Last Red Chair pictures for the year...

I write this with a mixture of joy and sadness. When I decided that I would take and share pictures of Jax each month in the infamous Red Chair, I knew that it was going to take some serious dedication on my part (and, quiet frankly, memory power that I don't have). But here we are one year later and I've done it...I have wrestled this little monkey into the chair each month and weaseled blog worthy smiles out of him! And as thankful as I am that we are now moving to a bi-yearly photo shoot...I am sad. Sad that a year has flown by, sad that those moments are gone, sad that my "baby" is no longer a baby. (insert sniffling sounds here)

But there are some cool things going on with this big kid. He is sooo close to walking that Justin can hardly stand it! He has taken steps multiple times only to realize that-son of a gun--we let go of his hands...and he drops to the floor! I know that I have mentioned before that Jax talks all of the time...but I think I just had no idea what exactly "all of the time" meant...but I do now! He talks and talks...about the dogs, to the books and trees and what he sees while we are driving...he talks. And his newest conversational trick is to emphasize his point with hand gestures! It cracks me up to watch/hear him...."dadada gog uh uh dat....oohh" all with his hands windmilling at his sides. And I know that I don't need to tell you all this...but he really is a great kid and We are fortunate to have him.

Here's a look at just how far he's come....

First Family Photo

First Red Chair Picture

Happy Birthday to you!!

"Blowing out" the candle on his actual birthday

yummy frosting...he loves to take his time and enjoy his treat. No cake smashing here!

Brushing his teeth with Aunt B-getting ready for his party!

Cutie boy clothes? Check...Hair done? Check...Time to Party!

Playing with his Poppa Bob and the new water table! Clothes are starting to come off...must be a good party! ;0

Clothes?? Who needs clothes??

Jaxon's birthday was amazing. He was a trooper and made it through the entire day with out any major meltdowns. And considering he only had one nap, it's an even bigger accomplishment! This lucky little boy was celebrated by all of his family and many of his friends. Jax loved all of his presents and Justin and I love that we have so many more things to keep him entertained and wear him out!! Thanks to everyone who came to celebrate his first year!

(and my camera died early on so if you have pictures...please share!)

Happy St. Patrick's Day

For Jax' first St. Patrick's day the weather was gorgeous! We spent the day running errands for his upcoming 1st birthday party and playing outside in the sunshine! I improvised a water table and threw some plastic balls, cups and water into a plastic container. Who knew that a plastic cup and some water could entertain the kid long enough for me to get some color on my skin! ;)

Later that night we went to the fire station to have a traditional St. Patty's dinner with Daddy. Too bad the corned beef and cabbage sounded much better than it smelled (thank you pregnancy nose!) So Jax enjoyed dinner and I stood by the window! Never the less we had a great first Green day with the buddy!

School Bus driver...

Watch out! Jax' is behind the wheel! For Jaxon's first birthday Justin and I decided that we needed to get a sturdy toy to encourage this kids climbing obsession. I wanted it to be small enough that it can be an indoor/outdoor toy, this way it gives me a little bit more variety to our day! (blocks and books get old...for me, not Jax!) Luckily it came a week early-and right smack in the middle of a velcro-baby day! As soon as Justin got home from work he and Jax started the construction phase (and I got some much needed baby-free time!)

All along the way, Jax was right next to Justin trying to get his little hands on the drill or hammer. He also had to test out the construction quality as they went along. He needed to make sure the platform was sturdy and that the slide worked...before it was all put together!! Crazy kid. For the next couple of days, each time he woke up he made a crawling bee line for that bus!

What I like about you....

This video cracks me up for two reasons. 1. It's a great showcase of Jax' new dance moves...he's got the sway down! and 2. He loves music cards...but he Looooves this one! He literally carries it around the house. Which means that the song is perpetually in my head! ;) He really is turning into quiet the little dancer. Jax'll even stop crawling to give a little booty shake mid-transit if the mood strikes him!

Tape measures are FUN!

New toy

Thanks to the recent rain and chilly temperatures, we've had to get a little more creative when it comes to keeping Jax entertained and wearing him out throughout the day! He was given a bag of 100 plastic balls for Christmas and those paired with a pack-n-play we no longer use has equalled at pretty good (well confined) time! He loves to try moving around and has figured out that throwing all of the balls out of the p-n-p is a pretty good time! Poor Halli...it's driving her nuts to have all of these wonderful balls to chase and she keeps getting yelled at! But this is what adds to Jaxon's fun...playing fetch with Hal is one of his favorites!