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! :)

New Moves!

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http://www.youtube.com/

Check out the video link above; as you can see, Max (9.5 months old) has some new moves. He is now crawling on all fours, and can transition from laying on his back to being on all fours, to sitting, to kneeling, to standing (while supporting himself with his arms), and back again. And he can also do what we call, "knee walking" with his snazzy toy that we got from some friends at church. He loves to crawl around the floor as fast as he can, just to do it, and also loves to do this "knee walking." And he is so proud of himself when he does it. It is so cute!

Maxon has been eating all sorts of different food, still pureed. The pediatrician told us to start trying some soft finger foods. Well, he is not doing so well with those. He has a fairly strong gag reflex, and so any food that gets to the back of his tongue, causes him to gag. And he doesn't even attempt to chew or "gum" the pieces of food. We have had one major choking incident and so now I've vowed to keep him on a pureed diet until he is 5 years old. :) Just kidding. We will keep trying .... slowly!

Max has been getting his two top teeth in this past week and it has been a little rough! He is chewing like crazy, is pooring out drool, and is VERY irritable! And on top of that, he has been congested with the sniffles. Aww, our poor little guy!

Travelin' Man

You'll have to check out the video on our facebook page. For some reason, we weren't able to upload it onto the blog. Anyway, as you can see in the video, Maxon is now on the move. :) He is now 8 months old and can get anywhere he wants to go by army-crawling. He has been doing very well with everything. Besides moving around more, he is able to sit unsupported, has his two bottom teeth, and is now eating several different fruits and veggies. He loves anything sweet like fruits, sweet potatoes, squash, and carrots, and is not very fond of green beans. :)

We had a wonderful time this summer, just hanging out. We did go to Michigan for almost 2 weeks in August, which was so much fun. Maxon had some good, quality time with his grandma, grandpa, and uncle Ken. He loved being outdoors up there, and loved splashing around in the lake.

Now I am back to work for the school year. :( I am sad to not be home with Max anymore, but am VERY happy with our childcare for him. His Meemee is watching him 3 days per week, with daddy home with him the other 2 days. I am so happy we don't have to put him in daycare yet, and Meemee is right out our back door. So, not only is it very convenient, but he has someone to watch him who loves him! :) Meemee also watches a little girl baby who is Maxon's age and so he has a playmate there also. We couldn't ask for anything better!

Alright, that's all for now. Our computer is fixed now and so maybe I'll be able to update this blog a little more frequently! Thanks for your patience!

Gettin Dunked

The Max man had his second swimming lesson today and his daddy decided to dunk him for the first time.

Here he is swimmin away! He really just wants the toy but we'll pretend he's a natural!!!

Friends!!!

These are some VERY cute pictures of Maxon and his triplet friends! Jack, Owen, and Everett. Aren't they cuties?!

(as you can imagine, it was difficult to get all of them looking at the same time) :)

Not too sure about this!

Hmmm ... not sure he likes this rice cereal stuff! :)

Approximately 5 1/2 months

Well, gosh, I obviously have not been great at this blog thing so far. Once I returned to work, I really didn't have time for much of anything, or energy I guess. Maxon is doing wonderful. After he turned about 4 months to 4 1/2 months old, he has been the happiest, "smiley-est" baby I have ever seen! He only really cries when he is tired. And during other wake times he is busy playing, "talking", and smiling. He has been rolling from tummy to back since he was 4 1/2 to 5 months old. He is being a little slow on rolling back to tummy, but it seems that will happen any day now. Maxon likes to work his abs and pull himself to sitting or standing with help from mom or dad. He loves to play with his toys on the floor. He likes any toys that rattle when he shakes them, and will shake them so hard and fast that I think he will hurt his little hands/arms!

Nick and I have been taking Maxon to the pool lately and he has been enjoying that. I think we may take him to baby swimming lessons this summer; we are very excited about that! Max is getting more affectionate and social lately, and has given mommy hugs and kisses (baby kisses) on a number of occasions. LOVE IT!!! :)

Maxon has been doing well with sleeping and eating: He has been sleeping about 9 hours per night on average and takes 1-2 naps per day. We have just started rice cereal this week. If I can get the picture of his first bite of cereal on the computer, I will post it; it is hilarious! He is doing better now after a few days and seems to enjoy it.

And the best piece of news yet ... Mommy is done working for the summer!!! I have eight weeks home with my little guy - SO HAPPY!!! :)