Sweet, Beautiful Sleep

Here's how I know I have too many pets. One cat is standing on my hip, meowing in my face, begging me for petting and another is laying behind me with one paw on the inside on my elbow and her head on my shoulder. A puppy is at my feet, chewing a rawhide. I have no idea where everyone else is. Sitting on my couch is an invitation to the animals to gather around.

Paxton should be napping, but I think he's just upstairs playing in his crib. His naps have not been aligning well with our daily plans lately. We're meeting our friends at the park in an hour for a playdate. At that time, he should be nice and exhausted. I think of all the babies in our posse, Paxton is by far the most short-tempered. I'll post pictures to make my point. My mom has always described me as "dramatic" and I think my genes bullied themselves to the forefront of my baby boy. He got my blue eyes, my chubby thighs and my pension for emotional outbursts.

The little guy continues to amaze us with his intelligence. This morning, I told him that it was naptime and he ran to the spiral staircase and started climbing. He can't quite get over the base of the gate, but if I give him a little lift, he continues on his way. Speaking of bedtime, it seems that that is one area in which Daddy's technique doesn't compare to Mommy's. I went to San Marcos last night to do some shopping while the boys hung out at home. I wasn't able to get home until an hour after Paxton's normal bedtime. He was still awake, cuddling on Chris' lap, watching a movie. Chris said he tried to put him to bed, but Paxton wanted no part of it. I got home, carried Paxton to his crib saying "Bye" to Daddy, the fish, the velcro strap closing the gate on the stairs, the kitties, you name it. I tucked him in with his favorite stuffed animal, said our goodnight prayers and bid him goodnight. He went right to sleep.

I've noticed that anything that entails a bit of disciplining is not Chris' favorite task as a parent. We make a good pair, because I don't excel in the arena of playtime. I never have. But Chris gets right down on the floor and makes up silly games with Paxton. He craves that interaction, and I do my best when I'm up to bat. Today I scored a homerun when Paxton was standing in his playhouse and I stuck my head through the window. He applauded with clever ways with loud giggles of glee. It's the greatest sound in the world.

Last night, Paxton has the pleasure of running through a sprinkler for the first time. Every time it came his direction and the drops started landing on his head, he would look shocked and then laugh and run away. I never thought I'd say this, but I'm excited for the arrival of summer, so he can enjoy all of the fun water activities that come with the breathless heat. Several of our baby friends are beginning swim classes this month, but our classes will likely be delayed until April, because of scheduling conflicts. I'm so eager to take him to Port Aransas to play in the ocean for the first time. Yesteday, I got him some toys for the sand. His presence has brought out the kid in all of us. He makes everything more fun.

It sounds like he's finally drifted off to sleep. Praise God! We may be a little late for our playdate, but a nap trumps everything else these days! The little energizer bunny needs all the replenishing rest he can get!