Jessamine County Water Park

We have had so much fun at the pool this summer. We are finding out that we have a little water baby! Axl loves to sit in the shallow end and play with water toys. He has fallen over quite a bit and swallows some water, but calms down easily and gets right back to business.

Getting protected!!

Snack time!Sometimes we even run into some friends!

Axl is 9 months old!

For the first time in Axl's 9 month life, I forgot to take the bear picture on the 19th. Therefore, I must confess that the bear picture this month was taken when Axl was actually 9 months and 2 days old, on the 21st. As silly as it is, I am seriously disappointed with myself for forgetting this, but I am getting over it. Life got in the way--we had a wonderful day at the pool that day and I really just forgot all about it before I put him to bed.

Anyway, this has been a pretty fun month. It started out pretty rough with Axl being a pretty fussy little guy, which many of you know, is not very characteristic of him. Anyway, we worked with some scheduling, eating, resting issues and pretty much have it figured out. He just really does the best on a pretty strict schedule. Right now, for my records, it goes like this.
7:30-8:00 Axl wakes up and has breakfast: milk, toast, and cereal
Playtime/errands
10:30 Morning nap
12:00-12:30 Axl wakes up and has lunch: milk, various vegetable, and cereal, sometimes sippy with juice
Playtime/errands
3:00-3:30 Afternoon nap
5:30 Axl wakes up and has dinner: milk, vegetable, fruit, and cereal
Playtime/Bathtime
8:30 Milk and Bedtime!
*If we stick pretty close to this, he is a VERY happy baby!

Yet again I must post that he is still essentially immobile, though I am quite grateful. He rolls quite a bit and is a spin master on his belly but has yet to crawl. Just yesterday he pulled one knee up under his stomach and started launching forward from sitting, thinking he will be able to crawl, but just facedives into the floor. I don't think it will be long. Also, no teeth yet--still has to wear a spit bib EVERYDAY.

I never even thought to work with Axl on clapping or try to teach him this particular skill, but this month (06/08), he just decided it was a fun thing to do. I was talking to Cindy one day with him on my lap and he started perfectly clapping his little hands together. He'll now do it when we say, "Yay" or sometimes when we say, "Clap, Axl". If we guide his hands together, he always gives us atleast a couple. :)

sorry about the Tennessee bib--we use it for especially messy foods! ;)

1 month old 10/19/2008
2 months old 11/19/2008
3 months old 12/19/2008
4 months old 1/19/2009
5 months old 2/19/2009
6 months old 3/19/2009
7 months old 4/19/2009
8 months old 5/19/2009
9 months old (6/21/2009)

We love you so much, little guy!

The Best Dad

We celebrated Tyler's first official Father's Day by trying to make it an enjoyable day for him! On Sunday morning, Tyler came downstairs to some warm bread coming out of the oven, a cheeeeesy Father's Day stepping stone from Axl (very cute, nonetheless "FOLLOWING IN YOUR FOOTSTEPS, AJH...with his feet stamped in, of course), and a card that says "Everyone needs a HERO...I'm so glad you're mine!" When you open it you can hear Axl whispering very softly..."dadada" (which, by the way, took about 3 days to record). We made sure Dad got a nap in the afternoon and then went to celebrate with my family at my brother, David's house. My contribution to the meal was a banana pudding trifle, one of Tyler's favorites that I actually haven't made since we've been married. It was a good day!


We tried to make this day extra special for Papa T because we love him so very much! Here is a nonexhaustive list of all the great things about him!

1. He loves us very much and makes sure to tell us both so every night, no matter if we have yelled, cried, pooped, screamed, been snotty, or whatever the case may have been throughout the day.

2. He works so incredibly hard to support our family. He works a full-time job, many hours of overtime, and yet another job. He works so hard so that we can buy things we need and things we want. He is always understanding of both our needs and wants and does his best to see that both of them are met.

3. He calls sometimes just to see how our day is going and seems genuinely interested when all that is going on is laundry, baby food, and dirty diapers.

4. He is hot! He takes good care of his body and tries to eat healthy most of the time. :) He motivates me to keep my body physically healthy(or try to atleast)!

5. He has the strongest testimony. I am so grateful that we have a priesthood holder in our home who is willing to offer blessings when we need them (and he always seems to know when), strives to fulfill his calling everyday, and ensures that our family is making the right choices. My testimony is most definitely stronger everyday because he is in my life. The Lord has GREATLY blessed us with him.

Reasons I think my dad is the best!
**contributed by the Axman**

1. On the nights he is home, he reads Goodnight Moon to me in silly voices and ad libs silly lines like..."Why is there an old lady sitting in your room? and it's not really an old lady, it's a bunny."

2. He changes my diaper even though before I was born he said he would never change a diaper. I know this means he loves me!

3. He gives me my bear a lot to see my happy face. He loves that I love my bear so much and laughs about it all the time! When I cry in the night and he comes to give me my bear, he imagines me saying to bunny bear, "Hey, how'd you know I was up!?"

4. He almost always dresses me on Sunday mornings. Sometimes mom doesn't necessarily like the result, but she appreciates the break. :)

5. Since he is working quite a bit, when he is home, he always makes it a priority to spend time with me. He holds me and watches ESPN with me, plays with me, and gives me my most favorite toys (and he has taken the time to figure out which ones those are). Even if I am asleep when he gets home, he will often come into the nursery just to watch me sleep for a minute.

All of these things make us feel loved everyday--we hope you had a good one, Papa T--you're the best!

Swimming with the cousins!

Jay and Brooke got an awesome new pool for the summer and we were lucky enough to go swimming with them. Axl loves the water and loves his cousins even more! It was a great night with swimming, Axl going down in the pack 'n play, and some FUN card playing with Jay and Brooke and the Whites!

Water, Baby!!

Axl went for his first little swim on May 24th. Cindy bought a little baby pool and the kids all had a little swim party. Axl loved it; splashing and giggling being his favorite water activities!

Elena and Axl
Gabi--not very happy
And my son, the plumber.
A couple weeks later on June 5th, several of us went over to John and Erin's apartment pool and Axl had his first "big pool" experience. The water was FREEZING, but Axl eventually warmed up to the experience; his little swim cracked all of us up!

Axl and Dad

Axl and Mom

Just this past week, Axl and I went to the Jessamine County Water Park and it was a huge success! We stayed in the shallow end and Axl played with lots of toys and lots of friends! McKay, Caylor, Max, Sam, and Hailey were all there to join the fun. I'm hoping this becomes a weekly outing for us!

Happy Birthday, McKay!

Axl attended his first birthday party on the 13th! My friend, Rachel's son, McKay, turned one and invited several of his friends over for a little celebration. It was a very baby friendly party with bubbles (we thankfully missed that part because I also took the Praxis text that morning), balls, and balloons. They had the greatest idea- filling an inflatable pool with balloons and balls. The babies got in there and had a good old time. Everyone was moving circles around Axl, but it still didn't motivate him to become any more mobile :)

Happy Birthday, McKay!

Wow.

I haven't set aside the time to blog about this particular event-probably because not enough time had passed for it to be funny. Hopefully now as I relay this story, I will see the humor in it, as it was quite unsettling at the time.

Several days ago I went to the mall with my mom, using the time in between Axl's naps, hoping to get back before it was time to lie down again, because often the transfer from car to bed just spoils the entire thing. So I ended up getting stuck in a Macy's line forever because the lady just couldn't figure out how to use the gift card I had along with a discount I should have been receiving, Axl whining, crying, and fighting to get out of the stroller the entire time...so I missed the precious window.

I tried my best to keep him awake on the way home, which worked for a total of about 5 minutes, but after that all I heard in the car was the raspy breath coming from his stuffed nose from crying for the previous 15 minutes. When we got home, he inevitably woke when I got him out of the car seat. I would normally just lie him straight in the bed to try and keep him asleep, but he had a dirty diaper. So I fought with his tired, fussy self for the next couple of minutes getting a fresh diaper on and lying him in the bed, pants-less, to save time and hopefully aide in his comfort for the probably-already-shot nap. I tucked him in tight and handed him his bear.

I left the room and listened to him talking/whining for several minutes and then heard the blessed silence, deciding quickly to take a nap of my own. Five or ten minutes later, however, Tyler came up the steps, returning from work. We talked for a while and he walked over to work on the computer which is right outside the nursery, so I told him to be sure and be quiet so as not to wake him up--it was a fluke anyway that he fell back asleep, so I wasn't about to mess it up.

About 20-30 minutes had passed at this point and I heard some interesting noises coming from the monitor. Not talking, not whining, not Axl noises of any sort so I had just decided it was some interference from the monitor of some kind. When Tyler left the room, though, I decided to just go in a check to make sure everything was ok.

One door to Axl's room is squeaky and the other is not. So I made my away around the long way to open the silent door and walk only as far as necessary to peer over the crib bumper to peek in--this is a very practiced routine. The first thing poking up, however, was a bare bum. Yes, Axl's naked butt just bubbling up over the bumper. My first thought was simply frustration that he wasn't asleep, then a little chuckle. As I walked closer, though, the smell was a sure sign that I was not going to be happy with the picture appearing before my eyes. I decided to stop right there and turn around to get Tyler, half to show him the funny sight of our son's little derrière and half because I knew I didn't want to tackle a diaper-less child who had obviously-by the smell in the room-pooped, alone.

We entered again together to find something I had never really imagined. As we got closer to the bed we found Axl lying there face down. There was poop EVERYWHERE. He had taken the poop and pulled it apart, leaving little pieces from one side of the bed to the other. He had smeared the poop all over the sheet. His pacifier was encrusted with the poop. And lastly, and worstly, he had been EATING the poop. His smiling, yes smiling, face looked up at us smeared with spit and poop from forehead to chin.

Tyler went into "fixing" mode fast, "You take the bed, I'm getting him" and scooped him up by the hands and feet taking him to the bathtub-so I didn't get a picture of the little scoundrel. Though while psyching myself up to tackle the mess I did think to capture this moment for us to remember--Don't look if you're squeamish.

I learned several lessons today
1. Silence does not always mean sleep
2. Never lie Axl down without pants on
3. Thank goodness for husbands (I later told Tyler that if he weren't there I probably would have turned back around and locked the door. Just kidding, but really, that would have been a little overwhelming)

*also I did call the doctor to make sure he would be ok. She said "Well, he will probably throw up, because if I ate my poop I would probably throw up, but he will be ok" :)

Master Napper

I found my little man in a new sleeping position when checking on him during nap time today. I think this is by far the cutest way little babies maneuver themselves while they sleep :)

(sidenote: Yes, Axl is still in his pajamas and this was his second nap today. and yes, after this nap he ate dinner had a bath and put a fresh pair of pajamas on before watching the Jungle Book with mom and heading to bed...ahh the summer life.)

Julie's Baby Shower

One of my best friends from Paris is expecting and Axl and I were able to celebrate the anticipation of Jaxon's arrival at her shower on the 6th. We saw lots of friends and had a really great time.Axl even got to play with little Jaxon for the first time! :)

My son, the bubble hater.

I bought a bubble machine yesterday morning and was waiting for the perfect time for Axl to enjoy his first experience with bubbles! He took a really great afternoon nap today, like 2 1/2 hours, so after he woke and ate dinner I thought this was the perfect opportunity to introduce this new, fun piece of life that all kids just LOVE! not Axl. The pictures don't even do this terrible experience justice. Sorry Axl, I hope you survive nursery.

Summer Fun!

Axl and I have just been living it up this summer! And just this week Tyler switched to the shift he was actually hired on for at Columbia Gas, 2pm-10pm, which we have surprisingly enjoyed! It's great to have time together as a family throughout the day and then send Tyler off to do some hard work while Axl and I just chill...haha, not quite chill, but you get the idea. Summer does have a great relaxing feeling to it, doesn't it? Just makes me dread student teaching even more...Anyway...here are some pics of the WARM weather we've been enjoying!

On one of the first really warm days of the summer, my friends and I wanted to lay out so Axl joined us. I had not, however, found a summer hat for him yet so we had to borrow one of Elena's...excuse the ruffles :) (and the pink blanket...haha, maybe I should be asking Axl to forgive me!)

My mom dropped in!

Dad and Axl just getting some yard work done!

Tyler wanted to do something special for his Dad's birthday. We hope Tom appreciated the power-washed sidewalk! He did eventually finish the whole thing... :)