Brandon's 1st Christmas

This was Brandon's first Christmas so I was not sure if he would be interested in presents or not. Well, as you see he did quite well ripping the paper and trying to eat the cardboard boxes. He was so fervent that he received two paper cuts. I did not notice he was bleeding until I saw the blood on his pants. He did not seem to mind. He must be a tough kid.



Then my sister-in-law's niece came over and I had to get my hands on her. Bella is 10 weeks old and weights about 8 pounds. It was quite different from carrying around Brandon, who is now around 22 pounds.

Here is Christmas with my family at my mom and dad's house. My sister and her daughter, Kendall, opened their gifts close to Brandon and me.


We did Christmas lunch at Jeremy's parents home, and then on Saturday we went to my parents. I think everyone enjoyed the new addition to our family.

I wish you and your family had a great Christmas.

Until then...

Vonda

Christmas Photos

Well, I received Brandon's Christmas photos on Wednesday and I could not be happier. The pictures turned out better than I remembered from when they were taken. Here are a few of those photos:


We had a few other photos taken with Brandon and I and those turned out really good too. But the photos I thought were the cutest are not ones I can post, they are the ones with Brandon with only a Santa hat on his head. Of course, he is on his belly or turned so no boy parts are seen. I just know he will be so glad when he is a teenager for us to show those photos to his girlfriends.

Until then...

Vonda

Brandon's seven month updates

I know it has been 3 months, and really I do not have a good excuse. We had Brandon's six month pictures done along with a few photos in his Halloween costume done at the end of October. By now, we have his Christmas pictures taken, but we do not have them back yet.

A few stats on Brandon at 6 months old.

He weighs 19 lbs. 9 oz. and he is 26.38 inches tall. He does not roll over or crawl yet, but he does sit up ok. He does not have teeth at 6 months, when this is written he has two teeth. He is a big time Mama's boy. He says da-da. He is now in a larger car seat that he loves. He can see out much better. We started him on rice cereal on October 13th. And we are working our way through the first foods. He loves the walker in the church nursery. The dogs are not very interested in him, but he is very interested in them. He always wakes up happy. He sleeps 10-11 hours straight each night and then takes a couple hour nap each day. Brandon enjoys bath time and makes a big mess. He has more clothes than he will ever wear, but for some reason I can't come home from shopping without buying him clothes.

At seven months old we have tried white grape juice in a sippy cup, and he seems to like it. And we have gone through all of the first foods vegetables, we only have three more fruits to try and then we are off to the 2nd foods. We have used all of the rice cereal and we are now on the mixed cereal. Brandon's favorite vegetable is green beans. He is now doing this really cheesy smile that makes his eyes vanish. He went to his first kiddie birthday party this weekend. And I think he had a good time I know I did. I see a Gymboree party for him in his future.

He has been to Branson three times and he spends a day every few weeks with his Nana and his Grandma. It is so nice to have them both in town close.

I am getting more confident taking him places by myself, but I am always nervous that he will have a meltdown or worst I will have a meltdown. I never knew it would take two hours for he and I to get ready to go somewhere. This is where planning is crucial.



I hope you enjoyed the pictures.

Until then..

Vonda

4 Months old today

Brandon is 4 months old today. He tries to be bigger than he is. He would like to roll over so bad. He is almost there. I weighted him and he is at 17.4 lbs. We will see what the Dr. says on Wednesday when we go for his appt. I have his 3 month photos to share with you so please excuse my tardiness. He loves to spend time in his exersaucer, and his swing. He does really well in church nursery. He ah-goos all of the time. I am anxious to see if the Dr. gives the green light to starting him on solids, I am wanting for him to reach this next step, but then there is no turning back. He wears size 3 diapers, and likes to stand.
This is my favorite picture of his 3 month shots. Here are a few more:


That is all I have.

Until Then...

Brandon's 3 month Birthday

Well, actually yesterday was his 3 month birthday. We are getting more adventureous in getting out of the house. I have not gotten it quite mastered yet. This last week my sister and my mom had their birthday's and we went to eat at Catfish Hole. Yummy!!! I do not like catfish so I eat the hushpuppies and the chicken. Brandon was super tired so he was not the best dining company.

I am just now getting a feel of the clothes Brandon has so I am finding super cute outfits daily. ie. the Razorback outfit Brandon wore to church this last week was a new find. I had put it in the drawer with the next size up in clothes. The shoes are too cute, my mom found them at a resale shop. I hope he can wear the shoes into football season (only 37 days).


Brandon is in size 2 diapers, and is wearing 3-6 month clothes. He has a lot of fun talking, and cooing. He is a super eater as you can tell by the above picture. He wakes up happy and as long as he is dry, and fed. He goes 6 hours between feedings at night and then 3 hours during the day. Which is great for me!!! His personality is beginning to show. I am excited to see how the next few months unfold.

Until then...

Vonda

Celebrate America and New Buddy

Sunday provided a great day of firsts for Brandon. We took him to Sunday School for the first time and he did great. I don't know if it was because he was held and ate the entire class or what? Then Jeremy and I took him to Sam's Club, and he slept the whole time we were in there. And then Sunday evening was our church's presentation of Celebrate America on the town square. I was nervous about taking Brandon due to the heat, but the weather turned out to be perfect.

And then, my favorite thing happened, we got Brandon's picture taken with his buddy, Kade. They are 9 days apart in age, I hope that they will be great friends. Kade's mom, Ginger and I grew up together and it would be great for our kids to be close. Well, today is B-dawg's 2 month birthday so I will try to get another posting in to celebrate.

Until then....

Vonda

Newborn Pictures

We had Brandon's newborn pictures taken a couple of weeks ago, and we plan on using them for his birth announcements. I thought I would share a few of those photos.







A friend I went to school with took these pictures, she has her own studio and has taken tons of my friends photos. I hope you enjoy the pictures!!!

Until then..

Vonda

Happy One Month Birthday Brandon

Well, his one month birthday was actually on the 29th of May. We have had an adventurous first month to say the least. The most recent trial to work through with being a new parent is meal time. We are going through a growth spurt and we were pulled from breastfeeding due to a rash I had on my legs. Now, the rash is gone and I am off of the steroids so we are now trying to get back in a routine of meal times. Brandon seemed to put on a lot of weight those 12 days on formula, and my milk production did not hold up because I did not pump the milk often enough. So the laws of supply and demand do really apply outside Economics class.

This next week I have two Dr. appointments one for my vision and the other is my postpartum appointment. I almost look forward to these appointments so I have something I have to get around and get ready for the day. Otherwise it is so easy to stay in my pajamas all day, especially if the night before had been a rough one.

The last couple of weeks we had our Sunday School class bring us supper and it was great. There is nothing like not having to think about what is for dinner for a few nights. I really thank all of the class who brought us meals.

Until then.

Vonda

Happy Mother's Day!

HAPPY FIRST MOTHER'S DAY VONDA!!!

Brandon was born just 11 days ago and already Vonda gets a present and card!!!

Vonda,
You are the most special person in the world to me and I am so glad there is a holiday to recognize the sacrifice you have made in becoming a mother. You are the best mother in the world and I am honored to be able to partner with you in raising our child, Brandon. I cannot wait to see what a wonderful person he will turn out to be. I know he will be given every opportunity to succeed in life. I thank God every day for the woman He has given me and now the child He has entrusted to us. May God guide us and lead us in the direction He would have us go and help us make the right decisions in raising this child to become a Godly man, husband and father.

I love you more than words can express.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!




until then......

ja

Our Little Man is Here!

Well, our little man has finally arrived! Brandon James was born at 6:05am on Wednesday, April 29th, 2009. He weighed 7lb 15oz and was 21 1/4" long. We went home on Thursday afternoon.
Nutmeg and Oscar didn't quite know what to think at first but they fell in love with him pretty quick.

On Monday, we had a scheduled check up at the pediatrician's office and noticed he looked a little 'yellow.' Sure enough, his bilirubin count was a little over 20! So when he was only 5 days old he was admitted back into the hospital for some hydration and blue light therapy!

It is now Tuesday evening and his counts are down around 11.6 so they are going to reduce the IV flow and keep him under one light instead of 2 to see how he responds. Dr. Scherer says he is progressing very nicely so we will probably be able to go home sometime tomorrow. Praise God!

What an adventurous week at the Axe home!
Thanks for all your continued prayers and kind words. Vonda and I really appreciate each of your friendships and your encouragement.

I have posted a few pics on our Picasa Web page HERE

Rest assued there will be MANY pics to follow!

until then...
ja

Countdown

Today I am on the countdown, I officially have seven more days of employment (work) at the bank. We will close the building on Friday, April 17th. It will be tough to finally walk out of the doors for the last time. I have worked here for almost 14 years.

And I am also on the countdown for little Brandon to arrive. My Dr. would like to induce me on April 29th, so Brandon could be here sooner that I had originally planned. But who knows he may arrive before the 29th. That is just crazy to think that before the end of the month Brandon will be here. So, this has gotten me in gear to schedule the pediatrician interview appt., and have the car seat installed. Oh yeah, and get the bags packed.

We have a growth ultrasound tomorrow and if Brandon is growing at 1/2 a pound per week then he could be close to 7lbs. already based on his estimated weight from the last ultrasound on March 19th. And my Dr. has us scheduled to see him on Monday again. So based on the results of the ultrasound tomorrow that will help me to feel more comfortable with Brandon arriving sooner, if we have to be induced. I just do not want to have him arrive through an induction, and then have respiratory problems, when that might be avoided if he arrives on his own time. I know this is something I can not get worked up about and it will all work out the way it is suppose to.

Until then.

March Madness, It begins

The NCAA tournament was here before I knew it, and I had not even completed one bracket. So yesterday morning I called Jeremy to see if we could do our own head to head competition. I am fairly competitive and I normally do pretty good on picking the winning teams. I sent to him my bracket, and then yesterday he brought home his bracket. And as of this morning I have picked correctly on 14 of the 16 games that have been played. The only two I guessed incorrectly so far was Western Kentucky beating Illinois, and Michigan beating Clemson. I think this weekend and this next week are the most exciting of the year. And I almost let it pass without the joy of completing a bracket. I have Louisville, Memphis, Pittsburgh, and North Carolina in the final four, with North Carolina winning. We will have to see how the weekend goes to see how my other teams fair.

Until then.

Church shower gifts

After we unloaded all of the great shower gifts, we had to go to my neice's birthday party and we were there until 8pm that evening. Well, that included ice cream cake, Build A Bear, and then supper at Red Robin. So there was not any progress made on the sorting of the shower gifts on Saturday. Then after church on Sunday, we had lunch with my family to celebrate my brother-in-law's birthday, at Red Robin. Do you see a theme of where we eat when we go out to eat? So then it was nap time, and after the evening church service the goal was to begin to get the gifts sorted. We got it looking pretty good, but I have to admit that the ladies who hosted the shower already had it pretty well sorted. Thanks girls!!









We have all of the alike items in their own tote so throughout this week, my task is to go through each tote.

That is all for now, until then.

Baby Shower Extravagazna

I will have to say that very few times in my life have I ever been overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and kindness from others towards me. Well, this is one of those times. This last Saturday was our church baby shower.

Here is my Mom, sister, neice, and Mother-in-Law.

Here are the ladies who hosted the shower, they are the best!!! This picture is missing Jeanine, but from left to right we have Mary Avery, Kacy, Erin, me, Lisa, Monica, Michelle, Kelly, and Berkli. What a spread of food!!!

Oh, and you can not forget the petit fours. My favorite, yum!!!

This is the gift table, before the shower began.

Here are the clothes that were in the some of those packages.

It took 2 minivans and my car to haul all of the gifts to my house. What a blessing this had been!! Thank you to all of you who were able to attend and thought of Jeremy and I enough to provide us such a nice shower.

That is all for now, until then.

Brandon's Nursery In progress

Good Morning everyone!!! Well, here is a little taste of Brandon's nursery. Jeremy and his mom came over and painted the walls. And then Jeremy finished up with the chair rail. I think they did a great job. And better yet I did not have to paint, I do not enjoy painting. The bedding is a kind of safari print with lions, elephants, zebras, and giraffes. We are still in need of a dresser to put all of Brandon's stuff.



















That's all for now. Until then.

PLEASE PRAY

We have 2 separate friends who are in need of prayer.
Please go check out Kelly's and Jenna's blogs to see their needs and pray for them.

We believe God is still in the miracle business.

More updates on Baby Harper can be found on Kelly's dad's blog HERE

...When God's people pray!...

Jeremy

It has been awhile

Well, as you can tell nothing much has been going on in my life. We had a Dr. appt. this week and we are measuring right on 23 weeks. And we are now going every two weeks to see the Dr. On the 19th, I get to take the glucose test. I have heard it is terrible to it is tolerable.

I have three of my girlfriends who are due to have their babies this next week. One will be induced on Monday, one has her C-section on Monday, and the other is due on Monday. I will have a busy week visiting the hospital.

In my Sunday School class, there are several ladies expecting. What an exciting time!!! The next several months will be full of going to baby showers. Baby showers now have a little different meaning for me. I was online looking a one of my girlfriend's registry and I saw a few things I had forgotten to register for so I put those items on my registry too. Thanks Robin.

Jeremy is trying to talk me into doing a belly shot for you all, but I am a little hesitant. We will have to see though.

Until next time....