The Little Man

Exceptionally tall and just as slim, our little man is ditching his chubbiness, more little boy than baby. His sisters are aflutter over this and enjoy him more each day. I'm afraid they are eager to teach him things I'm not ready for. Thankfully, I have an Evelynn that is a great Little Mama and does her best to keep him safe. He is thwarted in many of his endeavors, unlike... Caelan. He would love to go up the stairs but has yet to make it past four steps as Evelynn swoops in to set him back to the floor.

Paxton spends a good portion of his day looking out the living room window, taking in the cars, trucks and every other automobile that stops at our busy intersection. He watches them, talks to them in his baby babble and sometimes yells at them loudly. Motorized vehicles are enchanting. His Batmobile and Lego Tractor assuage his longing for wheels at the moment. And being ALL boy, he loves to bat rubbery balls around the house. He is a low-key little guy. His main concerns being vehicles, play time and food. The girls feed him all the time because of his reaction to the handouts, a huge smile and the occasional chuckle.

And as I move the mouse, keyboard and my phone out of reach, I'm reminded of how much he loves technology. Our mouse has a bright red light on its underside and if not kept out of reach, he will grab it and make off with it. He is iPhone savvy and has his own app that he maneuvers through. He FaceTimed with Keith a few days ago, but that didn't go so well. When he realized that Daddy really wasn't there and no matter how many times he flipped the phone around he couldn't produce the real Daddy, he was agitated and batted the phone away.

At fourteen months, I would love to say that he is walking or running around the house. However, being a Brannon, he has to do things his own way, in his own time. He started his mobility efforts with a body crawl, arms dragging his body behind and has gradually worked up to being the speediest baby I have ever seen on all fours. There is no surface that stops his progress: wood, carpet, bricks, cement, grass; he is undeterred. He can stand up and walk around furniture and walls, and from one piece of furniture to the next as long as that requires one step and the gratification of two seconds of reaching for the next object to keep him steady. He can stand unassisted in the middle of a room for a good bit of time, but when he realizes this, he sits down. He spends a good deal of time standing and in an attempt to get him to walk, Evelynn hunched down to his level and backed away from him. He sat back and then went onto his knees. In an upright position, he followed her taking steps on his knees. So now he "walks" around on his knees. Really? Just walk already! And then I laugh and shake my head. He's so close to walking.

Other than food, he's eager for nap time and bedtime. Sometimes I know it's because he's ready for peace. His sisters can be a bit too much. He is content to play in his crib for long periods of time. He loves music and has two music producing things that stay in his bed. You can hear the music playing just when you think he was dropped off to sleep. McKenna is a frequent interrupter of his sleep and they antagonize one another often. Those two will be something else as they grow.

Caelan is his enabler. The dog food and water bowls are where he gets into the most trouble. The repetitive "no" make no difference to him at this point. He will just try again tomorrow. It's a daily infraction. As soon as I say no and remove him from the spot, Caelan takes up his case "Mom, he's just a baby he doesn't know. Oh, Paxton, she didn't mean it. I'll hug you and love you." Pretty sure I did mean it, but thanks.

He is a smiling, hugging, crawling, babbling, curious little boy and our family can't get enough of him.