Big Moves

Bo, 2016

Bo is sitting, attempting to pull himself up, and face planting pretty frequently these days. I don't think I've quite absorbed how crazy things are going to get around here when he's fully on the move, but I'm certainly proud of his new tricks.

Oscar: Thirteen Months Old

Oscar, 2015

Oscar! He is getting more Oscar-ish by the day: fearless, always wanting to be in the thick of things, with a hysterical chuckle and a very good nature. I think Axel is coming around too...

Here's a peek back at his older brother at a little over thirteen months old.

Fuzz

Oscar, 2014

I love this phase: this is all Ozzy wants to do....stand, wobble, stand, wobble. I also love his dandelion fluff hair. He has been working on his dismounts, to mixed success.

Ha, and note the odd little parking area in the corner of our living room.

Homework

Axel, 2014

A picture of Axel's first homework assignment (A is for Axel.) I die of cuteness. Guess they start them young in New York...

Ozzy Crawls

Hard to believe how quickly this guy figured out how to get around. We are in for it!

First Day

Williamsburg, 2014

First day of school for Axel. No tears, in fact the teacher said at one point he looked around like 'Why is everyone crying?'

Chatterbox

Axel, 2014

When Axel turned two, it's almost like a switch flipped, and he went from talking to talking in full sentences. I'm still amazed at some of what he manages to string together..."Daddy is driving the gold car.', 'I'm sitting next to mommy', 'I dip in the bubbles?', 'I'm on the top of the sofa.'

There are still fragments and phrases, like 'Play outside now.', 'Scary crab' or 'Scary lobster,' but for the most part he can express what he wants very clearly as well as everything he's observing around him. If I say, 'Let's go sing Oscar a song before bed,' he'll wander over to Oscar's crib and sing 'Twinkle Twinkle.' It's so fun and the dialogue is making things much easier these days. I can only imagine the sorts of things he's going to start saying when he begins school next week.

Oscar: Five Months Old

Maine, 2014

Oscar is a five months old today, and a happy, sunny guy. Hobbies include kicking and eating his feet, lying on his tummy, 'talking', being entertained by his many cousins and rejecting the bottle. So far he's tasted banana and pear, which have both been big hits.

Here's a look back at Axel at the same age, if you'd like to see.

Rain in Maine

Maine, 2014

It's raining pretty hard up here so Axel has been busying himself with buckets and salad spinners and various household chores. We took advantage of a rare quiet moment to give Oscar his first taste of solids...the banana was a hit. I love the furrowed brow and post-banana afterglow.

Seventeen Months

Axel, 2014

On Monday, Axel will be seventeen months old! The last month has been filled with lots of visitors, lots of parties, and lots of new words (bath and duck are recent favorites.) We've also had lots of "No", a few "Yesses", and plenty of opinions.


Axel loves jumping in piles of pillows, trying to open the front door, playing with his magnetic letters, jumping up and down in his crib, climbing everything, exhausting his parents when he's introduced to non-childproofed spaces, and meatballs and fish sticks. It's been chilly and snowy out so we've been spending a lot of time somewhat cooped up indoors with occasional forays to some of the play spaces around the neighborhood. We're also gradually trying to introduce the idea of the new baby into conversation, as Axel is in for a few surprises in the next month or so!


Although he'll give hugs on occasion and very briefly sit in one of our laps, Axel is still such an independent guy. Tonight, I went in his bed to turn off his nightlight as I hadn't heard a peep from him in about 45 minutes and he was wide awake, just quietly chattering to himself, saying "Boo!" and laughing. Must have been an inside joke.



Here's a look back at Sixteen Months Old, Fifteen Months Old, (we skipped fourteen), Thirteen Months Old, Twelve Months Old, Eleven Months Old, and more:


Nine Months Old

Eight Months Old

Seven Months Old


The first six months:



Six Months Old

Five Months Old

Four Months Old

Three Months Old

Two Months Old

One Month Old

Sixteen Months

Axel, 2013

So much going on with this little guy. In the last month, he's become a very talkative fellow. Now he says (in no particular order): Uh Oh, Hi, Boo, Shoes, Mah (More), Bah (Ball), Bye Bye, Night Night, Baby, Up, Thank you (ish), Mummy, Papa, Peppa, Na (No), Ar (Orange) & Out. Also Appoo (for both Apple and Open.)

Lots more sixteen month photos to come as we are having out annual tree-trimming party today.



And here's a look back at Fifteen Months Old, (we skipped fourteen), Thirteen Months Old, Twelve Months Old, Eleven Months Old, and more:

Nine Months Old
Eight Months Old
Seven Months Old

The first six months:

Six Months Old
Five Months Old
Four Months Old
Three Months Old
Two Months Old
One Month Old

Fifteen Months

Williamsburg, 2013

Fifteen months today! You woke up with a little stomach bug but seem to be happily napping away now.

Mama forgot to do a fourteen month update, but the last two months have been so much fun. You are such a little person.

Current obsessions:

1) Rasberries. If we let you exist solely on rasberries, strawberries, cheese, and milk, you'd be a very happy fellow. This is an expensive habit, but we are indulging it anyway.
2) Buckles. After you've finished your meals, you love sitting in your high chair for a bit and trying to figure out how the seat buckle works. You love to wander up to your stroller and investigate its buckle as well. Planning your escape, perhaps?
3) Relaxing. We have a little reading pillow on the floor in the living room and you love to sit in it while you drink your milk or find your way there to put your arms out in repose. Sitting like a grown up in big chairs is also a favorite pastime.
4) Cars, Balls, and Scooters. You are obsessed with cars you can ride on or sit in (we see a flare of your temper if we take you out of them.) At the playground, you'll happily chase balls for hours. If a big kid is there with his scooter, you are all over it.
5) Climbing. You are a walking, running, climbing machine. You love powering around on the playground and going down the slide on your belly.

Dislikes: Pasta! We are clearly not related. We also have trouble getting you to sit still through a book, though you'll happily look at them on your own.

Words: Mah (I'd like to think it's Mama, but really it's "more.") Uh Oh, Hi, Meow, Papa, Peppa (for Peppa Pig.)

Teeth: 4 that are fully in, with another two on the top peeking through.

Weight and Height: We'll find out on Friday at your 15 month appointment. Update: You are 23.5 pounds and 31.3" long!

And here's a look back at Thirteen Months Old, Twelve Months Old, Eleven Months Old, and more:

Nine Months Old
Eight Months Old
Seven Months Old

The first six months:

Six Months Old
Five Months Old
Four Months Old
Three Months Old
Two Months Old
One Month Old

Teething

Axel, 2013

For about a month now, we've been in the throes of some major teething drama. Axel was a toothless wonder until about 3 weeks after his first birthday, and since then he's gotten four giant teeth in rapid succession (he takes after his papa in the giant teeth department); plus there's two more on the top that are peeking through.

During the day, you wouldn't especially notice anything is amiss, but at night, a few times a week, our usually sound sleeper often wakes up around 1 a.m. moaning and can be up for hours. It's not his 'I'm upset' cry, it's something that sounds much more like discomfort, and it can be really tough to console him. We use infant Tylenol from time to time, and let him snuggle in our bed with milk and a few episodes of Peppa Pig on Youtube, but last night nothing seemed to make him comfortable.

I've read all sorts of things about chilled washcloths and frozen fruit and the like, but in the middle of the night the last thing he wants is something shoved into his mouth. He doesn't even seem especially "teeth-y" in terms of wanting to chew things, at least, not any more than usual.

We eventually get him back to bed and he wakes up at the usual time perfectly cheerful and ready to go, while we feel completely run ragged, with pounding headaches from all the sleep disruption. Somehow, the unpredictability of it all makes this stage feel harder than the newborn phase, when it was usually a simple case of feeding him back to bed. Only 16 more to go...?

Conundrums

Williamsburg, 2013

This is exactly the kind of article that makes me fret from time to time, worried that I should be chasing Axel around the room saying "Is that your green ball?", "See the gray kitty. Isn't she soft!", or "Show me your ears!" ad nauseum, instead of letting him pound at the fridge door with his plastic hammer. Of course we talk to him, a lot, but there are times when I overthink it, and it seems forced.

There are moments like today, in his French playgroup (overkill?) when the pressure to provide constant enrichment can seem a little absurd. Okay, yes, I confess: I enrolled my 14 month old in a French playgroup when his English words seem to consist of "Meow," "Ball," and "More." Foreign language exposure is supposed to be a good thing, right? But then Axel just wants to spend the class hunting for a ball he sees under the sofa or trying to eat another kid's apple. He's a newly toddling baby, and he just wants to move and explore.

Although I've never wanted to overschedule my children, I think in cities you tend to hunt around for activities because containing your little one in a 1200 square foot apartment can be daunting. Plus, everyone else seems to be signing up for music groups and tumbling classes and educational puppet shows. The list goes on. The opportunities are there, and somehow you feel if you are not taking advantage of them, your baby might be missing out.

A few weeks back, I went on a school tour, as we've been scoping out nursery programs that would begin next fall. As a group of parents stood in a semi-circle in a classroom for toddlers, one parent said something to the tune of "I see a lot of art projects and things, but what's the most challenging thing the children do academically in the 2s program?" Insane yes, but I kind of got where he was coming from. In New York, where nursery school can cost as much as $40,000 a year, it's a little hard to swallow the notion that you are paying for your child to finger paint. But I almost laughed out loud when the teacher responded, "They learn to be human beings." Right.

I'm all for giving Axel every advantage I can, but I feel like we're pretty verbal around here, and it seems a little strained to try to turn every little interaction into an educational opportunity. I want him to go to a great school, and I want him to learn to love books, but at this stage, he's so on the move that even trying to read an 8-page board book before bed is kind of...a challenge. He has one book he's entranced by, which consists entirely of pictures of cats. I think its main appeal is a little rubber ball that squeaks when you press it.

Here's to hoping that our early literary struggles won't resign him to a life of crime and economic struggle.

Axel Walking

And here's a little snippet of Axel walking this weekend! For a guy who's only been doing it for a week, I'd say he's pretty good.

Lately

Fall, 2013

We spent the weekend in Massachusetts, near Rockport, for my cousin's baby shower. About 9 out of 12 people at the shower were pregnant (something in the air?)

Since then, I've been adjusting back to life in Brooklyn and making the most of the gorgeous fall weather.

And, Axel is walking! He's taken one or two steps for a few weeks now, but on Monday night he walked from the middle of the living room to the coffee table and last night about halfway across our lobby hall. A few bumps, but mainly he seems to have the hang of it.

More news this afternoon!

Thirteen Months

Axel at 1 year, by Jami Saunders

These photos are from Axel's one year pictures, a month ago now, but I am still absorbing just how cute they are.

In the last few weeks, it feels like Axel's comprehension of the world has expanded like a wildfire. Ask him to stick out his tongue, and he does it. Ask him to touch his ear, he's on it. He's also figured out how to blow on the harmonica to make some noise, and very proud of it.

Alas, the last week or so I've been working like a maniac for New York Fashion Week, and am even in the office on this sunny Saturday. But Axel and his papa are off on some adventures around the city this weekend and having a blast.

Leaps

Axel, 2013

August has been whirl of major development for our little Axel. It's funny how in the span of just a week or two, whole new thought processes seem to emerge. That's definitely been the case for us lately.

Suddenly, his imagination and memory seems to have exploded. He'll hold a block to his ear, and pretend it's the phone, or he'll crawl over to the corner where our iPod is docked, and bounce up and down (dancing) and pointing until we turn on the music.

He'll sit on the floor, leafing through a book, exclaiming at the pictures, and when we go to the coffee shop, he'll insist on getting a bite of a bagel. When I go to open the fridge to get milk, he'll get really excited, and when I point at a pillow on the ground, he'll crawl towards it, knowing he's about to get a bottle.

His first little tooth is popping through, and so far, teething hasn't been too dire.

His babble is still mostly babble, but it's amazing how clearly the guy can get a point across.

More Firsts

Axel, 2013

Yesterday, Saturday, was a little frenetic around these parts....Axel's first haircut at Hello Beautiful, lots of errands, a party with our friends and Axel's little buddies, capped off by the insane Brooklyn Blackout cake from Ovenly. I definitely felt I never got to quite finish a conversation (or a thought), but I think our guy enjoyed himself nonetheless.