New Year's Eve

Uncle Dav, Auntie Judy, and Emilio joined us for an impromptu New Years celebration this year where we indulged in steak, king crab legs, and Chinese food. We all needed a little nap prior to the clock striking midnight, but we can proudly say that everyone's eyes were open for the ball drop (although some closed just a few seconds after). Happy New Year!

Feed Me!

Maxwell was given the green light to start solids, and he jumped mouth first into a soft, squishy avocado. No repulsive faces were made, and although his tongue wasn't quite sure what to do, he managed to get most of it into his belly. We'll consider his first go round a success...now onto bananas!

Maxwell - Four Months

Maxwell celebrated his four month birthday by going to the doctor for his well baby check. Everything checked out "well" as Max is meeting all of his milestones. He came in at 14 pounds 8 ounces (28%) and 24.5 inches (20%). Petite is how Dr. Hagerman described him, but still growing as expected. His head is still huge coming in at over the 97th percentile, but we are assuming it must just mean he is a bonafide genius. Due to him being right on track he was given the go ahead to start solids, and unlike way back when we were his age, he gets to skip the rice cereal and go right to fruits and veggies. If only we could have been so lucky! As for what is new in Max's world...he is now trying to stand using us for balance and he thinks his reflection is one of the coolest things ever and smiles every time he catches a glimpse of his handsome self. He is still talking to us and adding more and more sounds as he tells us about his day, and as if on cue, he often responds with appropriate intonation and sounds when we ask him questions. I swear he understands everything we're saying to him sometimes!?!?! On a less positive note, he did catch his first cold this month, but it was minor and really didn't affect him much. He definitely makes each day in our house that much better with his contagious smile and little giggles, and we're sure it will just keep getting better and better!

Christmas

We were the last ones to arrive at Grandma's to celebrate Christmas and her birthday. Adding another kid to the mix and the fact that Dad only has one functional arm delayed us a bit, but we made it and arrived with bells and whistles on! Max made himself right at home and enjoyed being passed from person to person all night long! He only missed out on a few things due to sheer exhaustion, but once awake he was ready and raring to go again! We're now old pros at this Christmas thing and stayed busy with our cousins playing Slapzi and hide n' seek. Even Harley enjoyed himself although he was attached to Mom for most of the evening due to his love of eating everything in sight. It was a great way to end our Christmas celebrations and we can't believe it is another 364 days until we get to do it all over again! Merry Christmas!!!

Christmas Eve

We had a quiet Christmas Eve this year going to church and then coming home to get ready for Max's first Christmas. We were so excited to wear our matching jammies and get Max ready for the big night that we forgot to put out Santa's cookies and milk. Good thing Mom and Dad remembered because he finished all of it so he must have been hungry!

Christmas Cookies

We were able to make our Christmas cookies in the nick of time so Santa had something to snack on when he stopped by our house tonight. Our favorites this year included our bucking broncos and our ninjas! We of course made time to taste test a few and hopefully Santa thinks they are as good as we thought they were!

I See Maxwell

Maxwell has been checking himself out in the mirror for a few weeks now, but I think he is just starting to appreciate how cute he is!!!

Jolly Old St. Nicholas

It is as if Maxwell has been celebrating St. Nicholas Day for years...he knew just what to do jumping right into our pile of things and giving Mom the cutest smile. Our favorites this year include our matching Christmas pajamas which we can't wait to wear in only 18 days!

First Snow

Being that Max was born in Wisconsin, he gets to experience snow at a much younger age...3 months and 5 days old to be exact!

Santa Meet Max

Mom and Dad surprised us after school and took us to the Milwaukee Athletic Club to decorate gingerbread houses. We each got our own this year along with more toppings than we could ever use, but believe us when we tell you that we tried. Max enjoyed just taking in the scenery which included a visit from Santa. It was fun introducing Max to him, and this year we succeeded on the first try in letting Santa know what we wanted for Christmas (Nintendo 3DS and Lego X-Wing Fighter for me and window seat pillows and an iHome speaker for Lily). Only 25 more days to go!!!

Maxwell - Three Months

 Although Max wasn't really in the mood to take pictures, he quickly learned that he didn't have a choice in the matter especially on his three month birthday! He muddled through giving Mom only a glimpse of his cute little smile. Max is getting so big and is now in his 3-6 month clothes. His big accomplishment this month was sleeping through the night twice, and having a handful of six hour sleeps. Slowly but surely we will teach him that sleep, especially at night, is a good thing. Other big milestones are that he is starting to reach for toys and he is sitting in his Bumbo seat. We're especially excited about these as it means we can start to play and interact with him more often. Eating is by far still his favorite thing, and this is really the only time we hear him cry. The rule in our house is don't mess with Max's bottle! Cooing and babbling are a close second on his list of favorites though and he is talking more and more with us every day. It is so much fun to see he him grow and we can't wait to see what changes will come in month four!

Thanksgiving Week

Thanksgiving this year was a bit atypical for us due to Daddy taking a little fall from a 10 foot ladder the Monday prior. One broken/dislocated elbow, broken wrist, and sprained ankle later and instead of driving to Illinois we were eating turkey and stuffing in the lounge at the hospital. Gigi and Pop Pops joined us for the week to help out with Dad, and Titi Maria, Uncle Angel and Titi Molly came up the day after Thanksgiving to see all of us. We were so thankful for family and friends who were there for us during the crazy week and made it feel like Thanksgiving after all. It was definitely eventful and what a way to celebrate Maxwell's first Thanksgiving!