When Dax was 3 weeks old Aunt Ronda and cousin Becky came to visit. Becky took pictures of Dax and I am so grateful to her. It's a lot of work to take pictures of small children. Out of the 187 pictures that she took, these are some of my favorites. I love all his dark hair.
One morning I came into the living room to see Dad holding Sadie and Dax. He had arranged them so that Sadie was holding Dax in her arms and she was so happy to do it. I like this picture because they both have their eyes open. Dax still has blue eyes, but he is still small so time will tell what color they end up being.
A proud big sister
The early risers in our house- they are so happy and wide awake early in the morning. I am glad they have eachother. Wes and I like to rise when the sun does- we see very little reason to get up before then!
Everyday chores are more fun with this cute assistant!
And Wesley keeps us in order- he has started chewing on his blanket more since his molars have come in- so it makes for more laundry which makes this the party that never ends!
Miss Sadie
It was warm enough the other day that while playing outside I decided to introduce the kids to the hose and fill a tub with some water. At first I had filled little watering cans for the kids and even though this was the first time they have seen me use the hose- when Sadie had dumped her water out she went to the end of the yard and held the hose- waiting for me to come refill her can. They had so much fun playing in the water- it was worth the extra laundry!
Sadie taking control of the hose- I wish you could hear her laughing and "talking"- it was so funny!
This is when Sadie turned the hose on Wesley instead of keeping it in the tub
This is how Wesley felt about the cold water that was suddenly poured over his head
However- one of my favorite things about Wesley is how quickly he forgives and finds the joy in the situation again
See- he really is having a good time- and the cute onesie is courtesy of Aunt Amanda
Such a good big brother
Sadie returned the hose to the tub and was enjoying being in control of the hose/water. When I turned the water off- she shook the hose, the Wes shook the hose- the Sadie ran back over the where the hose winds up and stood there for a little while calling to me to come turn it back on- she is so smart!
I wondered who would be the first in the tub
Who can resist this face??
So happy to play with water- note that Sadie still has not let go of the hose- she recognizes power when she sees it!
One week old today
14 months old the day before- such a cute big sister.
She felt very content when she grabbed the boppy- it has become a new treasure since they see Mom use it now. She arranged her little friends and sat down carefully in the middle.
How Wes, Sadie and Dax spent the first week.
The other day the house became very quiet. I was concerned because there is usually the sound of little voices, toys being used- and when I went looking for them to find out what they were doing this is what I saw- amazing! Our current favorite books are The very Hungry Caterpillar, Brown Bear, Brown Bear what do you see and Haatch. We also enjoy our touch and feel books and the all time favorite is the book Gram recorded for us last Christmas.
Right before we left for the hospital. We had to be there at 6:30am and it was still very dark outside. 
I will always remember this delivery because I was able to stay awake and I heard Dax cry when he was born. The doctor and nurses commented on what a big boy he is and we are so glad he is healthy.
He has some much dark hair! Even after they finish washing him off after this picture was taken, he still has so much dark hair. We know the Johnston cousins win the contest of the amount of hair newborns have, but for our family this is a lot of hair!
Back together again in the hospital room. This is the hat that Dad picked out for you in the nursery. Instead of the regular hospital hats- there are volunteers who make these cute hats for the newborns. Dad said there were a lot to choose from- even one that looked like a pumpkin, but he thought it was too early to be celebrating Halloween. I like this hat very much.
The day after you were born. You are a good eater and sleeper and already a very sweet baby. We decide today to name you Daxton Beaux Cotter. Dad picked the name Daxton and we decide that for your middle name we will choose Beaux. Grandma's last name is Beus and there are some older spellings which are Beux. Dad's Grandma Cotter had a maiden name of Lamereaux and so we kind of combined the two. We hope you like it.
Dax and Dad
Gram came the day before you were born and stayed for a week. She came to see us twice in the hospital and we kept forgetting to take a picture. This is just moments before she had to leave to get on the airplane, but we had to get a picture of the two of you!