Brandon's 1st Easter

Brandon is now 11 months old and he army crawls to get where he wants. We still have him in size 3 diapers, and he eats stage 3 foods. He also eats canned green beans, carrots, pears, peaches, and apples. Oh, and those nasty lil' sticks (chicken and turkey). The only thing we have found that he does not eat is broccoli. And he had it a few months ago and it did not agree with him, but he ate what was fed to him. He has 7 teeth (four on top and three on the bottom). He babbles constantly. But he really does not say mama until he gets desperate. He wears 12-18 months clothes and he weighs 24lbs. He just learned yesterday to shrug his shoulders, too cute. He wakes up a little earlier now a days. He is up by 8am, but then is ready for his nap at 10am. He takes a 3-4 hour nap and then if we are home he will take another hour nap around 4pm. He begins to get sleepy at 8pm, but he might not be asleep until 10:30pm or 11pm. He drinks 3 bottles a day and enjoys juices and snacks.
Ok, now to Easter. We had a great playgroup on Thursday at Sarah Grace and Lena Kate's house. We had a Easter egg hunt. This was the first time Brandon had been on the grass. Our yard has issues with retaining water so it is a swamp, and I did not want the two little dogs jumping on him. He loved the grass and being outside, oh yeah, we don't go outside much. Below are some pictures to recount that day. Thanks Tracy for having us over and being such a great host.
Harper enjoying the sunshine and the grass.

Then on Saturday, my in-laws had us over for supper and Easter egg dyeing. Supper was traditional. Then my nieces dyed eggs. They really enjoyed it. And the adults did too.



Then on Sunday morning we went to early service, and then helped out for a little while with the two year olds during the late service. We did manage to get a family Easter picture in between services.

Then we went out to my family's for lunch and Easter egg hunting. And we did the resurrection eggs again this year. I am so glad my nephews like doing it, because I almost forgot where I had put them from last year.

Until then...

Valentine play group and Super Bowl Party

Well, today you get a two for one, I have two events that we attended this last week. First on Thursday, Brandon went to his first Valentine party. It was at Sarah Grace and Lena Kate's house. Thanks Tracy for hosting all of us. The Valentine card exchange was a great idea. And the cupcake decorating was very cool too.

Here is Molly, Ruby and Ben.

Kelly with Caleb, Kinley and Erin.


Lindsey with Ben, and Jessica and Braxton.
Mary Avery, Matthew and John Micheal. John Micheal loved that balloon. And Brandon eating his book.

And then Jeremy and I went to the Super Bowl party at Ross and Monica's last night. I only got a couple of pictures, but as usual the guys hibernated in the man cave upstairs and the ladies sat around the kitchen table. The game seemed to be a non-event, and it really did not matter to me which team won. It was good to catch up with the ladies. We had 12 families represented at the party. I enjoy the ladies of our Sunday School class so much for their genuine love for each other. And it is so nice to have close girlfriends to lean on for advice or just chit chat. There was one couple strangely missing from the party and that was Jason and Michelle. I miss you. :>(
Aaron, Billy, Wes, Lindsey, Robert, Matt, Amanda, and Amber filling their plates before kick off.


Stephanie, Brad, Amy S, Amy D, Ben, Jessica, Aaron, Ross, Monica, Matt, Ethan, Billy, Wes, and Robert chatting it up.

Until then...

Vonda

What is up at the Axe house?

Well, since it has been 4 weeks since I blogged last you would assume we have a lot going on. I am not sure if that is accurate. We now have a 9 month old in the house. And if his behavior now sheds any light how he will be as he gets older, we have our hands full. At our Dr. appt. Brandon's weight was at 21 lbs. 12 oz. and he was 27 1/2" long. He can rollover every which way, he eats puffs, and we are in the stage 2 foods. I have him in size 3 diapers and he is wearing 12 month clothes. He is a mama's boy, but he still has not said mama. He talks about his dada all day long though. We have recently set up his playarea in the living room. It has a few toys, but what I like about the area is it keeps the dogs out of Brandon's way. Or maybe it keeps Brandon out of the dogs' way. We have been fortunate to have a new friend move into town and give us clothes for Brandon so I have been able to reduce my spending on his clothes substantially. (Thanks, Amber!). We have been to playgroup at Miss Laurie's, and Miss Erin's homes in the last month. I find at every playgroup, Brandon shows me how boring I am at home. He really has a great time, oh and his mom really likes going too. We have had two birthday parties we have gone to this last month. One for Harper (first birthday), and one for Caleb (third birthday). Harper's birthday party was done so cute for a 1year old, it was a drop in party, and any gifts brought are being taken to the Ronald McDonald house. We brought a couple of kid games. Then we had Caleb's birthday party a week or so later, it was at Chuck E Cheese, and if any of you know me, I do not like Chuck E Cheese the mouse, or anything dressed up. So when he came over to see the kids I was a little nervous. I know that is ridiculious. We were able to play in play zone and get a few pictures. We will see if I can figure how to get the photos off of Jeremy's new camera.




Then, we had a birthday party to go to today, but with the roads a little hairy we opted to stay home. Today, church was canceled so we stayed inside where it is warm. Bentonville schools are closed tomorrow so we will have to see what this week holds as far as the weather.

Until Then,

Vonda

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...