Summer Sicky

Once again, Paxton is sick. In the short 17-months he's been alive, I've lost count of how many times he has been sick. I should wash his hands more often. I am embarrassed to admit that I don't think of it until there's something going around. But the boy has been teething for at least a year, so his hands are nearly always in his mouth. If there is an illness to be caught, he catches it. And once again, he has.

It's possible that I was the culprit this time around. It is hard for me to recognize when I'm suffering from allergies or something more serious. Whatever I have now started off feeling like a bad allergy. I used my Neti Pot and took some Advil to take away the throat pain. I felt a bit better until the next day. I've felt progressively worse every day since Thursday. Perhaps I really did catch a cold, and then passed it on to my little guy.

Paxton didn't start feeling poorly until yesterday. He felt feverish and a rectal reading confirmed that he was--102.3. I wasn't able to pay him as much attention as usual, because I was cleaning the house in preparation for our Memorial Day party. I felt guilty, but not enough to drop everything to focus strictly on his needs. He snubbed his breakfast--waffles, which are usually his favorite. That's usually the first sign that he's sick. He took his normal nap, and snacked a bit for lunch. Not long after lunch, I put him in his room to play with his trains while I cleaned our bathroom. I noticed that he wasn't making as much noise as usual while he played. I finally finished my chores and went into his room to get him changed. I opened the door to find him fast asleep, laying on his tummy with his legs tucked up under him. He's never fallen asleep on the floor before. It was sort of heartbreaking.

Our guests began to arrive, and their children were enjoying Paxton's array of toys. Forty minutes passed and still he didn't wake up. I finally went upstairs to rouse him. He continued to lay on the floor, barely opening his eyes to watch me clean up his toys. Finally, he stood up and came downstairs to see his guests. He was miserable. He was clingy and whiney and nothing made him happy. I hated to see him feeling so terrible. It was so fun to have our friends here, and I wanted him to be able to enjoy it. But he just wasn't.

By the end of the evening, he felt well enough to eat a bit of corn-on-the-cob--his current favorite. But he was still feverish and clingy, and readily went to bed when that time came.

Today, he woke up very quietly. I wouldn't even have known he was awake if I didn't hear one lone, loud "MEOW" come from his crib, in response to a vocal cat downstairs, awaiting breakfast. He woke up crabby, but ate all of his oatmeal. We went to a playdate, and he spent the bulk of the time sitting on my lap, watching the goings-on. He laid down for his nap at 12:30 or so and didn't wake up for three hours. At least when he woke up, he was in a pleasant mood. He was perfectly adorable, actually. But he's still not 100%. Hopefully in a day or two, he'll be back to normal. I hate seeing my sweet boy ill.

On a different note, now that summer is here, Paxton and I are spending more and more time outside. We have a few water toys in our yard. He has a little kiddie pool, and a beach ball that sprinkles water out of it when attached to the hose. They will hopefully be more fun when the days get even hotter. For now, he cries when the cool drops hit him. He shuns the baby pool. Interesting, though, that no matter how cold the water is at the community pool, I can't keep him out of it. He absolutely loves it. We have a great time there. I'm glad we splurged for a membership this summer. It will make those 100 degree days much more tolerable. Already, I have been much more pleasant about the unseasonably hot days we've had so far this year. That's not like me at all. Enjoy the pics of Paxton and his first experience with the sprinkler ball!

The daddies and their boys.

Paxton enjoying a snack.

Henry, the sweet little charmer!

Sneaking in a picture with my boy.

Sara Hickman, the woman of the hour, with her daughter iolana (yes, it's supposed to be in lowercase letters).

Check out Harper's booty, covered in chalk!

Harper, tasting the chalk.

Henry shows that Harper isn't the only one who likes to decorate his own clothes.

Paxton takes a little rest while chewing on a random toy cell phone he found on the ground.

Paxton eschews his grilled cheese for the tasty Crayon.

If Music Be the Food of Love, Play On!

One of my favorite things about being a mom is being able to share my passions with my son. Already, my little guy relishes "reading" books, sitting for long periods flipping through his collection, page by page. We also have gone to a movie together, seeing Monsters Vs. Aliens. Luckily, it was a nearly empty theatre, because Paxton found as much pleasure in pushing on the seats in front of us as he did watching the action onscreen. We've been able to share the fun of live music with him several times already in his life. He saw Terri Hendrix me at a summer concert series last year, and Susan Gibson with us at a fundraiser in Wimberley late last year. I recently found out about a kids' night series that Nutty Brown Cafe hosts on Tuesday nights. Kids eat for $1, and there is kids' entertainment there from a balloon animal maker, and sometimes live musical acts. I would definitely take Paxton to a fun evening like that, but it sealed the deal when I heard that one of my longtime favorite entertainers, Sara Hickman, was performing for the kids this Tuesday.

Paxton and I rode with our friend, Carmen, and her son, Harper. We met Andrea, Berto, and their son, Henry, at the restaurant. Nutty Brown has a great outdoor area, with, among other features, two stages, a giant parrot habitat, and a huge sandbox for the kids. I thought Sara Hickman was supposed to start her show at 5, but apparently it was actually supposed to begin at 6, and she didn't begin until around 6:40. By that time, we were all getting antsy. The kids were entertaining themselves by crawling (or running, in Paxton's case) around the play area, tasting the different "flavors" of sidewalk chalk. Harper, in particular, enjoyed the popsicle-like experience of the chalk.

Before she began, I bought Sara Hickman's cd, Toddler, for Paxton, and had her autograph it. When I was pregnant, I saw her play at Susannah's Kitchen in Wimberley. I bought her album, Newborn, and she autographed it for "Baby Rigby-Cockle" and then sang to Paxton in my belly. It was a very sweet memory. I decided that he needed the next album in the series. In a year or two, we'll get him her album, Big Kid. He enjoyed the show, as did I. She opened with one of my all time favorites, "Kayaking" from her albun with Domestic Science Club. Such a fun, happy song! An example of the lyrics: "I want to go kayaking. Wanna make you my kayak king. We'll grow old together with our skin like leather, as we go kayaking!".

After that, she sang "Radiation Man" about an alien who lands on earth and sets fire to trees as he waves at his new earthling friends, inadvertantly filling their hearts with fear. Her set list was, as always, adorable, and Paxton enjoyed dancing to the beat. He treated the experience a bit like his Music Together class, sitting on my lap to watch her, trying to mimic the movements she led the kids to do. I hadn't realized that Music Together was good for teaching kids to sit and appreciate the live music experience. Nice bonus!!

We pushed the kids well past their 7 p.m. bedtime, but they seemed to have a good time. Paxton was in a zone on the car ride home, and he went to bed shortly after arriving home. It's always fun to take him to hear live music, but it's especially sweet when that music is geared to the little ones. I love sharing that with him, and I hope that we're building a love of these things in Paxton. Our goal is to open this world to him so that he can enjoy more than the box of middle America that we live comfortably (and thankfully) within.

For Posterity's Sake

While I was driving today, I thought about how I need to be capturing more of Paxton's moments on video. The first half of his life, I took pictures of him nearly every day and videos of him at least once a week. It was easier then. I was able to prop him up on a pillow, make a silly face and get a great shot of him grinning merrily. Now when I get out the camera, I am able to capture a blur of my son, at best. More often, he's not even in the frame, because he's running off to the next important thing he has to do. I realize now, though, that this is the perfect time to bust out the video camera. He's doing new things every day, and I want to capture these moments to remember! Since I was in a car with no camera, I started thinking about what things he is doing now that I plan to capture on video in the next week or so. Making lists is a passion that comes only second to loving my son. Combining the two?! What a wonderful world!

1. When I get out Paxton's bin of trains in the morning and dump them on the floor at his feet, he shrieks at the top of his lungs in glee. I love that unfiltered show of joy. It also happens when I get the leashes out to walk the dogs and when I vacuum. Chores have never been such a joy.
2. Paxton has a language all his own which I lovingly refer to as "Paxtonese". Sometimes his words are much more enjoyable than the real English versions. For "water", he says "law-lo". For "train", he makes a "ch-ch-ch" noise. For "Jesus", he says "cheeses". For "hippo", he says "Bip-Bo". I know soon enough he will become more adapt at enunciating and that cute little Paxtonese will disappear.
3. Since he still hasn't mastered piercing his own food with a fork, Paxton gives me the fork and says "more?" (always with a question mark). When I spear the bite of food, he greedily shoves the fork in his mouth and says, around the food, "YAY!". This self-congratulating comes from the cheering Chris and I do when Paxton eats. We're so tired of him throwing his food on the floor.
4. We have a curly hose that often stretches across our front sidewalk, left out from Chris watering the lawn. Paxton doesn't want to risk stepping over it, so he always lifts it up and walks under it. This morning, he tried to do so while holding a push toy in each hand. I heard him make a frustrated sound and looked up to see him holding onto both toys while holding the hose over his head, too. He couldn't figure out just how to get himself and his goodies under the hose in one trip. That's just what mommies are for.
5. Watching Paxton climb the stairs is less nervewracking than it used to be, but I think it will be fun to look back at this tiny little guy racing up the stairs on his hands and knees someday when he's a big boy who goes up them without a second thought.
6. It's also a bit ordinary, but adorable to watch Paxton help me load the dishwasher.
7. True to the Rigby family's vicious sense of humor, Paxton likes to chase the pets with his push train. He laughs liek a super villian as he dose it. I vow to break him of this habit before one of the pets plans his death, but for now, it is kind of funny. He also chases the chickens at the aviary. He can entertain himself by doing that for at least ten or fifteen minutes.
8. Speaking of chickens, when I offer him a bite of soy chicken, he now says "bok-bok-bok-bok". I don't even remember teaching him that. I'm starting to think that maybe I should call his soy meat something other than "burger" or "chicken" or whatever, lest he get confused by the real deal.
9. Paxton loves my mom, whom we started calling "Tizzy" when he arrived. When I pull into her neighborhood, he happily says "Tizzy!". The way he says it is perhaps the cutest thing in the world.
10. I don't know if I'm going to want this on film, but when a dog licks Paxton's face, he opens his mouth wide and lets them go to town licking the inside of his mouth. YUCK! I keep trying to tell him to stop that, but I think he thinks it's rude to close his mouth and push his admirers away. And the dogs will seize any opportunity they can to get a taste of whatever good food is lingering in his baby mouth. They're no fools.

I plan to start making a record of all these things in the next week, and I'll post them as I capture them! Look forward to some live action of our favorite toddling super Paxton in days to come!

Climbing the stairs to go see the train!

With his enthusiastic little friend, awaiting the arrival of the train!

Holding onto a piece of fake fruit while waiting patiently.

It's here! It's here!

Okay, Momma, we can go now.

Standing on tiptoe to keep up with the big boys.

Tizzy's on the play phone.

My cheeks sell me out every time. I need some sleep.

It's so fun to play with switches.

Doing some construction work at the museum.

Day at the Museum

I love spending time with Paxton. From the day he was born, I have enjoyed his company. With every new stage of his life, he's more and more fun to be around. No one can make me laugh like he can. We find the same random things uproariously hilarious. At night, I always ask him if he's ready to turn the light out. I then lift him over my head from the chair we sit on together, and he flips the switch. Sometimes, though, he's feeling saucey and he acts like he's incapable of turning the light out. He rests his finger on it and pauses. He waits for me to complain in discomfort at lifting him above my head for so long with no action as a reward. As soon as he hears me urge him on, he starts to giggle. Then I laugh in response and we crack up together. Who would have anticipated that a 16-month-old boy could have such a wicked sense of humor.

One of the simple pleasures of being a mom is taking my son to a birthday party. We have gone to two first birthday parties, so far, and last weekend, we went to the joint party of Max and Lola, our longtime friends' son and daughter. Nick and Mindy rented the Austin Children's Museum after hours on a Sunday. I have never been there, but have wanted to go since Paxton was born. This was the perfect opportunity to finally check it out! God was apparently smiling on us, because as an added bonus, the theme of the museum displays right now is "transportation". Paxton's middle name should be transportation for as much as he loves it. Every third word out of his mouth is "car", "truck", or "ch-ch-ch" (Paxtonese for "train"). He thinks people in wheelchairs are the coolest people in the world, because they have their own personal set of wheels. The boy loves to G-O, go.

As you entered the museum, there were two tables with trains on them. Immediately, Paxton attached himself to one of the tables. I humored him for a while, thinking he would be enticed by the rest of the fantastic displays scattered about. No such luck. We left him to his own devices and went to say our hellos. People would ask us where our little guy was and we'd point across the room, noting the tiny blonde head bobbing behind the train table. Finally, I literally dragged him away to see the rest that the museum had to offer.

He ended up having a great time. He enjoyed some delicious pizza and his favorite treat--cupcakes! There was a train that went around the upper wall of the main room, and the children could go into a little overlook to control some aspects of the trip. They could push a button to make the train start its journey. They could press various buttons to hear an assortment of train noises. There was a button to make wipers clean the window, and one to make the railroad crossing go up and down. Paxton really liked it, but his enthusiasm was dwarfed by that of a two-year-old little boy who was the very definition of glee. Every time the train would pull back into 'the station', the little boy would scream with joy. It was adorable, but also intimidating to my little guy. He had the same shellshocked expression he donned at the carnival. He didn't know places like this existed in the world. I'm sure he was wondering why I was holding out on him.

I can't wait to take him back to the museum for the next exhibit. As he gets more and more in tune with the world around him, he appreciates new experiences more. I already love spending time with him, taking a new look at the world through his eyes. But as he gets older and more curious about that world, I find myself even more captivated with his blossoming personality. He's one cool fellow. I'm so lucky to be his mom.