Recap

I'm eternally behind on my blog, but that is okay. I'm just going to embrace it and randomly catch up from the last FOUR months. Pathetic.

This little tidbit is too hilarious not to recap. It's from December. From the week that Brad was home every day! I tried to pack a bunch of family time and fun things into that week. Some of it was a big hit, some a big miss. This was both.

Mallory went roller skating for the first time (and her first school friend party...that never got blogged about) back in November. After I saw how much she loved it, I knew I wanted to take her and Morgan back. We left Max with Ted and Sherry (aka "Temple Grandparents") and took the girls on an afternoon surprise skating date!

I gave them clues to where we were going. The first was a new pair of socks!


The second was "somewhere Morgan has never been before". Mallory guessed it immediately (she is smart, but the socks probably gave it away too!). There were some very excited squeals from the backseat on the way to the skating rink. Brad and I were excited too...to see each other fall!!

So, we pull up to the skating rink and there isn't a car in the parking lot. I (thought I) had double checked the hours since they were odd times. Apparently not. It was closed. I was so mad at myself...and the squeals turned into tears from the biggest girl. Seriously. She was devastated. So, we opted for an ice cream date instead and promised to go skating another day. We barely convinced them...until we got to Maggie Moo's of course.

Attempt #2 came two days later. We dropped Max off again with a sweet friend. I triple checked the hours before we left the house and rewashed their new socks. We had excited and happy girls that were ready to skate!

Morgan was completely adorable on her skates! She didn't stay far from the wall or our hands/arms/legs/floor. Mallory was a pro. She got out there and just about took off!

We were all having a great time! We even participated in the "4 corners" game!

Mallory brought back lots of memories for me! I lived at skating rinks in late elementary school. As in, my parents would drop me and a friend off for HOURS by ourselves, skating and flirting with boys:)

Here we are, still having a good time, doing the chicken dance.

Taking a little break since Morgan started saying her feet hurt. Brad and I were pretty impressed she lasted this long. I think it had been an hour!

And then it happened. We were all together and the girls were stopping at the wall. I scooted back to snap a quick picture and Morgan totally bit it. Like, both feet straight out in front of her and smack on her bottom. She. was. done. With a capital D. I steered her off the skating rink screaming bloody murder. No one was laughing, until I saw this picture later....

I'm not sure she'll ever skate again! She was quite traumatized. In fact, Brad and I took turns with Mallory the last 30 minutes because little sister wouldn't do anything but this:

If you ask Morgan, she'll say she had fun (and then say she doesn't want to go back). And I guess that is all I care about! I wanted a fun afternoon with our biggest kids and that is what we got...along with a lot, I mean, a few laughs!

Max, 8 months

So, since this is Max's virtual baby book, I'm going to post about him turning 8 months old. Nevermind that it happened, oh, almost a month ago. Maybe I'll be on time with the 9 month birthday?

Max, you are at such a fun stage! It seems like this month you really started having fun with us. We still don't get cackles or belly laughs from you yet, but you think we're all pretty hilarrious...or weird. You love playing in your exersaucer, sitting by your sisters playing or someone holding you.

You LOVE your bath! You are a splasher and kicker. It's so fun to watch you get excited when we turn on the water. You look like a different kid when your hair is wet! And the tongue has come out this month. And, oh my word. You look exactly like your biggest sister in this picture! There are moments when I feel like I'm looking right at baby Mallory. So weird!

Max, you are one happy kid. I love your personality. I have a feeling you'll be a mix of Mallory and Morgan. You've definitely got that serious stare and concentration Mallory had. But, you are very cuddly and like to smile/laugh like Morgan. You continue to go with the flow and have a good time wherever that might put you.

You added two bottom teeth this month! Woo hoo! We started getting in a routine for baby food at dinnertime. You were content with that (you still make a face with the first bite, but usually have no problem cleaning your plate) until I gave you a cracker at lunch one day. Since then, you feel like anytime we're eating, we're supposed to share with little ole' you...and you'll usually scream until we do! I'm still nursing you 5 times a day. I'm making plans on that changing soon since you finally took a bottle. It's more my fault, but as soon as I changed the type of bottle we were trying, you took it! Even with formula in it! I was beginning to think I could never leave you!

Sleep is so overrated, and still hit or miss with you. We're hoping to go a longer stretch of being healthy and maybe that will help. Crossing our fingers...

You don't seem close to being mobile anytime soon. That is fine with me and our Christmas tree! We'll put you on your tummy and you'll push yourself up off the floor, but not quite on all fours yet. I've noticed you sliding yourself back when you do that, but nothing much more.

Highlights from the month:

*Traveling to Burk for Thanksgiving. You got to see lots and lots of family. You were a trooper and went with the flow!

*Going to the Nutcracker! This was supposed to be an all girls event, but you tagged along. We hardly noticed you were there (sorry!) since you took a nap in Aunt Jenn's arms.

*Ear infection #4. That's right buddy. Two more and we get to talk about tubes.

We love you Mr. Maxers! It is so fun watching you learn and grow!

Max, 7 months!

Two weeks ago, Max turned 7 months. Holy moly. Time is flying by. He is just the sweetest and happiest baby. I'm going to call him a baby for probably five years. He's getting big way too fast. Literally and developmentally.

Here's a little timeline of pictures from last month....

All of a sudden, over the course of about a week, he went from a car seat baby to a grabbing, sitting up in a highchair, interactive baby. We are done with the infant car seat, bouncy chair, play gym and Bumbo. Sigh. Life is going to get very busy as soon as this cutie learns to get mobile:

He started baby food this month! So far he has devoured all veggies. Fruits are hit or miss. He's not a fan of oatmeal cereal (or any for that matter). He'll usually have 1-2 containers of food around our dinnertime.

I know Max will be so annoyed at me someday for this, but oh well. The girls are obsessed with Charlotte's Web. I tried really hard to get them to dress up last year, but they wouldn't. Once we had Max, Mallory had it in her head that she was going to be Fern and push Wilbur (aka Max) around in a stroller for Halloween. Morgan could be Charlotte. So, poor, sweet, go with the flow Max, wore this for Halloween:

I know. He doesn't look too thrilled. I have promised Brad that next year I will allow Max to be something really, REALLY manly:)

Max chomps on his thumb, sucks his bottom lip in and drools everywhere. We don't have any teeth yet, but we're thinking any day now.

I can't say enough how good Max is (other than sleeping through the night...ha!)! He was a trooper at Brad's conference tournament in Tyler. There was lots of car seat time for this guy. He slept wherever and whenever he needed to. Love him!

As I mentioned, Max is sitting up on his own. Occasionally, he'll tumble over...especially when his mom sets him down on uneven ground...or his sisters hug him a little too hard:)

We're also done with the mesh bath seat thingy. Max was way too interested in everything in the bathtub. He almost flipped himself out of the seat several times. So, we have now started real tub baths and wowzers, does Max loooooove bath time! When I start taking his clothes off and telling him he's taking a bath, he kicks his legs and smiles huge.

Morgie and Maxers. They are buddies for sure. When I was taking Max's monthly picture, I could not get a smile out of him! After about 10 minutes, I called Morgan in. She immediately made this crazy noise and voila! Max was cackling and smiling like crazy. So, so sweet. It makes this momma heart happy.

Of course Brad gets lots of smiles from Max, too. Apparently Mallory and I have to try really hard for people to smile/laugh at us:)

A sweet moment when all three were "playing" together. Max loves to be around his sisters and in the middle of the action, grabbing at everything and anything he can reach!

Max doesn't do tummy time too much anymore since he can sit unsupported now. But, when he does, he can totally lift his belly off the floor and reaches/scoots to get to things. Crawling is in the near future I'm afraid.

There wasn't much change in his sleep habits last month, unfortunately. He's still keeping us on our toes in that department. He had his first ear infection and that definitely didn't help. It was also an ear infection that took three different antibiotics to clear up. So, yes, we are tired. Very tired. Thankfully, during the day, he's on a very consistent routine. 2-3 naps a day and down for the night by 7:30.

Max, at 7 (and a half) months:

happy - snuggly - content - squishy - lover of veggies - grunty boy noises - fuzzy head

Max, 5 and 6 months

Tomorrow is the last day of October. Crazy. I knew the fall would fly by. Brad's regular season is over and the post season tournament starts Friday! So, needless to say, we've been busy around here. Max has been busy, too!

First trip to the zoo! I love that Brad has a son now! He's a great girl daddy, but I know he's excited about doing "boy things" as Max grows up.

Probably the #1 thing Max gets comments on, is his spikey hair. It still sticks straight up and is downy soft. I think he would get just as many comments if his hair looked like this (that's Aunt LaShay's hair on Max's head...hilarious!):

October has been unseasonably warm, so we've had lots of nice evenings to play. Max loved his first time on the trampoline...although Mr. Serious posed for this picture. Speaking of serious....Max takes after Mallory in this department. He gives smiles to familiar faces pretty easily, he'll talk and (almost) laugh while playing, he LOVES watching Connor and recently started smiling when I ask if he wants to take a bath. I think that last one is because we started "real baths" not in a bath seat. He kicks his legs and breathes fast when I turn the water on:)

We're officially rolling over! We're not sure how to get off our tummy, but we can definitely roll from back to tummy...fast! This puts a slight kink in sleeping/playing sometimes. In the last week, he's gotten better about chilling out on his tummy after he rolls. Kind of funny, coming from the "tummy time king" in the first few months.

Max is no longer swaddled at night. He's a side sleeper and loves his paci/blanket combo, just like his sisters. Sleeping all night is still an issue. I think we've "ferberized" three different times with this kid! At his 6 month check-up, I was complaining to my pedi. She suggested switching his night routine to feeding first, then bath. We did, and it worked! He slept from 7:30-5, without waking once, the first night. I keep joking that if I knew that would help, I would have done that two months ago!

Unfortunately, it only last five days. Max got his first ear infection (in both ears) and sleep has been hit or miss at night. Ugh. We're on round #2 of antibiotics. Seems the first round didn't knock it out.

Max is sitting up! Told you we've been busy learning new things! Around five months, he started sitting in a tripod position and now he can sit unsupported for a little bit. I can't quite leave him sitting and walk away yet, but he's close!

Max still adores his sisters. He and Morgan have a little bond. She will lay beside him watching Sesame Street and hold his hand. She's also crazy around him. Several times, she's made him cry from scaring him! I definitely have to watch her if he's in the exersaucer or bouncy chair. She loves to shake it/him and tip them over. That's always fun to glance over and see!

So, I always thought dressing girls was more fun than boys. 90% of the time, that is true with Max. I think he lived in polo style rompers all of summer. Anyway. I totally melted when I saw Max in a button down shirt with the sleeves rolled. How cute is this little guy?

I helped the girls make a canvas to hang in Max's room. I really wanted to do it before he was born, but didn't have a plan. I loved the idea of letting the girls just "go for it", but kind of thought we might end up with rainbows and flowers for his room. So, I "guided" them with taped off stripes and a box for Mallory to paint his name. They loved it, felt like they did it all by themselves and are very proud of their artwork. It goes perfectly in his room, too!

In true boy fashion, Max loves food. He started cereal at the beginning of October. I won't lie. I was going to wait until six months, but started at five in hopes of sleeping better:) It didn't seem to help. He's a big fan of oatmeal. Not so much rice or barley cereal. He's had green beans and sweet peas. He has finished a whole jar in one sitting! Right now, our routine is a feeding at five and then cereal/veggie around 5:30. He'll let you know when he's ready for it, too!!

A little sample of a day in the life of Max:

7am: wake up...most of the time happy

7:20: walk Mallory outside and wave as she leaves for school

8: time to eat and then play

9: nap (at home or in the car running errands)

11: eat again, play

12: nap again

1:30: up and eat again before picking up Mallory

4ish: catnap, around 45 min

5: eat again

5:30: cereal/baby food

6:45: eat again

7: bath

7:30: read books, rock, in bed, sleepy

From 8 on, it's a mystery most nights:)

Stats at his 6 month check up:

Weight: 21.5 pounds (95th %)

Height: 27 inches (75th %)

I can't believe his weight! He's the size the girls were...at one year old!!

Max is seriously such a content, easy going little guy. We love him to pieces!

Hand me downs

For obvious reasons, Max hasn't used many of the girls' hand me downs. But, there is one onesie that has now gone through all three of my kids. I "made" it for Mallory during Brad's 2nd soccer season. She was 15 months old and barely walking. I was 7 months pregnant with Morgan!

Morgan sported the onesie for Brad's 3rd season. She was 10 months old and I was NOT pregnant with anyone!

And now, Maxers. We've just begun Brad's 6th season at UMHB. Max is 5 months old, Morgan is 3 1/2 and Mallory is 5. Surely the (size 18 month) onesie has shrunk over the years. There is still plenty of room for Max to grow, but he already fills it out pretty good!!