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| Playing at Grandma and Grandpa's |
I finally got my computer back! I wasn't able to make any updates without it. I'm also going to start working a little more from home, which I'm excited about. Engineering work, that is. When I'm home with Axel and working a little at nights, I feel like this is what I was meant to do, be at home full time but also work a little. I'm so thankful for that! I also started tutoring. I have two university students that I tutor once a week in math and physics. One reason I know that this was a good decision for me is because I enjoy doing all their homework ahead of time on my own before we meet. I know, NERD.
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| Trying not to spill the wine |
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| Eating peanuts with Daddy and Uncle Philipp |
We are officially on one nap now. I fought it for a while because it was tough on all of us. Axel was tired and grumpy and Johan and I were tired and grumpy. Two weeks ago I hurt my foot and couldn't walk, so Johan had to stay home and take care of us. That first day of Johan being home was when Axel decided he didn't want to sleep anymore in the afternoon. So that was pretty tough on Johan. But we got through that week, then we went to my parents house for Thanksgiving, and it seems like he's gotten the hang of only having one nap per day. We pushed it back so he sleeps at around 11:00, and he even started sleeping longer. Now he sleeps for around 3 hours. Another nice thing is that he goes to bed around 6-6:30 and sleeps in until 7:00 now. Funny, pre-kids, 7:00 was still so, so early!
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| Class of '97 Reunion: Matt, Mendee, Rieke, and Me |
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| With his Great-Grandma Marina |
We spent four days in Visalia for Thanksgiving. It was nice to see the family, of course, but it was a treat to see Rieke and Philipp who stayed at mom and dad's for a couple of days. Rieke was our German foreign exchange student in high school, and we've stayed close ever since. Before they left back to San Francisco (where Philipp lives), we had a chance to have a get-together with some high school friends and their kids at a park. We joked that it was pretty much our 15-year high school reunion, since we never had a real one.
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| There's nothing like playing in the trash cupboard. |
Every day that I'm home with Axel right now feels more and more like the right decision. I am so thankful that I get to see him growing and get to know his personality and how it's changing and developing. He is starting to say more and more words every day, and is learning body gestures like putting his hands up when he asks a question, and he'll pull you in the direction that he wants you to go. It's so amazing to see these small changes.
Right now, the most exciting thing he could do would be to play in a real car. All day every day he begs to be let in the car. He likes to honk the horn, push all the buttons, steer the wheel, and jump up and down on the seats. It's heaven to him. The main thing we are learning is how important it is to respect other people, mainly other kids and their toys. But we try to be examples of sharing for him. I try to remind myself to not just take things from him, but ask and give him something in exchange. I figure learning to share probably should start at home! It's funny, but he will totally respect the space and toys of older kids, but if he sees a toddler about his same age or a younger baby, he will try to take their toys, and has even started pushing and hoarding his own toys so they won't take them. It's incredible how fast this changed!
Last month, he had his 18 month appointment. He weighed 30 pounds (95th percentile), and was 33 inches tall (75th percentile). His head was still in the 99% percentile. The doctor said that although his height wasn't 90th percentile now, he should have a growth spurt sometime soon. I measured him 2 weeks later, and he had grown 1/2 inch! So she was right.
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| Loves Grandpa's old 1940 Ford |
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| Eating pork tenderoin, potatoes, avocado, and white pepper sauce...so fancy |
I am also thankful that he is a great eater. Some of his favorite meals I've made lately that are healthy, and have meat and vegetables are shepherds pie, Swedish oven pancake (with turkey bacon and brussel sprouts, and a meat/spinach/pasta bake. Some of his favorite snacks are raw tofu, cheerios, and my banana/spinach smoothie. Johan's mom also gave me a really good book of family/baby meal recipes. What a great idea! People need to make more of these. I'm going to try and go through and make everything in it, once recipe per day maybe? Thanks, Grandma! Although, the downfall to having a good eater is that he is always eating everywhere and making a mess everywhere he goes. When we're outside he'll eat fruit off the neighbors' trees and have orange juice dribbling down his chin and all over his clothes. Inside he'll walk up to you and beg for some of your bread, shove the whole thing in his mouth, then run away with crumbs falling out. He loves going to Costco for the free food samples, and he'll eat the entire time we're there shopping. I try to be diligent about making him eat at his high chair, but I also have to relax about things sometimes or else I'd go crazy.
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| Sometimes, mid-day baths are necessary, and getting out of the bath is impossible. |
I feel like a lot of our lives now is picking our battles. What do we allow him to do and what do we say "no" to? We pretty much go by the philosophy that if he's not harming himself or anyone else, and he's not being mean, I let him do it. Sometimes that means he's going to be rolling around in the mud and smearing it all over his tricycle. It might make me cringe at the messiness, but what kid wouldn't love to do that?
