Axel turns 9 months!

Yesterday Axel turned 9 months with the rolling in of the new year. He has now officially been out of the womb longer than he was in the womb. Keith and I are amazed at how much he has changed over the past 1 month let alone the 9 months he has been around.

Good news is Axel seems to be getting better by the day. He is now sleeping in his own room again. Keith and I also seem to be on the mend. We are unsure if all of us keep getting sick due to the old house we are living in so we continue to inspect for mold and continue saving for a house that we hope to purchase in the near future.
We are hoping that our constant cold like symptoms are due to Axel being in day care and not the house, but we will soon find out as we continue to monitor the house and all of our symptoms.

Ok, back to our cute child. Axel must be catching up for his decreased appetite or in a growth spurt because he has been consuming 35-40 oz of milk over the past 3 days. He also ate a whopping 8 cubes yesterday on top of the 35 oz of milk! We love it when he eats, but I am getting a little sick of the 2-3 night wakings and hope that he resumes his 1-2 night wakings soon!

We added beets and kale to Axel's diet. I don't think he really cares for them, but as long as we mix it with sweet potatoes, yams or squash he will pretty much eat anything. Now that he is 9 months we will be introducing a much wider range of food. Keith and I are both excited about this because within the next three months he should be getting closer and closer to a "normal" toddler diet which will be a lot less work for us. I do enjoy making Axel's food, but I rather make it along with the dinner I make for Keith and I.

I forgot to mention that Axel weighed in at 17lb and 1 oz during our ER visit last week. We have his 9 month check up next Thursday on the 7th so I will be sure to include his new stats next week. I am looking forward to seeing how much he gained in 2 weeks with the huge increase in food consumption.

Since Axel has been home for over a week now he seems to be doing a lot better in the mobility department. He has really become quite comfortable scooting around the entire house. He also loves to play standing.


He can stand for nearly an hour. The only bummer thing for him is he doesn't know how to go from stomach to sitting or standing. I have to assist him, otherwise he just lies on his stomach reaching up with his hand crying.

I think it is hilarious at how frustrated he gets. I already see mommy and daddy personality traits in him. Both Keith and I get frustrated when we can't do something, especially when it comes to athletics because it has always come naturally for us. Hopefully Axel will learn patience sooner than his mommy and daddy learned it :)

Axel is becoming more and more talkative. It often sounds like he is having a conversation with us. Sometimes it also sounds like he is saying something in Spanish. For those of you who don't know Axel is in a full Spanish Immersion Day care. They speak 100% Spanish there. Axel also received the coolest present from great G and G Eick of a drum that sounds the alphabet in Spanish and English. Keith and I have been practicing X and Y a lot and now it sounds like Axel is saying equis. I griega, or "Y", and Jota or "J" are the Szolusha favorites :)

Axel still does not have any teeth, but continues to show signs of teething. I have even caught him chewing/sucking on his thumb 3 times in he past two weeks. Usually he chooses to put all of his fingers in his mouth as pictured below.

Despite the lack of teeth, Axel's hair seems to be coming in at a more rapid pace the past few weeks. He is looking more and more like a little boy every day.

We wish you all a very Happy 2010. We are looking forward to spending it with our little bundle of joy!