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.

Happy Birthday

Paxton didn't quite know what to do with all the presents Paxton's first cake!!

The party favors It is true all the presents and they only want the BOX...

He is really concentrating on the cake!

So as you know Paxton is officially ONE YEARS OLD...it is crazy how time flies. It seems like only yesterday I was so sad to be driving yet again to the NICU to see my precious baby boy. We had a great celebration, a few family and friends. It was so funny how quiet a one year old party is...they all just sat and looked at each other. Paxton had a dog themed party and invited everyone to have a dog-gone good time at his house. The cake was precious and matched the invites, Paxton has his own personal cake to enjoy. I thought with the way he eats he would chow down, but by the time cake came he could barely smile to enjoy it. Everyone enjoyed hot dogs and ate out of their own dog bowl. Everyone received Doggie treats for their own dogs as party favors. It was such a special milestone and we have enjoyed every minute of time that he has blessed our lives, even the night times:) Also, thank you so much to Randy and Tonya without Tonya we would have no pictures of this special event.

Memorial Day...

So...I am a little behind in the postings. For Memorial Day we went to our future neighborhood of Country Ridge for a celebration. Everyone was to decorate their vehicle and meet at the flagpole. It was really neat we honored all the vets that lived in our neighborhood and then had a parade to the park for hot dogs. The funny part is that out there everyone has about 2-3 acres a piece and all the families have golf carts/mules/four wheelers to get around with, when you go out there all the kids are cruising from pool to pool in them. Paxton was kinda embarrassed in his wagon. We had to put the wagon in the truck and go that way to the park, his little wagon and mommy could not keep up with the four wheelers. On a serious note it was a great reflection on how we are so Thankful to the men and women who have and do risk their lives for our freedom...and their families too:)

Paxton's a Big Brother...

Ok...so I do know what has gotten into me...Baby Cox #2! I went to my official first OB appt and I am almost 9 weeks pregnant. So Paxton will be the big man around our house. They will be 20 months apart, so life at the Cox household should be exciting. This little Baby #2 is kicking its moms tail. I am sick and extremely tired, I am sure the tiredness is compounded by chasing a 1 year old all around. Oh yeah and did I mention our house sold and we are building another on 2 acres on Melissa which should be finished in December!! The funny/stressful part is that we are leasing our house back till Dec 31 in which case we are homeless and the official due date of baby Cox #2 is Dec. 31. I was assured by the OB that because Paxton was huge and my track history that there was no way this baby was staying in that long...do you think Dr. Riegel has Christmas plans??? Also, this is my last night to work nights, let's face it, it is extremely hard to watch everyone else sleep and then only sleep 4 hours the next day. Anyone who knows me knows I value my sleep, nice and cold with a down comforter. Well, anyway there is Cox life wrapped up into a nutshell. Did I mention Rusty has been out of town for 2 weeks:)

Honey we are Killing the Kids

Many of you may have seen the show on TLC's "Honey We are Killing the Kids"..I don't recommend it but seriously I may be on it someday. There is nothing the kid will not eat. He literally sits in the high chair half the day grazing on food. Just so you know he is not currently overweight, he is only in the tenth percent...that is a wonder. I am going to say growth spurt to make myself feel better...a year long growth spurt:) Also, please note my little Vampire. Rusty took him to the Doctor Saturday for a runny nose-yes we became one of those parents this weekend. It was a $15 appt to say your kid looks great, he has a cold, and the funniest part was that the Dr. Actually laughed at the order in which Paxton's teeth have taken to come in. He is a Vampire...hurts like crazy when he bites. He informed us this was ok, some kids, like ours, have unique quirks. As cute as of course I think he is, he desperately needs middle teeth.

Struggling

LOVE THIS PICTURE... I know Grandma Debo is going to kill my mom for putting this pic on the world wide web but she could not resist Fill-in Grandpa Neeley thought he was going to get a relaxing outside experience. Little did he know I move a mile a minute and there's no time for rest. Although the time was fun there is no time like SueSue time.

I have been stuggling on the blog lately. I am not sure what has gotten in to me:)Well, this weekend SueSue, me, and Paxton left at 0700 (nurse time) for the long trek to Belton. Paxton rode for the first time facing forward since his b-day is only a few days away and he is now 20lbs!! We went to Belton for Miss Laura Kennedy's bridal shower. It was so great to see old friends. Two in particular saved the shower, they probably think there were the lucky ones but Paxton was the REAL lucky one getting to hang out with them. Fill-in Grandma Debo had books, applesauce, and even a sippee cup...(quite impressive)! Here are so candid shots:

Aquarium

Not the best pic...I look tired and we are level 1.

A couple of weekends ago the family...Including Grandma and Big Daddy took a trip to the Dallas Aquarium. It was so fun, we blamed the trip on Paxton but really I had wanted to go. If you have never been it is really amazing!! The flamingos were Paxton's favorite attraction, I think it was there brilliant color. (It makes me really tired thinking about standing on one leg all day!)

Mommy's Helper

So funny... not only can he put it in but he can get it out!! He can brush his own teeth...there are only two!! As mommy loads the dishwasher, Pax can unload the dishwasher.

I have really started to grow up, I am so good at helping mom!! (wish you could hear mom laughing out loud)

Visit from the Grandma's

Last Monday the grandma's came up bringing Aunt Tonya and Drew for their first road trip. We had fun we went to eat and then just watched as I played and Drew viewed the ceiling. We did however manage to get a pic. Thanks for all the great summer toys you crazy grandma's.