Birthday Girl!

 Our baby girl had her first birthday August 11th, but I am a sad mother who could not find the time to blog until now! Sorry Paxie-you were celebrated on time even if it did not hit the blog on time. And, you did decide to come 5 days past your due date so lateness is in your nature.

 In between the beach and a trip to Cincy, we had a small birthday party at our house.

 The party was the day after her actual birthday, so of course we had to have a little treat the day of.

 Not too shabby for a first attempt with cake!

 The real cake started with some tentative pinches of uncertainty...

 And ended like this!

  Our attempt at a family picture

 She did wear clothes to the party! Here is the proof!

 We headed up to Cincy for the week and got to celebrate with my whole family

 Third time's a charm!

Such a ham!

Rockin' a mullet!

Paxton is one year old! I can hardly believe it. Here is a glimpse of her life right now. She is taking steps but still prefers to crawl. She has not yet mastered sitting to standing without pulling up on something, so I do not anticipate her walking for a little bit, but maybe she will surprise us. She points to everything and says "hi?" She is 23 pounds and 30 inches tall (75th percentile for both). I broke down a cut the mullet this week. I could not take it any longer (on a side note-I am a terrible hair cutter). She is a vacuum for food. I have just weaned her and she still, every morning, gets angry when I pass where I would normally nurse her. This girl is angry until she gets some food in her belly! She loves to laugh and to make us laugh. She loves to be with her sister, but would prefer her sister not be so rough or snatch toys that she says are "hers." She is feisty when she does not get her way or Madeline tries to push her around. Thank goodness she can already hold her ground with her big sister! She loves to snuggle before going to sleep which is such a gift. I cherish it every time she lays her head on my shoulder. She has her 7th tooth coming in. She is still just such a content little girl. Very rarely cries and just goes with the flow. We love you so much Paxton!

Beach Vacation

Ate outside a couple of times when it was not so humid

ate sand, so she only visited the beach the one time

Papa C came down for one night as well!

Hit The Track. They got the fastest car out there and passed literally everyone! I was barely able to get this picture.

When through Paxton, Florida

They were drenched after the bumper boats

Paxie loved the pool water which was a blessing because she has not been loving it most of the summer. Hated the ocean though. It might have had something to do with the fact that I let a wave splash her within the first 15 seconds we were out there, but in my defense, I was not aware of it coming. Oh well, next year maybe...

Our family photo because what beach trip is complete without one?

We got to spend a few days in Destin last week. We had a lot of fun, but this was a first solo trip with just us and I must say, I suddenly appreciated my parents a lot more after it. We mostly did vacations with just out immediately family growing up and its a lot of work (which I knew but still its tiring to tote kids and stuff around on vacation). Still, so much fun, but with a baby that still needs to nap twice a day, we split time between being in the condo with her and down at the pool/beach with M. Madeline learned to swim without floaties all the time which was so fun to see! I would not say she can "swim" yet, but she made some great progress with putting her face in and kicking her legs to get short distances. I read an entire book! The Pioneer Woman's book which was a really good, fast read if anyone is interested. Cannot believe how the summer is flying by. Paxton's first birthday is this week and then we have a Cincy trip, and then it will be time for MDO to start. Summer goes too quickly, but I am looking forward to fall weather.