Pronounced 11/9/14 by Allan
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
Jaxon's baby blessing
"Our dear Heavenly Father in the name of Jesus Christ and by the authority of the holy Melchizedek Priesthood which we hold. We take this infant in our arms to give him a name and a blessing. The name by which he shall be known on the records of the church and throughout his life on this earth is Jaxon Ray Draper. Jaxon, at this time we pronounce a blessing upon your head that it may guide you throughout your life. We bless you with a determination and desire to obtain knowledge throughout your life; both secular and spiritual knowledge. We bless you that you may look to true sources of knowledge; that you may find God in your life. We bless you with a desire to obtain a testimony of the Gospel and to follow the perfect example of Jesus Christ. We bless you that you may be humble; that you may serve others, and that you will learn at an early age that the true wealth in this life is obtained by serving others. I bless you that you may be able to overcome temptation; that you may overcome your challenges and your trials, and that through those challenges and trials you will become stronger and you will learn from them. I bless you with health; that you may be able to accomplish all the things that your Heavenly Father desires of you. I bless you that you may continue in paths of righteousness and learn from great examples who have gone before you. I bless you with all these things and all other things that your Heavenly Father has in store for you at this time, and do so in the name of Jesus Christ Amen."
Sunday, November 2, 2014
Maddox is learning to listen
Maddox... where do I begin? Maddox is still one very crazy kid. He has so much energy and I do not. Up until about 3 months ago, I have to admit that I really believed that I could consider myself patient. Every time I heard stories about moms who lose it on their kids or have break downs, I would think, "wow, I must be one of the lucky ones." Well, these past two months have taught me that no, I am not patient and no, I am not one of the lucky ones. Ha ha. I have lost it on Maddox and I have had a break down. But two and a half months later, I am proud to say I am happy and adjusted. Maddox is such a good boy and every day I realize just how lucky I am to be his mom. He is learning to listen and has been doing a really good job. He is such a big helper and loves Jaxy so much. I am so grateful that he is so affectionate and has never shown an ounce of violence toward other kids. He is loving and still gives me hugs and kisses all the time. He still wants to snuggle with me and wants me to hold him. He is always wanting to kiss Jaxy and get him to smile. Maddox is the best big brother ever. Now Maddox does have some weaknesses...A couple weeks ago, I thought it would be a good idea to go to Toddler Time at the library which is where 20+ toddlers sit on the floor of a room sitting right next to their moms and listen to a boring lady read a book with very small pictures in the front of the room. So Maddox and I get into the room and I have Jaxon in my carrier and we sit down on the rug. Well Maddox sat down on the rug for 2 seconds. Then he got up and started running around, climbing on the cupboards, trying to use the sink, opening the door and running out, and screaming when I tried to make him sit down. After 5 minutes, we were done. We didn't even get through one book. As I was walking out of the library, I told myself that this is just who Maddox is. He is not a toddler that sits quietly and listens to adults read books. He is not a calm toddler. He is a crazy, energetic, loud little boy and I'm ok with that. I can't change him and I don't want to. But I can try to improve him and that's what we have been working on. We have been working on his listening skills and him holding my hand and not running away. Maddox has made great improvement in those areas in the last couple of months and has not run away from me in a while. When he starts to sprint away, I yell, "Maddox! Stop and listen!" And usually after one or two times of yelling that, he listens and stops or comes back. Maddox has been practicing telling me when he needs a new diaper. He still isn't interested in using the toilet but I didn't figure that out until he peed in the corner of the entryway the other day. He came to me without a diaper on and told me he went "caca" which to him means pee and poop interchangeably. But I got nervous and told him to show me where and took me to the corner by the front door. Luckily, it was on the tile but needless to say, I told him not to take off his diaper anymore. Maddox has a new fascination with Disney princess books. I got a whole bunch of books from a yard sale a while ago but just got them out recently because Maddox is now old enough to read books with paper pages. His favorite book is The Little Mermaid and his second favorite book is Sleeping Beauty. We read a verse out of the Book of Mormon every night and then one of his princess books. And he sleeps holding both books and one of his cars. He is so adorable. Maddox is still my baby and I love that he is still so affectionate. I am so incredibly in love with him!
A new mom to Jaxon
We have been so busy and I feel like the first couple months of Jaxon's life have flown by. I want to start with him...my little angel. Jaxon is a very particular baby. I call him my bipolar baby because he goes from being extremely angry and screaming at the top of his lungs to smiling and cooing within seconds. From early on he has shown us his temper. He gets very angry if he is not being held and has his "mad cry". He also is acutely aware of my presence and absence and cries when I leave his line of sight. Jaxy always follows me around the room with his eyes. I love it but it also makes getting things done difficult. I have the found the swing and the carrier to be very useful with Jaxon. With Maddox, I could put him down and lay him anywhere and he would be content. But Jaxon will only sleep if he is being held or in the swing. After buying batteries weekly to keep the swing functioning, we finally bought rechargeable batteries and they have been a lifesaver. Whenever I leave the house I take the carrier with me. Jaxon doesn't like his car seat either so I find it easier to attach him to me in the carrier. I actually love it. It's like I'm holding him but I can use my arms and hands. He almost always falls asleep with his face buried in my chest. I am so in love with him. He just craves human touch. And he really is so easy to please. He stops crying almost immediately after I pick him up. I have predicted that Jaxon is going to be really intelligent. He is very vocal when cooing at me and it really seems like he is trying to talk to me. And he does it every time I am nursing him. He tries to talk to me and smiles when I talk back. Jaxon loves to nurse and is super chubby! He has a very round face and head and so his cheeks have gotten really chubby. At his 2 month check-up he was pretty average though. He was right around 65th percentile in height and weight. But everyone always comments on how chubby he is. Jaxon adores Maddox. He instantly smiles when he sees him and loves watching Maddox run around. It melts my heart to see my two little babies love each other so much. My dream would be for them to be best friends. Maddox has accidentally hurt Jaxon a couple of times but Jaxon is one tough baby. My favorite moments have been in the mornings when Maddox has come into our bed and Jaxon is just waking up and we are all together snuggling. Jaxy is always so happy in the mornings and stretches his chubby little arms above his head and gives me huge smiles. Jaxon is such a good sleeper. He sleeps in his swing every night from about 9 until 11 and then I move him into his crib. He usually sleeps until about 2 but sometimes longer and then wakes up to nurse. At that point he stays in bed with me. There have been some nights where he nurses all night and other nights where he only nurses once. But overall, as long as I am next to him, he sleeps like a log. Jaxon also loves his baths. He loves the warm water and it is the one time he is completely relaxed and still. If I had to describe Jaxon, I would say he is restless, particular and beautiful and sensitive. I am so grateful for the baby he is. It has been a completely different experience from having Maddox as a newborn but I love having a brand new experience and learning how to be a mother to a different child. That really is the surprise of adjusting to two. I am like a new mom all over again because they are so different. But I love their differences and they are still so much alike. Jaxon has truly brought so much joy into our family and I am so grateful to have been entrusted with such a precious angel. He needs me so much and relies on me for everything. I think I forgot what that was like and it took me a couple months to appreciate it but now, I am so happy and feel like I am so blessed to have another little angel.
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