Happy Birthday Axel.......with Easter Fun!

Axel's birthday celebration started on Wednesday at day care. He asked me to make chocolate and vanilla cupcakes. On Tuesday I made the two dozen cupcakes and on Tuesday night Axel helped me put the frosting and decorations on.

 Phoenix and I arrived at 4pm in order to celebrate with him. He got a kick out of the trick candle that Angela included on his cupcake. It took him 5 times to keep the flame out, with each time followed by more and more laughter.

 On Thursday we decorated Easter eggs. Axel was incredibly excited and not very patient for the eggs to cool. I had no idea that it can take almost 4 hours for eggs to cool in the refrigerator after hard boiling them.

 Luckily, the eggs cooled and we had a blast making an Easter Egg family. The mom, dad, sister, brother and baby in the back. I got the idea when I couldn't help Axel fit the egg in the egg wrap. What almost was a huge fail, turned out to be a huge success. Instead of frustration that the egg didn't fit in the egg wrap, Axel thought it was cool that his eggs had hats on.

On Thursday afternoon I made Axel's cake because it has to cool for 4 hours before removing it from the cake pans. On Friday morning we decorated the cake. Axel requested Percy this year. Using Axel's Percy train as our guide we decorated the cake and had it mostly finished before the cleaners arrived at 10:30am. Axel really wanted me to make the face with frosting this year. Last year I used frosting to glue a printed face I found on the internet of Thomas. I think the cake was an improvement from last year, except the face. 

On Saturday morning the four of us went out to breakfast to get Axel's favorite breakfast entree, chocolate pancakes. He scarfed up all three without a moment's break. On the way home from breakfast we stopped by to pick up 4 balloons, one for each of the boys plus one for Sophia, Max's sister. Axel had asked me on Friday when all of the decorations and balloons were going to come out. It broke my heart to explain to him again that we weren't having a party and that breakfast, miniature golf and cake were his celebration. Daddy decided the 4 dollars to get 4 balloons wasn't that big of a deal and since we were right next door to Party City it was almost silly to not fill the request for balloons. 

In the afternoon Axel, Max, Rishaan and their dads went miniature golfing. The kids appeared to have a blast. Phoenix and I tried to play, but she required more attention and playing one handed wasn't very easy. We decided to take pictures instead, although most of them didn't turn out because the boys never really sat still long enough for me to get a good shot.

 After miniature golf the families came over for some cake. We sang Axel happy birthday and the kids played for a bit.

 Sunday morning I woke up early to hide the eggs we had colored and 58 plastic eggs filled with candy. I hid the real ones in the house and the plastic ones in the park. Axel had fun finding the real eggs, although one egg took over an hour to find :) We then ate breakfast and got ready to go outside for the big Easter egg hunt.

 I thought it would be a fun tradition to have the neighborhood kids find eggs together.

 They all did a great job of sharing and helping each other out.

 Surprisingly there were no tears. It was a big success.

 Here is a picture of the 4 kids. Sophia turned 2 on April 1st, then Axel, Max (who turns 5 in May) and Rishaan who turned 4 a couple of weeks ago.

 After the egg hunt, Grandma Susan, GG and Auntie arrived. We had fun visiting and eating some food together.

 We just wish we could see them more often. Thanks for making the long drive down!

It was an action packed week. We are tired and glad it is over. Now we are looking forward to Axel's 4 year check up on Thursday. We can't wait to see how much he has grown. We are also excited for Phoenix's weight check the same day. We are also gearing up for a Warrior's basketball game this Sunday. Auntie and Uncle are going with Daddy and Axel, while Phoenix and I get a restful night at home. Have a great rest of the week!

Axel's 4 year photos

As I mentioned, Axel had his photos taken a week and a half ago. I wanted to share some of his photos to give those of you who requested one a sneak peak!

 This is the monster truck that Axel and daddy made at Lowe's. I thought it might be cute to have one or two different "toys" from home in the photos so he can see what he was interested in at the time. When he picked out the truck I thought it was perfect.....besides it matched the shirt I picked out :)

 I actually didn't order any photos of Axel in his red shirt. They just weren't as cute because he was laughing so hard. Although, I do think this is a cute picture.

 I ordered 4, 3 x 5's of this photo because I figured it would be the last time to capture bunny. Bunny has been such a big part of his life, I thought another picture to remember his importance to Axel wouldn't hurt. Good thing because bunny disappeared shortly after the photo shoot. I believe he is lost somewhere in the house. I do hope to find him so I can put him away again for Axel to have as a keep sake. This transition wasn't as hard as it was the first time bunny was "lost". Since he has learned to sleep without him once, it was much easier to learn to sleep without him again.

 Axel appears to be growing by leaps and bounds. We are looking forward to his 4 year check up in order to see how much more he has actually grown. The three things I notice the most are his face, hands and feet. They are all so much bigger than they were just a few months ago!

Axel has been using the special lotion that Grandpa Bruce has been using, for years for his dry skin, for over a week now. We think it is helping because Axel does seem to be sleeping better. He still asks for lotion within an hour of going to bed (after we have already applied it multiple times in the hours before bed), but once he is in a deep sleep he is not waking until 7 am in the morning. Typically, Axel has been waking once or twice a night between 11pm and 5am screaming for lotion. Besides the amlactin cream we have been much more diligent about applying aquaphor a minimum of 4 times per day, even on the days he goes to daycare. We think both of these, along with taking long baths is helping.

Axel really wants to learn how to read. He has taken a huge interest in knowing what it takes to read. Because of this he loves to play school where he is the teacher. Luckily, the teacher likes to learn as much as he likes to teach. Letter recognition, both lower and upper case, along with what letter makes what sounds are what he loves working on most. One way we work on it, is with flash cards that I purchased that asks what letter words begin with, end with and rhyme with. Otherwise, we typically use the dry erase board where he can practice writing the letters as well.

 The other big update about Axel is he is eating like a champ. I no longer make him a separate meal. He is eating the food I cook 100% of the time, rather than 60% of the time. He is also eating a vegetable every night. He has finally learned boys who eat and sleep well get to do lots of fun things and get yummy treats. Lets hope the trend continues!

 Axel found the bows that daddy bought for Phoenix's hair, on her bookshelf. Here is a cute picture of Phoenix with one on. Axel says she needs to wear one all of the time now so that people know she is a girl. Soooo cute!

This last picture is for Great Grandma Burgess. When she was over she asked about my succulent plants. I think the question was, do they bloom or flower? Well here is the answer....yes, some of them do :)

Have a good week and check back soon for Axel's birthday and Easter fun!

Phoenix is 2 months old!

Last Friday we had Phoenix's 2 month check up, although she didn't officially turn 2 months until yesterday. At her appointment, she weighed in at 10 lbs 1oz, which put her in the 28th percentile. She was 22 and 3/4 inches long which kept her in the 70th percentile. We are going to do another weight check on April 4th, during Axel's 4 year check up to make sure that she doesn't continue to lose weight (since she dropped from the 60th percentile to the 28th) Unfortunately, if she does continue to lose weight, the doctors are highly recommending to put her on formula. 

 For the most part Phoenix has done great on my restricted diet. I went off the deep end though and made pumpkin curry soup, which has garlic and tomatoes in it. I really wanted something tasty and wholesome. Unfortunately, because of this splurge, Phoenix has had vomiting for 2 days and has been much more fussy. Good thing is I know now I absolutely need to avoid those two foods in addition to dairy, soy, corn, nuts, eggs, seafood, caffeine, and chocolate. Once she is doing better for a few days I am going to eat wheat and see how she does with it. If she can handle wheat I will be in heaven, although, I have almost mastered non wheat/corn/dairy/egg bread.

As you can see from the pictures, Phoenix has received so many cute outfits. Pictured below is Phoenix in the outfit Great Grandma Burgess bought for her. I promised to post it as soon as we took it. Unfortunately, the lighting wasn't very good because I took the picture first thing in the morning, before the outfit was covered in spit up :)

Phoenix is getting stronger and more alert. We have been making sure to do tummy time multiple times per day. 

Big brother loves to do whatever baby sister is doing. I love this picture of them doing tummy time together.

Oh, Phoenix also continues to be a good sleeper. The past two nights she has done a 7 and 6 hour stretch of sleep!

 Last Thursday, Axel took his 4 year pictures in the morning and then had a play date with Sadie in the afternoon. Axel was such a champ at his photos. The photographer couldn't believe at how well Axel cooperated. The kid before him took almost an hour because he wasn't cooperating and kept saying "no". So having Axel, right after him, was a treat :) Because Axel was especially good I promised him a reward. He found chocolate pudding in the cupboard that we had bought over a year ago for a special occasion like this. Pictured below is Sadie and Axel enjoying the yummy chocolate pudding.

 Last Sunday was Rishaan's birthday party. We were up early enjoying oat/rice pancakes that daddy made. I had Phoenix dressed and ready to go while I went for a quick bike ride. Before I left I was able to capture this cute photo of my three favorite people.

 Rishaan's birthday party was a blast for Axel. He had a great time playing with Max and Rishaan. Although, the cake didn't come until almost 3pm with all of the kids tired from missing their naps, it was still the hit of the party.

 Here Rishaan is trying to figure out if the cake is also under the table :)

 Here Max and Axel are scarfing their tasty cake.

 Right before we left both of the new girls on the block were awake. Here is Nishka, Rishaan's sister, and little Phoenix, who was on her second outfit of the day.

 Now lets fast forward to this week. This Wednesday I was able to visit my best high school girlfriend, Tiffany and her new daughter, Charlotte. Here are the two little ones looking super cute. We had a great time visiting and catching up. Tiffany even spoiled me with a home cooked lunch of sweet potatoes and chicken for driving the 40 minutes to see her. Oh, for those of you wondering, Nishka is 8 days older than Phoenix and Charlotte is 10 days younger than Phoenix.

 On Thursday, yesterday, Curious George, came to visit our library. Instead of the normal story time of books and songs, we took a picture with Curious George and did a project. Axel and I were both bummed it wasn't a real monkey, but he was still happy we went to see him.

 This morning was our biannual visit to the dentist. This was the first time Axel sat alone in the chair. He asked to watch the Little Mermaid, after reading the book at home. He was completely mesmerized.

 They had to put shades on him because the light was too bright in his eyes. I had never seen the shades before and got a real kick at him watching the movie with the shades on. He didn't like Ursula or the scary scene of her at the end, but all in all he decided it was a good movie. I was able to get through my cleaning only because the receptionist, Alisha, held Phoenix the entire time. I felt really bad, but she offered to help and I thought it was better to have her holding Phoenix, not working, than a child screaming for 40 minutes. Alisha, was very cute afterwards and said that Phoenix wouldn't let her sit down. After a few more spit ups she was finally able to fall asleep in her arms. Good thing we have an awesome family dentist. Next time hopefully, Phoenix won't be in pain from something mommy ate :)

Check back soon for Axel's 4 year photos. I hope to have them posted by the end of the weekend because next weekend's post will be about his party and Easter when he actually turns 4!

The Good, The Bad and the Scary

I meant to write this blog last week, but unfortunately, we had quite the scare with Phoenix last Friday. Since then I was under the weather for a few days with a cold and we all struggled to adjust to the time change, especially after the emotional stress of Friday. Now just a few days later all is good again. 

You are likely wondering what the big scare was. Well, after playing in the park for 3 hours and the three of us taking a nap, I noticed Phoenix had bruising/rash on her foot and leg. I emailed the photo to Keith and Phoenix's doctor. To make a long story short she was quickly seen, had her blood drawn (poor thing) and cleared of any serious illness. She was a bit anemic, which is normal for a 4-6 week old and her blood work  showed that she was trying to fight a virus. I thank God for the amazing medical care that we have. We are so lucky, when so many Americans have little to no medical coverage.

On top of this Phoenix has continued to have blood in her stool. The doctors told me to basically give up almost all food or put Phoenix on a hypoallergenic formula. I had already given up dairy, soy, caffeine, chocolate, corn and eggs. I was proud of myself for being able to cook on those restrictions. Here is my first home made calzone. They turned out great. Axel even loved them. Unfortunately, now that I have given up seafood, wheat, nuts, citrus fruit, tomatoes, and so forth, I will not be able to use the same calzone recipe. The past few days I have been buying and reading up on how to make breads, pancakes, etc with oat flour, rice flour, potato flour, potato starch and xanthum gum. It is a whole new ball game and I have a lot to learn. My pancakes were a little crumbly, but for a first try were not too bad. The trick to using these alternate flours is putting in enough starch to make them stick together and not crumble. Tomorrows project is making my first bread with these ingredients because I am sooooo hungry!!!! 

All of this effort has not been in vain because miss little Phoenix has had three days of no blood in her stools and most of them are yellow and no longer green!!!! This is very exciting news, which makes for a happy Phoenix, which makes for a happy mommy, which makes for a happy household.

The highlight of my week last week was a surprise visit from Great Grandma and Grandpa Burgess. I received a phone call the week before last from Grandma asking if I would be around Tuesday morning. Luckily, Tuesday was free from doctor's appointments or other commitments and I was able to enjoy a short visit with them. I hadn't seen them in quite sometime because my usual trips to Sacramento were cancelled because of Grandma Susan being busy with work and helping her sister in law all last year. It was such a pleasure to be able to chat with them even if it was for just a couple of hours. I really appreciated the fact that they made an effort to visit.  Although Phoenix was asleep most of the time, they were able to meet Phoenix and get a quick picture with her. Unfortunately, Axel was at daycare and missed the visit.

With Phoenix's food sensitivities we are pushing harder to get her comfortable with the bottle. She does great with both daddy and Axel. Next goal is to get her comfortable with me feeding her the bottle just in case we have to go to the formula. We are all hoping that she will grow out of these sensitivities quickly and that she will be able to continue nursing, but if not, we are all happy that we gave it our best shot.

Axel gets his 4 year photos tomorrow and one of his buddies, Rishaan turns 4 on Monday. We are attending his birthday party on Sunday so check back soon!

Axel loves Phoenix, Phoenix loves Axel

Welcome to story time. Axel is reading Louis, Phoenix and I several books as Phoenix is eating. He is such a  good big brother. This was the beginning of my two days alone with Axel and Phoenix. I couldn't have asked for a smoother and easier time. 

Phoenix is such a good sleeper and is already making a routine for herself. She typically is awake for an hour or so and then sleeps an hour or so and then gets up to nurse. Repeat this several times over makes for a happy Axel as he gets lots of alone play time throughout the day. With Phoenix sleeping longer and longer stretches at night mommy is also very happy and able to function a little more at full capacity. Last night Phoenix slept 6 hours and then 3 hours straight. That equates to mommy sleeping 5 hours and 2 hours. I would like to say that I was able to sleep straight, but Axel has been waking up several times at night again. We can't figure out if it is his itchy skin keeping him up or being scared. We hope to start special lotion soon, to help with his itchy skin, so hopefully his skin will be less of an issue. 

As I have digressed, Phoenix is absolutely charming. She is a happy, relaxed baby and has taken quite a liking to Axel's familiar face. She has a huge smile here as Axel plays with her. It appears that as long as her belly doesn't hurt she rarely cries and/or fusses. She can entertain herself, put herself to sleep, or interact happily with others. Keith and I feel extremely blessed to have such an "easy" baby the second time around. Keith loves the fact that she doesn't cry endlessly, like Axel did, when he is alone with her. As long as I stay away from dairy and soy she is a happy camper. She even takes the bottle well now. She has had three without any issues. Yeah for us!

 

Part of Phoenix's night time routine includes a bath. She seems to really enjoy the water. I am curious to see if she will continue to enjoy it as she grows into the swimming years. 

 Phoenix has also discovered her cute self. Here is one of the few times she is talking to herself.

I had to take a picture of Axel in his new shirt from 'lil Grammy. He loves it and was quite proud of it. 

 On Thursday morning after story time Axel had a play date with Sadie. They played extremely well together.

It was fun to see them laughing together almost the entire hour and a half. After quite time on Thursday Axel had another play date with Mason. I wanted to make sure he had fun the first day being alone with Phoenix and I. Friday which just as smoothly, despite not having any official play dates. Axel still plays with Rishaan and Max almost every night in the park so he burns lots of energy before bed.  

It is hard to believe it is already March. The weeks and days are flying by. 

I want to leave you with the monster truck video links and a picture of the boys I promised. Axel had a blast on his Daddy date at the monster truck show in Oakland last Saturday!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVUUJNtRruo&feature=youtu.be

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGc01rVazZw&feature=youtu.be