Sweet Mother's Day

This was the first year Axel got to take the lead on mother's day.  He handled it like a pro . . .

Flowers: check!

Chocolates: check!

(Bonus credit to Michelle's husband Matt who "implemented Axel's master plan" on this Mother's Day because Karsten was out of town. Thanks for the effort and appreciation, Matt!)

Playmates in Portland

I was missing my best friend, so last weekend we took a trip to Maine to visit Michelle.  Unlike our home in San Diego, Michelle's place in Portland is pretty remote, so the weekend involved a lot of nature, exploring the yard, cooking homemade meals, and good old fashioned family time.  It was lovely, a real bonding experience for both me and Axel with our friends, plus I always feel so proud of him when we travel alone together - he did great!  

Axel and Cora baking muffins

Gardening = finding the prize . . . BUGS!!

We hiked up a mountain at the state park and then took a snack break at the top

Colin is definitely a cuddler

These kids take their yard work VERY seriously!

Best part about grocery shopping is holding the umbrella and the vitamins  

. . . does this kid have it all figured out or what? ;)

Axel had a very enthusiastic coach for the potty training, 

because his many successes led to Cora getting treats too

Gotta say the Boston airport gets a 10 for having an awesome kids play area.  

And lucky for me, Captain Axel had a perfect flight home.  

Cars & Blocks

Build the ramp with blocks, send the car down, destroy the ramp immediately.

Oversized Stuffed Passengers: Nothing to see here

On the train at Balboa park with the other "passengers", Axel is like:

what, you got a problem with this?  Put the camera down, lady. 

Rainy Day Dance Off

It was a rainy day dance off - who won?  You decide.  

(PS. You may recall our very first blog post where we depicted Karsten and Axel dancing with this very same video game . . . see how each has improved their moves after a year of practice, or not).

Undies

We made the big switch from diapers to underwear last weekend - so far, so good!  Axel was so proud that he refused to cover them up with pants for the first few hours.