Life has been crazy around here! I think that just a couple hours spent with me makes people stressed. Paxton is doing good and adjusting as expected. He loves Mackey, but hates Mackey and mom together. We are working on soft touches and sweet kisses. Today was my first 3 hours alone and it was manageable. You don't get to spend as much time with a new baby when you have a high maintence 18 month old. She is doing well. Her jaundice has gotten better, she has gained back 3 ounces, and she would probably sleep through the night if I would allow her too. Everything seems to be going good. Feeding is difficult for me but she seems to have the hang of it down. Someone should write a book about all the things you need to know after labor. There are all these fantastic books about the 9 months till the baby, but nothing about all the things the mom goes through after:)...and this is my second time!! We are hoping to get into the house before Dec 28th so Rusty can watch the A&M game on his brand new plasma t.v. (it is not looking very promising). I am beginning to have anxiety with all the boxes (packed and not packed), the curtains that are not done, the make shift room Mackey has in our bed room, and the fact that Santa may have to go to SueSue and Grandpats home instead of Brookhollow Circle. We are managing however and I am reminded to be thankful for 2 healthy children and to stop and make sure and enjoy the reason for the season. It is not about all the above anxiety, but about Jesus.

Mackey Elizabeth

One proud little brother... Our precious Christmas gift After delivery...looking a little tired Going home... My bow woman... I have waited a long time to put bows on my girl.

Special Delivery

WELCOME

MACKEY ELIZABETH COX

December 11,2006 at 10:12 p.m.,

6 lbs. 0 oz., 19 1/2 "

Breakdown of events:

Sunday after church Rusty begins to finish installation of irrigation system at Brookhollow Circle and I continue to paint Mackey's new room. The pattern appears to be easy and cute but turns into 3 weekends and lots of favors from friends. Sunday night Paxton has a 103.4 fever and he and I lay on the couch and watch Polar Express while Rusty is at church, I begin to feel uncomfortable cramps...nothing hospital worthy, so I ignore and they go away. 9:00 p.m. Rusty and I cleaned entire house, I went to the grocery store, and washed all the clothes. On Monday morning Paxton and I head to the pediatrician were they test him for Flu and RSV still Paxton is with 102.0 fever. The test luckily both come back negative. That afternoon at 2:00 Rusty meets me at the OB for my 37 week appt...we're officially full term and never expected to make it this far!!! Dr. Riegel checks me and I am 4 cm dilated and 50% effaced. Yeah!! He then tells me that due to my weirdness and that I have really yet to feel contractions that I should go the hospital and be monitored and that I could not go home to get anything just in case. I call our great friends Danny and Jessica White and ask them to come get Paxton and take him until we figure out if this is arrival day, and since he has 102.0 temp he cannot be around the new baby until he is 24 hours fever free. Upon arrival to the hospital which is across the street from the OB office. I am 6cm and having contractions every one minute...still feeling nothing. At 7cm I am "forced" to take the epidural despite not feeling anything because Rusty and my mom said that I would regret this decision at 9cm...which I am thankful for loved ones who look out for me. At 10:12p.m. Mackey entered the world. It is so amazing when you do pregnancy/birth right. Rusty and I were so blessed by God to have two precious babies. Rusty's parents were able to make it in time and Mackey and Big Daddy share the same birthday...Happy birthday to you...she was the best birthday present he has ever received, I bet!! Paxton came up on Wed. morning as they were throwing us out the door and he has been in love ever since. He has made the transition very well and thinks she is so much fun. They must have talked because the both absolutely hate to have their diapers changed. We are loving life these last two days... we have already ventured to Target, Fudruckers, San Marcos grill, and the construction site. The second child has proven to be much easier due to less stress about worrying if your baby is functioning. Thank you so much to all who came to see us, those who called, the meals you will make, and the prayers we have received.

THE CRIER

Ok...so we have been a little busy!! I have a funny story that I feel is blog worthy so I am back tracking a bit. Last Sunday we went to Sunday school to drop Pac-Man off at the nursery. Many of you know that he cries a lot and has nightmares about the church nursery. I like to compliment myself and say it is because he loves me so much a cannot bear to be away from me..we all know this behavior is not healthy. Well, this cute little lady comes up to another cute lady (all the while Rusty and I are standing within ear shot) and says "Is this that crier you were talking about?" and the cute lady replies "yes." Well, I am tough and so is Rusty but nobody wants the crier to be their child. So we are working on seperation anxiety and I bringing the Sunday school teachers Christmas presents to help them relax. I just wanted to document this so that someday when Paxton wants nothing to do with us I can remind him he WAS the crier.

The Family...minus Leah who is in Paris and Blair who had to work. "Future Horticulturist" like Grandpat Me with my best friend Scooter...we share kisses and food. Giving a Victory Smile after the BIG AGGIE WIN...

For Thanksgiving since mom could not travel, we celebrated with the Pigg family at SueSue and Grandpat's house. It was very overwhelming...people everywhere. I took a huge liking to Neil...he was my running buddy. We had smoked, fried, and baked turkey with Grandpats special sauce. Piggly Wiggly (Grandma Pigg) was there I loved when she read to me. I really enjoyed giving Aunt Mary a hard time, I would not let her even touch me..I thought it was so funny letting her try and hug me. Uncle John took me into the woods and for a walk while I rode my bicycle. Uncle Kyle was there and I had not seen him in awhile...sorry the pic of us was so terrible. All in all it was great and it ended with a HUGE victory for the Aggies...my dad was so excited!!! It was so fun with Analeise there who instead of choosing to be an Aggie next year will be a T sipper. It was so great to see everyone and hang out as a family. I got to spend more time in the back yard than I could ever dream of...

Curly

For Mackey's Christmas present Mommy and Daddy decided to let me build her a teddy bear at the "Build A Bear". I picked out the cutest bear ever and then decided I did not want to give it up...so I built myself and Mackey a bear. Hers is exactly the same except with pink bows on her ears and mine is manly. I have slept every night with Curly and taken him with me to SueSue's so that I can sleep in the afternoon. After all the company and playing I did this week Curly and I needed a cat nap in the car, I was even snoring.

Playing with Cuz'

Randy, Tonya, and Drew came up to see us for the weekend. We had so much fun relaxing and shopping at the mall. I just loved lil' Drew, even though he weighs about 3 more lbs. than I do. I loved hugging him and Laying in his lap. Unfortunately he did not enjoy me in his lap. They are also building a house right next door to Grandma and Big Daddy...boy will we rule the street then....

Updated Pic of the House

Folks...Our builder still says Dec. 20th is the day we can book the movers. I will be induced the 17th...(hopefully) so we are right on schedule to make it in before Christmas!!! The brick is up and we are excited, it is still nerve racking because there is a lot left to do.

Moving

Check out the belly... Check out the muscles...

So as you guys all know: having a baby in about three weeks, moving, and building a house...kinda stressful. But the most stressful part is having a VERY active 17 month old. Though he brings many laughs everyday he is the definition of MESS. Anyone who is around understands that getting anything productive done with Paxton around is nearly impossible. This last weekend Grandpat and Rusty were getting all the stuff done from the attic and I out of the corner of my eye noticed that Paxton had some confidence in climbing that attic ladder. After the 3rd successful step with no hesitation, I decided I better stand behind him in case he fell. Needless to say my child successfully climbed all the way up with absolutely no HELP. We can't leave him anywhere alone. We have already picked out the perfect gate for the new house stairs.

The "LUCKY" sucker

Happy Halloween!! Paxton was a FROG and a pretty unhappy one at that. We were so excited about taking him to the church carnival...Brant, the monkey, came up for the big occassion. (His mom and dad think that coming to McKinney from Dallas is like going to Oklahoma). What we thought would be so much fun for a monkey and a frog ended up not being their idea of fun. Apparently waiting in lines for a sucker is not cool. After the first game...the two were DONE. It was also the only cold night of October so the outside bounce houses were out of the question. So we learned...frogs don't do trick or treating. Pregnant mom was expecting Paxton to win her lots of candy, but she was let down when he won one sucker and then was done.

Our House

Well, hopefully we are making progress. We have designed cabinets, pick out doors, and there is supposed to be sheet rock and brick this weekend. Our builder says with a smile that hopefully we will be in the house by Dec. and I with a smile remind him that I am due in 8 weeks:)

This is the look of a child about to cause trouble. He is our little "biter". When he is frustrated, he just bites.

Pumpkin Patch

Well, Bill Bates Pumpkin Patch is always a blast. Lately the weather has been in the 80's but of course the one day that my friends and I ventured out there it was in the 40's. We had great plans for picnics and pictures in costumes, but after our children began coughing and having flu like symptoms in the cold, we decided to be responsible moms and head to Chick Fil A. Paxton LOVED the petting zoo...I think he thought that the goats were giant Scooter (Paxton's beloved Jack Russell). They actually do look like him. My child is no longer a camera hog and getting him to smile for the camera is nearly impossible. We had a very brief stay at the patch, so now in all our spare time we will have to head back out there with daddy:)

First Hair Cut

We finally cut the mullet. Paxton is no longer business up front, party in back.

My little Buckaroo

It's hard fitting into your mom's hat...luckily he has a giant head still!! We are into fruit snacks lately...and that is it. We have been extremely stressed by our child's lack of eating. To this day he has yet to eat meat!!!

We love CARS!!! We were stuck in the car dept at Toys 'R Us for at least an hour trying all the different ones out. Can you see how much one of these puppies cost???...it's a monthly car payment.

Long time no BLOG!!! We lost the camera charger causing blog sabbatical. We have been BUSY bees at our house. Where do I begin:

1) We are 41% on the completion of our house...states the loan:)

2) We are (according to Dr. Riegel) 8 or so weeks out from the birth of

Mackey!!! (very scary since we are way behind in packing)

3) We officially packed 8 boxes last night, painted 3 rocking chairs,

painted Paxton's big boy bed, and painted a play table.

All of which were different colors, if I sand one more thing to be painted I may have a husband go on sabbatical too!!

4) Officially started time-out. Apparently I use the word "NO" too often

and my child now tells me "NO"... it was cute the first time.

**** My lesson of motherhood is to never say "my child will never do

that" or "they must not discipline well"...these comments bite

you back hard. Sometimes it is better to ignore than discipline in public because that makes more trouble.

5) I have gained a total of 15 lbs. now, 24 weeks is the magic number for

explosion. Sorry Abbey no pregnant pictures this week.

6) A&M has officially become a BAD football team.

7) The couch we recovered is still not finished and I have now decided

I would rather work extra to pay for someone to make the curtains than try to sew my own curtains.

These are just a few of the many thoughts/projects running wild in my head. The Super Nanny book did not teach me much so if anyone knows any really good discipline books...I am all ears.

Foundation

It has been a crazy time lately...but I cannot figure out why??? Paxton is still a mamma's boy so we are trying to work out the separation anxiety, church nursery is always a huge meltdown. He is ALL over the place. He must see his mom on the phone a lot because now he walks around the house with the fake cell phone up to his ear and babbles, kinda scary how much they pick up on. Mackey is a busy body, but only at night when I am trying to go to sleep. We have our 24 week appointment today, hopefully everything is ok considering I have not really gained any weight, we will be addressing this question today. But the greatest news of all the foundation is poured on the house and a phone call from my dad 5 minutes ago informed me that the bottom floor is completely framed...so we are moving right along for a December move in date...yeah. Hopefully we can start packing soon...we seem to have filled up every weekend so far. We are looking forward to September 29-31 for Rusty and I's big trip to College Station for the Tech game with all our friends. We are staying in a house that Olivia and Doug recently bought at Pebble Creek. There is only electricity and water though so lots of blow up mattresses and good hang out time with the Brewer and Wall families. Thank goodness Whitey (Grandma Searight) has finally healing from her hip surgery and has made it to rehab...GET BETTER SOON WHITEY!!!!(I know she checks this because she informs me when she needs an update.) Well, hopefully the building will continue at a good speed and we can finally start packing soon.

This weekend we headed to Liberty City for half the weekend, it was a fast trip but we had a blast. Friday night we ate and then hung out with some old friends. Saturday Grandma, Tonya, and I with the boys headed to Wamart to get some pictures of the boys together. NEVER AGAIN...Walmart was a complete disaster. Not only was Paxton not in the mood but the Walmart system and their packages are horrible. I don't think my pregnant moody self and the photographer were ever on the right page nor were we understanding one another. After a stressful day at Walmart we came home to Great Grandma Kal's awesome homemade ice cream, watched an X Box football championship and then went to celebrate Chad and Kelly's 10 yr celebration of youth ministry. A lot in two days but we had so much fun hanging out with the family.

We Can Walk

First time at McDonalds Play area...he thought he was such a big boy!! It is so amazing the way kids work...one day we crawl everywhere, the next day we are clumsy, and the next day we walk like we have been walking for years. Here are a couple pics of Paxton since he has acquired his new skill.

Permanent Marker Attack

I am not sure if you can see this problem. He has never been able to take a pen cap off, like a crazy mom a give him a sharpie. I hear Rusty say "Oh my gosh" and pray it is not on the carpet of the house we now rent. Luckily Paxton just had it all over the right side of his body and after a couple scrubs it came off. This mother will never give her child a sharpie again. Anyone who is or has been a mother knows that sometimes you just give them what they want to "go away"-not actually but give them something to occupy their mind while you try to blog. This is why there have not been many blogging pics lately. No matter what I give him it can be used for destruction.

Moving Dirt

Let the Building Begin... we officially have moved dirt. This is an old picture from last week, we have some pipes in the ground and anxiously await the foundation. We are scared to ask our builder if he still thinks a December deadline:) We will keep you updated on the progress.

It's a...

Right as we were signing off... she waved good bye! The lack of a boy part!! The 3d face with her sucking her thumb.

Introducing

Mackey Elizabeth Cox

Break out the bows, pink, and everything else girl. I went to the 3d/4d sonogram a couple weeks ago and the lady informed me that she was 90% sure we are having a girl. Anyone who knows the girls in my family knows we are already having fun. I just hope Dr. Riegel says the same thing, my gut instinct was right again. Rusty thought it was a girl to the very day before the sono and then decided the day before it was a boy. It's a good thing because we were struggling with the boy name. It was so funny during the sonogram, they had to call in help and the professionals because Mackey was so active, pray for me!! I will have to post some of the fun purchases that have already been made.

* the theme for the room is vintage: I have purchased old vintage hankies and tea cups to start the room off... Hope she has one since 22 Brookhollow Circle has still seen no action.

Vacation from the Vacation?

At the beach, do we look tired?? This was the main problem, Paxton wanted to eat the sand.

So Rusty and I had this great idea to go on this incredibly inexpensive trip to a place we knew nothing about, Sarasota Florida. Having never traveled with a 1 year old and thinking how great it would be for Paxton to see that we went on a vacation prior to another baby we ventured off.

Plane ride to Florida: Paxton was never still not even Baby Einstein could do it, but still manageable.

The next few days : Pack a lunch, get all the beach gear and head to the beach for about 30 mintues, go back Paxton take a nap and start all over again, Paxton sleep in bed and pee in bed 2 out of 3 nights, linen change....really sleepy parents.

One night in Tampa: a horrible Paxton. Dinner to go and embarassment in front of George Steinbrener ( he sat behind us at the restaurant and gave me a sympathetic smile)

Home: We need a vacation from our vacation. Don't get me wrong we had a great time just being together with the beautiful beach to look at. However there will be no more vacations with 1 or 2 year olds. We learned several things about Paxton this trip: He is no longer a baby but a very head strong toddler and that he is incredibly loyal to the red crib in his room.

Where do we start!!! 2 weeks ago we headed to Belton for the big Kennedy wedding. Paxton, SueSue, and I left on Wednesday. We had so much fun running errands and seeing the old gang. We LOVED the time we spent with the Neeley family, I even saw Zach whom I had not seen in forever. Debbie became Paxton's new girlfriend...his heart skipped a beat around her. He was so spoiled by them, and Paxton was so lucky not to have to make all the errands. And of course what would a trip to Belton without Marta's be??? SueSue and I cleared them out, we just happened to be there for the BIG sale. The wedding was beautiful out a Tenroc Ranch and it was so fun to talk to old friends...Laura Haun, love that girl:) It was a great week, not much relaxation but great hanging out in the old stomp'in grounds.

My sweet boy, at 9:30p.m. Uncle Kyle trying REALLY hard to entertain Trying to figure out how much brownie can fit!!

Gone are the days when Paxton can go with me to the store or salon. When he was a baby we could not wait till he played and smiled...don't get me wrong, but....those days of sleeping in the baby carrier are GONE (and I miss them). We ventured out to the mall for the first time in awhile...and now the last time in awhile. He was terrible. I needed some new shirts for the growing belly and Paxton would have none of it. SueSue, Uncle Kyle and myself were all physically and mentally exhausted by Paxton at the mall. Uncle Kyle was extremely gracious and gave me a couple minutes to actually look around, but it was still a nightmare. He has caught an attitude: car keys, cell phones,THEY don't work anymore. And of course he would not sleep in the nice cozy stroller, but you would know the minute his bottom hit the car seat he went to sleep the little booger. We have learned that he is extremely sensitive. Whenever Rusty tells him no he gets beside himself, I must not bring the force because he shakes his head no at me and continues. This must be one of those growing stages all must adapt too...I miss you baby carrier. Did I mention he has a new bedtime of 10:00!!! We have done the crying thing it goes on for hours, We let him up for our own sanity. Here are a couple pics!!

We're back

" Entertaining himself" The best book ever invented My Sweetie Pie!!

We're back...we have been rather busy, I am not sure what we have been doing but we have been doing something. We are still not walking but I hear this is a blessing. We have not been sick at all the entire first year and then the year came...breathing treatments and horrible diarrhea for 8 days (the kind where you cut the clothes off)...thanks to Abby, Sarah, and Tiff who on our girls day "lay out at the pool" got to help me clean up Paxton's issues every hour. I truly appreciate it!! I am helping coach a soccer camp at church, 15 weeks pregnancy and blazing hot sun do not mix:) We have missed SueSue and Grandpat as they have taken a trip to Mexico. The good news is: our brick has arrived at 26 Brookhollow Circle...so let's start building. Here are some candid shots of Paxton around the house. He absolutely loves to read, my mom bought this book were you record your voice and the child can read and turn the pages all by their self: I highly recommend, it gains me an extra 10 minutes a day. We have had a number of toys in the corner of the living room for months now, and yesterday it was as Santa had arrived and Paxton finally figured out/remembered they were there, so throughout the day lately I see him over there playing away. We also are no longer a vampire as you can see, Paxton's middle teeth have arrived. Paxton was thrilled to have a chair that was his size. He sits in it and just looks at the arm rests in disbelief that it could fit him so perfectly, thanks Big Daddy and Grandma!!

We will be heading to Belton for the Kennedy wedding, I can't wait to be there for a week and catch up with old friends... Hope all is well!!

Sick:(

So every time I usually take Mr. Paxton to the Dr. is not really sick, but today was a different story. He has bronchilitis?...so fun breathing treatments every four hours for a week!! Gratefully his is a mild case and he is expected to recover fully... and I don't have to wake him up a night. He is so dramatic as a sick child. I don't think his feet have hit the floor in three days, he is a permanent attachment to his mother's right hip. The fun thing is that Paxton is not a cuddly baby at all, always on the move, and he is so cuddly as a sick baby. Mom is loving it! He even slept/cuddled in bed with us last night because we were worried about him. I thought all would need to see his really cute dinosaur breathing treatment mask and his sad face...it is not as pitiful as he is making it look!!

Birthday Party #2

What did you say another party...presents!! Only a daddy could help do this job!! Don't bother me, I am trying to show Drew something!

Well...this weekend was the first time we have ever left Paxton for more than 24 hours. Thursday night we drove to Emory to meet Big Daddy and Grandma so they could keep him for the weekend. Rusty and I headed to San Antonio for Kate Osborn Martin's baby shower...baby Annabelle is due soon. We had so much fun, we shopped all Friday in San Marcos and then enjoyed fun fellowship Saturday with the Martins and Walls. The boys played golf and the girls shopped after the shower. Like old times, we loved hanging out with cherished friends. Then after a 6 hour drive to East Texas we celebrated with Rusty's family Paxton's birthday again. Big Daddy and Grandma were in Alaska for the June 10th birthday so we had a make up one. Gave us an excuse to eat cake and see Baby Drew again! So it was a cross Texas tour that ended Monday with our 12th week OB appt to hear Baby #2's heartbeat. Beating strong at 166! It was a great weekend and though we missed Paxton we loved hanging out with each other and old friends. We are so blessed!

Special note: I will inform you that upon arriving to Grandma's house my precious boy wanted nothing to do with his mommy...he only had eyes for his DAD. I told myself that it was because it was Father's Day and Paxton has the best dad ever!!! (gives him baths, does manly things, and puts him to bed...much more too) However, after a couple hours he only wanted his mommy so that made up for earlier, even sleeping in bed and cuddling with her for the first time ever.