Oh my!

Wow, my hat is off to all of you people out there who are bloggers and have children. I set this blog up to keep in touch with family and friends who are far away, but it doesn't help when I only update it every 3-4 months! When I get home from work, it is: cook dinner, eat my dinner and feed Max, do dishes or laundry or both, give Max a bath, play with Max, put Max to bed. By then, I am too tired to do anything on the computer except quickly check Facebook and email. And I only have one child! I know moms out there who have 3, 4, and 5 children who blog constantly. Please tell me, how do you do it? The one thing I cannot do is sit on the computer while Maxon plays - he either comes up to the computer and rips the keys off the keyboard, or I feel so guilty that my face is buried in the computer rather than me spending quality time with my son. Even if I update the blog once per month, that would be an improvment. I promise, I will work on this! :) Anyway, Maxon is very busy now. Not only is he walking and running around, but he is dancing, climbing, and jumping as well. I am finding this to be a difficult stage to keep him safe. He is very quick and has had a few falls already. But, how fun this stage is as well! He tries to talk and say some words, and is getting quite the personality. He wants to be as independent as possible and is definetly learning how to communicate his wants and needs. My cousin, Laurel, gave us a book for one of my baby showers titled, Baby's First Word Book, I think. Each page is a different set of pictures in seperate categories (i.e. "around the house", "toys", "food", "in the garage", "on the beach", etc). Max will go get that book, bring it to me, and point to what he wants. He will point to the soccer ball and then go find it. He will point to the strawberries and then go over to the refridgerator. The other day, Nick did not give Max his breakfast right away and Max got the book, pointed to the yogurt, and cried. How fun that he can advocate for himself now! I know at some point I will wish he didn't advocate for himself so much, but for now I like his resourcefulness.

Holidays and Pre-toddlerhood

Wow! The holidays have kept us busy and I have not looked at this blog since October. I couldn't believe the picture of Max and the pumpkins, and how young he looked! Aww, my little baby is really growing up and changing so much! As we have transitioned to cow's milk instead of breastmilk or formula, are transitioning from baby food to finger foods, and are transitioning from the bottle to a sippy cup, I am realizing that my little guy is not a baby anymore! I am getting a tiny glimpse into toddlerhood as well. This week I have been working hard to get him to use a sippy cup instead of the bottle. After going through about 6 different types of sippy cups, I finally settled on one that he was okay with and that is spill proof (very important!). Well, he will drink juice and water from the cup without problems. However, when it comes to the milk, he has shown me that he wants the bottle instead. How has he shown me? --- tantrums. Full out, arched back, kicking and screaming on the floor tantrums. What happened to my sweet natured baby boy? Now I realize this is just the beginning and so I am trying to take it in stride. I also know that this is a tough transition for him, as will be the day when I take away his pacifier. (Pushing that off until my spring break from work maybe) :)

Maxon is moving around like a little racecar now, and I am busy following him to make sure he doesn't tear the house apart. :) He is able to hold onto furniture and walk very well, and is able to stand on his own without support for approx. 30 seconds up to a minute. His balance improves each time. So far, no steps on his own yet. But, I am sort of dreading that so I am being very patient without difficulty. :) He has such a great personality. He loves to make people laugh and smile and is VERY good at it, even when he is in trouble. :) He is proud of himself when he does new things and appears to be fearless like his father. The best thing about Maxon is he is in a good mood a lot and a very happy baby. Nick is very much like that as well, and so I hope Maxon remains this way. :)

Anyway, the past few months have been wonderful. As you can see from the photos, Maxon enjoyed Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. He and I also went to Michigan to visit my family for a few days prior to Christmas and had a wonderful time! He was able to play in the snow, and go sledding for the first time. He didn't quite know what to think of all that. :) The Thanksgiving picture is Max and his cousin Haddley wearing matching "1st thanksgiving" shirts. The sledding picture is with his uncle Ken, and grandpa. And the picture with all the kids is Maxon and his cousins on Christmas eve. :) As Maxon is getting ready to celebrate his first birthday, I can't help but think back to last year and what I was doing. Last year, this evening I was having a quiet evening alone while Nick was at work (much like tonight this year). I was relaxing, enjoying some snacks and movies on TV; little did I know that I would wake up at 4:30 am the next morning when my water broke. Ah, it seems like yesterday, but so long ago. I have very fond memories of that day or two when we were so excited to meet our little man. And look at him now; I just cannot believe it. We are looking forward to celebrating with him and moving into full-on toddlerhood! :)