Sleepy Paxton, August 2008.

Sleepy Packy, November 2009.

Paxton immediately jumped in this when he saw it.

Checking out a peacock.

Two monkeys watching two other monkeys.

Playful tigers.

Taking a dip.

Packy with the curious tortoise.

He's only 20 years old.

Friends!

Paxton's meets a pig.

Majestic lion, smelling food in the air.

Feeding the offenders with Daddy.

One at a time.

Checking out the train with Daddio.

Mommy and Paxton getting ready for a train ride!

Beautiful boy!

Contemplating the scenery on the train ride.

Feeding a hungry little deer.

My all-time favorite animal at the Austin Zoo--the snaggle-toothed llama!

My new second favorite--a snaggle-toothed angora goat.

Happily exhausted on the drive home.

Second Trip to the Zoo

Chris and I took Paxton to the Austin Zoo for the second time this month. It's one of my favorite spots in Austin, because all of the animals are rescue animals. It's much smaller than a typical zoo, so some guests are apparently disappointed. As the mother of a toddler who tires easily, a smaller zoo is a better option. Even with it's relatively diminutive size, we still didn't get to see all of the animals, but still enjoyed ourselves immensely.

The first time we took Paxton to this zoo, he was only about nine-months-old. He definitely didn't get the full experience. I'm not sure he even noticed that there were animals. The visit was primarily just a nice place to spend the day with a friend of ours. Her daughter is older than Paxton, and I loved seeing her go from animal to animal, making their sounds. I looked forward to the day when Paxton would be able to do the same.

With the blistering heat of the summer, we opted out of many outdoor experiences this year. The weather in November was much nicer, although I was still sweating by the end of the visit. That's par for the course for this transplated Pennsylvania girl. Paxton was happy with the visit, but we significantly cut into his naptime, so he began to get a bit cranky before we wrapped up our day.

We got to see monkeys, playful tigers, lions, brown bears, curious tortoises, parrots, vultures, lemurs and more, more, more! Paxton was interested in all of them. He got a happy surprise when we showed him the little train we were going to ride around the park. He and Daddy checked it out while we waited to board. Paxton's eyes were wide through the whole trip. He was so sweet.

Only one thing trumped the train ride for Paxton--the opportunity to feed the goats. He was nervous at first, but as he watched Mommy and Daddy feed them with ease, he became more bold. It took some practive to figure out the right way to offer the food. He developed his own solution by offering them one piece at a time. There's nothing like stretching out the fun of a good experience by letting a toddler take the reins. I used to really enjoy having a nice dinner. Now the length of those dinners has doubled as our distracted little boy takes mini-bites between arranging his Hot Wheels and Thomas the Tank Engine magnets just so. Feeding the animals was fun at first. After Paxton had at it for a while, I wandered off bored to sit on a bench. Daddy was more patient, and the two of them fed goats, deer, llamas and sheep quite happily.

We knew our day was wrapping up when a goat grabbed Paxton's bag of food through the fence and he melted down in utter dismay. Even when we got the food back, he was inconsolable. He looked at the guilty goat with accusations of betrayal in his little eyes. No wildlife was to be forgiven that day. We loaded up in the car and headed to Sonic for a lunch-on-the-go before we returned home for naptime. All in all, we had a wonderful family day of fun!

A New Generation of Friends

Most of my friends began motherhood years before me. I got married when I was 28, and didn't have Paxton until I was 33. That's later than the average, and in some cases, far later than many of my friends. Doing my psychology studies, I learned that the closer a couple is to the age of 30 when they get married (for the first time, I assume), the more likely the marriage is to survive. On the flip side, though, the later a woman waits to conceive, the more likely she is to have problems with fertility. In my mind, I imagined that I would break all the societal rules by having a baby out of wedlock in my mid-20s and then getting married at 30. There were some holes in my plan, though. I didn't meet anyone with whom I wanted to have a child until I met Chris when I was 25. I knew right away that I wanted to marry him. But I'm a commitment-phobe who isn't so good at taking leaps of faith. It seems Chris mirrored my fears, because our courtship lasted over three years. And, as predicted, it wasn't at all easy to conceive and then maintain a pregnancy. God did His glorious work, though, and on December 19th, 2007, Paxton William was born.

I said all that to say this--all of my friends who have kids Paxton's age are new friends. I've met them since Paxton was born, and I thank God for them every single day. They are amazing people and I adore them. I don't rue the fact that my longtime friends and I were not in synch in our motherhood timing. But something in my heart just burst forth with happiness when I recently visited one of my best friends, Rebecca. Her son, Max, was born the same year that Chris and I began dating. He was a delicious, chubby, cherubic baby. He couldn't have been any cuter. Over the years, I've listened to Rebecca's hilarious stories about Max's antics. He's always been so smart and unique. I loved hearing about his latest adventures. And watching him take my little Paxton under his wing the last time we visited was such a sweet blessing.

From the playground, the four of us walked to Max's school's Fall Festival. As if he had done it every day of his life, Max grabbed Paxton's hand and led the way. This was the first time anyone other than family had taken charge of Paxton in that way. At first, he looked a little confused, but he quickly rolled with it. The two of them walked off, hand in hand, together. I must have taken a hundred pictures. I loved seeing my child connect with the child of my best friend of 21 years! It was a really special moment.

His prized pumpkin of goodies.

Hanging out with Daddy and some free food.

Pouting over something or other.

Showing off a particularly nice rock.

The rock garden held more appeal than the real games.

Bouncing with a fairy princess at the Baptist Church Fest.

YAY! Bouncing!

The boys head back to the car after a long day.

The Great Pumpkin made Paxton understandably nervous.

While out, we ran into our old neighbor friend, Hobson. We love him!

My favorite costumes of the night! So cool!

Our cutie friends, Amy, Zach and Tatum!

A giraffe kissing a giraffe.

And now giraffe #2 gets a kiss of his own!

This family was so cute. Their little cowardly lion was only a couple of weeks old. Reminded me of how I took Paxton to check out the lights at Emily Ann Theatre on Christmas Eve when he was just five-days-old. BTW, how does Dorothy look this good only two weeks after giving birth?!

Carmen, Harper and the infamous "Gla".

The annual Daddy and their Boys Halloween shot.

And the Mommys and their Boys. :)

Our friend, Tammi, her cutie Abilene, and her adorable husband whose name slips my mind currently. John?

Daddy takes Paxton up close to the spider he's admired for so many weeks.

The family shot by the pumpkin, Year Two!

The light wasn't good, but I still like the shot.

The giraffe pack.

They were like twins!

Heading out to the party!