Axel is 5 years old!!!!

What a great Birthday weekend Axel had. It started Friday night with daddy staying up until past midnight making and decorating Axel's Mickey Mouse Clubhouse birthday cake. We originally planned to have Axel's birthday Saturday afternoon, but a strong rain system was expected with high winds and possible thunderstorm. We made a last minute decision on Friday afternoon to move the party to Sunday so that we could still get the jump house for Axel and his friends. 

Saturday Auntie, Uncle, Braylin and Grandma still came over to celebrate with Axel since they had their entire day planned around celebrating with Axel.

We enjoyed a yummy lunch and then some play time, while Axel opened up his gifts.

He received his sphere puzzle that he has been wanting for over 6 months now! Auntie and Uncle Ryan also bought Axel a new pair of converse. They are a little big, but we are sure he will grow into them soon.

Grandma Susan and Grandpa Brian bought Axel a super cool remote control helicopter. Although Axel did not initially receive the gift well because he was extremely into solving the puzzle, he absolutely loves the remote control helicopter.

After gift opening we enjoyed some delicious birthday cake that daddy worked really hard to make. We learned that the cake was really dense and firm because we didn't leave it out for a couple of hours before serving.

Braylin was getting ready for her second nap of the day so unfortunately our guests had to go sooner than we had hoped, but we were very thankful that they made the trek to our house despite the rain.

I had so much fun seeing my beautiful niece. I am amazed at how much she has grown and how she is already doing big girl tricks like sitting and pulling herself up to standing. I have decided it must be a girl thing. Girls just want to be more independent than boys which motivates them to reach physical milestones more quickly. At any rate, it was great seeing the Jolley's and my mom.

After our guests left we enjoyed a fun family rain walk and more cake baking!!!! Luckily, on Saturday daddy started much earlier so the project of monster truck chocolate cake was done by 7:30pm.

On Sunday afternoon Axel had the biggest jump house you could rent for his birthday party.

As party favors we got the kids cape and masks so they could play super heros.

They had an absolute blast!

They kids played non stop for almost 4 hours. Axel took a break only to eat a hot dog in 5 minutes flat and to take a quick pee break on a local tree.

We were able to convince the kids to stop for some yummy birthday cake. But after about 5 minutes of singing Happy birthday and handing out cake the kids were back at it again!

But this time the adults joined the kids! Daddy had fun being silly and doing a full on belly flop jump. Half of the reason we rented this particular bounce house was so that we all could enjoy being kids for the day :)

Here is a picture of all of the kids who came. The two all the way to the right are our buddy Mike's twins. We called them up the day of and invited them to enjoy the jump house too! They were only there for a little over an hour, but it was still great seeing them!

Besides the two Axel's having the time of their lives, Phoenix was a close second enjoying the bounce house more than I would have imagined. My neighbor got a slow motion video of her jumping. Once she sends it to me I will have to post it. I have learned the tongue out for her means she is beyond happy!

And here are the three Amigos.....Axel R. Axel S. and Rishaan. As Axel said, "I am going to have both of my best friends at my party, it is going to be hard to choose which one to play with." Luckily, as we explained to him they all played together very well. The day was an absolute success!

On Monday, daddy volunteered at Axel's preschool all day and was there to celebrate his birthday with him and his classmates. I was able to get off of work a little early and we enjoyed dinner together as a family. Axel requested macaroni and cheese and that is exactly what he ate and nothing else! He also was able to open 1 gift. He opened Grammy Carol's present which was the rainbow loom. We also let him open Annika's present (his babysitters) because we knew she got him more rubber bands for his loom.

On Tuesday, he celebrated with his friends at his daycare, because more of his friends go on Tuesdays then Mondays. We then worked on a couple of bracelets on his rainbow loom.

This morning we went to the doctor for his 5 year check up. As you can imagine Axel is ecstatic about his birthday and told his Dr. today that he had 4 parties. He had a great check up. He weighed in at 33.2 lbs. This puts him in the 4th percentile!!!! He is 39 and a quarter inch which puts him in the 2nd percentile. This is fantastic. He not only stayed on the chart, but he went up a couple of percentiles!

All about Axel......
He currently loves Mickey Mouse. He can count to 100. He loves to do simply addition and subtraction word problems, especially while we are driving. He loves being a big brother and always wants to help. He loves puzzles and doing any form of art projects. He paints, draws, does sock puppets and builds structures with all forms of toys and art supplies. His favorite food is macaroni and cheese. He really isn't a fruit person, but will eat bananas, pears, apples, cantaloupe and blueberries if convinced. He enjoys veggies more. He eats green beans, asparagus, cucumbers, carrots and broccoli. He doesn't prefer meat, but he likes beef better than chicken. He likes turkey sandwiches, and almond butter and jelly sandwiches. He loves egg burritos and pasta, especially with cheese. He is a chocolate lover like his father. He loves to read and can write and say the alphabet, upper and lower case. He can read basic words and is excited about school. We play school all of the time. He can now jump, hop on one foot, climb, run, and ride a bike. He still uses training wheels and pretends to be "flash" the super hero when he puts on his cape and slippers. He sprints around the house. He likes organization and wants everything to be clean and orderly. He color coordinates his toys and is constantly reorganizing his toys. He is a happy and loving person and we feel so blessed to have the privilege of parenting such a wonderful child. We are excited for what the future hold.......

Rain, Rainbows, Dentist and more!

Before I post our mega weekend of birthday celebrations I wanted to finish this post that I started earlier this week. It rained all day on Wednesday, although on our way home from work the rain stopped. This was the view that the kids and I saw when we turned onto our street. It was so beautiful the kids and I got out of the car to take some pictures. 

The picture taking then lead to Axel and Phoenix playing in the water.

Boy does Phoenix love the water!!!!

Can you see how happy she is. I have finally figured out the tongue comes out when she is really happy! You can guess we went straight into the bath after our fun outdoor play.

Axel and I had our bi-annual teeth cleaning. He did an amazing job. He went to the back by himself while I cared for Phoenix.

I was incredibly impressed with how grown up he has become. Usually he needs me to walk him back and be with him, but this time he didn't even bat an eye when the called him back and I was occupied with Phoenix. Go Axel!

Phoenix sat on me during my cleaning. She has been fighting a virus for over a week now and when she doesn't feel well she wants to be held. She did a great job of sitting quietly and watching them clean my teeth. Of course she warmed up when Axel was back getting his teeth cleaned. Both kids wanted to stay. It was a bit of a struggle to get them to leave. Good thing for them we are going back in 3 weeks so I can get one filling for my receding gums!

We play outside after Pheeny's nap almost every day that I am home Thursday through Sunday. This Thursday the kiddos wanted to take Louis for a walk. They did a great job walking him and then played in the park.

 This past month Axel has learned about the rain forest. Daddy wanted me to capture this picture of the rain forest that they created over the past month before they take it down tomorrow. Tomorrow they start learning about the desert. Daddy will be volunteering all day because it is Axel's birthday and he hasn't had a chance to see Axel in action at school.

 Yesterday Axel created the Mickey Mouse Club house with his play doh. He has become obsessed with Mickey Mouse over the past month by borrowing videos from the library.

 Phoenix has become more and more interested and figuring out how to walk in mommy shoes no matter what they are. She spent half and hour trying to walk in my cycling shoes yesterday.

Now time to download the birthday festivities!

Family photos and Axel 5 year photos!

We finally did it. On March 21st the Szolushas finally took their first family photo. It was a pain staking process of over 1.5 hours of waiting before and after the pictures, but luckily the 15 minutes we were taking our photos Phoenix only just began to crack from exhaustion. Unfortunately, Phoenix came down with a virus on the day before the pictures. If you look closely you can see her pink nose and cheeks. 

 We ordered the photo above to hang on the wall and a few extra to pass out to the Grandparents. Now that I look at the photo below I almost like it just as much. Oh well!

Keith really wanted to get a son/father photo. This photo makes me smile from ear to ear. I am so proud to be Axel's mom and Keith's wife. 

 They are such a handsome and charming duo.

 Of course, I decided I wanted a photo of the girls. Phoenix wasn't really interested in taking any more photos, but we managed to get these two shots before the complete melt down.

 Her innocence and love for life make her remarkably beautiful to me. I can't believe how blessed I am to have two healthy, beautiful gifts from God.

 After our 7 minutes of family photos Axel took his 5 year photos. Every year since he was one he has always brought something from home to take a picture with. This year he thought a little house of magnatiles was the perfect thing to capture in his photos. I can't believe my baby is going to be 5 years old in just a few short days. What a lovely journey and pleasure it has been to parent Axel. He has taught me so much about myself and life. I can't believe how much Axel and I have changed over the past 5 years. I am excited for what the future holds and pray and hope that God blesses all of the Szolushas with love, health and happiness.

 And the picture that will hang on the wall this year is Axel showing he is the big "5".

Fun in the Sun!

On Thursday we went to our usual story time at the local library. Phoenix is in her cute outfit that Grandpa Paul sent for Valentine's Day. She looks like such a big girl here and no longer like a baby.

Axel is sporting his Bear's Shirt and they are both excited for story time to begin!

I thought this was such a cute picture of Phoenix feeding her baby. She is finally starting to understand most things that we say to her. She is also very much aware of her surroundings and is always trying to learn from them.

Rishaan came back from a three week trip to India. Axel was so excited to get to play with him. It had been over a month since the last time they played together.

The kids played for over three hours together like the close friends they are. Rishaan grew another 1-2 inches while he was away, no joke! Axel officially comes up to his shoulders!

Phoenix has come to like the sand after observing the older kids and how to play in it. She scoops the sand to fill the bucket and then pours it into the truck.....just like Axel's does :)

On Friday we had family pictures taken. I will do a quick post on those in a few days as soon as Keith puts all of the pictures in a folder for me. It was a bit stressful and not a very smooth experience, but in the end we have one good family photo and a couple of other photos that are good of Axel, Keith and Axel and one of Phoenix and I.

Keith and I have been very lucky to have our babysitter one day every weekend for the entire month of March. Today Keith took me up on a dirt trail on top of the mountain ridge that extends from one mountain top to another. It was above the fog and absolutely beautiful up there. In the background beyond the grass you can kind of see the layer of fog.

From the other side you can see the beautiful hills in the background. It was quite the ride for me and fun to spend so much time together this month!

When we got home from our ride it was birthday time! Rishaan's 5 year party was at the park across the street. He had a clown called silly Ricky again. He had the same clown at his 3 year party and he was just as enjoyable this time. Silly Ricky loved Axel. He wanted to tape Axel's laugh and make it his ring tone. Axel really enjoyed the show. Phoenix loved it too. She lost interest about half way through, but it is funny in the beginning how she wants to be like the rest of the big kids.

Axel volunteered to help Silly Ricky hold balloons along with 4 other kids. When they let go of the balloons, Axel had the best facial expression of them all!

Axel played hard for over three hours.Phoenix also played hard the entire time as well. I tried to catch a picture of the two of them, but I can't seem to get them both to smile. Atleast Axel looks as cute as ever!

Phoenix is so much fun! You can get an idea from the next two pictures at what a tease she is.

She absolutely loves to be outside and climbing! She radiates happiness and God's grace through her absolute joy of everything she does! I wish I could bottle it up because if I could I would never forget the true meaning of life.....to love! I remember this same contagious joy for life from Axel, but after only a few years of life it is already jaded from relationships and life's experiences. You can still see this love through Axel's eyes most of the time, but the heart ache of friendships and life is already a theme that we are having to deal with in preschool.

At any rate, we have had a blessed weekend and lots of fun time together. I hope to post a blog before the big birthday party this Saturday to sum up Axel at this point in his life. Check back soon! We are really excited for the next week of events!!!!

Our little King and Queen

Last Sunday night our friends Tyler and Cynthia came over for a "baby house tour" and dinner. They are expecting twin girls in a few months after trying for 7+ years. They wanted to figure out what things they really need to get and what they can live without. They also wanted to take a look at car seats, strollers and baby carriers. Since Phoenix was in bed Axel was a great sport at helping Tyler figure out what baby carrier he liked better. Axel does exceed the weight limit but luckily neither carrier broke during the demonstration. 

This week has been really low key. I have been extremely lazy with taking pictures and having a great time just enjoying the kids. The weather has been so nice that we have been outside or at a park as much as we possibly can. 

When we were indoors this week Axel and Phoenix played king and queen. Here is a picture of the first day of playing king and queen in Axel's self built castle. 

Day two consisted of Axel dressing Phoenix in a cute tutu as well as the bow in her hair and other accessories pictured in these pictures. 

 The kids either get along great when Axel wants to share or one or both are crying as they both want to play with each others toys.

 Axel is quite amazing most of the time. He self regulates and often plays alone in his room if he wants to play with something that Phoenix will break or tear down. Or he is an amazing big brother and completely entertains her. He does a great job for the big age gap.

 Axel has continued to sleep through the night and has been eating like a champ. We have really increased his fruit and vegetable intake and I have stopped allowing him to eat dinners different than what I make Keith and I.

Phoenix is an incredible eater and has really helped the eating situation for Axel. Phoenix can't get enough fruits and vegetables and likes most foods. Her skin initially improved with taking out the eggs, soy, continuing to avoid nuts and tomatoes, but has recently started to flare again. The bummer thing is I don't know what it could possibly be and am not sure where to begin. I will eventually figure it out or she will eventually grow out of this by age 2 or 3, whatever comes first :)

Phoenix has slept through the night 4 nights in the past two weeks, but still gets up most nights to drink. I know that she likely doesn't need the calories, but can't seem to handle the extended crying, especially when it escalates at around the 20 or 30 minute mark. I wish someone could give me the magic remedy to get her to sleep through the night the quickest and the least painful way for her. Some say go cold turkey and ignore the crying no matter how long. Others talk about decreasing the quantity of milk or slowly diluting the milk with water until they become uninterested in getting up for the water. I have tried all at one point, but not for more than a few days. Any suggestions moms out there?

I leave you with Axel's new obsession....Mickey Mouse. Here is a drawing of the secret club house. There is a lot more detail that he explained to Keith, that I couldn't hear, while I was cleaning up the kitchen.

 Check back next week for a sneak peak of Axel's 5 year birthday photos and our first professional family photo! Just 2 more weeks until our little guy is 5 years old!

Sprinter or sinter....spring in winter or is it really summer in winter?

It has been unseasonably warm the past week or so. This weekend it felt down right hot in the direct sun with the temperatures cresting the high 70's. We have had a great time enjoying the beautiful weather, but at the same time I am so sad how bad our drought is. The stream behind our park is completely empty again! It was nice to see it partially start to fill up with the recent rain, but to have it empty 1 week later, is unbelievable to me! No rock throwing for us this winter!

We have been steadily busy with getting ready for Axel's birthday, getting ready for his 5 year photos, our first family photo, our dentist appointments and his 5 year wellness check. These are all of the events that are going to slowly tick away until we reach the end of the month and Axel's big day! As you can see from the picture below Axel continues to be full of personality. 

Since our last post he has been reading one book to us every night. He is getting better and better at sounding words out and he is starting to enjoy it more and more. He just finished drawing and writing a rhyme book today. I meant to snap a photo of it to post, but forgot. 

Axel had a dentist come to visit him at school on Friday. All of the kids received a new tooth brush, tooth paste, floss and a timer. Yes, a timer to make sure the kids are brushing the full 2 minutes that they are suppose to. I had no idea we are suppose to brush our teeth for 2 minutes at a time! Two minutes is sure a long time :)

Phoenix continues to amaze me with her fear less personality. She really does want to do everything Axel and other kids do. She is trying to go downstairs by herself without holding on.....scary for me.....I am a total wreck at the park!

She also tries to climb this wall and the ladder on the other side. She has the right concept, but not the caution and know how to keep her feet from slipping.

Besides climbing, jumping and running like the big kids she also wants to feed herself. Oh my! She is a mess. She wants to use a spoon by herself and often refuses to have help. She is extremely picky too. She eats very well, but wants a variety of foods. Her favorite foods are blueberries and black berries. She also loves lamb, beef and bread.....especially pancakes!

On Friday while Axel was at school Phoenix and I went on a Burley ride to the park.  Almost the entire time she wanted to swing. She had fun watching the other kids swing as well.

The only time I could get her off of the swing was when she saw this bike. She figured out how she could make it go. What a hoot!

I forgot to mention in the last post that Phoenix's 7th tooth broke through her gums on the 27th of February.

The really big news that has changed since the last post is Axel is sleeping through the night. He told me that he decided he wants to be a big boy and even if he wakes he won't bother daddy and I anymore. It has been 2 weeks straight! A pure miracle. Phoenix has slept through the night twice the past week as well. Those nights have been a bit rough on Keith and I because she is waking about 3 times during the night moaning and kind of crying. She puts herself back to sleep, but then I keep waiting for the crying to escalate or for her to wake again and need to drink. It is almost easier to feed her around midnight because then I know that I will get 6 hours of uninterrupted sleep! Once Phoenix is sleeping the entire 12 hours like Axel, Keith and I will have to learn how to sleep through the night again too!

I leave you with this video of Phoenix and Axel. Phoenix loves to play hide and seek in her closet and she absolutely loves Axel. She loves when he chases her and scares her. They are so much fun!