Lately: 11-1/2 Months

This entry is really for me to remember this stage, it probably is not very entertaining for anyone else.

Some new things that are happening this week: Axel learned to clap his hands, what a genius! He is also starting to crawl on his knees at an incredible pace, but for some reason, continues to flop down and army crawl. He is also completely infatuated with the bathtub. He will crawl over to it, stand up, and peer in any time during the day, wondering if anyone will start the water. Or when one of us showers, he will hear the water and dash into the bathroom to take a look. Bathtime, obviously, is his favorite time of the day. He also loves climbing stairs and playing in the sand or the dirt in the garden.




Johan finally bought a tap for his beer keg in the garage refrigerator! He had some problems with the carbon dioxide, but went last weekend and added more to the keg. Now, the beer tastes fabulous, and is available 24-7. What a luxury. And I was wrong about it being an Ale, it's actually a stout. Yesterday afternoon, after I got home from work, the three of us sat outside in our side yard. I got to have a beer while Axel played with a broom and got into the dirt. It was a beautiful 1/2 hour.

For some reason, our method of going down for naps have been changing lately. For the past several months, it's been pretty easy. When the 2 to 2 1/2 hour mark comes along, we'd just darken the room, hold Axel and he'd plot his head against us, exhausted. Then we'd lay him down in his crib without protest. Lately, he's been crying and standing up, throwing his pacifier on the ground, refusing to sleep. My sleep book says this is normal, that they'll protest naps because they would much rather stay awake and play with Mom and Dad. The book recommended simply letting them cry it out and they'd eventually understand that nap time has no exceptions, and they'd give up and fall asleep. I tried this several times, but Axel would get so worked up, it wasn't his normal cry, and he just wouldn't sleep. So I gave in and went in to him, held him, and rocked him to sleep in the glider. He's been going to sleep like this now for several days. I really love it. It reminds me of the days when he was just months old and would always fall asleep in my arms. But it seems that he's only having this issue with me. Johan can put him in the crib and so can Lupe, without a problem.

Axel still goes to bed between 6 and 6:30 pm.Night sleeping has been great lately too. A couple of weeks ago, he went through a spell of night wakings where he'd lose his pacifier, and also was waking up at 5:30 a.m. We had to stick to our rule and not get him until at least 6:00 to not encourage the 5:30 wakeup, and it eventually went away. Now he might wake up at 5:30, but he'll go back to sleep until around 6:30.

One thing that has been a total blessing is that he sleeps really well in places other than his crib. We still go to home group every Thursday night. We just put him to bed in his carseat and he'll fall asleep in the car on the drive over. Natalie lives on a quiet col de sac and we park the truck right next to her dining room window, cover him in a blanket, and keep checking on him. He never wakes up! We always make sure it's not too hot or cold in the car, but the San Diego weather is pretty accommodating.

I recently started a Meetup for moms in North Park and South Park. It has been really great. There are some really wonderful moms in our area. We keep everything pretty simple, we just meet up at a park that is close by. Axel and I were getting a little lonely, so this has been really fun.

Mealtimes have also gotten to be challenging. Some times he just refuses to eat, other days he eats his entire bowl of food. I have been reading that this is normal, that babies' appetites come and go certain days, and not to worry about it. I have noticed that it's hard for Johan or I to eat anything that isn't exactly what he is eating, otherwise, he wants it. So we eat our toast with egg and avocado breakfast before or after he sits down, otherwise, we have to share! I also noticed that sometimes he'll eat if I give him a toy. But if he doesn't want to eat, we usually don't give him any alternatives other than something equally healthy. We have had to save food like crackers for after his meal, almost as a dessert, because he could eat those all day. It seems that his favorite food that he almost always will accept is the mix we make of cottage cheese, yogurt, ground flax and ground almond. Sometimes we'll throw in a pureed green or orange vegetable so that it's a complete meal with protein, dairy, and vegetable. He also still eats his crazy super porridge every morning. It's a mix of brown rice or oatmeal, any ground up bean, a green vegetable, an orange vegetable, powdered kelp, dessicated liver, brewer's yeast, and either an egg yellow or citrus to absorb the iron. I know, it's a ridiculous concoction, but he loves it and it's so good for him. I also created a really easy and good family/baby recipe. It's homemade macaroni and cheese but I added a healthy sausage and vegetables. Johan and Axel both loved it. Here's the recipe:

1/2 pound whole wheat elbow macaroni

3 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons whole wheat flour

3 cups milk

1/2 cup yellow onion, finely diced

1 bay leaf

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1 large egg

8 ounces cheddar, shredded

Fresh black pepper

 A protein, like apple chicken sausage or turkey sausage

 Any vegetables, like carrots, peas, cauliflower

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large pot of boiling, salted water cook the pasta to al dente.
While the pasta is cooking, in a separate pot, melt the butter. Whisk in the flour and keep it moving for about five minutes. Make sure it's free of lumps. Stir in the milk, onion, bay leaf, and paprika. Simmer for ten minutes and remove the bay leaf.
Temper in the egg. Stir in 3/4 of the cheese. Season with pepper. Fold the macaroni into the mix and pour into a 2-quart casserole dish. You can eat it right away, or sprinkle with bread crumbs and bake for about 20 minutes until golden brown.

Lately, I've been reading an incredible book on raising children written by a Christian author. It's called Shepherding a Child's Heart. It has completely changed everything I thought was important about raising children. I highly recommend it!