Sneaky Shoes

The bedroom lights are low and two little girls are in there beds. McKenna has been snoozing for a while and from my vantage point, Caelan is in sleepy stillness. I marvel at how sweet they look, bundled up in their blankets, surrounded by all their favorite toys. This is my favorite time of night. Another day has charged by and there is peace in the house. These two girls share a room, but very little else. They are polar opposites: Caelan, desparate to make the most of every minute of the day and to grow up far too soon and McKenna, my blonde hippie, flower child. They hug each other and are the best of friends. Then they tustle and can't stand each other. In their beds at night, they are at their calmest and sweetest.

I turn to walk away from the door, but a quick movement from Caelan's bed catches my eye. Her hands dart along the blanket and swiftly reach over the side of the bed and seize something from McKenna's bed nearby. I see a flash of pink and the item is crammed under her pillow where she curls back up into her sleeping position. I wait until her chest rises slowly with deep breaths and her eyelids crack open. That really weirds me out, seeing her sleep with eyes that are half open. I reach under her pillow and pull out a tattered pair of pink patent leather shoes. Sigh.

Every day guarantees at least one altercation over these shoes. They are Easter shoes from last year, well worn and too small for either of my twin-sized girls. They obsess over them. When one is wearing them, the other is dying to put them on. As soon as they come off one, they are put on by the other. They tried sleeping in them until I put the kibosh on that idea. So under the pillow they went. The first one to put them on before the other woke was the rightful wearer for the day- or until they are removed by the wearer. This scenario is a direct result of making the "if you fight over it, it's mine so work out your own problems" directive.

This morning, very early, Caelan came to my room and snuggled next to me in bed, the blankets tangled around her feet and ankles. She was in my bed with those shoes on. Sigh. A little while later, I started my day as she dozed. McKenna woke, too, and dissolved into messy tears, "Caelan took my shoeeeeessss. I had them on....." I sent her back to bed, not interested in starting the day off like that. Caelan was the wearer for the day until a little while ago when McKenna declared her ownership of the discarded shoes. Now to address her clothing choices, the droning monotony 'tights are not pants, tights are not pants, tights are not pants, tightsarenotpants..........."

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.