Axel 9-month check-up

Axel had his 9-month check up today at the doctor. A-OK; Roger; Full speed ahead. He's a healthy little man. Here are his stats:

Weight - 17 lbs and 14 oz (15th percentile)
Length - 28.25 inches (55th percentile)
Head circumference - 17.75 inches (50th percentile)

Looking good, X Man!

Current Favorites and Update

Luka has some new favorite books--more in English since I have been taking him to the library--they have no books in French there;(.

He likes Chewy Louie (Louie was a very hungry puppy!), Curious George Goes Camping (that stinky skunk is pretty darn funny and the marshmallow roasting looks yuuuuuummy), Germs (the chicken pox germ who goes soft). Of course, some old favorites still hold sway too, such as There's a Wocket in my Pocket, Put Me in the Zoo and more.

Axel likes the Baby Einstein book with the mirror at the end (Luka loved that too as a baby), and "Pet the Baby Animals" with soft bunnies, ducklings, etc.

Some current favorite DVD's of Luka include anything Dora (we currently have Dora Fairytale Princess checked out, he owns the one with the whale and Diego, and we get other episodes on cable on demand sometimes). Not any Teletubbies lately...

Axel does not watch DVD's. (Relating to the controversy over the new baby Sesame Street DVD (click here for the Talk of Nation broadcast on this topic--some fireworks there). I would align myself with the "no TV for little guys" side in any case.)

The last few days, Axel has started initiating hide-and-seek (or peek-a-book) with his blankets. Too cute.

Luka Has a New Bike!

Sharp-looking, red 16-inch Giant. Luka got the hang of pedaling on this much bigger bike after a few minutes; going backwards to brake may take a bit longer! ;)

Full Cycle in Boulder on Pearl Street

But, on the way we passed the Full Cycle bike shop and I ended up getting Luka a new bike (!) and a new helmet. He is a stylin' little dude. People were literally cheering him as he biked and/or walked his bike back up Pearl to get to the car. Fun, fun! I just thought he was passed the trike stage and needed a new challenge. When we got home, he said he wanted to ride his "old bike" then - he was getting a bit tuckered out - but I think he will grow into the new bike quickly.

Recipe: Clafoutis

~ Clafoutis ~

This is an easy but tasty French country desert that I have made many times in the US with success. It is traditionally made with fresh cherries (with the pits, for more flavor), but you can make it from frozen fruit or other fresh fruit too.

Preheat oven to 325. Butter an 11 " deepish pie plate or shallow medium baking dish.

Mix together in blender (or combine very well with hand beater):

1 cup milk
3 large eggs
1/2 cup flour
1 TBS sugar
2 tsp vanilla

Put ~3 c. cherries (blueberries, peaches, pears or plums, etc.) in bottom of the buttered dish. Sprinkle the more tart fruits with 1/4 c sugar. Pour batter over the fruit and bake 30 minutes or until set.

Serve cold, or warm with ice cream or whipped cream. If you serve cold, you can decorate it with powdered sugar.

Serves 6.

Recipe: Whole Wheat Pizza Crust

Whole-Wheat Pizza Crust

Works great in a bread maker.

1 cup water
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole-wheat flour
1-1/2 tsp sea or kosher salt
2 TBS olive oil
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp or 1 pkg active dry yeast (if you live in Colorado, due to altitude, drop the yeast to a scant 1 tsp)

Set bread maker to dough only setting; put ingredients in according to your bread machine's instructions.

Once dough has finished (it should have risen one time), remove dough and punch it down; knead it 3 or 4 times. Divide in half. Each half will make 1 pizza. To use later, pat each piece into a 4-inch disk and wrap it in plastic wrap; place in freezer bag. Refrigerate up to 6 hours, or keep in freezer for up to 3 weeks. Before using, let chilled dough sit at room temperature until it becomes springy and pliable, which is 1 to 2 hours.

Axel's First Tooth!

On our 8th wedding anniversary (is there some meaning here?), I put my finger in Axel's mouth while giving him something to eat, and I felt a little tooth! I had felt for one a few days before, and found nothing, so this little tooth just appeared!

It is his bottom right front tooth. If he will hold his mouth open long enough (hard to get him to do!) I can catch a glimpse of it. Just the tiniest bit of enamel poking out. He is a sweet man for sure--you can't even tell he is teething, he is so good natured. Just like Luka was when he was teething. From what I hear, we are very lucky to have such easy "toothing experiences."

Axel will be 9 months old on May 6th, and as I recall, Luka's first tooth showed up on the plane to France when he was 10 months old.

Celebrating Mommy and Papa

It's our 8th anniversary tomorrow. Yay, us!

Axel loves his brother and papa

Axel is getting much more aware, even though he has always been pretty alert for whatever age he has been, throughout his little life. The other day, I was nursing him while on the computer and he heard the garage door open. I did not realize till then that he knows that means that Papa is coming home. Axel was turning around wildly trying to see the door so he'd see Papa when he came in. Also, another day, the garage door went up and then the entry way door opened, and then Luka and Papa (after he got Luka at school one evening) did not appear as expected. Axel protested loudly. I wondered where they had gone--he was so disappointed waiting for them to appear. It turns out they had stopped to talk to the neighbor a bit. Then, tonight, when Reynald and Luka came home, Axel very definitely wanted his Papa's attention. When he turned his back to help Luka, Axel reached out and gently tapped/touched his back and made little noises like, "Hey, what about me?"

Continuing on the theme of his eating habits, tonight I gave him some Chicken Dinner (baby food) and he ate it, but got tired of pretty quick, and I was surprised, because I thought he was hungrier than that. Then, after the homemade, whole wheat crust pizza was ready and cooled down, Reynald gave him some of that. He was crazy for it! When he really likes something (mainly food), he clasps his hands into little fists and pumps his arms up and down making little noises. The pizza got these accolades from him and he loved it. It had red sauce, cheese, chopped black olives and artichoke hearts. Go, Axel!

It is time again for...Elitch's!

It is that time of year again. I can't believe that it is the third summer that Luka has gone to Elitch's (Six Flags) - the amusement park in Denver. He still likes the boats, the airplanes, the trucks and the train, and the room full of foam balls is the absolute ultimate. But, this time we added the bumper cars to his repertoire. He was big enough this year for the first time. Good idea, Reynald! I thought Luka would say no, but he was up for it. Reynald explained to him how the pedal and the steering wheel work.

It was very cute when he was going around in circles because he had never had to steer a car before and didn't quite get the hang of it. But, but the second time around, he was getting better and did some straight driving mixed in. He was very proud and wanted to go on that one again. We will catch it next time, since it rained and hailed and we had to leave soon after.

The airplanes were hilarious though. He was in a plane on his own and he refused to pull the lever forward that makes the plane go up. I was scared of climbing in those too when I was a kid, so I guess he gets it from somewhere. But, it was pretty darn funny with us yelling at him as he'd pass to pull the lever forward and him impervious to our pleas. (I told Reynald he should have told him the lever worked backwards from what it really does. In general, I don't advocate tricking your kids, but in this case, he would have seen it was not scary. Maybe next time!

We will be back in the Sept or October if not sooner, since we have free tickets for then.

Axel is a little gourmet

Axel is a little gourmet, just like his big brother. He is not yet 8 months, but he likes "real" big people food the best. He will still eat baby food if he is really, really hungry and there is nothing else (well, sometimes), but he prefers to eat what we eat now. No more of that mushy stuff--he wants the real deal! Some of his recent meals include:

Apple Chicken Curry (chopped up in a mini food processor, but not pureed)
Spaghetti (same preperation as above)
Taco meat
Mongolian BBQ
Lots of bananas
Cheese - oh yum, this is a favorite
Lots of yogurt - Yo, Baby!
Organic Fish Sticks
Cooked Teriyaki Fish
Egg Yellow
Scrambled Eggs
Tomatoes
Potatos (mashed and baked)
Green beans (canned--they are easy to eat)
Various fruits: melon, blueberries (no strawberries or organes yet--still too little)
Blueberry Pie
Blueberry Pudding
Oatmeal
Avocados
Lots of Cheerios (then Luka has to eat them dry too)

And, as far as baby good goes, I bought him a bunch of organic ones, like we did with Luka. However, they don't have as broad of choices as Gerber does. Oh well. So, I did end up buying him some non-organic ones because he was more into the combinations they have. He particularly liked things like Chicken and Apple, and he loved the food Gerber makes for the Hispanic market (labels in English and Spanish and it says "Latin Recipes"). These were things like mangos for dessert and Beef and Tomatoes for dinner.

Little gourment that he is! Well, as we say, our kids are French. :>)

Spiderman, where are you coming from?

SPIDERMAN!

Spiderman is a very popular guy at our house. If you look around you can find:

Spiderman sunglasses (2 pair!)
Spiderman shoes (size 9/10 for little boy feet)
Spiderman toothbrush
Spiderman dangling tag thingys that clip on to little shoes mentioned above
Spiderman baseball cap
Spiderman night light
Spiderman t-shirt
Spiderman figurine (along with "Spiderman Girl," as Luka calls her, and 8 other super hero
friends)
Spiderman birthday cake (oh yeah, we ate that last October)
Spiderman and Dr. Octopus toy from said cake
Spiderman bowl (for cereal and other edibles)
Spiderman backpack to take to school every Monday and take home every Friday

...there may be more...if so, I'll let you know.

Update: Spiderman sandals that we bought in May 2006. They light up when you put pressure on them (jump or whatever). Very cool!

SPIDEY, we love you!

P.S. You too will get sucked into merchandising when you have little kids, if you haven't already. ;)

Easter 2006

Easter update for this year:

Luka was very excited to hide his hat for the Easter Bunny. My dad did that when he was a kid and we did that too--and always got baskets too. So, I'd like to continue that with my kids.

He hid them in the drawers of the living room coffee table. He hid Axel's as well (in the next drawer over) since he is too little. He was really into it and happy to know the Easter Bunny would be coming to find the hats and leave a little surprise.

I had purchased toys earlier--thank goodness--but not the chocolate bunny. What was I thinking? Note to self: NEVER try to buy a chocolate Easter Bunny the night before Easter (or even a few days before). I was able to find some miniature, Lindt bunnies wrapped in gold foil and those worked as well as some cheap-o chocolate one wrapped in pink foil. Since Luka is too little to know what a bunny should look like, that was okay. But, that was close! I had told him the Easter Bunny would leave him a special chocolate friend, so he was expecting it.

In the morning, he found that the Easter Bunny had left chocolate bunnies and eggs in the hats, and that he had also hidden baskets with toys for Axel and Luka! Including Spiderman matching game, Dora puzzle, kid card games for Luka, along with dinosaur bath towel for Axel (to wrap him up good in) and a dinosaur crib sheet set.

Luka then saw some of the plastic eggs the Easter bunny had hidden around the house. They had money (coins) and more chocolate eggs in them. (He loves money...is that good or bad?)

We went to church and they had a nice children's program and Luka moved up to the preschool class. At first, I took him to his old classroom (he had not been in a while) and realized he was waaaaay to big. Those kids really looked tiny compared to him! They sang songs, told Easter stories and also had an egg hunt. Then, after the service/Sunday school, we attended the pancake breakfast that the youth groups put on. It was yummy! (Normally, I think pancakes that are made industrially taste fake, but those were pretty good.)

We did not see Monsieur Bunny this year in person, but he still made an impression on Luka. Can't believe it is almost a year since we saw him last and almost a year ago that I started this blog!

P.S. I have pictures to add to the blog, but am way behind in even downloading them from the camera. I checked the other day, and there are still pics from the middle of March. Sigh. [Note: I just added two to this posting: May 11, 2006)

Ode to a Stroller

When you have a kid/kids, strollers multiply and sneak upon you. So watch out!

We now own many:

Stroller #1: The universal stroller into which the baby car seat fits, that you can use from day one when baby is tiny, through one year old or so (till you switch to a front-facing car seat). Some people get the big Graco set up, but we appreciated the less bulky option of a universal stroller into which a baby car set can fit. Folds up more compactly and still has a good-sized basket at the bottom. Handed down from our friends that they used for "baby" Jessie, to Luka to Axel, soon to be used by Jessie's (who is now 5) brother to be born this summer! Got a lot of use out of that stroller - thanks Ann and Cameron! Click here for an example of a universal stroller. We did not have this one (ours was a Cambio) , but it looks fine and gives you the idea.

Stroller #2: We got the original BOB. This is the "mountain bike" of jog strollers. The manufacturer calls it a "sport utility stroller." Yeah--I'd say so! I used it a lot on our neighborhood trails with Luka and also at Chautauqua Park in Boulder to go over big rocks and roots (but have to be very careful with that--cannot have the stroller tip as this could invite severe head injury). It also has shocks. In the $200-$300 range, but we got a lot of use out of it. And, I guess they do pretty well when you sell them used. Got one more kid to go, and then will probably do that to make some of our money back. For a jogger, is a bit heavy, but not too bad. I liked mine and use it often with Axel now that he is big enough to go in it, but would likely do it over and get a lighter one for jogging had I known. Today, they make a lighter BOB called the Ironman. It is really light, but costs a pretty penny. You can check out their site at http://www.bobtrailers.com/strollers/.


Stroller #3: Little cheapie stroller for baby that can sit up well--umbrella stroller or the like. Axel is still too young, but he will be there soon. (I see people put really little babies in these sometimes and this is a bad idea--they are all slumped over with no support.) We got ours to take Luka to France when he was 10 months old so as to get as compact as we could for the trip. These cost around $20, or you can spend more, but that kind of defeats the purpose. We got a lot of use out of this one for Luka and used it till he was 2+, and still have it, but it may get tossed so Axel can start out with a clean one instead of with Luka's well-used/abused hand-me-down in this case.

Stroller #4: Got two kids? Need a double stroller? Luka was almost three when Axel was born, and is now a very good walker. He was then too, but sometimes, it would have been helpful to have a double, but not really worth buying one. A friend gave us a low-end one (front to back, not side to side) that she was not using. This helped at the zoo at Halloween when Luka got tired and at Christmas in LoDo, etc. We did not use it a whole lot, but it sure helped the few times we needed it. I thought about getting the Stand on Tandem Caboose stroller. The big kid can stand or sit in the back on a little platform and the baby can go in the other part of it in his/her car seat or directly in the stroller. People I talked to who had one really liked it. For kids with an age spread like Luka and Axel, it seemed good. However, now, as the months have passed, Luka is a bit big for it and he is a good walker and he listens well when told to stay with me, etc. So, even though it would have been neat, the window of use we would have got out of it was too small.

Stroller #5: Yes, the famous Chariot. We could not believe we bought another stroller, and a double at that, but it really is the Cadillac of them all. And, as we said earlier, we got it for the ski sled capabilities and just benefit from its split personalities as a bonus: this luxury kid carrier can function as a stroller, jog stroller, bike trailer, hiking rickshaw and ski sled. Even in a little over a month, we've gotten a lot of use out of it and feel it has given us quite a bit of freedom in the mountains. Check out the details that we put up about it on our web site or check out Chariot's web site. Reynald said he may want to use it as a gear sled after the kids are too big for it. No way--we are going to sell it used and recoup some of the money. I am sure it will be well-loved, but still in good shape, with lots of memories to boot.

I think this will be our last "stroller," but you never know!

P.S. I like using the word "ode" don't I?

April Fool's Day

Today was April Fool's day. In France, it is Poisson d'Avril day, where you also play tricks or try to stick a paper fish (poisson) to someone's back. I realized we had not played any jokes with Luka today so went up to say good night to him and stuck a paper fish on his back. He thought that was funny and then stuck it on Reynald's back and then mine--we didn't "know" it as he hugged us good night. (Axel was already in bed, and he'd just try to "eat" the paper poisson anyway. ;)

Of course, this makes me think of my dad's famous April Fool's jokes on us. Dipping cardboard "thin mint cookies" in melted chocolate and putting them back in the Girl Scout Cookie box. My teeth sliding on them when I tried to bite them. The box frosted with chocolate frosting--trying to cut into those delicious brownies (but being a bit suspicious of something, but not knowing exactly what as Helen and I think Steven offered me cake--we'd not normally share, but wolf it down before the others got there--ha ha.)

I, of course, have my own famous trick I played on my college roommate Laurie. I worked in the library in college and got a hold of some college letterhead and sent her a note saying she lacked some humanities credits and would not graduate in May (a month away). I sent it through inter-campus mail. She ran to the registrar's office demanding to know what was wrong. The registrar looked the letter and said, "Miss B----, what day is today?" She then screamed, "Eve!" and knew she'd been had. Her parents and my parents thought it was very funny, but it took her a few years to agree.

P.S. Happy Birthday, Pascal

Unexpected Visitor

My mom called us on Sunday to say she would be in Denver two days--due to a mishap with her flight back from PA after Popop's funeral. I picked her up at the airport on Sunday evening and she left today (Tuesday). What a wonderful unexpected visit! It was a lot of fun to have her and great to have her see the kids. Luka has changed a lot in the (almost) 8 months since Axel was born and, of course, Axel has changed immensely since she saw him last as a newborn. Both boys had fun with her here. We will miss her!

We will all miss our Popop. Laura and I had both ordered flowers at the same flower shop for the funeral and they called her back because we had spelled "Popop" differently, and they wanted to confirm. I have always spelled it that way, as a kid, all through college and into adulthood, when I wrote to my grandparents. I guess I was the wrong one--everyone else spelled it "Pop pop" (and as I recall, so did Dearma when she signed their letters). I guess he didn't mind, but that was a shock. Well, we never said it "Pop pop" but did pronounce it "popop," so I guess I took it too literally. Anyway, we will all miss him and our other grandparents who had gone before.

Post Script: Thanks to Steven for reminding me about the related Dear Mac and Poppy story. When Dad died, our grandparents, whom we called Dearma and Popop (see above regarding Popop!), sent us flowers. Our local florist signed it for them "Dear Mac and Poppy". We all thought that was hilarious. Probably due to some much needed stress release as well.

Axel says Da-da

Darn, I was trying to get him to say ma-ma first a few weeks ago. ;) Then, I kind of forgot about it, and today when we went to see Uncle Jack with Mom, Axel happily said "Da da da da da" as he looked out at us smiling from his car seat on the floor. The little stinker! No, really--good job, Axel! This was actually the first "word-like" sound that he has done. He makes a lot of cute sounds, but more like chirps and clicks. So, a very interesting "first."

He is also doing well now at trying to grab things. We had a bunch of finger puppets for him to play with at Uncle Jacks and he was batting on the side of table to get to them and really going at it.

His hair is lighter and lighter. He may even end up being blond! His hair is much lighter than Luka's but they both have the same dark brown eyes with long eyelashes.

Uncle Jack, a dentist, thinks his gums look like he will be getting teeth soon. He is almost 8 months, so he may be right. And, he is does have a special expertise in that area.

Another Axel First

Today, Axel waved at me for the first time. I was drying my hair at the master bath sink, and he was propped up on my bed so he could see me. With my free hand, I was waving at him off and on. He looked intently at me, and then raised his right hand tentatively and then moved his fingers slowly. Very cute. He was very intent on copying me.

Baby Sunscreen

In Colorado, we wear sunscreen all year 'round: it is sunny in winter too! No matter where you live, carefully choose your baby's sunscreen. I found this article (Baby Center Sunscreen article)
on how to choose it, and my friend Sanya used the advice in it and found Banana Boat Baby Tear Free that fits the criteria.

Axel Firsts

Today was a day of several "firsts" for Axel:

• He turned the page by himself on a board book. Reynald was reading (or that would be, translating to French) "Spot looks at colors" to Luka and Axel and Axel turned several pages on his own!
• First time Axel sat up on his own at home for an "extended" period of time (meaning more than a second!). He was sitting on our bed and doing an awesome job of staying up. Then, he'd do a "dive" over when he got tired, but he is getting there! The very first time he stayed up for an extended period of time was on Wedensday, at music class. He was positioned just right, leaning just so on his left arm, that he stayed that way for several minutes.
• Today for a nap at 4 p.m. was the first time he slept in his crib! (Well, he work up and cried about 5 minutes later, but we could say that was a nap--or should have been.) Yes, it took us this long to get it set up again after tearing it down when Luka went to his mattress on the floor a few months before Axel was born. So, Axel beat Luka's record of 4 or so months in the bassinet. He turned 7 months old 5 days ago. But, now, we are officially done with the bassinet and have folded and put it away. The crib seems so "big boy" comapred! And, it is much roomier for him and easier to lift him out of for us. :)

Go, Axel!

Luka Stories

Poor Luka! He has a bad cough and a fever. He keeps waking up at night and crying. Also, he has not figured out how to blow his nose yet, so that does not help with congestion. He just wipes it all the time, but can't get it really cleared out. Also, this a.m., he had a nose bleed when he woke up and it was everywhere on his new dinosaur sheets. I got out the blood, but it was a lot of work. Poor man!

Funny story: we sometimes play "Halloween" where he knocks on a door and says "trick or treat" and we play like I give him a lot of candy, like it is Halloween. He has not done that in a while and yesterday, he knocked on the door and said, "Christmas Tree!" He got influenced with Christmas happening recently, I guess. Then, he looked confused when I was confused and remembered it was "Trick or Treat". Funny.