Walkin' & Talkin'

It is as it seems...Bennett does this all the time now!  Thankfully he also knows how to fall down without major injury.  It is a bit of a mummy walk with his arms out but it's sure amazing to us to watch him develop so fast.

Although Bennett still stares down most people for a good 5 minutes or so, when he gets babbling at home he can get pretty loud and make an array of sounds.  He also loves to make a fish face with his lips, click his tongue, clap, and open every cabinet and drawer in sight.  It's adorable, even the messes.

 Paxton wanted to take my picture, so here it is with my new haircut.  It is shorter than I've ever had it.  The photo doesn't show how short the back is, but you can tell I have some bangs now.

 No matter what he's wearing, in photos Bennett's eyes look quite blue.  But there are times when the light hits them a certain way his eyes can have a touch of green.  Bennett does need a haircut and I'm considering doing it myself.  Or maybe I should drive to Ogden to get the pro to show me - what do you think Jen?  I'm a little scared because baby hair is so fine and I fear it would should the tiniest mistakes even more.

 Paxton wanted a picture of his new shoes - they match his clothes perfectly here.  He just LOVES to be outside, I had to buy something brown because black or white seem to get so dirty so fast.  The only time he won't go out is when it's really windy, but otherwise, rain or shine, snow or not, he wants to play out there.

Here is Paxton at daddy's pottery wheel - he seems to enjoy it!  Jared is a bigger man than I (obviously) to let him get so messy.  I don't even like him to play with play dough!  But he is learning so many things, like how to write his name and understand what words begin with which letters and so on.  He still likes to paint with watercolors too.

Wonderful Christmas

Because pictures are worth a thousand words, we won't add too much to these photos but I'm sure you all know how enjoyable our Christmas was this year!

Our dog LOVES to unwrap presents too so she was right there at every opportunity.  At this point, she is more effective than Bennett.  Here you see him sporting a hand-made cap from our niece.  She is skilled and so sweet with our boys.  Paxton was really helpful trying to teach Bennett how to open his gifts.

One of the funnest gifts was this tunnel and pop-up tent set that Santa brought.  Both boys like to crawl through it, especially after each other.  Bennett, crawl towards the light, you're going the wrong way!

 

Look how big they are both getting!

At any given moment, Bennett has SOMETHING in his mouth.  I even caught him with his thumb in there today.  He loves to crawl around with whatever toy he has found clenched in his teeth.  Maybe he spends too much time with Chula?

The first, and only snow we had in the whole month of December.  Paxton had to make a snow angel.

We went to the "bouncy place" before Christmas and had a good time.  This whole warehouse has trampolines connected that you can jump from one to another, this section is just the kid's part.

Pre-Christmas we visited Grandma and she had her share of holding our hefty little guy.

This year for the Davis family Christmas party we decided to schedule in time to sing some Carols.  We all enjoy singing, but if it isn't planned we rarely break into song.

Wyatt, Bennett is too young to juggle three balls, he only knows how to juggle with two! By the way, have you finished eating those oranges yet?

Every kid loves it when the couch cushions are on the floor...our boys also like to play under the dining table.  Paxton says it's his house.

One down and ten more to go.  Bennett has loved eating Cheerios while we all sit down to eat.  We need more baby friendly finger food ideas for him, so any of you moms feel free to comment : )

Uh oh

December already!

Bennett is everywhere lately.  A couple days ago he used his walker to get across the rug.  But it will still be a while before he can cruise around like a tiny adult.  In so many ways he seems grown up, from the way he stares down anyone who is trying to make him smile, to the old man spare tire he has around his belly.  But there never was a cuter spare tire or set of "thunder thighs".

He is still in total admiration of his big brother and Paxton's bedroom is one of his favorite places to explore.  And in turn, Paxton is growing into his role to help him and show him all kinds of trouble.  They have a lot of fun under the kitchen chairs and with anything they can climb in.

Paxton is loving some of his birthday gifts - the sand digger and his construction hat with a head lamp.  He frequently tells me he has work to do and he marches outside with or without his coat, hat, or shoes.  So far he doesn't seem to notice the major temperature difference.

 As you could guess, Bennett is NOT a picky eater.   He's a pro. So far no mushy baby food that crosses his lips has a chance.  Rice cereal, peas, mixed vegetables, green beans and any fruit...BRING IT ON!  We wished we'd bought a high chair sooner because it's been sooooo helpful.  And he likes it too, except for the bibs - he feels disrespected I guess : )  

BEAUTIFUL OCTOBER

We made it!  It's truly miraculous, how we find ourselves blessed with these boys!  Surely life cannot get any better and we are incredibly grateful to our loving and all-knowing Heavenly Father.  Last Thursday was an amazing day in our lives and we felt like we could really see the eternities when we were able to have Bennett sealed and Paxton witness the ceremony.  

This little guy is, as most of you know, not so little anymore and he is getting very mobile...more on that later.

 Our day in court was Monday to make the adoption official and permanent.  We had a nice judge who insisted on holding Bennett who in turn stared him down.  It was great to have family there to lend their support.

 Our house this last week became a Roach Motel (I could NOT resist).  These roaches are the kind you want in your house, so cute and Paxton had so much fun with his cousins.  We were especially fortunate to have them with us for all the big events.  Please know you are welcome back the next time you visit Utah.  We will continue to hone our hosting skills!

What is Bennett up to lately?  Well, he's nearing 23lbs and most of it sits in his thighs and cheeks.  He eats rice cereal and squash so far.  It's time for a baby gate because he gets around pretty quickly using an army-style crawl.  He also sits well on his own for several minutes.  Oh, and naturally, he doesn't love it when we put him in his car seat.

So when we did a day trip jeeping in Moab, Grandma Davis was kind enough to keep Bennett in Wellington while we took Paxton on a couple trails.  The first trail pictured at the right was in slickrock country, rated as difficult but doable since Jared had driven it before.  For me and Paxton the funnest part was zooming around the sharp sandy turns.

The ups and downs are never as bad as they look, except one or two.  This one I got out just to get a photo.  The weather was beautiful, a little cool in the morning so a blanket over Paxton was perfect.  But it never got too hot.  I absolutely love the landscape in the entire area of Arches and Canyonlands national parks.

 The second trail we did was northwest of Moab, near a rock that some refer to as tombstone rock.  The trail circled around and sometimes onto these large formations.  As a kid, my extended family would take a trailer full of mountain bikes over spring break to these areas.  Sometimes we would cross paths with the jeepers and we'd get to watch them do REALLY crazy things.

 And, here we are near Halloween time.  Don't worry, no one got hurt in the making of this picture but I cannot stop laughing every time I see it!  Jaylene took this photo and I HAD to have it.  To quote her, "brotherly love at its finest".

Two of the most beautiful faces we know.  Jaylene you are fabulous!  We love you more and more as time passes and hope you continue to find joy in the every day details of life.  LOVE YOU!
PBAJ

Just pictures : )

Labor Day Weekend

To update a bit, Paxton and Bennett are having more fun with each other every day.  I think Paxton is realizing that Bennett is growing and learning and recognizes his big brother.  So Paxton hams it up and flops 

around like a maniac to get a giggle.  Bennett is on the VERGE of crawling.  He gets up on his hands and knees and sometimes in a half-push-up position.  Maybe he will figure it out soon.  He has also started rice cereal.  Neither he or I are too coordinated yet in getting the stuff to his belly but he eats it.  The other news - he has TWO BOTTOM TEETH.  Yes, aunt Roz discovered them while giving him a bottle.  

Which brings us to Labor Day weekend which we spent in Colorado.  It was great, the Roaches are so fun and they have a nice home they share with any who make the drive.  The boys did very well in the car, much to my surprise they handled it fine.  Driving from Grand Junction over to Denver is very pretty with steep canyons and lots of evergreen trees.  There's a stretch of river rafting that looks like fun for the next trip.  So this pic shows our group in the dugout at the Rockies' stadium which we toured on Saturday.  They let us walk behind home plate but not on the grass.  If they'd been in town I'm sure we would have gone to see them play.

At lunchtime we drove through the madness of downtown Denver trying to get to an event which ended in frustration so we went to a park instead where Paxton found some friends.  

One little girl taught him how to slide down a pole.  He is not shy when it comes to a playground full of kids.  








While the boys stayed at the park I visited the Denver Botanical Gardens which were next door.  They had many of the same plants we see here with just a few exceptions.  The fountains with cactus were really pretty.  Sunday was great to spend with everyone after we attended church where little Cortney was blessed by Dave.  The ward there was very friendly.

While driving home Monday we stopped in Vail at a park just to get out and discovered they had clay tennis courts.  Neither Jared or I have ever played on clay so we took the opportunity.  Paxton had his racket too while Bennett rolled around on a blanket...his favorite past time lately.  The pic shows Jared brushing the court afterwards.  Even though the surface looks like concrete in the photo, it was sort of a green color with a fine gravel like top.

 Grandma Leslie packed a present for Paxton and he played with it the entire way home. Above is the most recent pic of Bennett, such a cutie, in our opinion!