Max and Mitzie

My parents were here with us all last week for a wonderful visit. I have many pictures and videos to post, but it will have to wait a while... because Curt's family will be here this afternoon! So much attention for Max, he is getting spoiled rotten. Ok, he already was rotten because of me. Anyway, I promise to get caught up in a few days. For now, a video of my sister's min-pin mauling poor innocent Maxwell as he lay helpless on his playmat! *Gasp* The horror! The tragedy! This footage is not suitable for young children or individuals with a weak heart! Just kidding of course. Apparently Mitzie has a thing for feet, and Max's were just her size.

p.s. no toes were harmed in the making of this film!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Hi everyone! I wanted to post pictures of Max in his St. Patty's day outfit. Nona sent it to us a couple of weeks ago, and he wore it Monday to life group (mainly because we don't have any plans for today). All the babies in our life group dressed up for the occasion and we had a fun time trying to get a picture of all three of them. Not so easy! I think we will celebrate today with drinking green milk! OK, probably not.

Sam, Michaela and Max sporting their green.

Little green man!

12 Weeks Old!

Hi everyone. Max is 12 weeks old today! The time has sure gone by quickly.

We have been sleeping better the last few nights. We have resigned ourselves to the fact that we now have a child (I know, it took a while to sink in) and that we have to fit our lives around his schedule... for now anyway. This means we need to start a bedtime ritual around 7 and get him down between 8-9. It also means that I am not letting him nap into the late evening anymore so that he will be tired when we put him down. We have also decided that after our company has left us we are going to move him into his crib. Sad! I may be sleeping in there with him the first few nights!

Max has a few new tricks these days. He is definitely grabbing items intentionally now. He will lay on his play mat and grab the toys dangling over his head. He also grabs at the toys that are around his jump-a-roo. This is so exciting for us, and now you know that Curtis and I are easily entertained. We are cutting back on our TV watching time, especially when he is awake because he wants to watch it too. I guess we will be recording all of the basketball games this month! We have been reading books every night and he does well to lay on my chest quietly while we read. He doesn't have any personal favorites yet, but I sure do! We have bought many of the Kohl's Cares book and the accompanying toys, and I love that the money goes to such a worthy cause. Max is also eating more at each feeding, so we had to start using the 8oz bottles. They look so big! Sigh. That baby is growing up fast.

We will be having lots of visitors soon, so I will post pictures and videos of Max with all of his family. It will make for a busy, but happy end to this month. We are also being dedicated as a family at our church on the 21st, and anyone who is in the area is welcome to attend. I will get some pictures from that up as well. For now, I just have a few new pics to share, enjoy!

Love those sweet smiles!

Sic 'em Bears!

A little snuggle to keep him warm after his bath.

I am sooooo going to miss this!

Little bear. p.s. I swear he has more than this one pair of PJ's!

Jump-a-roo

Hi everyone. Just a quick update and video for the blog. Max is doing well although we have been having some sleeping issue in that he isn't sleeping so well anymore. Curtis and I were quite spoiled for a couple of weeks getting some long stretches of uninterrupted sleep. Now Max will stir and fuss every couple of hours, but not out of hunger. I'm not sure what is causing these little interruptions and we are trying different things. It seems to be that he just needs contact with one of us to sleep well and that is not a long term solution for Mom and Dad. Ugh! I hope it is just a phase he is going through and we will get back on track soon.

Max has been wanting to stand up on our laps more and more, so we decided to try out his jump-a-roo. He really seems to enjoy the light and sounds, unfortunately it drives the bird nuts! So on top of all the sounds the toy makes, we typically have a screaming parrot adding his own noises. We now just cover Alex up when Max is using the jump-a-roo.

Rumble in the Jungle

Here is a video of Max stretching his vocal cords and visiting with his jungle friends. He may be the next Dr. Doolittle!

So close to giggling! We love it.

2 Month Wellness Check

We took Max in yesterday for his 2 month wellness check-up and his first round of immunizations. Dr. Huitink was very impressed with how well he is growing. He was also happy that we were able to keep Max healthy in weeks leading up to getting his shots. That's easy when you hardly leave the house! He and I spend almost all our time here at home, partly because of how cold it has been here. I don't mind a bit, it just gives me a lot of time to get reading and work done for class.

The only concern we have is Max's left eye. It has always been a little goopy and he often wakes up with it sealed closed with crud. I usually have to clean it with a warm rag a couple of times per day. Our doctor has attributed it to a clogged tear duct and had advised us to massage the duct to encourage it to open. However, in the last couple of week Curtis and I have both noticed that his left eye is now a little lazy. We aren't sure if one thing is related to the other, but it is enough of a concern to warrant a trip to a pediatric opthamologist. He can open his left eye just as wide as the right one, but when he is sleepy or fussy, it tend to droop down. The concern is it interfering with his vision development. Some babies need surgical correction if the condition bad enough, but others with mild lazy eye may not have surgery at all, or it can wait until he is 3-4 years old. We are praying that it is not serious enough, but better safe than sorry!

He did so well getting his shots. He had three in one leg and two in the other, plus an oral immunization. His eyes sure popped open after the first shot! He didn't get worked up so bad that he was inconsolable though. One it was done I was able to hold him and sooth him back down easily. He did spike a very mild fever last night and vomited once (an apparent side effect of the rotovirus) but slept well and is totally back to his normal self today. Such a good baby!

Max hanging out on the edge of his Boppy.

Yes he has grown! He has put on 2+ inches and almost 4 pounds in 6 weeks.