1 Year Pearl and Axel

They were both so desperate to get the party hat off.  I gave up on the hat with Pearl.  I managed to get a few decent photos with Axel in it though.  It's probably because my baby wrangling skills are more refined now.  Also, the fact that I still had that homemade paper hat 20 months later is proof that I am a hoarder.

-Kira

1 Year Old!

Axel is one year old!

Buddy has seven teeth now.  He is working on a couple more as well.  The poor guy constantly has his hand in his mouth and has been more whiny than usual because of it.  I'm hoping he gets a bit of a break from the teething soon.

He still doesn't sleep through the night.  Most of the time he wakes up twice, but sometimes only once.  It doesn't seem to work to let him cry it out and the only way to get him back to sleep is to nurse him.  He still gets breast milk about five times a day (including night time feedings.)  It's funny how different kids are.  Pearl was down to just two quick nursing sessions a day at this point.

Axel can stand on his own.  He has done it a few times, but immediately sits down when he realizes he is doing it.  One of his favorite games is to hurl himself forward at us if we try to get him to stand.  It makes him laugh a lot.  He also walks around like crazy if I let him hold onto my pointer fingers.  Buddy has no interest in walking without holding onto me though.

Axel holds the phone up to his ear now and says "haaaa" which clearly means "hi."  He knows the sign for "more."  He really likes to point at people and bursts into giggles when they point back.  He also loves pretend feeding us with his spoon.  Musical toys are still among his favorites, but he has started to gravitate toward cars as well.  Sometimes he makes a high pitched howling sound while listening to music.  I think he is trying to sing.

He had a ton of fun with family at his birthday party.  We also took the kids camping on his actual birthday this weekend.  He and Pearl had the best time screaming and crawling around like crazies in the tent when they should have been sleeping.

See how much he has grown!

-Kira

11 Months Old!

Axel is eleven months old!

Our little guy sleeps in his own room now.  He technically sleeps in the guest room, but it will eventually be set up as his permanent room.  His quality of sleep has greatly improved since we made the transition.  Instead of waking up every two hours (and sometimes more than that) to eat, he only wakes once or twice a night.  This of course means that Jeremy and I get better sleep now too.

Axel's newest trick is to pucker up and make the kissing noise over and over again.  He loves it when we do it back.  He is the sweetest little guy and has decided that he will cuddle everyone now.  Not just me.  If you are holding him, you will very likely get little baby hugs.  He melts everyone.  It's really sweet to watch him climb Jeremy just to rest his head on daddy's shoulder.

This month he has really been into our bathrooms.  He likes banging on the toilet lid and unrolling the toilet paper.   He also enjoys taking soaps, wash cloths, and anything else he can grab from the edge of the bathtub.  I have to make sure the bathroom doors are always shut.

It's funny to think back to this age with Pearl.  She was already walking.  They are such different babies.  He has no interest in standing on his own or walking without assistance.  The moment we let go of him, he lowers himself to the ground.  That is fine with me although I am tired of his pants being constantly dirty from the crawling.

See how much he has grown!

-Kira

10 Months Old!

Axel is ten months old!

Axel has four teeth now.  His top ones are ridiculously adorable which is good because they gave us a lot of trouble.  Night time has been rough this month.  I was hoping it would get better once those teeth came in, but it really hasn't.  He wants to nurse all night long and gets really upset when I don't let that happen.  He scratched his face last night pretty bad in a rage while I took a break from middle-of-the-night nursing.  I didn't realize it happened until this morning and quickly cut his one jagged little fingernail.

His new favorite thing is to shake his head "no" while eating to evade the spoon.  He thinks it is hilarious, and we think so too.  Feeding him is sometimes difficult because of his game though.  Axel knows that I am "mom" and often says it now to me.  He woke up really early once this month and Jeremy tried to cuddle him back to sleep.  Axel looked at me with a worried look on his face and screamed "mom!".  It was really funny.  He also says "da" for both dad and for the dogs.

He is obsessed with any drum or thing he can hit to make a loud noise.  He also loves taking baths with Pearl and playing with her training potty seat.  I have to make sure that thing gets really clean in between each use.

Axel still hates bottles although he is better about drinking one or two ounces from them when I have to be away.  He hasn't really figured out sippy cups yet and has no desire to try.  This one might be nursing forever.

See how much he has grown!

-Kira

9 Months Old!

Axel is nine months old!

Our little buddy has been pretty busy this month.  He started pulling himself up and walking along while holding onto furniture.  He crawls everywhere and is extremely active.  Axel loves climbing over obstacles so if I need to keep him busy for a bit, I will set him next to Pearl's little step stool.  He has so much fun climbing over it.
Axel says mama and dada regularly along with a lot of other sounds.  He has no clue that they mean anything, but he knows I get excited and repeat them back to so he likes to do it.

He got his first taste of dog food this month thanks to Pearl.  She spilled the food all over the floor while she was "helping" the dogs eat and he snatched a piece.  I managed to fish it out of his mouth, but he seemed to like it.

I have stopped giving him baby food at every meal and usually just give it to him once a day.  He much prefers finger foods.  We have also made a little progress with bottles.  He has been willing to take a few this month.  I'm not really doing a food introduction schedule anymore.  He had steak for the first time this month and seemed to like it, but was a lot more into the roasted zucchini on his tray.  Axel eats vegetables more happily than Pearl ever did.  I'm hoping that trend continues.

Axel loves throwing stuff.  He will burst into fits of giggles if you continue to pick up the thing he threw so he can throw it again.  It is apparently the best activity ever.  He also has the most hilarious excited face.  He closes his eyes, grinds his jaw sideways, and shakes his hands around.  It is so weird and also really cute.  I need to get video of it.

I pretty much say this every month, but I am shocked that he is nine months old already.  How is this happening so fast?

Axel's stats: 

Length: 28.25"

Weight: 19lbs 9oz

See how much he has grown!

-Kira

8 Months Old!

Axel is eight months old!

We finally had two teeth pop through!  He seemed to have some teething relief, but has also been sick for most of the month.  I'm hoping once he is healthy that night times will go better, but this month has been difficult for us both.  He gets frustrated when he can't breathe while latching.  Sometimes that causes him to bite me which is obviously not great.  He is also experiencing pretty extreme separation anxiety and completely freaks out when I put him in the co-sleeper.  I'm so tired that I haven't tried to fight it.  Axel sleeps with us in the bed now.

He is crawling all over the place and is very happy about it.  Axel absolutely loves having the freedom to get around on his own as long as I am within sight.  If I am not, he will come find me.  Other things he loved this last month are playing with dad, eating foods with his hands, and percussion.  He is always happy to hear drums or clapping.  It doesn't matter his mood, that will always cheer him up.

Axel is starting to really enjoy playing with Pearl, even when she gets a little rough.  He has toughened up a bit and she is better understanding the need to be gentle so they are finding a good balance.  Pearl worries about him when he cries and sweetly apologizes if she does something to cause his tears.  She is also becoming protective and threw herself in front of him as a tiny human shield in an attempt to save him from a vaccination.  She was adorable and brave.  He took it like a champ which calmed her down.  I was so proud of them both.

See how much he has grown!

-Kira

7 Months Old!

Axel is seven months old!

Axel is still working on those stubborn bottom front teeth.  He still has nothing to show for it except a lot of slobber everywhere.  I really hope they come soon and he gets a bit of a teething break before the next ones make their appearance.
He can sit on his own like a pro now.  He rarely falls over and will sit and play with toys for as long as he wants to before getting upset and crying for me to hold him.  Axel is definitely a mommy's boy and won't hang out for long happily without having me in his sight.  He does pretty well if I am completely gone from the house, but if he knows I am around, he wants to know exactly where I am at all times.
Food is a bit of a struggle for us as he only wants to eat breast milk directly from the source or bananas.  He shuts his mouth so tight if we try to put any other food in it.  Bottles still don't happen.
Axel can sort of crawl.  He bounces around in crawling position, can pivot really well, go backward, and occasionally makes tiny moves forward.  The forward motion is still really difficult for him and it's a constant source of frustration because the poor boy wants to move so bad!
He laughs a lot.  It doesn't take much to get him to explode into giggles.  It is the sweetest thing.  Pearl loves making him laugh and they have a lot of fun together.  He also constantly makes a noise that sounds like Chewbacca.  We can't watch dialog heavy movies anymore because we can't hear what people are saying over that noise he makes.
Axel isn't sleeping through the night so he is still in our room.  He spends part of the night in the co-sleeper and the rest of the night in our bed.  I don't mind too much.  We have perfected the laying-down-while-half-asleep feeding and he is pretty great at cuddling.  I will probably have a hard time once we get around to moving him into the crib.

See how much he has grown!

-Kira

6 Months Old!

 Axel is six months old!

Axel has been teething all month, but the poor guy doesn't have any teeth to show for it yet.  He has been taking it pretty well, but has been drooling all over the place.  Night times have been a little bit rough and I assume that is the reason why.  He also no longer sleeps with his arms swaddled and occasionally wakes himself when he starts swinging his arms around.
He has been introduced to a few more foods (apples, pears, carrots, and green beans).  We have also pretty much given up on finding a bottle he will take.  I started working a freelance job that has kept me away from him for 9-10 hours a day just a few times this month.  He ends up eating more baby food those days.  We mix it with breast milk and feed it to him with a spoon.  On those days he was willing to take about an ounce of milk from a bottle, but that's it.  He still managed to be pretty happy though.
I think he is getting close to figuring out the army crawl.  He is definitely strong enough and has moved himself a little bit in that position.  He mostly just rolls to get to what he wants at this point though.  Axel can sit on his own for short periods of time before the weight of his large head eventually topples him over.
Axel looks so big now.  He no longer looks very tiny in comparison to Pearl.  I can't believe he has already been with us for half of a year.  Time is flying!
Axel's Stats:
Length: 27.5" (84%)
Weight: 17 lbs 10.5 oz (52%)
Head Circumference: 18.27" (100%)

See how much he has grown!

-Kira

5 Months Old!

Axel is five months old!

Axel can roll over both directions now.  He hasn't figured out how to use it to his advantage to get places yet like Pearl did at this age, but he often rolls over on accident.  He loves playing with toys now and swings his arms around excitedly while holding them.  He can throw a toy across the room, but has no idea he's doing it.
He hates bottles although I think I discovered a brand he will tolerate.  We introduced food this month and although he wasn't sure at first, he is starting to get better at eating and seems to enjoy it more.  So far he has tried sweet potatoes, avocados, butternut squash, peas, and bananas.  Obviously, bananas were his favorite.
He is still generally pretty happy, but has started to get pretty attached to me.  If I'm in the room, he prefers that I hold him and if I can't, he would like to have me in his sight at all times.  He will generally sit in his little chair in the evening and watch me cook/eat dinner.  He will happily sit there for around 90 minutes before deciding it's time to get out.
Axel still sleeps best while swaddled.  I know that needs to come to an end soon since he is good at rolling now.  I don't want him to end up on his belly without available hands to help himself.  He also still wakes multiple times to eat at night.  I would like that to come to an end soon too, ha!

See how much he has grown!

-Kira

4 Months Old!

 
Axel is four months old!

He is the sweetest little guy.  Axel smiles and laughs so much now.  He is generally very easy going too.  People constantly ask me in public, "Is he always this quiet?" or "Is he always this happy?".  The answer to those questions is no, but he is generally a pretty happy baby.  If I kiss his feet or tickle his neck in the bath he just explodes with laughter.  He also finds it hilarious when Pearl and I blow bubbles.  Pearl loves to see him laugh.
Axel does not like to be away from me and sometimes refuses a bottle when I am not able to be with him for a feeding.  It's totally hit and miss, sometimes he does fine, but there have been a few instances where he completely refuses and cries until he either falls asleep or I come home.  I try not to be away from him for more than two hours at a time just in case, but sometimes it's unavoidable.
He is starting to enjoy toys more now and loves grabbing at things, especially my hair.  He has also pulled Pearl's hair a few times which I think is good for her because now she knows it hurts when she tries to pull mine.
Axel still wants to be swaddled at bedtime and for naps.  If for some reason he can't be swaddled, he won't fall asleep unless I hold his hands down.  If he is in a swaddle though, I just need to lay him down and he will fall asleep on his own.  Pearl had to be rocked for every nap so Axel's ability to fall asleep on his own is wonderful to me.
Axel's Stats:
Length - 25"
Weight - 16 lbs

See how much he has grown!

-Kira

3 Months Old!

 

Axel is three months old!

Our little guy is three months old and I kind of can't believe it.  This last month seemed to go by in a flash.  Axel is getting strong and has rolled over from belly to back about five times now.  He is generally a pretty happy guy and smiles a lot.  I finally got him to laugh yesterday during his bath.  It was just a little giggle, but it still counts!

He definitely prefers mommy over anybody else, but will still happily let anyone hold him.  He goes from sweetly smiling at Pearl to being completely terrified of her within a split second, but the fear is generally warranted.  She is really into jumping now and often wants to do it right next to his head.

I was so spoiled with Pearl's sleep schedule as a baby that I complained a little about him waking up once in the middle of the night last month.  I guess he decided to get back at me for that because he has been waking up a lot in the middle of the night recently.  At least he is usually done with a feeding in under 15 minutes.

People kept saying that he looked like me, but I really didn't see it until this month.  I can definitely see the resemblance now and I'm pretty excited about it since Pearl was always mini-Jeremy.

See how much he has grown!

-Kira

2 Months Old!

Axel is two months old!

Axel rolled over from belly to back once a couple weeks ago, but hasn't done it again yet.  Tummy time makes him pretty mad which I think is motivation for him to roll over.  When he is tired though, he absolutely loves to nap on his belly.
His first real smiles came at around six weeks.  He doesn't smile as much as Pearl did at this stage.  When he is in the right mood though, he will give you lots of smiles.  Axel seems to smile the most first thing in the morning and when Pearl and I mimic his noises.
Miss Pearl was an amazing sleeper by this point and slept through the night.  Axel isn't there yet, but most nights only wakes up once to eat which isn't too bad.  He sleeps pretty well at night although he makes a bunch of weird noises that keep me from sleeping sometimes.
He has started taking interest in certain objects and toys.  His favorite is one of Pearl's toys.  It's a bug that lights up and changes colors.  He loves staring at that bug and really enjoys looking at himself in the mirror as well.
Pearl has been holding Axel and singing to him a lot lately.  He just watches her and really seems to love it.  I absolutely love it too.  It's amazing to already see a relationship starting between them.
See Pearl at two months here.
Axel's Stats:
Length: 23"
Weight: 12 lbs 11 oz

See how much he has grown!

-Kira

1 Month Old!

 
Axel is one month old!

I put him in the same onesie Pearl wore in her one month photos for a fun comparison.  I can definitely see a resemblance between the two of them although people often tell me that Axel looks like me and I never once heard that about Pearl.  It's exciting to have a child who at least looks a little bit like me.

He hasn't been weighed since his two week appointment, but we think he has gotten a lot bigger.  Axel outgrew most of his newborn clothes by the time he was three weeks old.  We had so many hand-me-downs from my sisters that he never even got to wear.  I'm not sure what to do with all of those clothes!
Axel is very strong for a one month old.  He holds his head up really well and seems to be pretty close to rolling over.  He is much more sturdy than I remember Pearl being at this age.

We are still adjusting, but are very much enjoying our little guy.  Pearl can't stop kissing and hugging him.  She loves "Baby Ba" (baby brother) so much.  I love seeing that, it's the sweetest thing!

-Kira

For reference:
Axel at one week
Pearl at one month

1 Week Old!

Axel is one week old!

I started Pearl's monthly first year posts at the one month mark.  I thought it would be fun to get a newborn photo in there for Axel this time.  One week is the best I could manage.  It turns out that a baby at one week old isn't very interested in posing for photos.  Hopefully he will soon be as happy to be photographed as his sister was.

Our little guy really likes to eat.  In that regard, he is just like his sister was as a newborn.  I feel like I am constantly breastfeeding.  I'm so glad we haven't had any nursing challenges so far though.  He has also managed to sleep in between night time feedings for the last two nights so I am feeling much less like a zombie.  It took Pearl a couple of weeks to get her days and nights in order.  I hope these two nights are a sign that Axel has already worked it out.

Pearl has taken to him well and loves giving her little brother lots of hugs and kisses.  We have to watch her carefully though because sometimes she forgets to be gentle.  He will probably grow up to be a pretty tough kid having her as his older sibling.

We are adjusting well as a family, much better than I had anticipated.  We love Axel so much already and feel very blessed to have these two little ones as our own.

-Kira