Baseball

We have been busy with baseball. Axel has one practice and two games a week plus we try to practice 10 hits, 10 throws and 10 catches on a couple of other days per week. His confidence is really blossoming and he is making consistent contact with the ball, especially in games. He may not hit it very far, but it is cool to see him contact the ball on the first or second pitch, almost every time up to bat. I would say he is one of the most consistent hitters on his team.  He is also starting to learn to catch and can sometimes catch multiple balls in a row. A huge improvement since the beginning of the season.

Where there is games, there are spectators and that is exactly what Phoenix and I do. We watch and try to cheer for Axel, that is, unless she has one of her friends near by. The picture below is Pheeny patiently watching the boys. 

This past week we have run into one of her daycare friends, Macey, which means she has been running around, ripping holes in her pants, and just having fun, fun, fun.

Last weekend, the coach that usually pitches was out on travel which meant that daddy had the opportunity to pitch to Axel. I was a proud wife and parent seeing the dynamic two.
Here are three shots of this special event.

It took him 3 or 4 pitches, but he made contact and hit it just in front of the pitching mound. 

Because it was warm last weekend and Axel had a great game, the kids enjoyed their first ice cream cones of the season. They were both covered in chocolate as they always request chocolate ice cream. Daddy puts some fresh cocoa in the vanilla ice cream that we buy, since it is the only ice cream that we have been able to find that only has 3 ingredients and no corn starch in it.

Our neighbors officially sold their house so now Axel wants to spend every waking moment with Rishaan whenever they are not at school. Hema, Rishaan's mom, picked the boys up early from after school care on Monday and Axel had a two hour play date at Rishaan's house while I was working. When I arrived to pick him up he begged to stay there and eat dinner. I reminded him he doesn't like the food they eat and with Rishaan's help we convinced Axel they would have more time to play together in the future. Here Rishaan is tying Axel's shoes for him. Sooooo sweet!

I will close with a picture of Phoenix waiting for our babysitter, Annika. When I told her she was coming over so mommy could go to the dentist (to get a filling) she quickly ran to the window and said, "I am watching for Annika." She waited there for almost 10 minutes! So cute!

Tea Parties

I am not sure who asked, but both kids wanted to have a tea party. I was saving the tea set my Aunt Cindy had given me for when Phoenix was a little older, but I decided that the time was right. I went into the attic and got it down. We pretended to have a tea party for a few nights with crackers as our cookies. 

 Last week Axel had his bi-annual teeth cleaning. He continues to impress me and the dentist at how mature and charming he is. He has never once cried or whined in all the years we have been going. It amazes me at how much he is growing. We also went for his annual wellness check last week. This is his biggest year of growth since his first year of life. This year he gained over 3 pounds and grew 3 inches. He now weights 36 pounds and is 42 1/4 inches tall! This puts him at the 2nd and 5th percentile, respectively. Keith and I did the happy dance as he moved up in percentiles!

 The kids were both really good for each of our appointments so they earned a real live tea party. They were both super excited. As you can see the tea party table expanded.

 I poured the tea and Axel poured the cream. We all enjoyed our tea, crackers and Phoenix also enjoyed some delicious jelly beans to go along with our tea party.

 Axel was not a big fan of the tea, but

 Pheeny loved it. I think she drank 3 cups and I drank maybe 6 to 8 cups (They were really tiny).

 After Pheeny's nap we went to Jack Fischer Park on both Thursday and Friday afternoon last week. The kids enjoyed play time and the beautiful weather.

 Phoenix absolutely loves books. Her she is having her own little story time. We always have books everywhere around the house. It is a little frustrating, but not something I will ever complain about :)

 Phoenix continues to want to do everything Axel does.  A couple of days ago when picking up Axel from school, Pheeny decided she wanted to carry Axel's back pack. Boy, did this make her day!

 Axel has been busy building all of his new Mine Craft Lego kits. Here is nearly 1500 Lego pieces put together.

 I love his creations. He followed the directions for only one of the three kits and the rest he designed himself. I love his creativity!

 Today Phoenix and I had the privilege of meeting Axel at Vasona park for one of his field trips. We enjoyed a lovely little walk through the park.

 The kids enjoyed looking at the ducks and geese and other wild life.

 Here is a group shot of Axel's Class.

 After the hour long stroll the kids got to learn about wild life and meet some reptiles and amphibians.

 The first and only animal that Phoenix and I were able to see was this little toad. She was getting restless so we went to the park and ate some lunch. Now we are off to pick up Axel from school and enjoy the afternoon together.

Happy Easter!

Our Easter Celebration started on Good Friday. I was able to make it to Axel's school for his Easter egg hunt and party. 

 This kids were able to hunt for 10 eggs in the very cute Easter bunny ears.

 After the hunt the kids enjoyed a yummy treat. I couldn't believe Axel was able to finish his. I later discovered he didn't eat his sandwich at lunch and therefore had plenty of room :)

 We then went to pick up Phoenix from Angela's. I then had the privilege of watching Axel help Pheeny during their egg hunt.

 I was so over joyed watching Axel have a blast helping his sister.

 Phoenix caught on right away and collected nearly a dozen eggs herself.

 You can just see how happy she is with all of the cool surprises.

 My little Easter bunny with Angela.

 We then went home to decorate Easter Eggs. Axel had a super hero kit and Phoenix had a Frozen kit.

Both kids were tired after the coloring so hardly any sticker decorating was done. 

 On Friday night for some reason Phoenix decided she wanted to wear her underwear. This meant putting on 11 of her 14 pairs. I couldn't resist to get a picture of her in 11 pairs of underwear!

 Axel is still awesome at building. I saw this new creation sitting in the pinball room and I thought I would share it.

 On Saturday we headed to Auntie's house for our family Easter celebration. My pretty little girl looking grown up.

 Phoenix and Braylin in bunny ears.

 We had an Easter Egg hunt. The eggs were hidden in great places. Grandpa Brian enjoyed helping all of the grand kids reach the Easter eggs they found. Here he is with Axel.

 .......with Braylin.....

 and with Phoenix.

 Here is my only picture of my handsome boy and Pheeny.

 And the two of them with Grandma Susan.

 Grandma Susan bought a beautiful lamb cake from a famous bakery. Axel wanted the head so here he is being his funny self. He was only able to eat about a third of the piece before daddy had to finish it.

 After our meal, egg hunt and cake with headed across the street to the park. Auntie brought bubbles that the kids enjoyed chasing and popping. I love this picture of Axel trying to pop this huge bubble.

I also love this photo of daddy teaching Axel how to swing. 

 The three cousins played well together. After an hour of play time we headed in for a bath and then headed home. We were grateful for being able to spend the day with family.

 On Sunday morning we had our traditional egg hunt in our park. Since most of the neighborhood kids were gone we invited over both of our friends with twins. Tyler and Cynthia have the new girl twins Jade and Zoe and Mike has 3 and a half year old twins Dillinger and Josie.

Phoenix apparently really likes to hunt for eggs. ....

 And so does Axel. We had a wonderful weekend celebrating the Lord's resurrection. We our looking forward to a relaxing weekend this weekend, or at least I am. The boys may still go to Monster trucks on Saturday night depending on Axel's behavior. Until next time, God Bless!