4 months old

 Axel is 4 months old TODAY! We went to the pediatrician today for his regular check up- and more shots! :( He took them like a champ- cried with gusto, full on red in the face crying til no breath is left in the lungs. The final vaccine is an oral vaccine, so he calmed down for this sweet treat, and continued to whimper a bit. After a good nap and some Tylenol, he is in back to his happy self, and went to bed a little early. He is happy, healthy & strong, on target with his motor skills and growth, so we are feeling very blessed.

 On Thanksgiving Axel rolled from his back to his belly. He has done this a few more times since then, but he doesn't seem terribly interested in the whole rolling thing, seems to happen by accident. He's still very happy to play on his mat, swatting, grabbing and chewing on the toys. He'll lay on his back with his feet up in the air tic-tocing back and forth, rolling to one side, then back. It seems more and more things are finding their way to his mouth. He is a drooler too, but apparently cousin Audrey was a drooler at this age too, and she was toothless til after she turned one! So lets hope Axel isn't hoping for his 2 front teeth this Xmas!

 He has become a bit of a TV guy- if it is on he wants to watch it! No matter what's showing- sports, action movie, news, no matter, he wants to see the pretty colors moving. One day Kellen was feeding him a bottle and Axel was distracted by the TV, so Kellen blocked his view, Axel grunted and bowed his back... a first mini-tantrum of sorts.

  Axel is still a source of such delight- he smiles easily, laughs and reacts to being spoken to. He will babble and squeal when spoken to, or sometimes when he's "alone" he'll just happily chatter and screech. He's found his voice can do some really fun things lately. VIDEO

He's still a great sleeper. He typically goes about 10 hrs at night and during the day he typically has a morning and afternoon nap about 1.5-2 hrs each and may take a short nap early evening, depending on how his feed schedule went that day. He wakes up around 8 and eats every 3-4 hours, with a feeding right before bed to hold him :) It's funny how regimented I was with feeding schedules for kids I nannied, but now I try and have the morning feeding be at the same time and go with his cues, but always within 4 hours, so he doesn't go getting his days/nights mixed up! He eats well, and so he sleeps well- again- counting our blessings there!

  Axel's hair is out of control. It continues to grow, and is still curly, but he seems to have tufts of hair and almost bald patches. He can totally pull off that look being completely adorable and all (I am NOT biased...) but his hair is long enough that I'm tempted to cut it. Maybe when he can hold his head still without sudden jerks I feel more confident taking a pair of scissors near his head.

Axel's Stats:
Height: 28 inches
Weight: 17lbs 12oz

... which means last month's weight was probably not right... but it wasn't an accurate scale, just taking the difference of me holding him and then not holding him. The doctor was really amazed at Axel's height- he's off the charts 100% for length, but only 88% for weight.

Our house is built and ready! We are scheduled to do a walk through on Friday (dec 20), but with the holidays, etc we won't be closing until after the first of the year. Still, that's just a couple weeks away! And it will fly by with all the holiday festivities to distract us. Un-real.

Kellen is looking forward to winter break- maybe more than the students! Ever thankful for his job, but the 50+ hr work weeks are hard, and he's ready for some time to relax. Axel and I are looking forward to having him around and spending time with him.

3 months?!

Axel is spending his three month mark visiting with family in SC. He got to meet his Great Grandma Betty (Kellen's mom's mom) and then Kyler (Kellen's brother) & wife Elizabeth & son Thane flew in Saturday. Thane is 8 months old, and has a bit more hand-eye coordination so was able to reach out and manually inspect Axel's nose and ear. They enjoy looking at each other and chattering. They're pretty close in size to each other, despite the 5 month difference.

Axel has had a week of firsts. On Tuesday (11/12) he rolled over from belly to back for the first time. He did it 5 times within 5 minutes and hasn't done it again since (VIDEO)! Saturday he started razzing. It's one of those weird things that's a "milestone" so we'll take it- plus it's pretty cute! He holds his hands together in front of himself, chews/sucks on his hands and can even grasp at toys. His hand-eye coordination isn't quite there, still jerky movements, but a bit more purpose. He holds his head up fine and does well with tummy time.

He is so much fun- he smiles easily and laughs with little encouragement- sometimes he laughs so much he gives himself the hiccups :) He still loves singing and coos along with you. He enjoys TV (what a little man). We had Man of Steel on the other day and he was watching and chatting up a storm- he needs to learn movie-watching etiquette- whisper!

He continues to be a great eater and sleeper. He is not on any real routine, he eats every 3-4 hours throughout the day and I'll give him a feeding around 10 pm and he'll sleep 8-10 hours through the night. I appreciate that :)

As Axel's hair grows there are more curls showing up. I've tried brushing it "flat" when he gets out of the bath, but by the end of the day he has a tuft of hair on the side of his head that fluffs out, so I've "embraced" the curls and just let it be. It's so stinking cute! NO bias.

He's wearing 6-9 month clothes and some 12 month clothes fit as well. Still a big boy.

Axel's stats:
Height: 26.25 inches
Weight: 18.4 lbs (updated 11/19)

Our house is still on target for a closing no later than Jan 10- less than 2 months away- so exciting! We've stopped by and walked through it a couple times now. It's coming along and it's nice to see where things are and get a feel for how it will be :)

2 months old

Axel is 2 months old as of yesterday. Our days are filled with the tasks of everyday life that are mundane and memorable at the same time :) Laundry & other household chores and errand running mixed in with tummy time, feeding, diaper changing and playtime.

Axel is still as happy as ever, so many smiles and little laughs (more like guffaws than giggles). He coos and chatters- especially after a feeding (if he's awake) and seems to coo/chatter in response to being spoken to (VIDEO). Other times he'll be by himself under his play mat/gym and will happily talk to his toys, or whoever may be listening in the room. He really is a super baby, easy going and just a delight. My dad asks me how we ended up with such a good baby, and I remind him of the arduous labor/delivery... after that ordeal everybody deserves something easy.

Often when Axel sleeps his face is very animated. He will cry/whimper in his dreams and he'll smile & laugh as well. He gets the hiccups a lot- big gut-sucking hiccups that would drive me crazy if I had them! He had the hiccups a lot in utero, so I guess he's used to it, because it doesn't seem to bother him too much.

He has stretched his nights out to 7-9 hours between feedings. Glorious sleep! He still naps well during the day wherever he's laid down, sometimes even falling asleep on his play mat, but sleeps soundest in his crib.

He continues to grow like a weed. He is moving out of his size 3 month clothes and into 6 month, out of size 2 diapers and into size 3. He eats like a champ, but has started to be a bit of a spitter-upper. Sometimes a little bit, other time what seems like half his meal. Sometimes right after a feeding, other times an hour or more after a feeding- and a couple times during a feeding! But it doesn't seem to phase him much, and his growth hasn't slowed down.

Axel's stats:
Height: 25.5 inches
Weight: 14.8 lbs

That's up 2 inches and 2.3 lbs since last month!

Axel goes next week for his 2 month check up where they will give him 4 shots- I'm not looking forward to that :( This weekend we head to Wake Forest and will get to catch up with friends from church and SEBTS, and then next weekend we're off to the beach for a wedding- very excited for that! We'll have to stick his toes in the sand and surf.

We recently drove by our house and it is very much underway. Siding is up and windows are in. It is projected to be complete by mid-Dec with a closing date no later than Jan 10! It is so nice living with my parents- they enjoy seeing Axel everyday as he grows and changes so much with every passing day. And for our part it's nice to share life with them during this season. That said, we are looking forward to being in our own place.

One Month Old!!

I can hardly believe that Axel is a month old today. It's SO true what they say about days being so long, but the years are so short. Some days feel like they may never end (especially those long nights), but here we are already a month into his life outside the womb!

Some people have asked where we came up with Axel's name- no we aren't huge Guns 'N Roses fans :) Kellen likes less than run-of-the-mill names- a name that when you call it out at the playground only one kid reacts. I was looking through a baby name book and I loved the meanings for Axel (according to the book: Hebrew: Reward from God, Scandinavian: Father of peace), and thought, "I could live with that, and it's just weird enough that Kellen will go for it." so there ya go :)

He is a wonderful baby- content/happy when awake, a good sleeper, only seems to cry if he is uncomfortable (cold after a bath or diaper change), gassy or hungry- and man oh man does he eat! He lost a pound in the days after his birth, and I was so stressed about producing milk and getting it into him that I worked up a fever blister that first week. What a useless worry! He has no problems getting calories. He's up to 12.5 lbs already! He's wearing size 3 month clothes, and can even wear some size 6 month- big boy like his Daddy. He eats every 2.5 -3 hrs, but stretches it to about 4 hours during the night, so I'm not getting a solid night's sleep, but I get enough rest.

Axel is a lot more interactive. He smiles a lot, and is so close to laughing! He has been smiling and even laughing in his sleep for several weeks, but no wakeful laughter yet. He loves to be sung to and loves to hear Pops (my dad) whistle.  He is starting to make little coos/moans and is a noise factory of grunts and snorts when he's stretching and waking up. He is happiest in the morning right after feeding (a morning person like his Daddy!). He has been spoiled a bit with so many arms willing to hold him and help him fall asleep, so that's a difficulty we're facing now- weening him off being held/rocked to sleep. But if that is the biggest of our troubles, then we're doing ok :)

Axel's stats at birth:

9 lbs 11 oz

22 inches long

Axel's stats today:

12.5lbs

23.5 inches

In other news: Kellen is loving his new job. He started the Monday after Axel's birth. He has long days (7:30- 5:15) but they are rewarding hours. Although he comes home exhausted he really is enjoying it.

We are under contract for a home in the River Chase development in Winston Salem. It is new construction and we got to pick the floor plan and some colors, etc. It should be under construction starting next month and we should be moved in by the end of January. In the meantime we are very thankful for my parents opening up their home to us :)

Oh BABY!

Kellen and I found out mid-December that we were expecting- very exciting. I never would've chosen mid-August for a due date... but God knows best! It'll be a long, hot summer, but at the end of it we will be parents :) We found out last month that baby is healthy (the tech said our baby has a "beautiful head") and everything looks as it should- all 10 toes and 10 fingers and it's a boy! He was quite wiggly during the ultrasound and even sucked his thumb :)

I was pretty sick those first few weeks- with "morning" sickness, which for me was nausea for most of the day. Once I started taking B6 the nausea basically subsided, and once I passed 16 weeks I weaned myself off it and am happy to be free of nausea now at 21 weeks... we've reached the halfway point (cause let's be honest, we know I'll be at least a week past the due date given family history)!

I've been feeling baby move for a few weeks now, but as he grows I feel him more and his movement is more noticeable, shocking sometimes. Last night, he was quite wiggly, so I had Kellen rest his hand on my belly and within seconds Kellen got a firm bump from his son! It was exciting to have that experience.


Kellen graduates this May. We're excited to be finishing up. My job as a nanny wraps up by mid-June, Kellen will go to Columbia, SC mid-June to mid-July for training with the Navy and he'll go Navy Reserves as a chaplain until he can get his 2 years of ministry experienced required by NAMB (his endorser).

And then we don't know what... Kellen has applied to ministry jobs all over the USA, and teaching jobs in the Charlotte/SC area and we haven't had any bites as of yet. At this point we have a move out date of May 31. Our plan is to move to SC and live with Kellen's parents, at least until we can afford to get a place of our own... with the baby due later this summer we feel tremendously blessed that they are able and willing to meet that need!

Those are OUR plans, but if God wants to open a door (or window) we'll climb thru it!

We've felt for a while that the Charlotte area is where God wants us, but of course, if He opens up a job elsewhere we'll take that as an indication to go! We covet your prayers that God would give us wisdom and direction and ultimately provide a job (soon). Patience is a hard earned virtue. When we moved to Wake Forest we didn't have a job until days before the move, despite months of searching/applying/interviews. I know God is faithful and He will provide, but my flesh wants to see Him move sooner rather than later!
His timing is perfect.