - the lizard

yesterday Bryce came home for lunch and brought Paxton a lizard. he was so excited! he quit eating his lunch since he said his belly was full ... he really just wanted to watch his lizard. he just knelt on his chair with his chin resting on his hands talking to his lizard, which he named sharp fingers since he had sharp claws. the lizard climbed up the side of the cage and he got to see that he had a blue belly ... he now wants a green belly lizard (which i don't think exist). i should have got a picture of his excitement but was in a hurry to get the boys ready to go to their grandmas since i had a dr appt.

so when i returned from the doctor Paxton and Aunt Nat had already let the lizard go. apparently he had already died ... he didn't even last an hour. at least Pax isn't upset about it. he just kept telling me Aunt Nat said that he might be playing dead and run off in a minute or he might really be dead. he is really dead since i checked on him today and he is still not moving. then Bryce was in trouble when he came home today for lunch ... Pax asked him why he didn't bring him another lizard. guess they'll be going lizard hunting soon!

mother's day

what a wonderful mother's day. this year was so much fun for me. Paxton's sweet little voice saying, "happy mother's day. this is a special day for you." was all i needed for a gift. bryce and the boys also got me a new digital camera ... yeah! i have been long waiting for that. (i'll post pictures with it soon but haven't had a chance to load everything on the computer)

bryce and his YM took care of primary ... exhausting i think is how he described it ... and paxton came home with 2 cards he made me. when i asked him if he had made them for me he just smiled and said, "yep, they're for you." too cute!! i also got paxton to wear his new church shirt (every week i ask him if he wants to wear it and he says no) since i said, "please? its mother's day."

i love being a mom and am so glad i get to stay home with my boys. they are growing so fast and i'm relieved i don't have to miss a thing. i love all that they teach me ... even when i'm simply learning patience.

my favorite ages!

Pax and Tyler cuddling in the morning. Pax is sharing his blanket since they are both cold ... according to Paxton.

i love the ages of my boys. Paxton has been so fun and excited about everything! Tyler gets so excited to see us and is always smiling, kicking his feet and waving his arms to tell us hello. the greatest thing is that they like each other so well ... Tyler follows Paxton's every move around the room and i always find Paxton wanting to wake his brother because he misses him while he sleeps. when Tyler is awake Pax is busy telling him everything he is doing and asking if Tyler can come watch him play.

Tyler yawning as we cook dinner.

Tyler is our good little sleeper. if we're a little late getting him to bed at night he starts wimpering and wiggling to lay down. once he's in his crib his eyes close and we don't hear from him for hours ... lucky us!

our little fish! (this was about a month ago, now he swims by himself in his life jacket and hardly lets us help him)

i forgot how much Paxton loves to play in the water. yesterday and today have been beautiful days and Pax has taken every moment to enjoy them. he was playing in the hose all day yesterday as we painted our rental house (pictures to be posted soon). today he was playing at grandma and grandpa's with his cousin, Hunter and they decided to strip down to their underwear and jump on the tramp with the sprinkler on. that would have been quite the sight!

6th anniversary

Thursday we celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary! i can't believe how quickly times goes by ... although it seems like such a long time ago that we were just moving out to Virginia to start dental school. to celebrate we just went to dinner but it was nice to be out without the kids. sometimes i forget what its like to have a nice quiet (and hot) dinner.

so we've almost made it through our May celebrations. it always seems like such a busy few weeks with Paxton's birthday, our anniversary and mothers day all falling close to within a week.

happy birthday pax!

i can't believe my little paxton is 3 years old! time sure flys by! he has had a great weeks worth of celebrating.

wednesday - paxton's firetruck party
we had a family and friend party for paxton on wednesday night. he had a firetruck pinata and cake. it was so much fun. he loved every second of his fun party ... it was an incredibly long wait that day. he just kept hoping that his party was the next thing we were going to do.

he got lots of fun gifts ... trucks of course. we got him a bike which he is very excited about ... it seems a little big but we'll see. it might take some practice.

thursday - the wiggles in concert (Paxton's actual birthday)
we took paxton to salt lake for his birthday. we went to dinner at Rodizio Grill ("the meat place" as pax calls it). he is our little meat eater. they sang happy birthday to him in portuguese and played drums ... he loved it. they also let him blow out the candles twice!!!

we surprised paxton by taking him to the wiggles ... they were performing in salt lake. he had lots of fun, although he would have enjoyed it more a few months ago. he sang along to all his favorite songs.

friday - swimming alone
so we stayed at Little America since pax loves to swim at the pool there. he learned how to swim all by himself ... with the help of his life jacket. he can even swim from one side to the other without help. he was so proud of himself and kept it up all night ... i kept thinking his legs would get tired but they didn't. he also started jumping in by himself even though his head goes under. we just need to practice going all the way under without getting water up his nose!

saturday - zoo day
we went to the zoo with my dad and two little brothers. pax loved all the animals but the train was his favorite part of the day. he rode it once with me and once with bryce. he loved when the train conductor calls "all aboard!"

then we met my mom and royce (other brother) for a picnic lunch. they were both at EFY with their ward for the day so we couldn't see them for long. it was fun. pax opened his presents and loves his new Thomas the Tank Engine train set!

our adventure

so i did it! i took both of the boys on a trip to Utah on my own ... and everything went well!

we first went to Orem to visit our dear friends Laura, Alan, Connor and Abby. Paxton and Connor had a great time playing at the park together while Tyler and Abby napped. it was so fun to catch up with Laura. i sure wish we lived closer to one another.

then we headed to salt lake to see Royce play Lacrosse. it was fun to see him play. a boy on the other team got injured and an ambulance, fire truck and police car all came to the game. unfortunately for the injured boy, this made the game interesting for Paxton. he loved watching the trucks in action. the boy was fine he got cross checked in his neck and went to the hospital just to be sure he was okay.

we spent wednesday with amy, devyn and jaxon. its always fun to catch up with amy and fun for the kids to play. paxton had tons of fun and didn't want to leave. he was so tired though that he fell asleep before we had even gone 2 blocks! paxton keeps telling me the story about amy calling him a stink bug ... for not wanting to let her help him. then devyn told her mom that she was the stink bug not her and pax.

what a fun trip ... good to know i can do it!