It's funny, a book I was reading was saying that parents usually brag about how smart and genius their children are, because the changes that children undergo and the things they learn so quickly are pretty amazing. Whenever my neighbor, Suzanne, asks how Axel is doing, I always tell her the newest thing that he's doing, like learning to use a spoon to eat, and then at the end I always jokingly add "he's such a genius!"
It is pretty amazing to see him learning things every day. He has started "driving" everything. Like the hairdryer, for example, he pushed that around the house as if it were a toy car for about 2 days. Then he did the same thing with a plastic pipe, my hair straightener, a toilet paper cardboard tube, and the list goes on. He is starting to want to eat with a spoon and fork, although the end result is always a disaster. He is crusing like a pro and I'm thinking will venture out and take his first steps any day now. He still takes 2 naps per day. One sad thing is that his doctor told us to stop giving him milk in a bottle, just a sippy cup is enough, because milk in a bottle can cause cavities. I was pretty sad at this, because I really enjoy the extra 5-10 minutes after he wakes up, when he lies in his crib quietly drinking. Oh well, soon enough he won't be napping at all and I'm going to have a crazy toddler to entertain all day long, I should be thankful he still sleeps 12 hours each night and takes 2 naps!
After our Borrego trip, he started wanting to be rocked to sleep. Whenever I'd put him down in his crib he'd just cry and cry and stand up in his crib, and wouldn't go to sleep no matter how long I waited. This was really unusual for him, so I thought something was wrong. So for the last month, I have been rocking him to sleep and will lay him down after his eyes are closed. He has also been spitting out his pacifier through the slots on his crib. Then he'll cry for us to come in and get it. Sneaky little baby. So we outsmarted the baby by buying one of those pacifier attachments that attaches to the pacifier and to their clothes that they can't take off. Ha, take that baby!
But then after Yosemite, he had a couple of rough nights, and we realized he was getting at least four upper teeth in at the same time. One night was really rough, where he would only sleep in my arms. I even tried making a bed on the floor of his room where I could sleep with him, but he woke up the second we laid down and was ready to play. No way, not at 2 a.m. I think I just rocked him to sleep over and over and finally he let me lay him in his crib. We also happened to have a friend staying the night that night, of course! But for some reason, after the worst of the teething was over, he went back to falling asleep on his own, no rocking required. I don't get this baby!
We went on our second camping trip last weekend for Mother's Day. It was in a beautiful area just outside of Julian. We got there in the afternoon, set up camp, and went for a hike up to a point called "Desert View". On the way down, Axel finally fell asleep in the hiking backpack! This was about his 3rd time in it, so I was thinking that it was about time that he got used to it enough to fall asleep in it. He only slept for about 1/2 hour because our hike ended and that woke him up. But the good part was that he was tired at bedtime and let me rock him to sleep in the tent. He slept in his baby tent for his usual 12-hour stretch. He still goes to bed at 6 pm and wakes up around 6 am. But that night was FREEZING! I was so cold, I couldn't imagine how Axel could sleep so soundly. I think I slept about 3 hours. In the morning, when he woke up, I took him out of his tent, and he was so snug and warm. I guess it was cozy in his tent after all.
That morning was Mother's Day, and Johan was so good, he snuck champagne and orange juice for mimosas that morning, made me breakfast and a drink, and sent Axel and me off for a walk so that he could pack the truck. I got a couple of compliments on my walk of having a husband who knows how to treat his wife. He had also bought me a present, a dress from Anthropologie. The wonderful thing about having a European husband, is that he buys nicer clothes for me than I buy for myself. It fit perfect, and I got compliments on it all day. We went to lunch at the Station in South Park, did a little shopping in the nearby stores, then came back home where Axel and I crashed for our afternoon nap. It was a beautiful day!
Another recent event is that we decided that I should quit my job. It's been a really tough decision because I really love what I do and have such a great, flexible job. But I have been feeling really strongly that I want to be home with Axel. He is learning so much, and changing so much, and we really want the two of us to be the main influences in his life. Also, we are fortunate that we don't need my salary to survive. I would like to work again one day, and I'll be working a little from home for my friends' company in Visalia, but I won't be going to work and having a nanny. Oh, Lupe, we will miss coming home to sparkling clean perfection. I will have a lot to live up to now that we have such high expectations of our homes' cleanliness. But I am really excited to have much more time with Axel. He is such a clown, and we have so much fun together, I am really thankful for everything.
ReplyDeleteHow precious!
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