Independent walker

It has been an exciting week for Axel. After nearly 6 months of walking holding onto our finger he has finally decided he can and wants to walk on his own....most of the time. I see this internal battle where he wants to do what everyone else does and go where he wants to go, but at the same time wants mommy or daddy to be right there with him. The cool thing is he is finally getting his independence and is so proud of himself, as are we.


Keith's close friend from grade school sent Axel and us wonderful house warming gifts....here is Axel's. Thanks Matt and Sarah!


Axel's vocabulary and communication continues to explode. He says shoes and tries to put them on, as well as mommy shoes :).

He pats Louis and says, "good dog". He says crackers, cheerios, bread, and so many words I can't even think of them all. He now, not only brushes his teeth, but he spits afterwards, because that is what mommy and daddy do to get rid of the tooth paste. It is such a joy to see the brain development before our very eyes. Speaking of eyes, that just reminded me that Axel takes his eye drops (for the pink eye that he had) and put it up to his eye and says "eye". Amazing, isn't it? I know every child makes discoveries like these, but to witness it first hand every time those little neurons make more connections it truly a blessing and gift from God. Ok, enough of that!

After weeks of swollen gums, Axel's 7th tooth finally made its appearance on Monday. It looks like Axel is going to have lovely crooked teeth like both of his parents...sorry! I will make sure to get a picture once it is more visible.

Axel loves to explore. He got a kick out of taking daddy around the bushes in the back corner of the yard.

Axel also loves to pick up and throw rocks.

His new skills of the week are getting up and down from the floor without holding onto anything and bouncing a ball. I have pictures of both of these, but haven't downloaded them yet.

Axel is also strong enough to pull the lever on one of his toys Grandpa Brian bought him for his birthday. You can see how excited Axel gets when it makes animal sounds and sings "on this farm".

Off to bed....Good night!

Summer Fun

Axel and Daddy are getting lots of quality time in as Axel has a two week vacation from day care and daddy is on his 6 week sabbatical from work. He gets his 10 year award this Friday....go daddy!! It is truly amazing at how close the two of them have become over the past 10 days. Axel loves to do imitate daddy and take daddy everywhere he wants to go. It is really cute to see them playing together. The only bummer thing is that daddy didn't take any photos, although he did get a good video of Axel playing with his little soccer ball.

We were finally able to buy Axel a little pool. It only took three trips to the store for it to be in stock! Of course, Axel loved playing in his little pool. he spent an hour + this morning in it and was bummed to have to get out to eat lunch. The good thing was he ate more at lunch then he normally does. Who knew sitting in water burns more calories :) Next week Axel is going to go in a real pool at a friends house. We are super excited to see how he likes the big pool so check back next week for more photos.


We also picked up bubbles during our shopping trip. We were all a little bummed that magic bubbles did not work like "magic". Axel's new favorite word is bubble so when he actually got to see us make bubbles he was really excited. However, his excitement quickly turned to frustration as both mommy and daddy had trouble making bubbles.


Axel's vocabulary continues to grow. My two favorite saying are "Breakfast time" and "bath time". He does such a great job of saying it back to us, but let me warn you all "BATH TIME" has become a key word like "WALK" for the dog. You cannot say it without major excitement followed by crying or barking :). Axel will grab our finger and practically run to the bath tub. He then turns the water on and throws his toys in as he waits for me to undress him. So when it is not "bath time" he gets a bit frustrated when I don't remove his clothes for him to jump in.

When Axel is hungry he does the same thing by grabbing our finger and walking us to his high chair. He then says "up" and waits for us to feed him. It is amazing at how quickly his brain is developing now.

Today Axel tried an orange for the first time. He did appear to like it so hopefully it will stay that way. His taste buds appear to be ever changing like his wonderful moods from crying to laughing...oh the joys of being 1 years old.

Ok, the little guy just woke from his nap. Have a great week!

Axel's 15 month check up, our new home and more!

The past 10 days have been action packed with the move, Keith's 35th birthday and doctor appts galore. The move went as smoothly as any move can go. We were blessed with lots of help from our friends and we are forever grateful for our friend's time and energy. I can't put into words how much they did for us so THANKS AGAIN!

Axel started his new day care on Tuesday. He absolutely loves it. He slept nearly 3 hours each day and ate really well. Mommy loves this day care because I no longer have to bring all of his meals and snacks, instead they provide everything!

Here Axel is after daycare on Tuesday. He was hoping to go outside to the park across the street from our house. Daycare stretched his socks over his lower legs to prevent him from itching them....so cute.

Some how I convinced Axel to walk to me instead of going outside :)

This past Thursday on July 8th's Axel had his 15 month check up and daddy turned 35! Axel weighed in at a whopping 20 lbs and 8.5 oz and is now 30 inches tall. The perfect height to now hit his head on the kitchen table while walking. He received three booster shots and then came down with a cold and fever the following day. On Friday he developed pink eye and now the little guy is fully miserable. Despite feeling sick he still got some good play time in the past few days. You can see Axel loves our new home.

Here he is looking out the window, slimy face and all.

Axel going outside for a stroll.


Okay, that would be Axel's little house that the previous owners left in our backyard. It needs some work, but Axel loves it anyways.

Louis loves the new place as well. He has his own room that Axel loves to play in and often they get into ownership games :)

Axel is becoming such a big and strong boy. You can see him moving Louis doggy cage around his room as if it was a walker.


And here he is sitting on Louis' bench.

And wearing big boy sun glasses.

We tried to make the new place look similar to the old place so that Axel had some familiarities. Here he is right at home with his play bench and toys.

Daddy and Axel went to the allergist on Friday. Axel is now on a daily anti-histamine for his horrible eczema. Hopefully, it will help calm down his skin so he is not always itching it and the vicious itch/scratch cycle will end. We learned that Axel is also allergic to goat's milk protein and so rice and almond milk are our only options. We just have to make sure he gets enough protein through other foods which I think will be fine.

Ok, I have to get back to the house. More pictures to hang and little things to put away. Hope you all have a great week!

We're moving!

Sorry for the delay, but we have been working away at trying to get ready for our big move this Saturday. The Szolusha's were blessed with the presence of Auntie Shannon, Ryan and Grandma Susan this weekend. They came down to help get the new house in order. This consisted of cleaning, painting, trips to the hardware store and entertaining Axel. Because of them we were able to get enough done to make the transition this coming Saturday that much easier.


We all enjoyed a sushi picnic on our new front lawn on Saturday night in celebration of my birthday. It was the best birthday present I could have ever received....thanks mom, Shannon and Ryan! I was so whipped out on my birthday on Monday it was all I could do to stay awake after work. Keith and I were able to sit and talk for an hour and a half for the first time in months....all the while he massaged my legs for my birthday! Pure luxury to lie on the bed and talk for hours while getting my sore legs massaged. Yes, sore legs from moving boxes and bending/squatting while cleaning for hours. I guess I am not in as good of shape as I thought :)

Axel had a great time in the new house exploring. He did really well considering the circumstances. The coolest thing about this weekend was to see how much he enjoyed having the family around. This was the first time anyone has visited where he didn't need any "warm up" time. It was as if he completely remembered who Grandma and Auntie were and was ready to work his charm on them. He was great with Ryan too, which was even cooler to see since he has always preferred women over men.

Axel continues to make huge strides in his language development. New words that he is working on this week are "apple and bubble". He is trying to repeat almost everything we say, so he has said many new words, but apple and bubble he is saying consistently.

Axel continues to walk a little bit on his own at home, but hasn't made the big leap to complete independent walking. Instead he runs around with a walker pulling it everywhere like it is apart of his arms. It was really cute to see him running with the walker at daycare the past couple of days. He is so playful that he often doesn't want to leave home or daycare because he is too engrossed in his play. I have a feeling Axel is going to be a "warm up" child that needs a few minutes of warning time before leaving or transitioning to different activities in the future.

Ok, enjoy the pictures and have a great 4th. Hopefully I will have time to post by Monday. Lets pray everything goes smoothly.

Axel enjoying dinner!

Axel helping daddy take down the doggy door. He is getting really good at hand and eye coordination. You can see how excited he was to get the screw driver in the hole!


See Axel concentrating!

Happy Father's Day

I know I just posted last night, but I couldn't resist posting the past couple of days photos and videos. If I have to be completely honest, I am mostly posting tonight because I happen to catch the funniest thing EVER!!

After Axel's bath he crawled away as usual into the living room. He is always so playful and talkative I decided to video tape him and right in the middle of the video whammo he POOPED! What are the chances!!!!!

At any rate, we had a lovely day and here are just a few pictures that sum up the past couple of days. Daddy and Axel playing the hat on and off game last night after our family walk. Note the jacket Axel is wearing for the first time....it was like 50 degrees out yesterday!!!! (Okay, maybe it wasn't, but it sure felt like it!) Excuse me mommy, but I really want the camera..... Yeah!!! The Szolushas are ready for a Father's day family bike ride! Wait....Axel wanted to check out daddy's bike to make sure it was in proper working order :) Okay daddy, I think it is safe enough! And last....Axel getting a feel of how it is to wear mommy's shoes after the ride. He was actually able to put the left shoe on all by himself! Go Axel!!!

Axel walks again!

Tonight was the first time in almost a week Axel decided to try to walk alone again. He walked for almost 30 minutes back and forth to Keith and I and when we were done he decided to continue walking on his own. Unfortunately, he went right back to wanting to grab my finger once he started to play with his toys, but hopefully this is a good sign that he is getting his confidence up again and will be an independent walker shortly. It has actually been a blessing that he wants mommy or daddy right next to him to walk because I can leave the room and know that when he moves I can hear the pounding on the floor as he crawls. Tonight as he was walking without shoes no such noise could be heard :)

Last weekend Keith and I went to Eileen and Luis's baby shower. The three of us had a blast at a winery way out in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Axel was shy at first, but really enjoyed playing with the bigger kids and then yelling and screaming as the center of attention when we were all sitting around playing baby shower games and cheering. He really lit up the room yelling 'yaaaay, yaaaay!' Here is a photo of Axel and mommy playing on the floor.

It was a really warm day so when we got back from the baby shower we decided to play in the water and clean up our outdoor table and chairs. Axel of course wanted to join in the scrubbing and cleaning. The only thing that needed cleaning after the table and chairs was Axel! We look forward to getting a little kiddie pool for him to play in this summer at our new place.



One of Axel's donated tricycles was set a little too high for Axel, so we moved the seat to the lowest setting with a screwdriver and a few wrenches. Axel wanted to help out with the tools and really enjoyed seeing the seat taken apart and put back together. It fits him better, but is still a little too big for him to reach the pedals. oh well, we'll get there soon.


Axel remembered the removal of the bike seat the next day and expressed his interest in taking the bike back apart again. He was trying hard to remove the seat by hand, but could not rip the seat off of the bike.


Axel has been really into donning and doffing his hat, shoes and even gets a kick out of wearing mommy's commuter bag while play. I laughed really hard today when Axel became frustrated and started crying because he couldn't get the right shoe on his left foot. He refused to let me help him and every time I put the shoe on the correct foot he cried. He later enjoyed putting my big shoe on his little foot and his little shoe on my big toe. He clapped and yelled "yay" everytime the shoe stayed on my big toe.

I included the next two photos to show you how boys will by boys. All they need is a truck and a tennis ball for hours of entertainment. Axel loves putting the ball in the back of his truck and then dumping it out, only to chase it and put it back in.


Axel's vocabulary continues to grow. The two big words this week are 'no" and "wa" (walk). When Axel does not want something or is upset that something was taken away, you can hear him say 'no, no, no' now. Its quite funny to see that Axel has disapproval of his parents actions. He likes to walk the dog too and when he starts saying 'wa', Louis apparently understands what he is saying because Louis gets all excited to hear his key word for getting on the harness and going out to explore the neighborhood. When we do go for a wa these days, Axel sometimes likes to hold the handle to the leash, but he also likes to point at every mailbox we pass. If we venture over to them, he likes to open and close the mailboxes and put the flags up and down.
Sometimes it is hard to tell between 'no' and 'nan' (short for banana for food).
new words: bike, walk, no, hot

Our little oinker!

This is going to be short since we are super busy getting things in order for our move. At any rate Axel has been an absolute pig over the past few days. It makes me so proud to see the little guy eating like his parents. Yesterday he had 4 meals and 5 cups of milk! Normally he has 3 meals and 2-3 cups of milk.

Axel has also been expanding his vocabulary on a daily basis. This week he is trying to master down, along with up. I play the up/down game with the windows while driving. He actually thinks when he points to the window and says "daaaw" that it makes the windows go down. You have to see him as he looks left and right pointing at each window....soooo cute!

He is also saying off, hot, truck and today he repeated daddy saying "hell". Don't ask me why Keith was saying hell or why Axel chose to copy it, but I sure had a surprised look on my face!

On Thursday I cut up our first watermelon of the year. I am pleased to say Axel thoroughly enjoyed it, however, once I refrigerated it he didn't want anything to do with it. I guess he has to get used to the cold against his gums and teeth.




I have been feeding Axel hummus for a couple of weeks now after he insisted on trying it. He continues to scarf it. We went to a BBQ last night and he ate about half of a container of artichoke and garlic hummus in one sitting. Boy was I proud:)
Axel continues to look older and older. I thought this picture showed how much more boy like he looks!

Axel continues to want to help out mommy and daddy and wants to do everything that we do. He even helped daddy clean out a big dog cage that we sold this weekend.

Here Axel wants to brush his teeth like daddy and is begging us to lift him up so he can get his toothbrush.

Axel continues to want to put things together and takes things apart. Here he is with the fence of his wagon.

Sorry so short!
Have a great week!