Independent walker

It has been an exciting week for Axel. After nearly 6 months of walking holding onto our finger he has finally decided he can and wants to walk on his own....most of the time. I see this internal battle where he wants to do what everyone else does and go where he wants to go, but at the same time wants mommy or daddy to be right there with him. The cool thing is he is finally getting his independence and is so proud of himself, as are we.


Keith's close friend from grade school sent Axel and us wonderful house warming gifts....here is Axel's. Thanks Matt and Sarah!


Axel's vocabulary and communication continues to explode. He says shoes and tries to put them on, as well as mommy shoes :).

He pats Louis and says, "good dog". He says crackers, cheerios, bread, and so many words I can't even think of them all. He now, not only brushes his teeth, but he spits afterwards, because that is what mommy and daddy do to get rid of the tooth paste. It is such a joy to see the brain development before our very eyes. Speaking of eyes, that just reminded me that Axel takes his eye drops (for the pink eye that he had) and put it up to his eye and says "eye". Amazing, isn't it? I know every child makes discoveries like these, but to witness it first hand every time those little neurons make more connections it truly a blessing and gift from God. Ok, enough of that!

After weeks of swollen gums, Axel's 7th tooth finally made its appearance on Monday. It looks like Axel is going to have lovely crooked teeth like both of his parents...sorry! I will make sure to get a picture once it is more visible.

Axel loves to explore. He got a kick out of taking daddy around the bushes in the back corner of the yard.

Axel also loves to pick up and throw rocks.

His new skills of the week are getting up and down from the floor without holding onto anything and bouncing a ball. I have pictures of both of these, but haven't downloaded them yet.

Axel is also strong enough to pull the lever on one of his toys Grandpa Brian bought him for his birthday. You can see how excited Axel gets when it makes animal sounds and sings "on this farm".

Off to bed....Good night!

Summer Fun

Axel and Daddy are getting lots of quality time in as Axel has a two week vacation from day care and daddy is on his 6 week sabbatical from work. He gets his 10 year award this Friday....go daddy!! It is truly amazing at how close the two of them have become over the past 10 days. Axel loves to do imitate daddy and take daddy everywhere he wants to go. It is really cute to see them playing together. The only bummer thing is that daddy didn't take any photos, although he did get a good video of Axel playing with his little soccer ball.

We were finally able to buy Axel a little pool. It only took three trips to the store for it to be in stock! Of course, Axel loved playing in his little pool. he spent an hour + this morning in it and was bummed to have to get out to eat lunch. The good thing was he ate more at lunch then he normally does. Who knew sitting in water burns more calories :) Next week Axel is going to go in a real pool at a friends house. We are super excited to see how he likes the big pool so check back next week for more photos.


We also picked up bubbles during our shopping trip. We were all a little bummed that magic bubbles did not work like "magic". Axel's new favorite word is bubble so when he actually got to see us make bubbles he was really excited. However, his excitement quickly turned to frustration as both mommy and daddy had trouble making bubbles.


Axel's vocabulary continues to grow. My two favorite saying are "Breakfast time" and "bath time". He does such a great job of saying it back to us, but let me warn you all "BATH TIME" has become a key word like "WALK" for the dog. You cannot say it without major excitement followed by crying or barking :). Axel will grab our finger and practically run to the bath tub. He then turns the water on and throws his toys in as he waits for me to undress him. So when it is not "bath time" he gets a bit frustrated when I don't remove his clothes for him to jump in.

When Axel is hungry he does the same thing by grabbing our finger and walking us to his high chair. He then says "up" and waits for us to feed him. It is amazing at how quickly his brain is developing now.

Today Axel tried an orange for the first time. He did appear to like it so hopefully it will stay that way. His taste buds appear to be ever changing like his wonderful moods from crying to laughing...oh the joys of being 1 years old.

Ok, the little guy just woke from his nap. Have a great week!

Axel's 15 month check up, our new home and more!

The past 10 days have been action packed with the move, Keith's 35th birthday and doctor appts galore. The move went as smoothly as any move can go. We were blessed with lots of help from our friends and we are forever grateful for our friend's time and energy. I can't put into words how much they did for us so THANKS AGAIN!

Axel started his new day care on Tuesday. He absolutely loves it. He slept nearly 3 hours each day and ate really well. Mommy loves this day care because I no longer have to bring all of his meals and snacks, instead they provide everything!

Here Axel is after daycare on Tuesday. He was hoping to go outside to the park across the street from our house. Daycare stretched his socks over his lower legs to prevent him from itching them....so cute.

Some how I convinced Axel to walk to me instead of going outside :)

This past Thursday on July 8th's Axel had his 15 month check up and daddy turned 35! Axel weighed in at a whopping 20 lbs and 8.5 oz and is now 30 inches tall. The perfect height to now hit his head on the kitchen table while walking. He received three booster shots and then came down with a cold and fever the following day. On Friday he developed pink eye and now the little guy is fully miserable. Despite feeling sick he still got some good play time in the past few days. You can see Axel loves our new home.

Here he is looking out the window, slimy face and all.

Axel going outside for a stroll.


Okay, that would be Axel's little house that the previous owners left in our backyard. It needs some work, but Axel loves it anyways.

Louis loves the new place as well. He has his own room that Axel loves to play in and often they get into ownership games :)

Axel is becoming such a big and strong boy. You can see him moving Louis doggy cage around his room as if it was a walker.


And here he is sitting on Louis' bench.

And wearing big boy sun glasses.

We tried to make the new place look similar to the old place so that Axel had some familiarities. Here he is right at home with his play bench and toys.

Daddy and Axel went to the allergist on Friday. Axel is now on a daily anti-histamine for his horrible eczema. Hopefully, it will help calm down his skin so he is not always itching it and the vicious itch/scratch cycle will end. We learned that Axel is also allergic to goat's milk protein and so rice and almond milk are our only options. We just have to make sure he gets enough protein through other foods which I think will be fine.

Ok, I have to get back to the house. More pictures to hang and little things to put away. Hope you all have a great week!