Another weekend of MAX

We love weekends. When Max wakes us up in the morning, we all get to cuddle in bed instead of watching Joe rush off to work. When Max won't go to sleep, there is only a 50% chance that I will be the one to try to get him down again. And with a ratio of two adults to one child, we get a little more adventurous and can venture further away from home. We get to spend weekends as a little family of three, and boy is it wonderful!

Although all weekends are great, this past one was especially terrific. My dad decided he'd come visit when we blessed Max so that he could participate, and this was the weekend we decided to do it. My dad arrived Wednesday night and was able to spend a wonderful few days with us and get to know his first grandson!

Max sitting on Grandpa:
It was neat to watch my dad having so much fun with my little boy. He even helped Max rediscover his skill of flipping from front to back, which he hadn't done since he was about 3 weeks old. He did it at least 7 or 8 times for Grandpa!

On Saturday we all went on an outing to have the famous Andy Nelson's ribs. Isn't this picture the greatest?

Something tells me that in another month or so Max is going to be lunging at our food. He seems pretty curious about it already.

I made sure to put Max in some of the cute BYU apparel his grandparents gave him for Christmas. So adorable!

Sunday was the big blessing day, and here is Mr. Max in his little blessing outfit. He didn't make a peep during the blessing, but you could hear him sucking on his pacifier through the microphone. It was cute. It was a wonderful moment and I just felt overwhelmed by how much I love these two boys!

Later on Max got to have a little bit of cousin time. I love it when Reese reaches out her hand to grab his ... so darling.

My dad had to leave on Monday and it was so hard to seem him go! When Max got up from his nap I imagined he was looking all around for his new playmate, wondering where he went. Poor guy.

But Grandpa didn't leave without teaching Max a thing or two about "Gravity Baby" - a game where you put up pillows and see which way the baby will tumble. It's a fun one.

And that was our weekend. It could be a while until we have another one quite so great.

The Announcement

I finished Max's birth announcement a few weeks ago but just didn't get around to sharing it on the blog. I love how it turned out! My mom took the pictures when Max was 5 and 7 days old. It was hard to choose which ones to put on, so I'm sharing some of my other favorites as well.

I thought he was amazingly handsome for being so brand new. In fact, it would be nice to have some of that hair back right now!

So precious!

"I'm going there someday!" :)

Dreaming of .... milk, most likely.

My little 7 week old is now much less little than he was in these pictures! I'm so glad I have them to remember what a sweet, precious newborn he was.

Max gets a visit from Aunt Katie

My favorite sister Kate was lucky enough to take a short break from her busy life as a H.S. senior and spend the weekend with us. I think Max really liked having her here - after a pretty rough day on Friday he was great for the entire weekend! And when he did get fussy Kate was a natural at calming him. And yes, our little man is going partly bald. Hope the hair comes back soon.

We went on several walks and Katie showed him a "real" swing for the first time.

I think she likes her little nephew :)

After all that fun Max came home and crashed.

I just love my baby!!!!!!!

Thanks for the visit, Kate, it was much too short. We miss you! (and your German pancakes!)

1 MONTH !!!

Our little Max is already 1 month old. How crazy is that?!? Part of me really misses tiny, scrawny, adorable little newborn Max, but 4 week old Maxbug is pretty cute, too. And a lot more work! He is still a champ but we've had a few rough days with lots of crying and it just about breaks mom's heart. We sure love the weekends when Dad is around!

At his 3 week appointment Max was 9 lbs 2 oz, so I'm sure by now he's around 10. These pictures are in chronilogical order, so you can watch his cheeks getting chubbier and his hairline receding as the days go by. ;)

Not sitting up yet, but he has rolled over 3 times! (From front to back.)

He loves getting bundled and going for walks ...

Max got his first letter! Thanks to his friend Caelan for the cute card.

This is one guilty face if you ask me. Max already likes trouble and I can only imagine the fun in store for us!

Our litte Eskimo:

This is one proud mama!

I can't lie, sometimes I am very eager for the future when my little boy will sleep more (at night) and cry less. But at the same time each day brings wonderful moments and I am treasuring having this little sweetheart who will still snuggle with me and fall asleep in my arms. I know it won't last forever. He already has such a personality and I just love watching his every move (except when he's cranky). He is practicing his smile and is getting so close!

Little Max, you are growing up so fast and I have mixed feelings about it.

Look Alike

This is baby Joseph at 2 weeks old. Pretty cute, right? (Except he's a little grumpy.) For Christmas, Joe's mom gave us the outfit pictured above for little Max. I was so excited. At 2 1/2 weeks, we put Max in his Daddy's clothes and he gave us a similar grumpy little stare.

Baby Joe was cute, but Max is beyond adorable. At least we think so.

And here's baby Lindsey at 1 week old. Looks like some of my genes made an appearance after all!

So ... who do you think Max looks like the most?

Quick Question

Joe & I are interested in getting a baby swing for Mr. Max. Before we go out and buy one, I thought I'd ask whether any of our Maryland friends have a swing currently not in use that they'd be willing to let us borrow for a few months. If so let us know!

P.S. Thanks so much to the Harbertson's who have already let us borrow their bouncer. Max sleeps like a champ in that thing (usually). :)

Football Fans

With Joe being the football maniac that he is, the first time watching a game as father & son is definitely something worth documenting. When Max was 12 days old, the Saints took on the Colts in the Superbowl. It was a great game, and the Saints pulled out a win in the end. Mr. Max didn't get into the game too much, but he had a good time with Dad nonetheless.

First - Dad introduces Max to his first football (which was a gift from Nate & Lori ... just the perfect size and shape and perfect timing as well!).
Then we get him all set for the game with ball, chips, and guac.

Since Max has a lot to learn, Dad started with some of the basic calls. Touchdown!

Delay of game ...

Among others. The delay of game was called on Mommy for not having the milk ready. Then Max got charged with a false start because he was only pretending that he wanted to eat.

I am excited for these two fans to enjoy many more games together. And so it begins!