New Steps and Disappointments

A lot has happened since my last post, so I'm going to go in reverse chronological order, because it feels more interesting to talk about the "now" than the "then". I'll put up another post later on our Sweden trip. So in reverse order, I have blisters on my hands, feet, and inside my throat because I got hand, foot, and mouth disease from Axel. And it just so happened that Axel showed the first signs of it literally (and I mean literally) the second we stepped out of our truck and onto our camping site at Shaver Lake.

He had seemed so happy and had napped well at my parents' house just hours earlier, so imagine our confusion when we get out of the car to unpack when he started crying. We noticed that he was burning up so we gave him Ibuprofen and the fever went down, so we wrote it off as teething. A couple of hours after going to bed, the wakings began. Axel woke up what seemed like at least every hour. He wasn't hot, and we didn't know what was wrong. So at around 5:45 a.m. we pulled him out of his tent and this time he had a fever. We thought his lethargy throughout the day was from not sleeping, and still thought the fever was from teething. But later that afternoon, we noticed some dark red bumps forming around his mouth. My friend, Natalie, is a doctor, and told me that hand, foot, and mouth disease was all over San Diego. So we called her and pretty much confirmed that's what it was, then packed up and drove 7 hours straight home to San Diego. It was a rough drive home! I made Johan drive because I was in and out of consciousness because I was so tired. We ended up having to play the loudest, most obnoxious music we could find on Spotify to keep us awake. We finally got home at around 2:00 a.m. and fell fast asleep.

Cleaning his high chair

I was pretty sad. I had looked forward to Shaver, as many of you know, all year. I've talked about it to everyone, we prepared Axel for it by taking one night camping trips, Johan made beer to have on tap, and even bought me and Axel floating lounges for the lake. I imagined all of us adults relaxing on the beach with our homemade beers, while the kids played at our feet in the sand, and wakeboarding while the lake was calm, and listening to the Baker girls make fun of each other. It was supposed to be perfect. But then the camping gods decided to plot against us. I accidentally turned off the electricity in the garage to the beer refrigerator before we left for Sweden, so the beer spoiled, Garrett had to work during the 4th so the Kellers canceled camping and decided to stay in Brittney's parents' cabin the days they were there, then the last thing we had going for us (our health) went down the drain as well. Boo hoo. I told Johan and Garrett that after the horrible turn of events this year, next year can only be better, right? We have to hope so.

Cleaning the cabinets

Some fun new things happening around our house is that I'm home full time! Axel took his first steps the exact day he turned 14 months, so on June 26th. He walks around like a drunk zombie, all wobbly with his arms sticking straight out. He runs into everything and pretty much walks wherever his center of mass directs him. But the whole time he's got this huge grin on his face because he's so proud of himself.

Cleaning the grown-up chairs

He also loves seeing if things fit. For example, he likes to see if my keys will fit in the bowl in the tupperware cabinet, or if Johan's glasses will fit in the pyrex dish in the cabinet with our serving platters. Notice a theme of Axel putting things that are pretty valuable to us in places we would never find them. This is the main reason why we keep a close eye on him, not because we're afraid he'll get hurt. He still could care less about his toys or t.v. So we are still sticking with playing with everyday things around the house. My car keys, the remote control, and any kind of lid (thanks for the idea, Ginnie Grupinski!!) are probably his favorite toys. I'm pretty sure it's because he sees us using these things every day and wants to learn as well.

Before: Rust at bottom

Speaking of being like Mom and Dad, he has started demanding that he help me clean. "Well, if you insist, Son!" When I wipe down the table, he wants a rag of his own to wipe things down as well. I have be careful because he'll try and sneak the rag into his mouth when I'm not looking and suck the water out. It's a gross habit that we have no idea how got started. And when I vacuum, he insists that he hold the neck and vacuum himself, even though the vacuum itself is usually upside down or repeatedly cleaning along the same line. I love that he's excited to learn something new.

After: No rust at bottom!

Yesterday I went on an all-out cleaning rampage. I deep cleaned the bathroom. I was pretty proud of myself for saving some money and refinishing our brush holder. I almost bought a new one at Target for $20, but then had to remind myself that I'm now a dependent according to the Tax Bureau so I need to be frugal. This is probably one of the most helpful tips I've ever gotten.....if you ever have anything metal that is rusty, just rub it with aluminum foil, and the rust is gone in seconds. Brilliant! I fixed up my bike this way too. Some other little projects around the house finally got done as well. We finally refinished the kitchen counters and redid the caulking. I think that took us about 6 months. It also took me about 10 months just to hang up my banner that I had made as my All In back in the Fall. Now THAT was tough. To move it from where it hung on the curtain rod in the dining room all the way to the bedroom wall. 10 months.

The meanings of our names: Johan, Axel, and Rosanna

Order your Tina Fransson potholders today! Only $100 each

Again, going in reverse chronological order....at the end of June we had a baby shower for Jessica Anderson. It was so fun to put together. Natalie, Carolyn, Lisa and I put it on. Natalie was the coordinator, and just has an eye for this type of thing. I offered to sew a million potholders as gifts because I thought it would be pretty fast. Which it is....if you're only sewing one potholder. But they turned out really pretty and it felt nice to give away something handmade. I also made Jess some other gifts, like baby clothes, and a blanket. It turned out so beautiful, all the food was totally delicious, and everyone really loved it. Especially Jessica, which is what matters most!

Jessica's mom, Ginnie, made a surprise visit from New York. She wrote about it in her blog and it was so touching that I wanted to share it:

It's been a week since I returned from a trip to San Diego for my daughter's baby shower. I was gone four days, and it was just not long enough. 

Tina Fransson onsie: Only $50 each

It's hard having my youngest child live so far away. It's especially hard now that she's pregnant, and I don't get to share in the day-to-day discoveries of her journey into motherhood. It's hard knowing that this new little one will grow up so far away from us, and that we will only see him or her twice a year. I have to tell you, as hard as I try not to let it, this hurts. The good thing is that I know my daughter was brought to San Diego by the Lord. He has a plan for her life, and at least for now, it's not on the East Coast. She traveled to California for her own reasons, but she found a deep and wonderful relationship with Jesus when she got there.  

California is where she landed in a great church, met some wonderful friends, and eventually, her husband. I love the times I get to sit and watch the interactions between Jessica, Doug, and their friends. It's truly inspirational. They have a sense of community that I have rarely seen. They love and depend on each other. They pray for each other and speak into one another's lives. They get together just to have fun and play games and socialize and eat. It is what I think the Lord intends for the church. They live their faith every day, all week long. Their lives are intertwined in ways I can only guess at. They truly support and carry each other in the toughest of times.

Natalie made that cake

Natalie's beautiful homemade backyard

One of the girls is having some very difficult health issues. The friends are holding her before the Lord, and even at the baby shower, there where those who gathered around her to pray for healing. Some spent time to just speak words of encouragement to her, or to share what God has said during private time spent with Him regarding her situation. Just glorious. 

Planned into every shower is prayer time. This is a time to pray for the one who is being celebrated that day, whether it be a bridal or a baby shower. It's wonderful to hear these women who know the Lord speak blessings over my child. I get to pray too, of course. It's a beautiful tradition that I think should be done at every party, everywhere. The newest addition to our family is due next month, and I get to return for the birth. I'm so excited to see this little shining one. She or he will bring such joy to us all, as babies always do. Very soon now, my baby will be holding her first baby; what a delight! Whenever I talk about becoming a grandmother, I always share how seeing your grandchild for the first time is just as amazing as seeing your own child for the first time. And how you love that child just as much and exactly the same as you loved your own child when you saw it. And when you hold that baby in your arms, oh how sweet and how joyful that moment is! You never want to let go.
I really do love being a grandmother............even long distance.

Jessica, Ginnie, Grandma, and Gail Anderson

Baby shower tradition: Pray for mom and baby

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Man's (errr, Baby's) Best Friend

These last couple of weeks have had some painful mornings of Axel waking up at around 5-5:30 a.m. We have a rule that we don't go in and get him until 6:00, so to not encourage the early wakings, but they just won't go away! We went to Visalia last week and he didn't sleep well in the car on the way there, so he really didn't go to sleep for good until probably 11:00 pm. I thought for sure he'd sleep in the next morning out of exhaustion, but nope, he was up promptly at 5:50! So I'm trying to get him caught up on his sleep by taking good naps, and putting him to bed early. Once he seems like he's caught up, I think we might try putting him to bed a little later to make his wake up time later.

I'm really bummed that he has started not sleeping well in the car at nights. Our nightly car rides were always so nice and peaceful. We'd play our music and talk. Now Axel will wake up about every 1/2 hour and cry for a couple of minutes and go back to sleep. It doesn't sound so bad, but there is something innate in women that makes our stress levels rise when our babies cry. I'm sure it's a survival mechanism. But I just can't fully relax until baby is asleep and quiet.

Our dog, Leia, was staying with my parents for about two months. We had decided to move and sell our house and thought it would be best to not have to deal with getting Leia out of the house every time someone wanted to come take a look. If she was a fuzzy little white dog, she probably could sell the house better. But I don't think anyone would be able to focus on our crown moulding or marble tile with a big black rottweiler staring at them and trying to lick their toes. But after looking at our options, we were able to refinance and stay in our house. So Leia is back! We did not miss her while Axel was army crawling, because he would be covered in black Leia hair every day. But now that he's almost walking, having her around is a lot more fun.

This time apart and now having Leia back has brought even more of a fascination by Axel. He is a total love bug in that he will come up to you (or anyone) and smile and lay his head against you and giggle. It just makes your heart melt. So he also started doing that to Leia. Leia, surprisingly, wants nothing to do with Axel. If you know her, she is the most social, playful dog around, always wanting attention. But as soon as she sees the miniature chubby human bounding towards her, she heads in any direction opposite of him. Which I think is great. It's better that she is not interested in him.

The other day, we were playing fetch with Leia in the garden, and Axel came up and took the tennis ball and threw it! So I made Leia sit and wait while Axel threw it for her. This could potential be a lifesaving game, baby and dog are entertained for hours while mom sits and relaxes. At least, that's my hope.

Yesterday, after playing in the garden, Axel and I went inside to eat dinner. I gave him some leftover Swedish oven pancake (ugnspankaka). I made it with whole wheat flour, eggs, milk, and butter for the batter, then added turkey bacon and brussel sprouts. It turns out kind of like a fluffy omelet. Axel ate his entire plate and was still hungry. He then ate four slices of bread, a stick of string cheese, a pear, and two bowls of yogurt. It was like the book the Very Hungry Caterpillar. Some days he can eat more than us, and some days he just won't eat at all. But when he eats, he EATS.

He has also helped us to start eating healthier. We decided from the beginning to only feed him whole grains, organic, and no sugar (only fruits). After continuing with this, it only made sense that we also adopt his diet, otherwise, I'd have to be cooking two meals. So we no longer eat white pasta or white rice or bread with enriched flour, only whole grains, and less potatoes. I thought I would hate this, but I actually love brown rice and pasta now. And I'm learning to change recipes we've always made and incorporating these healthier new ingredients. Like our spaghetti now has brown rice pasta, and you can't tell the difference! We also try to only buy organic fruits and vegetables. These changes really haven't felt bad, I don't think we even notice that we're eating different anymore.

I am still working at the office two days each week, but am transitioning out in about a week or so. It's funny, I've thought a lot about what I think is best....being home or working. And obviously, I think that for our family, me being at home is the best decision. I have changed my opinion on this many times. Before we had a baby, I wanted to quit my job and be home. But after I became an engineer, I wanted to work. Then I had the baby, and still wanted to work, but not until I felt ready. Then when I went to work part time, I loved it, but then realized that even though I loved my job, that I should be home. I have finally come to the conclusion that Johan and I only know what is best for us. I used to think that all women should stay home, and I have at some time thought that all women should work if they love their job. Now I think that I don't know what is best for anyone else but me and my own family. So I'm done thinking about it!

A Genius, and Only 1 Year Old

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.

The Most Beautiful Place On Earth

Last week, we had the opportunity to join a group of friends on a 4 day trip to Yosemite. Our friend, Ella, had found a great deal on Living Social where we got a great deal to rent a couple of cabins. We were 10 adults, 2 kids, and 3 babies.

We set off on Wednesday night in the Tundra and drove with the Andersons to Visalia where we would stay the night at my parents' house. The last leg of the drive caught us in a storm of torrential rain where we could barely see. Luckily, Doug was driving with Johan as copilot while Jessica, Axel, and I were sleeping in the back, so we hadn't a care in the world. Natalie and Olivia arrived late late that night and had a slumber party on Mom and Dad's living room floor.

On Thursday, we woke up, had breakfast, went grocery shopping, and were off! We arrived in Yosemite at around noon but checkin wasn't until 2:00 so we decided to drive up to Glacier Point where there was supposed to be an amazing view of the Yosemite Valley. However, as we started driving higher and higher toward the point, the weather got worse and worse. We got to the top and got a really great view of some spectacular cloud coverage.









We drove back down the hill and checked into our cabins. I think every one of us feels like we scored. We had three cabins total, and every cabin was really nice. Ours was the smallest, but I loved that it looked and felt like a real wood log cabin. It was also really close to the river so you could hear the rushing water when you stepped outside. A family of deer greeted were also waiting to greet us as we pulled in to the driveway.

The next day, we all met up as a group in Yosemite Valley to do some hiking together. If you've never been to Yosemite, you have to drive through a tunnel in the mountain. The tunnel was strategically placed so that as you exit it, you have this (Angels singing) feeling of complete and utter amazement that anything so incredibly beautiful could have ever been created.

You see Half dome, waterfalls in every direction, and mountains that are shear magnitudes larger than anything you could ever imagine. It almost feels like a Lord of the Rings movie shot, but without the Hobbits and hot elves.

"I see you oh sandwich of mine"

We made our way to Curry Village and found some picnic tables to have lunch, Axel ate his lunch. But soonafter, followed the trail of sandwich scent wafting through the air and made his way over to Asa and Sami Baron's side. He has been doing this a lot lately, he is like a hungry dog in that he'll crawl over to you and beg and grab at your food. Asa was completely unaware of Axel's lack of manners in this department, and soon lost a piece of his sandwich.

"Ha, sucker!"

Upper and Lower Yosemite Falls

The Guys....Uh, Where's Bear?

After lunch, we were off! We took the tram to walk the trail to take a look at Lower Yosemite Falls. It was spectacular. There is an upper and a lower Yosemite Falls, which total approximately 2,600 feet in height. The top of Yosemite Falls is the tallest waterfall in California, and one of the top 6 tallest in the world.

All the girls

We then made our way to Miror Lake, which was also incredibly beautiful, but, is it really a lake? Not sure about that.

It was around 5:30, so Johan and I headed home with Axel, who had had a really long day with no p.m. nap, while everyone else stayed and had pizza in the village. Axel was snoring in the car within 5 minutes and slept really well in his travel tent. We ended up giving him his own room while we slept in front of the fire in the living room, it was actually really nice!

Johan and Tom

Johan and I and Olivia were talking about wanting to do a more strenuous hike the next day. And who better to ask than Tom Major, mountain man extraordinaire? Tom and Jacque Major were staying in a cabin with the Andersons. They had a sweet little 2 month old baby boy named Joshua. So Johan called Tom up and made the mistake of saying we wanted to do an "Epic" hike. Johan got off the phone and said that Tom suggested we do a 4 hour hike to Yosemite Falls. "Wait", I said. "Does he mean 'Upper Yosemite Falls?'" I then re-told them the story that Jacque had told me earlier, about her natural birth plan. She and Tom had agreed that if she couldn't make it a second longer and wanted an epidural, that he should in no circumstance agree if she asked him to. However, if she shoulted out "Upper/Lower Yosemite Falls!" Then that meant that it was too hard, she'd had enough, she was done, give her the drugs. "Is this the same hike he's talking about, because it's worth re-considering if his wife made it her emergency stop code word because it was too hard and painful". Johan called Tom back up and, yes, it was indeed the same hike. But Tom reassured us that it wasn't that bad, and that it wouldn't take the 7 to 8 hours that the Yosemite Hiking pamphlet said it would. We all ended up trusting in mountain man Tom.

The next morning, we let Axel take his morning nap, packed our backpacks full of baby food and snacks, and were off. We parked in the Yosemite Village Parking lot and had to crane our necks back 90 degrees in order to see the top where we were supposed to arrive in 4 hours, according to Tom. We started on the trailhead at 12:50, with Johan toting Axel in the new Kelty baby backpack. After about 45 minutes we (Johan, Tina, Olivia) were all sweating and had drank about 1/2 of our water. Tom somehow was chipper as ever, saying that we were making such great time, and had a continual smile on his face. I learned that one of his favorite phrases includes anyone having a "can-do attitude". Johan seemed to be getting tired, so I took Axel and the backpack from him to give him a break. After about 5 minutes, I was about to pass out and turn back, so I suggested we stop for lunch. We stopped and had our sandwiches, and let Axel out to crawl and explore. He was pretty happy. He loves being in the backpack and having such a great view, and he loves taking the breaks to crawl and dig his hands in the dirt, and occasionally steal food from someone.

We really just went to Kmart photo studio and stood in front
of this background

As we were finishing our lunch, Tom suggested that he carry Axel in the backpack. He had mentioned earlier that he trained with 40-pound weights strapped to him. Johan and I didn't even hesitate in answering yes. So off we went. I all of a sudden could walk again, and somehow, Tom still kept talking at a normal rate and still had a smile on his face. People passing by kept commenting on how great it was that Tom (obviously the Dad) was taking his son up on such a tough hike. One guy even said "I don't love my kids that much". Another guy stopped us to ask if the goliath waterfalls in front of us were Upper and Lower Yosemite Falls. When we said "Yes" he said "really? I thought they'd be more impressive". Uh, but....you mean....huh? We couldn't get over that the rest of the hike.

It was amazing to see who was taking the hike. There were little kids who looked to be around 3-4 years old, there were old people, there was a pregnant lady, and teenagers in Vans shoes, I think there was even someone in flip flops. So when we were ready to give up and turn around, the sight of those people and the confusion in our brains of how in the world could they make it and not us, kept us going. All the while, Tom didn't break a sweat and kept leading the way.

It took us 2 1/2 hours to get to the top. At the top, we had the exhilaration of the most incredible view in the world, the satisfaction that lactic acid was no longer building up in our legs, and the pride that we didn't give up and turn around. WE DID IT!!!

The view was amazing. It felt like we were eye level with the top of the whole valley, and could see snow covered mountains far off in the distance that aren't possible to see down from the valley. It was also amazing to me to see that there is a whole other world at the top of these mountains. There are valleys with grass and trees and rivers that you can't see from down below.

We climbed down a granite staircase with a flimsy steel pipe railing to get to the overlook of the falls. The staircase was so narrow you just had to keep looking down and hold on to the railing for dear life. Axel stayed up on top with Tom for this one. But once at the overlook, you could basically stand on the edge of the cliff and look down as the waterfall cascaded 2,600 feet to the ground.

We took about an hour break to eat and rest, then headed back down. Axel hadn't been able to nap in the backpack with all the excitement with the incredible views and all, so I put him in the Ergo as a backpack, and covered his head with the attached baby hood. He was out in minutes. I have to say, Johan and Olivia thought going up was hard, but I thought going down was harder. With each step, you had to flex your quadricep muscle and it felt like it was flexed for the entire 2 hour decent. By the end, my legs were shaking permanently. We walked by a lady who had fallen and hit her head. We made sure she had help, then kept going. After about 20 minutes, we saw two members of the Yosemite Rescue Team hiking up practically at a jog. They must run up and down this mountain every day, I can't imagine being in that good of shape.

7.6 miles, 5.5 hours, and three slips by Olivia onto her butt later, we made it back to the trailhead. From the car back and forth, it took 6 hours, a little more than the 4 hours that Tom the Optimist had approximated, but who cares,  we had accomplished something we were proud of, we made it to the top and back from Upper Yosemite Falls! The bad part is, that Olivia and I will probably not walk again for a couple of months. Somehow, Johan wasn't sore, and you can all imagine Tom was ready for another hike and had a smile on his face the next day.

Before the hike....we still had smiles
on our faces and positive attitudes.