Christmas!

Well. Christmas came and went. I unfortunately got a terrible cold during the week and was feeling AWFUL! The irony of my bah-humbug attitude to get sick the week of Christmas.

I was able to spend Christmas Eve with my family. My entire family (meaning both my out of state sisters!) We hadn't spent Christmas together since 2004. We normally see a movie on Christmas Eve, however the only movie we all wanted to see came out on Christmas Day. And I worked Christmas Day. Plus, having Max puts a damper on any movie going, because I have some respect for other people and would not take a loud child with almost no attention span to a movie. But that's just me.

Here he is on his rocking MOOSE that Grandma gave him!

And here is my family together (from left Chris, Max, Lisa, Dad, Sara, Jill, Beat[pronounced Bay-aught], and Mom)

So Tradition usually has us going to a movie, then coming back for my moms delicious cooking. The feast includes eating Rock Cornish Game Hens with twice baked potatoes, spinach salad, rolls, cheese ball, ribbon jello, and cocktail shrimp. Then we would go for a drive to see all the neighborhood Christmas Lights. Then we would gather in the living room around the tree and put on a Christmas program for our parents. It usually consisted of the story of the birth of Christ followed by a few Christmas songs I would play on my keyboard. Then we would light the hand carved nativity that my Dad brought back from his mission from Germany. Then we open our Christmas Jammie's, and watch A Christmas Story before we go to bed, awaiting Santa's arrival.

This Christmas we did some of those things. Having Max and being ill made things seem a lot more rushed and distracted for me. But it was so much fun to hang out with my family and visit.

Max eating paper as usual.

Opening Presents (Mommy got what she wanted!)

Then I took turns getting a picture with everyone in the room with Max and his Santa Jammie's before we had to leave.

 Grandma

 Aunt Jill and Beat

 Grandpa

 Aunt Sara

And finally a picture of us as a family!

Christmas morning was pretty low key. I was able to be called off for half my shift so I spent Christmas Morning with my boys. Santa just brought Max one gift, but he is a spoiled little boy anyway. Plus, it was just another day to him! He got a Giraffe toy that sings and has a track for balls to go down. Perfect for a 10 month old! 

Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!

10 Months and What Max really wants for Christmas....

(Warning.... Lots of pictures from an obsessed Mom!)

So It's Christmas time... in case you hadn't notice. I had been trying to get into the spirit since I had such a bad attitude about Halloween. I didn't put up the tree right away, in fact I hadn't even planned on putting it up. Because it is such a light weight tree and Max is such a curious little guy, I was certain he would try to stand up using it as support and knock the entire thing over or pull it onto himself.

Then a cute friend of mine with two little ones of her own made the suggestion of putting it behind the couch. I thought, well I don't know if that would work, but we could put our bean bag chair it front of it. And so that is what I did. Having a tree is one of my favorite parts of Christmas, so I was so glad to be able to have it and my little tornado. I didn't put any glass ornaments up though because of him and my cat's who LOVE to knock anything that resembles a ball around. I might have to give up glass ornaments for awhile.

 I also decided last minute to do a Christmas Card. So If you didn't get one, I'm so sorry! I either didn't have your address, or through my disorganization I missed you! I started taking pictures for it and when I uploaded them onto my computer, there were 79! (Ya.... I know!) So Thank GOODNESS for digital camera's. Not only can you see the image immediately, but you can take 79 pictures in order to get your shot. So I got some really good ones, here are a few of my favorites.

Max also turned 10 months today! I can't believe how much he changes every day. He truly brings such a spirit of happiness. Even though sometimes I can get very frustrated with him... all he has to give me is his huge grin, or infectious giggle and it all melts away. I can't imagine life without him.

For his 10 month birthday we had a pretty low key day. I was supposed to work, however, got the most nasty cold this week with the most terrible cough so I didn't want to be taking care of babies in this condition. So Max and I just stayed home and played.

Max learned how to use his toothbrush today. I decided to do it in the bath tub since we are only supposed to use water until he knows not to swallow the toothpaste. Does ANYONE ELSE think it is sort of ironic that toothpaste is so toxic that you aren't supposed to swallow it and there are all these warning labels on the tube.... WHEN WE ARE PUTTING IT IN OUR MOUTH!! Just wondering (exiting soapbox)

Of course one or two pictures turned into about 15. Here are some of my favorites and the adorable faces he pulls.

Oh... and in case you were wondering what to get Max for Christmas...  Here are some of his favorite things right now:

And if you think I'm joking.. I'm not. This is what he wants to play with all day. (Chris baby proofed some of the items)

Now I don't feel so guilty about only getting him a couple of things for Christmas.

Merry Christmas EVERYONE!!

First Haircut!

Max got his first haircut!

Well, technically his "first" haircut was back when he had his little newborn hairs that always stood on end until one day Chris finally had enough of his troll look and chopped them off.

That was his "first" haircut.

(See the little newborn hairs)

Lately I haven't had a clue what to do with Max's hair. It is so soft, and I am so grateful he has any! But I just don't know what to do with it. It looks like a mop top most of the time. Or that he has permanent bed head. I have tried combing it, but it still looks a mess.

When talking to Chris, he said he loved Max's long hair. So we compromised and decided to trim the back and leave the top length. Chris has cut his hair since he was on his mission. So he has all the stuff and he is quite good at it. He was willing to tackle Max's hair.

Max hated the noise of the clippers. He was so scared. So we did a quick trim of the back and then ended the torture session. Then Chris did a few snips with the scissors. All I kept thinking was that he would be a nightmare if he ever had to be a patient in the hospital!

A nice trim.... it's not perfect, but oh well!

 He starting to look more like a little boy than a baby!

(Profile)

So he (and I) survived the first trim session. Hopefully in the future he sits a little more still and isn't so scared of the razor!

9 Months and Movin'

Max is 9 months!

WHAT?!?!?!

It's hard to believe. He has now been out longer than he was in. It's hard to believe that I was pregnant for 9 months because my life has changed so much more in the last 9 months since his birth then the 9 months before that.

It makes sense why when people ask how old a baby is you say ____ months. So much happens in the first year. Each month brings on a new developmental milestone and a new challenge as a parent. I was just looking at Max's pictures when he was 6 months and the difference 3 months makes is crazy to me!

Max went to the doctors and didn't have to have ANY shots (YAY!)

He is:

 24 lb's 2 oz (91%)

30.5 inches (97%)

and his head is

18.5 inches (90%)

So he is following the growth chart quite well (despite the fact that he is at the top of it!). And I have to admit I was a bit relieved in the fact that he only gained 2lb's 2 oz in the past 3 months. I was beginning to think he would be a size 3T by the time he was 12 months.

He is in 12 month shirts, and 12-18 month pants, 18 month footsie PJ's

He enjoys:

-Crawling

-Music

-Cords

-Papers

-Tags

-Stickers

-Remotes

-Door stoppers

-Shoes

-Shoe laces

-Cans

...Pretty much anything that he is NOT supposed to get into

-Climbing all over Momma and Dada

-Saying "Eh" and Squealing and occasionally Mama, Dada, and Baba

-Standing along anything (furniture, toys, legs)

-Putting EVERYTHING in his mouth.

-Dancing

-Refusing to eat real foods, he is already super picky

-Playing with Daddy's basketball

-Crying when he doesn't get his way (SPOILED!)

He gags and vomits when I give him biter biscuits and Gerber cheese puffs, yet I have to dig things like tags, door stopper caps, and ear plugs out of his mouth before he swallows them.

I think I am super anal because I fear I have left something on the ground that he could choke on so he is in near constant supervision... which takes a lot of my ability to do things like chores, and have a little free time to myself. But I guess that comes with being a new parent. My last child will probably be swallowing whole pennies and I won't notice.

He is spoiled because of my constant supervision. If he gets frustrated he just cries and I try to do things to stop the crying. It is a vicious cycle I need to break!

I am happy to report that he is sleeping so much better. He has some self soothing issues, and so we had to let a little crying happen so he can put himself back to sleep. It really has helped and he is back to waking up 0-1 times a night. What a relief!

Here are a few of my favorite pictures

The more excited he is... the wider his mouth is!

Here is some video's:

 This is his little Dance moves. (Sorry I know the one is sideways but I can't figure out how to fix it!)

A Rough Few Weeks

Max has been really fussy.

And he forgot how to sleep through the night.

For the past 3 weeks he has woke up every 2-3 hours at night. I feel like I have a newborn. I tried to think of why he would all of the sudden start waking up when he used to sleep so good at night. That is when I realized he is going through a lot right now.

He just got 4 teeth at the same time. Which included lots of biting things (including my arm!), low grade fevers, and stuffy nose.

He just graduated to helmet therapy only at night. But Chris is convinced he is so used to having it off during the day now, that it bugs him at night.

The stupid time change. Even though it is only 1 hour.... it throws EVERYTHING off!

He is starting to pull himself up to standing on furniture (developmental milestones tend to cause night waking in infants), and he tries to climb all over Chris and I.

He is experiencing stranger anxiety and separation anxiety. He likes being held, and if he's not he wants me right next to him. I try to leave the room and cries of protest ensue.

I feel like I can't get anything done. I am exhausted from the lack of sleep. There are a lot of changes going on at my work right now. So I haven't felt like blogging.

I know my trials are trivial compared to some. And I try to keep life in perspective. But I have to admit, it has been a little rough.

Too top it all off....

Yesterday I had a crazy busy day at work. Chris called to tell me he was going to my cousin's house to play XBox with her husband. So if I could come pick up Max and take him home and put him to bed because that is one of my favorite things to do with Max. So I agreed, because I usually don't even get to see Max after my shift because he is already in bed.

So I got to my cousin's house and talked to her for a short time. I decided to take the car my husband drove home because it already had Max's car seat installed in it. It has automatic locks and a computerized key (that is super expensive to re-create!) for security reasons. So we hadn't yet got a spare because they have to take our only key to make a copy and it takes 3 days. So we have to go without that car for three days.

Anyway, I have this bad habit of opening the car, putting the keys on the front seat, and then putting the diaper bag on the floor of the back seat, and then putting Max in. I almost always drive my Mazda, so this has never been an issue.

Well, I did this and when I shut Max's door the car made a beep. I went over to the driver's side. LOCKED. Oh S#$%. The back door. LOCKED. Max's door. LOCKED. Passenger door. LOCKED. I panicked!! I ran into my cousins house crying. I didn't know what to do. We stood by the car for probably 5 minutes as Max is SCREAMING in the back seat.

Chris was trying to look up a lock smith's number. But I decided to call 911. I explained to them what happened, and they sent a fire truck to come our rescue. They were able to get the door open and I just cuddled Max until he calmed down. I felt like the biggest IDIOT! I knew Chris wasn't happy about what I did, but he was really great and gave me a hug, and assured me everything was alright, and sent me home. I felt like the worst mom.

But Chris said we will laugh about it one day.

And even though all of this happened. I still have a happy smiling boy:

The Not so Happy Halloween

Halloween came and went. And I have to be honest. I could probably have cared less.

I have come to a sad realization that because of my job, I have lost the spirit of celebrating holiday's. It's not just Halloween. It is all holidays. Because the hospital is open ALL THE TIME, and the field I have chosen requires you to work on weekends, nights, and holiday's, I have found myself to be less in the spirit to celebrate them.

I guess I figured, if I didn't care about holidays, maybe it would make it less painful and I would be less bitter about missing yet another holiday party, fun celebration, family dinner, and Christmas Morning. If I thought of them as just "another day" then I wouldn't be so angry that I was missing out and at work.

However, I have Max now. So I want to be able to get back into the holiday spirit. I want them to feel special to him. And as he gets older, and I gain more seniority, I am hoping that I will have more holiday's off and will be able to spend time to make them special. Even early this month I cruised different websites trying to figure out what he would be for Halloween. I even had dreams of carving pumpkins and putting him next to them in his Halloween costume and taking lots of pictures.

Alas, I had to work on Halloween. Well, and least Utah Halloween. The day most everyone in Utah celebrates it. And as the month wore on I felt I didn't have enough time to order a Halloween costume (that would be about $20-40 plus shipping), that he would wear for only an hour or two before I left for work. He is too young to trick or treat and the last thing Chris and I need is more candy. My Grandma even gave Max a pumpkin that I was going to carve. But between my 3 long shift building up to Halloween, I just didn't have the energy.

Bah-Humbug

The best I could do was dress him up in his adorable monster pajama's that my sister in law gave him. He did look so cute. And we gave him a little extra time for his helmet break.

My little monster!

He doesn't love his daddy does he?

Hopefully I will get more into the spirit for Christmas. However, having a toddler and a Christmas tree terrifies me. AND I have to work Christmas Day.

Bah-Humbug!

Teefs

 So Max has entered into a new realm of development. He's getting teeth! I had noticed about a week ago that his gums were a little red on the bottom. But he had been drooling since he was 3 months, and he has been sticking EVERYTHING in his mouth since he was about 5 months. So I wasn't sure if anything was going to happen soon.

Then, after an incredibly fussy morning, I noticed little teeth trying to break through his gums on Wednesday. I text Chris to tell him since he was at work and he text back "Teefs!". So we have been laughing that Max is getting teefs. (Trust me he wasn't this happy most of the day)

 

 Today they have completely broke through the gums and are coming in well. It hasn't been too painful of a process. He has more mood swings and irritability during the day, but has actually been sleeping BETTER at night... go figure.

Now we get to enjoy the process of getting the rest of the Teefs.

Talking

Max loves to make noises. He squeals, yells, and even does a little devil groan that sounds like it would hurt his throat. But they are always one vowel sound. Ehhh Ehhhh Ehhh. Ahhhhhhhhh. And his cute laugh Eaha Eaha Eaha Eaha.

Tonight while I was giving him a bath he just started saying Ba Ba Ba Ba. So I yelled for Chris to come and bring the camera!

He's growing up so fast!

Like Father, Like Son?

So, I have been doing a sort of "Project" recently of going through the probably hundreds of pictures of Max I have taken and trying to determine my favorites so I can get a photo book and slide show together for his 1st birthday. (Sorry future kids if this doesn't happen for you.)

The majority of people who see Max think he looks like my husband. But some people can see me or some of my side of the family in him. He has my color of eyes, my ears, and definitely my fat feet. When Max was born, the moment I laid eyes on him I thought he looked like Chris. He looks like him the very most when he smiles.

So as I was going through his pictures, I thought back to a few pictures I had scanned into my computer from our wedding video. I didn't have many of Chris's baby pictures, but I did find this one:

And I compared it to this one:

What do you think?

 Like father, like son.

(Here is one of me in case you want to compare)