Family Night Out

Mmmm...popcorn!

He gets sillier as he gets more tired.

Doing a little dance while he eats his popcorn.

Spinning around with Daddy.

Blurry Mommy and baby.

Last night, Chris and I took Paxton to a free concert in the park in San Marcos. We saw Terri Hendrix, who has been a local favorite of mine for over a decade. Last year, she performed in the same venue, and I took Paxton by myself. He was about seven-and-a-half months old at that time, and I was so excited to expose him to live music in the open air. That has always been an important and beloved part of my life. Something in me feels inherently satisfied and complete when I am enjoying live music. My mom passed that love down to me and I hope that Paxton finds as much joy in the experience as we do.

I was a little nervous about keeping Paxton up so far past his bedtime. He usually goes to sleep between 7 and 7:30. The concert didn't begin until 7:30 and was schedule to end at 9. Clearly God was in our corner, though, because for the second time in two days, Paxton took a long, second nap. He didn't awaken until after 6, so his bedtime would have likely been pushed back a bit regardless of our plans. Unfortunately, we had no time for dinner, and it was far too hot to pack the mayo-based pasta salad I had leftover from the previous night's meal. Instead, I popped a snack-sized bag of popcorn (one love that I have clearly passed on to my son), some cookies, plenty of water and some pretzels. It wasn't exactly a well-balanced dinner. But along with the bedtime exception, I thought he'd survive one night dining on snacks instead of a hearty meal.

We arrived just in time and found a perfect parking spot. We set up our chairs where we had space to spread out and a great view of the stage. Almost immediately, Paxton was ready to explore. While my mindset is to sit back and watch what he does, Chris sticks close to his boy, both for fear that he should be next to him to protect him, and a concern that Paxton would like his daddy close by as a playmate. This is why Chris is the obvious favorite parent of our wise little guy. Daddy is just plain fun. Mommy--not so much. While I settled in to my chair to enjoy the show, my boys took off to kick a ball.

Okay, so Paxton didn't seem to care too much about what was going on onstage. He probably won't look back at this particular night some day as the defining moment of when he knew he wanted to be a folk singer. He did a tiny bit of dancing and seemed to be entranced momentarily with the "gee-tar", but mostly he just wanted to run and frolic with all the other little kids there. That was almost as entertaining as Terri Hendrix's performance. One little boy was immediately drawn to Chris and Paxton, and the enticing game of ball they were playing. I watched from a distance as the little boy patiently showed Paxton how to catch the ball and urged him to throw it back. It was so endearing to see them interact so sweetly.

Soon, another child joined the fun. A little girl who has Downs Syndrome approached the boys. She was all in pink, and chose to watch the activity rather than joining in. She thrust her tongue, as many children with the syndrome do, and Paxton found that great fun. He, too, pushed his tongue out of his mouth. Again, it was a sweet show of interaction and innocence. The more Paxton is receptive to communicating with the world around him, the more I see his personality shine through.

We stayed for the whole show, with Paxton running in circles around our chairs, devouring his popcorn, and clapping at the end of each song. He definitely enjoyed himself, and I was so thankful that we made the time to share that as a family. He's come a long way in a year. Time is speeding by at a rate I could never have anticipated. Just today, I was watching videos taken on the morning he was born. He was so tiny. Even at nearly nine pounds, the outfit I bought for him to wear home from the hospital just hung on him. He was lost in the furry hood with blue bear ears. His hands were still wrinkled from his long months swimming inside my womb. Aside from waving his little fist like a tiny dictator, he spent most of his time taking everything in with his curious eyes. Eighteen-months-later, he seems ready to take on the world. I know I'm a sappy mom. I know I say it all the time, but his entrance into our lives brought Chris and I more joy than we ever could have predicted. In a way, we came alive again with him. Everything is new again. Everything is touched by magic. We're so blessed to have him.