More Christmas photos....

Me and Santa Max:
Max with Dad on Christmas morning:

Max with Grandpa Latsch:

The Christmas tree at our place:
Max and Jacob playing after dinner:

Max with Great Grandma:

Max with Mary:

Playing with my cousin Bill:

Phew...we tired ourselves out with lots of family gatherings. Max got a lot of toys...he hasn't even gotten to play with all of them yet! He really likes the leapfrog dog, Scout, that talks and shares all of his favorites (sweet potatoes, blue, giraffes, hehe). He's pretty interested in the book that lights up and talks to him. At first, he was kind of shocked that his toys were talking to him but now he just smiles and studies them intently. Overall, it was a great first Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

This morning Max was giggling in his sleep. Lately I really love watching him snooze. The other morning, I was sleeping on the couch and Max was sleeping here in his bouncy chair. I thought that I heard him wiggling around a little so I sat up and looked over at him and he was sitting there wide awake. When I looked at him, he got this huge smile on his face. It was just about the cutest thing ever.

Max tried baby food for the first time today! He ate the whole 2.5 oz container of sweet potatoes! Then he sat in his bouncy chair and kicked his legs like crazy. It was like he was saying, "FINALLY you guys gave me some real food!"

Max enjoys an afternoon nap. We all enjoy afternoon naps when they are possible!

Max has adopted a new high pitched squeal throughout the last few days. Usually it means that he is not happy. Right now he is kicking his feet wildly in his bouncy chair and playing with his giraffe toy. He looks WAY to awake for it to be 10 pm here. It may be a long night...

We didn't even attempt to get out of the house on Monday. The snow has been pretty ridiculous. I read today that in Kent, the amount of snow that we've gotten in the past few days adds up to 19 inches. I made it in to the lab today but it wasn't easy...aside from the highway, the actual road wasn't visible.

Max likes to look outside at the snow. We don't think he has been feeling very well the last couple of days. He's been extra fussy and congested so we run the humidifier and try to keep him happy. It may be those pesky teeth trying to pop through again. Last night the only thing that calmed him down was when I held a ice cube and let him suck on it.

Gertie and Max were really teaming up on me last night! She wouldn't stop meowing and Max wouldn't stop crying/screaming...all this while Jon was upstairs sleeping so I was running around like a nut trying to make everyone quiet down! What a scene!

Girls night out (with Max)! Mom, Becky and I battled the blizzard blues with some tropical drinks at a Mexican restaurant in Kent. It was nice to just sit, relax and eat some good food.


Max was a little charmer at the restaurant. He was smiling and gooing at random people in nearby booths...making them smile and laugh. I think we may have a little ham on our hands.

Max playing at Grandma Debbie's house. He doesn't think much of the snow. He mostly just gets mad at having to get so bundled up every time that we go outside. Max loves to sit up in contraptions like this one. He tries to sit up all of the time...even when I lay him down to change his diaper. He wants to see what is going on at all times.

Here's a photo of Max with Aunt Becky and cousin Jake. He's been doing well...he has had a stuffy nose on and off, but no temperature. Still no teeth poking through - he's been working on that for a while now!


Here's a silly photo of us right before bath time. Max has finally noticed the rubber ducky floating amidst the bubbles and seems to be enjoying his baths. He likes to kick his feet and splash the water all over the place (and all over mom).

Jon put up the Christmas tree this week and Max really likes the blinking lights. He also has a new favorite toy. It's called Sophie the giraffe. It's great to chew on and it squeaks when he squeezes it. Max still loves it when someone sings him a song. He really giggles like crazy when I sing him the theme from "Gilligan's Isle."

Max has had very slight fevers on and off all week and still drools like a faucet, but still no teeth. Through it all, he manages to keep smiling and playing. If you help him balance, he can support himself on his legs for a few seconds. Dad thinks he should skip crawling and go straight to walking. Ha!

I was wrong about the snow yesterday. It didn't fade away by afternoon. In fact, there is even more on the ground today. Max doesn't seem too impressed with it. Mickey mouse, on the other hand, has his complete attention as I type this.

I realized that I've been neglecting Gertie on this blog! Here she is lounging on the couch a couple of days ago.

Yesterday, I was shopping at Target with Max. I made the mistake of dangling this little bird toy in front of him in my shopping cart. His face lit up and he started reaching for it. Of course I had to buy it for him! I kind of sighed and thought, "this is probably the first time of many." Once we got to the car, I strapped it to his car seat and as you can see, he was mesmerized.


Look what we woke up to this morning. It's only a tiny dusting and will probably be gone by the afternoon...but it's still always a surprise to see white on the ground for the first time each year.

Max playing with Aunt Becky

This was Max's first time sitting in his new Bumbo Chair. He really likes being able to sit upright on his own.



On thanksgiving morning, Max was not happy with being left in the living room while I was preparing the yams. I had to move him and his bouncy seat into the kitchen where he could watch me fumble around with pans and sweet potatoes. He especially liked to sit by the sliding glass door so that he could look outside!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Last night, we had dinner at Becky & Eric's house. Jake was nice enough to share his little couch with Max.


Max's 4 month appointment went well. He weighs 14 lbs and 11 oz and measures 25 inches in length. The doctor said that both of those measurements put him in about the 50th percentile for his age. His head circumference was in the 75th percentile.

Max was a trooper for his shots. He got one oral vaccine and three shots in his little legs. He even managed to smile at the nurse through little tears after the first two...but after that third one, he really let us have it. It only lasted a couple of minutes though and then he was just sleepy.

We are on quite a sleeping streak. I'm not sure if it has to do with the shots, but he has slept about 10 hours each night for the last three nights! Mom and Dad are really enjoying it! We can all actually sleep at once...and not feel like zombies all day.

No teeth have popped through yet but he is still gnawing on his hands and drooling like crazy. I suspect that they will break through soon. Tylenol has helped a lot.

On today's agenda: turkey! Hope you have a good holiday!

Max got this outfit from my Aunt Helen...the little dino feet sicks are still a little too big but the rest fits pretty well! He wears a lot of size 6 months these days...growing so fast! He has his 4 month check up at the doctor's office tomorrow morning. We are anxious to see how much he has grown since his 2 month check up.

Here is another photo from last Saturday's shoot.

Just a little sneak peak of the photos that we went and got taken this morning. The boys were real troopers...we are lucky to have such good little guys! More of these to come!

We went out for sushi on Thursday for Jon's birthday. They even brought out a banana tempura sundae with a birthday candle in it!

I happened to be looking through some old photos and thought it would be cute to compare Jake and Max at Halloween this year and last year...especially since Max wore Jake's old costume! Pretty cute cousins!

Max got a much needed bath yesterday. It amazes me how dirty the little guy can get when all he really does is eat, sleep and play! He doesn't mind the bathtub too much...he is always stunned when I first put him in, but he is starting to check out his rubber ducky and think that it is fun to kick around in the water...of course splashing mom plenty.

Max already likes to watch tv. I try to not let him watch too much, but it definitely gets his attention when any kind of cartoon is on the screen. He will sit quietly in his bouncy chair and watch for a while. Also, he seems to like football...his dad enjoys that!

Uncle Eric's mom, Joyce, got Max this cute outfit. The little shoes were from cousins Andy and Laura and their two girls, Anna and Amy.

We think that Max is getting his first tooth! He has been drooling nonstop, chewing nonstop, and moaning like we have never heard. He's still smiling and having fun though.

He went shopping with Grandma Debbie, Aunt Becky and Cousin Jake yesterday while mom and dad got some work done. He's going with me and Aunt Becky to a bridal shower in Cleveland today. A little boy on the go! We are hoping he can cheer the Browns onto a third win today.

On Friday night, he stayed with Grandma Debbie while we went out to celebrate Becky's birthday. That night, he slept from 10:30 pm to 7:30 am! I wish he slept like that EVERY night!

This outfit was a gift from Aunt Kitty. Max is actually fitting into some clothes that are sized 6 months...still a little big but not by much!

Yesterday he successfully pulled my glasses right off of my face. He was quite pleased with himself. Max spent a few hours with Aunt Becky and cousin Jake last night. Jake is such a good cousin! He shares toys with Max and gives him his binky. He even wiped off Max's little mouth with his bib while Aunt Becky was feeding Max a bottle.

Max has been sleeping better...although we still have rough nights sometimes. Last night, he slept from about 11 pm to 6 am. Not bad at all! He is definitely getting more grabby...he pulls my hair and the strings on my sweatshirts. He started playing with some little rattles and toy keys. His hand coordination is getting better and better! He still doesn't like tummy time at all, but he has fun lying on the floor and rolling onto his side with a little help from us.
For some reason, he thinks it is hilarious whenever I am trying to pull his arms out of sleeves to change his clothes. I don't know if it tickles or what, but he full on giggles whenever I am doing that. What a funny little guy!

Happy Halloween!