Axel's the Big One-Uh-Oh.......

 Hey there. There are things to celebrate.

 Our big boy turned the big one month old today. (Yup, we are back to measuring things in months) It does not sound like much of an achievement, but if you only knew how much has been going on in our world these past 4 weeks... Most notably, the passing of my mother 10 days after Axel's birth....but we will address that in a later post. Also in a later post we will cover Sequoia's big 4 year old birthday princess Bash!! As I said, it has been an eventful and busy first month for our little Axel.

 But first we need to document the big measurables.....

Height - 23 1/4" ...actually that is more accurately described as length. His height is probably closer to 4 inches as he basically operates on the horizontal plane.

 His weight was 9 pounds and 9 ounces. He is filling out nicely.

It should be noted that just like Sequoia (9 lbs 13 o and 22 1/2 in long at her 1 month check up), he is long and lean. He is in the 90th percentile for length but only in the 50th percentile for weight.

 So he is healthy and basically a wonderfully content child.

Sequoia has been doing well adapting to the challenges of having a brother. Occasionally she is noticeably jealous and misses being the center of attention, but honestly for the most part she talks her way through the feelings. There is no doubt that she absolutely adores Axel and Axel adores her too. Sequoia's voice has a very calming effect on him....almost regardless of the volume of her voice.

 The challenge is helping her understand how to interact with him. She gets overly excited and that normally leads to somebody getting squished.

 This is a picture of the oldest member of the grandchildren's generation...older cousin Jens. Jens is named after my mother's father. Axel, who is the youngest member of the grandchildren's generation, is named after my father's father.

 Axel's first month has been a bit of a whirlwind of events in our family, but the upside of that is that he has gotten to see quite a bit of his extended family of relatives and friends, friendly relatives and relative friends...

 The weather has been incredibly beautiful as the warmish spring weather arrived unseasonably early. It has been perfect for getting Axel outside to enjoy the flowers and fresh air.

Of course all the flowers and fresh air come at the price of dirt and baths....here is a picture of his first bath. He actually does quite well in the bath. Which is a good thing.

Axel is growing up quickly...I am amazed that the first month has come and gone already. It is a delight to have him as a part of the family....even at 2am.

Kicking into high gear...

 Sequoia will attempt to channel her inner Mia Hamm this spring ... or I guess Hope Solo is a more current women's soccer idol...don't want to give away the fact that I am an old fuddy duddy. Anyway, the point is that Sequoia starts soccer this spring. I doubt she will make the women's Olympic team headed to London this summer, but look out 2024!!

Blow the whistle and get this game started.

Sub-zero flashback....

 Back in January, I think...the time has been flying by these past few months...we joined Brooklyn and her family to celebrate her 4th birthday.

 We went to National Harbor to see an amazing display of ice sculptures.

 The girls always enjoy each other.

 Best friends since before birth...

 It was disturbingly cold inside the tent...something like 120 below zero, so they handed out these flattering tundra coats to everyone in hopes of preventing frost bite.

 It was a look that worked better for some than others.

 You can always recognize the person who is excited to have finally found the perfect excuse to wear her new Nanook of the North Polar Expedition Cap.

 It was quite amazing....all of the hand carved ice sculptures, including a slide carved out of ice.

 Sequoia at the top.

 Sequoia at the bottom, after proving that ice, contrary to popular belief, is not even remotely slippery. She practically had to crawl down the slide.

 Oh my, but don't we look sharp?!

 It was fun to spend the evening with the Sneeringers.

These last two photos, however, are of the ice sculptures...not the Sneeringers. Just to be clear.

The view from the back seat....

 We spend a lot of time looking at Sequoia's life from our perspective ... usually the front seat...literally the drivers seat.

 The world must look very different from Sequoia's vantage point three feet off the floor and tucked away in the back seat.

 The magic of an I-phone has allowed her to share some of what the world looks like to a fun loving, goofy little girl as she tags along with her mom and dad.

 So maybe the view is not so grand or unimpeded as it is from the front seat. This certainly explains why she often asks"where is it?" when I point stuff out as we drive down the road.

 The view of mommy is not too bad though....and many secrets get shared between these two while I concentrate on important stuff.

 Self portraits are a shared passion of my two girls...and joint self portraits are the best of them all.

My girls certainly do keep me smiling!

Axel's first week....

 Axel and Colleen came home from the hospital Thursday evening after only 2 nights in the hospital. That was an amazingly fast recovery when compared to the ordeal she underwent during Sequoia's delivery. 

 Axel and Colleen are doing great and each are adapting to their new relationship with each other. He is eating, sleeping and pooping like a champion in every category. Colleen is doing her own things like a champion.

 Through all of this, Sequoia has been the perfect proud big sister.

 Of course out of all of us, she probably has the biggest adjustments to make, but we feel she is doing a good job of it.

 I have to admit that I personally have forgotten almost everything that I learned about little newborns... such as how very small they are.

 Changing miniature diapers is a challenge I had also forgotten about.

 But we are all enjoying the experiences and challenges associated with an expanding family.

 Axel is wonderfully healthy and generally a nice calm, good tempered little guy who is adored by his big sister.

 He is also adored by his mom.

 Sometimes he is even mimicked by his mom....she does a good impersonation of him.

Sequoia says that some of the hospital stuff was a little boring for her....

 I think this picture is the definition of the Chinese Ying and Yang symbol.

Anyway, Axel is the perfect addition/ completion of our little family. It will be a fun ride as we find our road through this world.