Paxton's First Birthday!

Paxton turned one on the fifteenth. I know, my baby is one and I am still freaking out about it! We had a few close friends (which we were grateful for because everyone was headed out of town for Christmas break!) over to celebrate with pizza and cake. Paxton loved all the attention and really seemed to enjoy his first birthday. Here are the birthday boys stats:

Weight: 22.25 pounds (40%)
Height: 30.5 inches (75%)

At age one, Paxton can:
*Wave on command
* Make "the angry face" on command
* Clap on command
* Take 4-6 steps before falling
* Climb up anything
* Get into standing position from sitting
* Say "Mama" and "Dadda"
* Raise his arms so we know he is done eating
* Will laugh to answer yes, to a yes/no question

Ready for some pizza!

Colton insisted on helping him eat the cake...

I didn't want to take him upstairs for a bath.... we opted for the kitchen sink.

Kind friends brought fun gifts for the little man!

I took some pictures of my boys....

Happy Birthday to the cutest one year old I know!

Love you Paxton!!!

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree

We got our first tree this year (we have always been traveling so we didn't need to get one)! I love having one, it makes it feel way more Christmas-ey in the house. I put black and white pictures all over the tree-- some may think it's odd but, I love looking at the tree and remembering other favorite Christmas memories.

Anyone need a Pilates instructor? I have two that work for 2 cookies/ an hour. Let me know.

The Children's Museum

While home for Thanksgiving, we made a stop at the Everett Children's Museum. Colton was over whelmed with all the fun things to do but he settled right in and had a blast. Paxton also had a great time playing with a few things but mostly being carried around by Grandpa and Grandma. If you live in the Everett area, going here is a must!

There was a huge table with all of these plastic tubes. I had a good laugh when I noticed my dad just sat Paxton on the table and let him go crazy!

They had a mini stage where you could watch yourself on TV. Colton controlling all the lights and sound effects in this picture.

Paxton was loving this giant sized Connect 4 game.

Biggest water tables I have ever seen!

I wish Paxton was looking up in this picture!

Driving the commuter transit bus.

    

Santa made an appearance and Colton gave him a high five!

Pax wasn't sure about the guy with the beard...

Grandpa's Work

Colton has been very intrigued by airplanes as of late so we thought it would be fitting to head over to Boeing's flight center. We had a great time learning more about Boeing and Colton was in heaven playing pilot in the mock cockpit.

Looking at Boeing field from the roof of the flight center.

Grandpa, Colton, Dad, Mom

 

Colton playing with the plane/car set.

 Paxton posing with Grandpa and Grandma B!

Enjoying the movie about Boeing's new Dream Liner.

We couldn't get Colton out of this cockpit.... perhaps he will be a pilot some day!

A new coat

The Rexburg winters are brutal and a good coat is a must have. Grandma and Grandpa Lybbert purchased this awesome coat for Paxton. I like that it makes him look extra chubby.

Getting packed

While I was upstairs packing for our trip to Seattle, the boys were having a free for all in the pantry...

The Robot

Colton has always been a dancer. Recently, he has picked up on doing the robot.... here is a taste of his sweet dance moves!

Plasma

I have been donating plasma to make some extra cash for Christmas (two kids is twice the presents!). After donation, they wrap you with an electric colored spandexy material to apply pressure where the needle was. EVERY TIME I come home, Colton runs over to me and says "Owwwwww-ey!" Then he runs up stairs and grabs a band aid for his arm so we can be twins.

Trick-Or-Treat

Because we live in Rexburg, trick-or-treating was moved from Sunday to Saturday. My birthday was also on Saturday so we didn't have tons of time to trick-or-treat but Colton loved every minute of it! He walked right up to every door and would say "tri or treaaaa!" he would then wait for the person to put a handful of candy into his bag. At the same time, he would reach up and attempt to take a handful of candy out of the bowl. It was a bit of a nightmare but he seemed to understand the knocking on someones door and get candy concept quickly.

Church Halloween Party

Colton and Paxton had lots of fun at our church Halloween party. They didn't have trick-or-treating for the kids which I was a bit sad about but they did have a cake wale, balloon animals, and face painting which all the kids LOVED. The highlight of the night was when they attempted to get all the kids to do a costume parade around the room. Colton had a different idea in mind, the second the music turned on he started jumping up and down and it turned into a toddler mosh pit. We all had a good laugh at the kids dancing hard core to Halloween music!

 My wild animals.

 The ONLY picture I could get with Colton wearing the hood.

 Colton waiting for the cake walk to start.

 Colton was super stoked about the balloon sword she made for him.

 A cute little lion trying to walk!

 This picture makes me laugh because you can see how BIG the lion head is in the back!

Las Vegas

We just returned from a week of FUN in Las Vegas with one of my best friends Joy! She needed some family pictures and we needed a visit so we killed two birds with one stone. I flew from Idaho Falls with the two boys by myself (yes, it was crazy) and we all had a blast. The kids played and so did Joy and I! We went shopping, to the aquarium, the fabric store, and of course, we ate some yummy food. The trip was a total success until we we were walking through the Vegas airport on our way home. Colton had a MAJOR meltdown because I wouldn't let him (well, the law wouldn't) play the slot machines. That didn't happen once, it happened twice.Yes, I was the mom in the airport that had the out of control child. It became increasingly difficult because I was trying to hold Paxton and pick Colton up off the ground while carrying boarding passes, stuffed animals, and a backpack.

All of the kids!

 The boys in a single stroller, they were not so happy about sharing the stroller--it was a tight fit.

 Colton in front of a Komodo dragon, he didn't want to leave!

 Paxton enjoying all the fish at the aquarium.

 

The boys enjoyed some chocolate shakes from In N Out...

 ... Paxton enjoying MY burger from In N Out. I tried to fend him off but it wasn't working.

 The boys enjoying "daddy toast" AKA toast with cinnamon and sugar!

Picasso Pumpkins

Colton and I decided to do an art project for Halloween. I cut out the shapes and in a pin the tail on the donkey type fashion, Colton assembled the pumpkins on our door. He loved it so much he gave his pumpkins a kiss! Paxton was more than happy to play with the scraps of paper... I tired to stand him up to help put some eyes on a pumpkin but he just wanted the long scraps of paper.

What the Lybbert's are up to...

School started in early September for both Parker and me. Parker is doing his cap stone courses which means 400 level courses and A LOT of homework! He seems to be enjoying all his classes despite the insane work load. On top of school, Parker's professor from last semester personally asked him to write the text book for the classes he is teaching this semester. Parker writes a chapter or two a few, the teacher proofs it/edits it, and then is using it in his classroom within days of Parker handing it to him to edit! Parker has got nothing but praise from this professor and we anticipate him making an excellent reference in the future!

I am taking 8 credits this semester. I took 7 last semester and thought it was plenty... somehow I ended up with more than I wanted. School is going well for me and I am working toward a degree in Interior Design. I haven't started the core classes for design, I am just getting all the generals out of the way so I can continue to take between 6-8 credits when I do start the program

Colton is making great progress with his speech and I would say he right about where he should be developmentally (for those of you who don't know, Colton was only saying 8 or 10 words when he turned two which is pretty far behind where he should have been). He is putting two word sentences together and is now able to repeat words when we ask him. He's had to speech therapists and they are both stumped as to why he wasn't talking in the first place (they think he was choosing not to speak for no reason). Colton is such a character, he makes us laugh everyday. He knows his shapes, colors, several number and letters.

Paxton is crawling, pulling up on furniture and starting to balance on two feet without holding on to anything. He is going to be walking soon! And, starting today, he has been fighting back when Colton wrestles with him. Colton tackled him today and Paxton wiggled out from underneath him and started crawling on top of Colton. Colton didn't know what hit him!  I am excited for those two, I think they are going to be buddies.

And now, for some exciting news... Avery Dennison (a fortune 500 company) scouts the country (through several universities) for finance majors to put into a program they run called FLDP (Financial Leader Development Program). Parker has made it into the top 20 and will be interviewing in Southern California, November 11th for the coveted positions (they only choose 3 or 4 from the 20)! This is an AMAZING opportunity and we are grateful that Parker made it into the top 20. If chosen, Parker (and of course myself and the kids) would live in 4 different states over the course of 2 years. We would live in the states where Avery Dennison has an office and at each location, Parker would be working in a different position--all finance related. For example, he could be a financial analyst in one place, and then procuring finance at the next location. It would give him a BIG step in the right direction so any prayers you want to throw our way would be appreciated :)

We are all doing wonderful-- just thought you should know :)