15 months

It was shocking when Dax turned one, but it almost seems more shocking that another 3 months have passed. We had his 15 month well check today and it was a little more eventful than usual.

First, the stats... Dax weighs 21 pounds 5 1/2 ounces (10th percentile), is 32 1/2 inches tall (75-90th percentile) and his head is 19 1/4 inches around (90th percentile). Continuing to grow longer and leaner, though Dr. Oie commented that he looks more like 35th percentile than 10th - I suppose it's a good thing that he doesn't look too skinny.

She also asked if he was saying at least 3-5 words. Um, by current count he's around 70. She was surprised by that and said that we'd have to talk about his future language development in terms of the expectations of a 2-3 year old then. Yay Dax!

The bad news, though, was Dax had his first x-ray. It was traumatic for everyone involved. Last week, Denise talked to me about his walking - she had noticed that he uses his two legs differently. Her daughter, a pediatric physical therapist, happened to stop by and pointed out that both ways to move were okay, but it was atypical to use them differently. She also thought she felt a clicking when she checked out his hips. It was a lucky coincidence that we happened to have an appointment just a few days later.

When I asked Dr. Oie about it, she was surprised because she had been checking his hips at all of his previous appointments. She first explained that it is normal for kids at Dax's age to use their legs differently because they are still developing their walking skills and that there is typically a lead leg so it may look different. She checked his hips anyway and thought that everything was normal. Her suggestion was to watch him and check in again at the 18 month appointment. We were almost in the clear. Then I opened my big mouth and asked if waiting would cause further problems if there actually was something that was not quite right. She said it wouldn't make a difference because at this point, if there was a hip issue, it would only be fixable with surgery. Woah, woah, woah, not a word that a Mommy ever wants to hear. I rationally knew that he was fine and that waiting would be fine, but emotionally I also knew that I would be concerned until then and started to tear up a little bit. Dr. Oie noticed and said that instead, we could do an x-ray today to make sure everything looked good. She also added that, in her 14 years, she only had 1 child who ended up having hip dysplasia that she couldn't feel and found on an x-ray. Well, I didn't want Dax to be the second and definitely didn't want to be worrying for months about surgery, so we did it.

Before the nurse came to get us, we were preparing Dax for the frog x-ray that Dr. Oie had mentioned. We would put him in the position we thought he'd have to be in and ribbit. He was unsure at first, but after a few tries, he was giggling. That was a good sign. Unfortunately, the second we got into the x-ray room he was scared and frog noises were no longer funny. Jake and I wore lead vests so we could be there with him and then held him still to make it quicker. Poor little guy hated the whole experience. It turned out everything looked good, but I had no regrets - it was completely worth the peace of mind I now have.

Unfortunately, that extra check just delayed the inevitable immunizations. Dax had three at this appointment and, while the nurse was awesome and so quick, it was no fun. It was also the first appointment where I was not nursing him after shots so we broke our own rule and gave him his nukie and blankie. It worked like a charm. And we were all thankful to have that appointment done!

Snuggling with bedtime lovies makes everything better

Spring Cont...

I preemptively posted about our great weekend (and since the previous post was long already, it seemed easier to make a new one)! After Dax woke up from his afternoon nap we ventured back out into our neighborhood to soak up a little more sun before the weekend was over.

Checking out the park with Daddy

He enjoyed the swing...

and the tunnel

Silly Daddy!

Checking out the yard with Mommy

Giving the frog kisses

And checking out the gnome

Spring

Spring has finally arrived! I love winter and did not mind the cooler weather sticking around, but even I was ready for a little sunshine (and a snow-free yard). This weekend, you could practically hear the collective cheer from all Minnesotans when that wish came true. We took full advantage...

Dax was woken up extra early by the sun coming up Saturday morning so we went for a nice family walk before the masses converged on spring. It was awesome weather and Dax was in complete heaven to be outside without all his gear. He even helped Daddy spread the snow around so it would melt more quickly after we returned home from our walk!

The nice weather also inspired us to get a new outside toy for Dax - a basketball hoop! He LOVED it and even though he can't quite reach, we are sure he will be spending a lot of time dunking (the first thing he did when he woke up this morning was point, shout "hoop" and run to get his ball).

Then he got another chance to play basketball when we went to Grandpa Mick and Grandma Mary's for Uncle Sam's birthday. It was a really nice evening!

Playing with Daddy and Uzu

'Peno wanted to have some fun, too

Look how happy he is! Future basketball star?

Group shot - sorry Dax for not noticing that your sweet face was covered by the crackers :(

Birthday boy and his sweetie, Meghann

Finally, today we went to visit all of the animals at the zoo with Auntie Shannon. I think the gorgeous weather was a welcome change for the animals, too, because they were all out, active, and playful. Definitely our best visit so far.

Cute piglets

In the "barn" with Auntie

The grizzly bears were super playful and Dax had a front-row seat to see the action

Big boy walking around

Giving the bear kisses

So Big!

There doesn't seem to be any "baby" left in our little guy. The other day Jake and I were talking about how crazy fast Dax is growing and learning and how his face even looks different lately with his expressions and intentional interactions.

Goofy guy

Every day I pick him up from daycare our amazing provider, Denise, tells me about new words he has been saying. The list just keeps on growing and he uses them so regularly and correctly! Some of our favorites include responding to us telling him we love him with "I you" and when we finish praying before dinner he says "'men" (Amen). He still loves balls and notices them everywhere. This has recently extended to include basketball hoops so while we are on walks or driving around he will constantly point at any that he sees and shout, "ball ball!" (his version of basketball). He even wakes up talking - "Blankie! Light! Ball! Monkey! Daddy!" while pointing at all of the things he can see in his bedroom. And every time we acknowledge his speech he is visibly proud of himself.

While we haven't been able to capture some of his cutest phrases, this shows some of his speech:

He also loves to feed himself. He does really well with finger food and always wants to have a fork or spoon to manipulate on his tray. While he has not yet mastered these tools, he tries hard and it is fun to see his determination.

Eating without much help can be messy...

...but it's so fun to be a big boy!

As of today he is only eating table food. I never thought that I would nurse as long as I did, but Dax and I both enjoyed it and with the health benefits for him, it seemed natural. I'm just hoping that my independent little man will still snuggle with me from time to time. He has taken another big step with drinks, too - using a water bottle with his daycare buddies! All the boys have their own water bottles available to them throughout the day and this week Dax got his. They won't be calling him, "Baby Dax" much longer!

But, even as he turns into one of the big boys at daycare and continuously shows us his independence at home, he will always be my sweet baby boy.

Thirty

In addition to celebrating Easter, we had more to celebrate - Jake's birthday! The big 3-0. I was strictly ordered not to even consider throwing a surprise party. Instead, we spent the whole weekend celebrating.

First, we joined the Schulz's for dinner out on Friday.

Dax's first time ordering his own meal off the children's menu

Then, the Pyle family had an Easter/birthday gathering Saturday night.

It's a sure sign you're old, when the cake is that bright!

And, finally, we celebrated with our little family and the Olson's today. Since his birthday fell right on Easter this year, I decided to plan a birthday egg hunt. Jake had 30 eggs in all, which he found throughout the day. It was lots of fun and definitely a little silly. Not nearly enough to express the amazingness that God brought into my life the day I met Jake, but hopefully sufficient in reminding him that he is both old and incredibly loved.

A special start to the special day

30 eggs for my favorite 30 year old!

Happy Easter!

Christ is risen. He is risen indeed, Alleluia! Easter is always such a joy-filled day. The excitement of the Easter Bunny, the extra family time, and of course, the knowledge that Jesus not only died for our sins, but also rose again so that we can one day join Him in heaven. Could anything be better?!

Last year I remember feeling overwhelmed by God's sacrifice. As a new mom, it was impossible to imagine how much God must love us to send his son to die for our sins. I am still so amazingly grateful, but this year it was easier to focus on the joy rather than the sacrifice. While I cannot fathom it, Jesus loves Dax even more than I do. That means that my little boy will always have someone by his side through everything in his life and, eventually, we will get to spend eternity together. "Happy Easter" doesn't seem to fully express the pure joy that brings.

In the meantime, we will also do what we can to bring him joy in his daily happenings, and even more so on special days. Take a peek at Dax's second Easter.

Dax's first Easter basket: a book, bubbles, Twins hat, baseball, doll, and elephant watering can.

Loving his new "baby"

It's so fun to hunt for and open eggs - even when they're filled with magnetic letters that were already on the fridge! ;)

Reading one of his new Easter books

Plus, two videos. The first one is kind of long, but shows how excited he was to hunt for eggs and then he found his basket. The second one is short and so sweet (if you can get over the bad camera work - it's sideways! Oops!)

 

We were also celebrating Grandpa Phil's birthday. Dax decided to help clean up by putting everything in Grandpa's gift bag. Silly boy!

Spring Break

As I sit here lamenting the fact that it is already Friday and my final day of this glorious week off with my little love bug, Jonathan Keyes is running through my head; "Sometimes I wish spring break was 52 weeks a year..." Does anybody know any tricks for slowing down time so I can have just a little bit more?

Though the week is coming to a close, I can't complain because Dax and I really enjoyed the time together. We shopped for Daddy's 30th birthday (more on that soon!), had several playdates, and giggled a lot as we read stories, played with toys, built with blocks, and snuggled at home.

I don't have photos from our playdates with the Westwood Mommas because we were having too much fun to stop and snap pictures, but here is a look at some of our other fun...

We went to the zoo with some of Dax's first friends from our Mom and Baby class:

Checking out some monkeys with Isaac

Me & Dax, Sarah & Isaac, Rosalie & Anora, and Krista & Alex

Loving the fishies

And a little snapshot of our time at home.

We may have a future performer on our hands (singer? pianist? dancer?). Or maybe he will follow in Uncle Sam's footsteps and become an engineer after seeing his persistence in figuring out how to get the microphone back into it's spot!