July 2016

The past two weeks have been action packed and full of great memories. Axel had vacation bible study camp. Here are his two group leaders. The Junior high and High schoolers lead the groups to the activities that are run by all of the adult volunteers and church leaders. Axel loved it again this year and I praise the Lord for that!

Last week Axel was initiated into the Hype Squad with the older swimmers. Here is Hanno, the swimmer who has been giving him private swim lessons writing #Hype Squad on his back.

He got to be apart of a video they made for awards night tomorrow night. Axel had an off week last week, but today he is at champs in Morgan Hill and has had PR's in all of his events. We are so proud of him. We are looking forward to the festivities tomorrow night as well.

Rubix has continued to change so much. He is now able to put him self to sleep for naps and at night. I transitioned him into the Zipadeezip from the swaddle on Wednesday night and he loves it. I also got rid of the binkie on Thursday and he has been doing great with all of the changes. His naps can be as long as 2 or 3 hours (rarely, but it can happen!) or as short as 50 minutes. When he takes long naps he only has 2 naps for the day. When he takes short naps he usually takes 3 naps per day. He is also transitioning to 5 oz bottles. He has half 5 oz bottle and half 4 oz bottles throughout the day. He is almost completely down to 1 night waking a night, but did wake 2 times once this past week. He is now rolling over onto his left side to sleep and has rolled from his back to his front once and is getting better at rolling from his front to his back. He is also starting to scoot on his stomach. He is tucking his knees under him and then pushing forward. He doesn't quite yet know what to do with her arms, but he is figuring it out. He can also push all the way up onto his hands when lying on his stomach. I am so impressed with how normal of a baby he is now that he is no longer in pain. I am so excited for him and us as a family because we are operating like a normal family now. Yesterday I was able to take the three kiddos to Jack Fisher Park, Party City and Trader Joe's. It was so nice to be mobile with my three precious kiddos!

Last Tuesday I took the three kids to Axel's swim lessons. We have been in a heat wave with 95 degree weather for the past 9 days. Rubix was worn out from the heat and watching all of the kids in the pool. Luckily, daddy met us at the pool so that Rubix and I could head home, while daddy stayed with Axel and Phoenix at the pool.

Phoenix can almost swim by herself. She is still building up confidence. Daddy purchased kick boards for the kids, a floatie for Rubix and I and a swim cap for Phoenix. Here is are up and coming swimmer sporting her new gear.

Yesterday we ran into Macey and her mom at the Library. We found out that Macey was going to get dropped off at Angela's so that the rest of the family could head to a soccer game. I offered for Macey to come over for the afternoon instead. So Macey was over from 2:30 until almost 8pm.

The girls had dinner, Popsicles, played in the park, read books and watched a Dora movie.

It was an action packed fun filled day!

Here is a picture of Axel pushing Phoenix on the swings yesterday at the park. Axel had a blast riding his scooter around the park and the kids played extremely well together building in the sand while Rubix and I played in the shade on a blanket.

We are looking forward to Grandma Susan arriving this Wednesday night. We have lots of art projects planned for Thursday and Friday and then we have Braylin's Birthday Party on Saturday and another pool party on Sunday. Keith and I will get to have two dates too. We will be celebrating our Anniversary a few days early. One will be dinner and the other will be a bike ride and coffee. We can't wait!

Visitors and Rubix turns 4 months!

Axel took another few days of chess camp last week. Here he is with Chess Master D.

Axel earned chess pieces as a prize for memorizing poems about chess that chess master D wrote. Axel is still a snake, but has decided he wants to become a Lizard or even Gator next year because his friend Kedar is working towards becoming a Monster. which is just under a chess master.

On Tuesday Grandma Sonia and Grandpa Bruce arrived. We were able to spend the afternoon together and enjoy Taco Tuesday at Casa de Szolusha for dinner. On Thursday, after they spent Wednesday in Sacramento we enjoyed the day watching Axel and Phoenix have swim lessons and then by going to the Tech Museum. Phoenix loved the dance floor that responded to touch and movement by changing shapes and colors. 

Axel and Grandpa loved the space exploration section of the museum.

 You can see how excited Grandpa was to be in this small capsule. The kids were not nearly as excited as Grandpa was. Grandma Sonia says that Grandpa would go to Mars if he was given the opportunity.....

 The Tech Museum had great exhibits that the kids and adults were able to participate in. The museum wasn't nearly as big as I thought, but definitely a good couple of hours of fun.

I think we will try to go back again next year!

On Friday morning we headed to Happy Hollow. We haven't been there for a long time. I can't remember if the last time was before Phoenix was born or when she was an infant, but it has been atleast 3 years. They added some fun new play equipment. Here is a tight rope that Axel really enjoyed for the first time.

The Merry Go Round is always a kid favorite. Here is my conservative Axel with Grandma. I was proud of him for going on since he isn't usually one for going in circles. Luckily, Grandpa went with Phoenix. All of the pictures of them were blurry, but Phoenix picked out a princess horse she said and enjoyed riding it.

 The kids played a long time in the big jungle gym area and then rode a couple of the rides. Here is Phoenix on the car ride. After a fun filled morning we spent the afternoon at home.

Besides, it was Rubix's 4 month old day so I needed to get pictures. Here is the not so little guy.

 He loves to stand, just like Axel use to love to stand.

I tried to get him sitting, but as you can see he was falling over. He appears to be in the process of dropping one of his feedings at night. He has gone two nights with only waking once. He is also falling more into a schedule with 3 naps a day for most days and an occassional 4th nap of the day. He is starting to put himself to sleep in the middle of the night. He talks for about 5 to 10 minutes after he eats and then falls asleep. This is the only time he can do this, otherwise he still needs to be walked for a minute or two or needs the binkie.  He is also going to sleep much more easily at night. the first night that he did this was Saturday night when everyone was over. I was able to put him to sleep and join everyone in the park across the street. It was such a treat for me to not have to spend hours getting him to sleep. His wake cycles are usually 1.5 to 2 hours now. He is getting much stronger and can almost sit in his high chair unsupported. 

He is loving the exersaucer. You can see here he is leaning forward, but today, Wednesday, over a week later he stands bearing weight and moves himself up and down and back and forth. Axel thinks he looks like a bobble head because his movements are still a bit jerky, but it is amazing at how quickly he is gaining strength and coordination. 

Here is a random picture I took on Friday that I thought was too cute to not include. Oh, how I love my boys!

On Saturday Axel had another swim meet. Daddy worked the entire 6 hours as head timer and announcer. Axel dropped about 5 seconds on his back stroke and free style. Grandma and Grandpa enjoyed watching him swim, just as much as I did.

 Saturday after the swim meet we had Grandma and Grandpa and the Jolleys over for dinner.

After dinner everyone enjoyed popsicles and playing in the park. The kids came in for bath time and books.

 We then had to say our goodbyes to Grandma and Grandpa as well as the Jolleys. We were glad that we were able to have such a great evening before Grandma and Grandpa had to fly back to the Midwest.

Grandma Susan made Louis a collar. He finally tried it on Friday night. What a handsome fellow he is!

Rubix had his 4 month check up on Monday. He weighs a whopping 15 pounds 7 ounces, which puts him at the 47th percentile. He is 26.5 inches and has a head circumference of 17 inches, which are both the 89th percentile.

I got down the music and activity table this past Monday. All of the kids have been enjoying it!

 Axel continues to take swim lessons. Yesterday he started breast stroke. He is going to race it for the first time this weekend. Here is a cute picture of Phoenix as we watched Axel's swim lessons.

I started back to work yesterday. I prepared myself for the worse because the transition has never been easy. Kaiser did not let me down. To make a long story short I did not have access to any of our systems which makes seeing patients quite tricky. Luckily, I got access today 15 minutes before I had to leave and was able to cut and paste all of my charts from my email into the charting system.

Rubix did great because he is at home with Annika and the kids. Axel is enjoying Bible study camp this week. The theme this year is Walk this Way. He learned today that it is not about what we do, but about how God uses us for his works and purpose. Amen to that!

Happy 4th of July, Daddy's Birthday and more!

Our computer has been finding all kinds of ways to make our lives more difficult. After over a  2 week debacle we finally have a video card that allows Axel to play Mind Craft and I can finally download pictures from my phone again. Since I last posted we have had an amazing couple of week. Before I get started on why I think it has been amazing I thought I would share a typical night at the dinner table before Daddy is home. 

Here is Phoenix "eating dinner". I don't know what has been troubling her stomach, but she hasn't been herself and she hasn't been eating very well. So instead of eating she is making cards for everyone. As you can see the cards consist of a piece of paper folded down the middle and one sticker placed nicely in the middle of the paper.

 Now Axel has never really been a good eater, but he has been eating better since he has been on the Neocate Junior. I thought the picture below was cute because he is so much like me when it comes to reading books. He has to finish the book and can't put it down until it is finished. The conversation went something like this. "Axel would you like to eat and read at the same time, or would you like me to take away the book." Axel's response was no rewords but him figuring out how to put his plate in front of the book.

 As for Rubix, he is not "eating" at the dinner table, but he has finally started joining us since I have the high chair set up for him. Phoenix wasn't very happy giving up her seat, but Rubix is extremely happy to join us!

 I love this picture of Phoenix playing at the pool. Her friend Noe was being a bit hot/cold so she decided she can play on the teeter totter by herself.

 On the 4th of July we had a low key day since the pool was closed and I was still very focused on attending to Rubix's sleeping needs. We did manage to go for a family bike ride to Marshall Lane to look at the new building and construction.

 Our first entire family selfie.

 My boys!

 Rubix has changed so much over the past few weeks. Keith and I are very excited at how much he engages with his surroundings now. I feel the transformation that has occurred is a miracle and feel extremely blessed that the really hard days are behind us. Rubix has a wonderful temperament. He is a very happy, easy-going child. I think he is going to be a gentle giant. This picture of him hugging Mr. Fox, his lovey, shows this warm loving side of his.


Rubix can now tolerate tummy time. He sits well in his high chair with a little support on each side and he just started playing in the exersaucer. He loves to stand and can roll over from front to back easily on the left and with a struggle on the right side.

 Rubix hit a growth spurt starting on July 9th. For the past two days he has consumed 32 and 30 oz and today he took five 4 oz bottles and two 5 oz bottles in the night. He is still waking every 5 hours or twice a night, but his naps are finally consolidating. He has taken a 2 hour and a 3 hour nap over the past couple of days. He woke for a feeding in the middle of the nap, but once he is able to consistently take in more at each meal I know he will be able to do these long naps without waking. Today he only took an hour and 15 minute nap for his long nap, but that is still a huge improvement over what he was doing just a couple of weeks ago.

 Louis continues to find his way into every possible cozy spot in the couch. I am a little frustrated of dealing with his hair everywhere, but at the same time I know that he doesn't have much longer left and I want him to be comfortable and happy.

Daddy turned 41 on Friday the 8th. All he wanted for his birthday was to spend time with his family. He took the day off of work to take the kids to their swim lessons, went for a bike ride up highway 9 and then took us out to The Secret Life of Pets (minus Rubix). It was a great day. Phoenix did well and managed to stay for 95% of the movie. She has had some sleeping issues again since watching the movie because it was a little scary. I hope she goes through this phase a bit faster than Axel so we can all sleep better at night!

On Sunday the 10th we went to Auntie's house for a fun visit with Grandma Susan and the Jolleys. Phoenix typically only naps a couple of times per week. This is her on the way home at 4:40 in the afternoon. She was all tuckered out. You can also see Rubix sleeping in the car as well. It is so nice to have sleeping children for car rides!

Phoenix has continued her swim lessons the past two weeks. She has been overall better with less tears and refusals. She hasn't made any huge strides, but seems to be a little bit more comfortable with all of the skills she learned from her previous two weeks of swim lessons.

Here is her star fish!

and her jump into the pool!

Axel continues to take private lessons. He has been focusing on back stroke and his start. Here he is doing a dry land warm up for his back stroke start.

And here he is in the water with his back stroke start. I had no idea how hard the start was until this week when he learned he has to keep his feet high, 90 degrees at his knees and elbow, keep him butt out and head back. I am so proud of how hard he is trying.

I will end the blog with a cute picture of Phoenix and Rubix. This was right before nap time yesterday.

We are excited to see Grandma Sonia and Grandpa Bruce and look forward to some fun filled days so check back soon!