A few weeks ago, Kendra, Andy, Bryce and Eridani visited from Milwaukee. It was a perfect opportunity to get all the babies together at Sage and Elise’s. Kendra, Elise and I were pregnant at the same time and had babies within months of each other. Max was born in April, Eridani in May and Damon in June.
Damon, Eridani, Max (L-R).
Elise made the Vintage 2009 onesie at my baby shower and Kendra had the idea to get all the babies outfitted in the same onesies for a photo op. It was a super fun afternoon hanging out with all the kids. Unfortunately I didn’t take any photos with the babies, Riley and Bryce.
The rest of the photos from the Vintage 2009 day are here.
I’ve been anxious to give Max something other than milk or formula for a while now, but George and our doctor wanted to wait until he was 6 months old. I did sneak a grain of rice and later a tiny piece of bread into his mouth, but for the most part they got their way. Lately Max has been very curious about our food and drink, so last night George finally relented – time for rice cereal!
George made the cereal very runny, the idea being that his little stomach couldn’t handle too much at first. I tried a bit on my finger and thought it tasted awfully sweet. “That’s made with breast milk you know,” George informed me. Ah.
Anyway, what did Max think? At first he wasn’t quite sure how to deal with food entering his mouth via something other than a nipple. Mostly it dribbled out while he tried his usual sucking motion. Still, some made its way to the back of his mouth and he got a little taste.
He loved it! It was like a light went on in his head and he suddenly realized what this strange substance in the bowl was for. He was very excited and immediately wanted more.
Unsatisfied with the speed of our spooning, he took matters into his own hands. He grabbed the bowl, gnawing at the edge.
It took a bit of convincing, but he stopped sucking on the bowl long enough to try the spoon again. Of course, he maintained a firm grip on the bowl just in case.
This kid clearly likes rice cereal.
I’d say he got about 20% into his mouth, and the rest was on his clothes, hands, high chair, and on the floor. Still, a promising start!
Last Saturday we went to the Pierce College Pumpkin Patch in the valley. It was a really fun afternoon and Max had a fun time looking at the massive orange pumpkins. We walked through a corn maze, something we’ve never done before, but finally found our way out (thank you Los Angeles sun!) I took him on his first merry-go-round ride and we also went on a “hay” ride. There was no hay though! The pictures from the day are here and here.
Here is one of my favorites that I’d added some PhotoShop effects to, for the fun colors of the merry-go-round.
Max will be 6 months in 10 days. It’s amazing how quickly the time has flown by. He’s curious about everything and his hand dexterity is improving. He picks up toys and moves them from hand to hand. If one of his toys is out of reach, he’ll really try and move towards it. He’s also got an opinion – especially when it comes to sleeping. Every night we put him on his back in his crib, but within a few minutes he’ll let out a cry as he moves over onto his tummy. He really does not like sleeping on his back. Before we go to bed, we check on him and flip him over. But by morning, he’s on his tummy again!
Being back at work is hard and fun. Hard because I miss Max terribly, but fun, because I enjoy my work. But it means that when the weekend rolls around, we devote our time to Max, each other and fun things like the Pumpkin Patch.
September 15th, 2009 at 11:13 am
by george (Random)
So I stumbled across this little contest while surfing one of my favorite blogs. I really enjoy fashion and I love to draw so I decided, why not? I’ve never designed clothing, but the rules say anyone can enter. The contest opened on the 10th and I have until November 3rd to submit a design. Hopefully I’ll find some time to come up with a few options and post them here so I can get feedback prior to submitting my entry. Stay tuned!
September 13th, 2009 at 9:54 pm
by george (Baby, Max)
Max is already just over 4.5 months! Where does the time go? He had his check-up the week I returned back to work. Our doctor said he was doing really well and that we were lucky he was sleeping through the night. Since then, he hasn’t been sleeping as solidly as before. He’s waking up once around midnight to have a little snack. Probably a growth spurt and probably because it’s been so damn hot that he’s uncomfortable.
His stats: height 26″ (90th percentile), weight 15 lbs. 6 oz. (75th percentile), and the circumference of his head – average (I don’t remember the exact number). He did really well again with his shots. He was a little shocked when the needles went in and he let out a loud scream, but as soon as Brad picked him up, he was fine. He’s such a good baby. We are very lucky.
He’s been grabbing his feet a lot and pulling them to his mouth; his legs are not quite long enough for his toes to fit in his mouth, but we know he’ll soon be chomping on them – just like everything else. He doesn’t have teeth yet but there sure is a lot of drool and gnawing on things – especially Brad’s fingers. He’s also been babbling a lot more, and although he has no words yet, he’ll have a “conversation” with you. It’s so cute and adorable.
He spends his days at home with his nanny, Jenny. She likes to dance with him, read to him (in English and Spanish), and lets him explore lots of different toys. Everyday I get a new story of what they did. They are getting along very well with each other. Max smiles when he sees her, and Jenny gives him lots of hugs when she sees him. I’m glad that he’s social and gets along with anyone, but I am fearful that he might be confused about who his mother is. Then he lays his head in the crook of my neck, smiles when he hears my voice, and looks at me, and I’m reminded he knows I’m his mummy.
Last weekend I was driving home from Oregon in our new family car, and Max was at home with George. She was blowing on his feet, and out of nowhere he started laughing! I wish I was there to see it, but at least she caught it on video. I’m still waiting to see it in person.
A few weeks ago, we were up in Bend, Oregon visiting Brad’s parents. It’s always relaxing going up there and there is always plenty of time to eat and plenty of time to cook. Mimi and Todd have an amazing kitchen and this time, I decided to make banana muffins. Following is a recipe from Mimi’s collection. I added pecans and chocolate chips – just because I could!
3oz butter
1 1/8 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 ripe bananas (mashed)
1 1/3 cup flour
½ tsp. soda
½ tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
¼ cup buttermilk
Pecans optional / Chocolate chips optional.
Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in eggs, vanilla and bananas into butter mixture. Combine dry ingredients. Add alternately with the buttermilk into mixture. Can add nuts and chips if desired.
Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. You can also made this as a loaf: 40-45 minutes, but the muffins come out more evenly cooked than bread.
You can also top with “crisp topping” if desired (which I did of course!)
1 stick (4 oz) butter
1 cup all purpose flour
½ cup brown sugar, packed
½ cup white sugar
Pinch salt
Cut softened butter into 8 pieces and mix in with dry ingredients until it is well integrated. Keep in the freezer until ready to use.
People told me while I was pregnant that getting a baby to nap is one of the hardest things to do. Some days Max will fall asleep after eating in my arms and I can lay him down in his bassinet and he’ll nap very well. Other days, he’ll show signs of sleepiness – rubbing his eyes, yawning and fussing a bit, but he’ll just fight it and get cranky until I bring out the big guns. Introducing my 4 best friends: Mr. Car, Mr. Vacuum, Mr. Stroller, and Mr. Swing. (They’re all Mr. since Max is a boy!).
The car is the easiest, but not so eco-friendly. Getting him in the stroller and walking around the neighborhood is also easy. But on days when it’s just too hot to go out in the afternoon, I have to put him in the swing to help him fall asleep. Most of the time he will, but then there are times that he’s just too exhausted and that’s when I have to bring out the vacuum cleaner. Well – up until a few days ago when I realized I might wear out my Dyson! I downloaded this MP3 and although it doesn’t sound much like a vacuum, it seems to do the trick. I have to crank it up pretty loud before he’s calm and he sleeps very well with it in the background. I gradually turn it down every few minutes until it’s just a soft hum otherwise I’d go nuts.
Hopefully he’ll grow out of the phase soon and just fall asleep in his crib, but I’ll do anything right now to get him to nap. He’s 3.5 months now and weighs about 15 pounds – double his birth weight! Here are a few recent photos from my phone:
