Axel and Phoenix Update with family photos!

We have been so busy that I haven't taken the time to put all of the wonderful details of Axel's and Pheeny's lives on the blog. Because I finally have time today I want to give a more detailed update about where the kids are at developmentally.

Phoenix's third tooth (her right front upper tooth) made its debut Christmas morning. I believe the left upper front tooth will cut through before her first birthday. This past month has been an exciting and emotional roll a coaster with food and sleep for Phoenix and Axel.

We had both kids allergy tested in mid December. The great news about Phoenix is that the only thing that she is actually "allergic" to is chicken. That means all of her vomiting and inability to handle food is strictly due to a protein intolerance to that food from an immature "gut"/ GI system. Our Allergist said to go ahead and start trying all foods, but use the same precautions of introducing 1 food every 4-7 days to see how she tolerates it. The first food that we tried was broccoli. It had been months since we tried it and I thought another vegetable would be a safe bet. Well, the first day she did great with a tablespoon mixed in to her regular squash, yam, carrot mix. The second day she started vomiting and she continued to vomit everything she ate including her neocate formula for nearly 3 days. I was very sad and discouraged and it seemed to take her a week to recover. She went to strictly formula and didn't eat solids until Christmas day. In hindsight Keith developed the flu the night of the 23rd with vomiting and the inability to hold down food as well. Because he had the flu, I am guessing that Phoenix had the flu and not a reaction to broccoli. I say that because once we got home from visiting Grandma Sonia and Grandpa Bruce I decided to bite the bullet and have Phoenix try Cheerios. I was a little unsure because she spit up a bit on the second day even though she absolutely loved feeding her self and massaging her gums with the Cheerios. I also think that she absolutely loves using her teeth! If you watch her eat them she uses her tongue to move the cheerio to the front of her mouth and then she proceeds to chew each individual cheerio with her teeth! It has been over 10 days that she has been eating Cheerios and she is up to a full serving of 3/4 of a cup. 

Now what is even more exciting than that is I have put in a heaping teaspoon of plain whole fat yogurt into her lunch and dinner (carrots, yams and squash) for the past two days. She did have an episode of a small amount of projectile vomiting last night, but I really think that was because I added twice as much yogurt as the previous 3 meals and she didn't like the taste. She continued to eat her meal after the vomiting episode without any further issues. It is amazing that she is able to force herself to vomit. The good news is it looks like she is going to tolerate dairy!!!!! As you can see though, it is going to take awhile for her to like the taste of other foods besides her three magic foods that she has been eating for 6 months. Keith and I are excited about not having to deal with ordering her formula every few weeks. I am even more excited to think that she will be on a normal diet within the next 6 months as she gets use to other foods taste and textures. 

Because Phoenix has been eating well for 2 weeks now she is starting to sleep a lot better again. She is typically only waking once a night which is awesome. She goes to bed around 6 or 6:30pm and wakes around 6:30am. She fully transitioned to one nap since we have been home and is now taking a 1-2 hour nap around 12:30pm. It has been a VERY LONG time since Phoenix has been on a regular routine. She has been struggling for a couple of months to get rid of her morning nap. It is extremely nice to have some predictability in her schedule. This is more of a luxury for me than a necessity for her. Phoenix is a very easy going child and is super happy despite being exhausted. She always puts on a smile in front of others and doesn't fully break down and scream until she is alone with me :). This is a blessing, but difficult because others around her think she is fine. Unfortunately, they are not up all night with her as she struggles to sleep from being overly tired. The good thing for Grandma Sonia and Grandpa Bruce is that their house is well insulated and the hours of crying in the middle of the night apparently did not effect their sleep like it did mine :)

 Phoenix is very close to walking. She can easily stand for a few minutes without support. She easily walks hand in hand. She prefers to practically run holding on to two hands but she does walk quite a bit just hand in hand. She absolutely loves to play outside. She loves the slide and can go down the slide on her stomach feet first all by herself. She climbs the stairs like a champ and is trying to also climb the ladder in the park like her big brother. I am quite thankful that she is not walking yet because I am afraid for me at how she is going to give me a run for more money by being extremely active. I will enjoy her fast knee walking for as long as she wants!

 Now, we have the same good news about food for Axel. His allergy testing looked really good. All of his allergies to everything has drastically lowered. The first food we re-introduced for Axel is wheat. He has done great! His appetite has continued to be fantastic and he has not broken out in any hives. The real test for us is Axel's sleep. In the past he has been up all night scratching himself and screaming how itchy he is because of eating a food his body was allergic to. He has actually improved his sleep drastically over the past few weeks. He has been sleeping through the night 50% of the time and on the days he does wake he is only waking once! Both Axel and I are ecstatic that he has been able to tolerate wheat. I haven't had to make any tortillas or bread since before Christmas! We have been able to find both bread and tortillas with only 5 ingredients (meaning without preservative, corn starch, soy, etc).  Life couldn't get much better for me having two kids who will be able to eat regular food and have the potential to sleep through the night. I for see a lot more time with my awesome husband in the future instead of my early retreats to bed.

In other news for Axel, he is a building machine! He received the 100 piece magnatiles from Santa. He makes the most amazing creations. I know I mentioned this before, but I really have to get some photos to show his creativity. Axel has also been building with his little Legos. He is able to build 250-300 piece Lego structures without any help. He follows the 50-70 page instructions and patiently finds each piece he needs. The first fire truck took him almost all day (about 5 hours or so). He can now put together a similar structure in just over an hour! He is amazing. These Lego kits say they are for 7-12 year olds, but they seem perfect for our 4 year old! 

Axel has also been a puzzle machine. He has four 100 piece puzzles now. He is able to do them by himself, but he doesn't like to be slow at anything. He prefers to have me help with sorting and to hand him the pieces to do the border. Once the border is done then he begs for me not to help him :) 

All in all, as you can see Phoenix and Axel are thriving! They are both an absolute joy to be around. I am so proud to have the privilege to raise such angels while we are here on Earth. I hope that I am able to instill the Lord in them as well as the values and morals He wants them to have to be the people He wants them to be. I leave you with the photo from our family get together at the Villa while we were in Chicago land. It only took a dozen tries or so, but we were able to capture almost everyone's smiling face :) Thanks Grandma Sonia for this picture and all of the great photos in this blog! We really did have an amazing Holiday season and are so blessed to have such awesome family and friends!