Santa

Tonight Max met Santa at the annual Santa Party! I was worried he would be scared of him, but it turns out that he was thrilled to see Santa AND his beard! I felt bad for Santa, who lost a good number of real hairs to Max's firm grip.


Max received a really fun present from Santa- Busy Balls!

It certainly was a fun night.

Tis the Season

The other day I asked Rob to go get Max in his pajamas, and this is what he put him in! These are actually size 3-6 month, and Max actually wears 9-12 month clothes! We quickly took a few photos of him before putting him in pajamas that fit.

Rob couldn't resist taking a picture of Max's unusual sleeping position. After the photo, we moved Max around to sleep in what we would consider a more comfortable position.

6 Month Check-up

Next week Rob, Max and I are all flying out to Utah for the holidays! We are really looking forward to seeing our families and friends. Before we can go, Max needed to get his 6 month check-up (he is really only 5 and 1/2 months old). I took him yesterday. He weighs 20 pounds 2 ounces!! That is in the 95%ile! He is 26.8 inches long, which puts him only in the 50-75%ile for height. The doctor was not worried about Max's heavy weight. Max is pretty active, and the doctor thinks once Max starts to get really mobile (he rolls both ways right now, but not across the room) that he will thin out. Max is ahead of the game when it comes to sitting independently. I guess most babies are not able to sit independently until about 7 months.


Our smilie boy!


We just love our little one!

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was a quiet event for us this year. Rob and I ate a beautiful Thanksgiving dinner, while Max played nearby. I was extremely grateful that I had my husband and son close to me this Thanksgiving. My thoughts were with Emily Jones all day. Her husband, John, died in the Nutty Putty Caves on Thanksgiving. My sister is best friends with Emily, so the tragedy really hit home.


Max and I right before the feast began!

Max is fascinated by leaves. We took him over to the pond to feed the ducks, but he was much more interested in the trees. Here he trying to grab them.

Swings

In November, I started taking Max to the park to swing. It was a big hit. He loves to swing, and watch other kids swinging.


My happy boy!

Too bad it is too cold to go to the park and play now.

Rolling!!!

Max is officially rolling on his own. He rolls from his stomach to his back with ease. He timed his performance perfectly. I was doing tummy time with Max when Rob came home from work. We watched him do a couple of fake-outs, and then he did it! He just tucked and rolled. We cheered and clapped for him, to which he just smiled and smiled. We then proceeded to place him once more on his stomach, to which he quickly rolled over. On the third roll, we got the camera out and recorded it. Here he is about to roll over.

I took this video a little while after his first roll. I included this one because you can see all his fat rolls! (Sorry for the shaky camera work.)

Here is another funny thing that Max likes to do. He arches his back and scoots backwards. You can see in the following sequence how far he has scooted. He was eyeing the blue play mat, but then I distracted him and he never quiet made it over there!

Big arches!

You can see part of the blue mat here!

Distracted by me!

We are proud of our little boy for mastering the roll from belly to back! Good job Little One!

Boo Game

Max has been putting things on his head- burp clothes, clean diapers, blankets, bears, bibs, etc. He puts it over his eyes and then starts kicking like crazy! Occasionally he will add a scream in there as well. Then he will pull it back over his eyes. We say "BOO" to him and he thinks it is the funniest thing.

Here Max pulled the blanket over his head:

He is peaking to see where I am:

The blanket is almost off!

His head is free once again. Unfortunately, the flash does not get a smile from him. He just stares at the camera and tries to figure it out.

What a simple joy!

Friends

Yesterday we watched one of Max's friends, Carson. Carson is 5 days younger than Max. They had a great time together. They read books and played with toys before they both fell fast asleep.

Reading books:

"Carson, can we be friends?"

"Yes, we can be friends Max!"

Now many of you reading this may think that we staged this photo. However, this was a "kodak" moment. They did this on their own accord. We just happened to be there to catch the moment on camera!

Feed Me!

We cannot seem to feed Max fast enough! He has his mouth open wide as he eagerly awaits his next bite of food. I have increased the amount and consistency of his rice cereal, but he still wants more! What a good little eater.

Do you notice a theme?

Hint: Gaping mouth!

We have a play mat for Max, and his favorite part is the corner. He reaches over, grabs it, and puts it in his mouth. It is so tasty to suck on! Yum-Yum!

Little Monkey

Here is our Little Monkey. He is sucking his bottom lip in this picture. Rob is hiding right next to him because Max kept falling over! He has not learned to sit up by himself yet. I had Max sit on the blanket instead of the bark... hmmmm... maybe I am a bit too paranoid about him getting grubby!?

Max looks like he has spotted something grand! Maybe a banana?!

This is Robs favorite picture of Max. He gave up doing "tummy time" on the grass, but before I could pick him up, I had to snap a picture of him from this angle!

Rob helping Max up after "tummy time."

Another favorite: Max's thinking pose. He had a great time standing up by the big rock!

Rob and Max by the water.

Max and me! Although he is not smiling, he is actually looking at the camera in this picture. He was pretty distracted most of the time by cars, water, leaves, birds, etc.!

Overall, it was a fun activity for us to do.

Rice Cereal

I think Max has loved being a "big boy!" He LOVES to eat his rice cereal. We couldn't get it in him fast enough. The first bowl was really liquidy, but since the first feeding it has gotten more and more solid.


We had a Trunk or Treat at the church tonight, so we dressed Max up in his monkey costume. I am planning on doing a better photo shoot with him tomorrow. Before I left, I had the brilliant idea of dressing up like a tree! Then Max would be a monkey in a tree! However, it was just an idea as I didn't have the things I needed to make myself into a tree! He is just the cutest little monkey!

Here is the video of us feeding Max the cereal for the first time.

Bedding Set

On Wednesday night we moved Max out of our room and upstairs to his room. Max is a mover when he sleeps, so I told Rob I wanted a bumper in his bed so he wouldn't hit his head on the wooden slats. We ended up finding this fun bedding set at Babies R' Us. Max has slept so well in his room. He sleeps at least 8 hours at a time (he would probably go longer, but I get him up to nurse him when he makes any sort of movement). Here is the bedding set:


I hung this today. I think it adds to the room


Diaper thing. We don't have diapers in it right now.

Max in his bed with the bumpers. He likes to look at the ships. I just realized I don't have his fun sheet in there!

It has been a harder transition for me to have Max out of my room, then for him to be in his own room!

Big Boy

Max is now 4 months old! He had his doctor appointment yesterday, and we have one big boy! He weighs 17 pounds, 12 ounces- 95%ile! However, he is proportionate as his height is 25.8 inches long- 90%ile! His doctor has cleared him to start having iron fortified cereal. Rob and I are going to give it a go tonight. (We are planning on recording it, so be on the lookout for a new post soon!)

We tried to do a photo shoot with Max, but he was not too happy to be on his stomach. Here is one of the better shots.


Rob loves to read Curious George to Max. Max usually enjoys listening, and adding his comments to the story, but here he just kicked over until he could rest his head on Rob's shoulder and fell asleep. Awwww! So precious!

Max has started putting EVERYTHING in his mouth. Here he found the mobile thing fit perfectly!


Max was watching football with Rob, but when I said "Max!" he turned and smiled right at me.

Max has also started to laugh. It is so much fun being a parent!

Tutoring

I have started to tutor out of my home. You can check out my tutoring blog, Madsen Tutoring, to find out more information!

Yard Sales!

Our neighborhood had their bi-annual yard sale. Rob woke-up, got ready for his long run and headed out the door bright and early. About 20 minutes later he was back. All the neighbors were setting out their items. I got dressed in my running gear, got Max ready, and we were off. We ran from yard sale to yard sale, finding great deals. We picked up a coffee table and two side tables.


Our best find- a running stroller! Max loves to go for runs in it. It also has a bike extension.



We bought a bike (for $5!), and Rob has fixed it. We took the bike, with the trailer, for a ride on Sunday in between conference sessions. We also bought a bunch of picture books and Disney movies. It was a great day for us. We found lots of treasures and we got a great workout in as well!

Last Little Bit

Here are some of the things we have been up to the last little while.

Tummy time! Max hates it, but we still do it with him. He is getting better at holding himself up. He has ALMOST rolled over a couple of times.


Johnny Jumper. He doesn't really kick and jump, but he likes to sit and eat it! He also enjoys looking all around.


Max came to my indoor soccer game with Rob last Saturday. Rob says whenever he stood Max up, Max would start yelling at the game! He watched the ball go back and forth.

Max met his Uncle Daniel for the first time. Max is still in his pajamas because we had a long night with him (he was up and down and fussing the entire night!).

Max likes sitting in the Bumbo for a few minutes. He is starting to arch his back and straighten his legs in an effort to get out of it, so I have to watch him like a hawk. When he sits in here I can work around the kitchen and he watches and talks to me.

Eating toys is a new favorite for Max. He loves to put anything and everything in his mouth. I don't think he is teething yet. We used to put a blanket up over his head and he would kick it off, but now he tries to get it in his mouth (so we have stopped playing that "game")!

I need to take pictures of Max standing up and looking all around. It is one of his favorite things to do. Max also loves to read stories (and tell stories), look at himself in the mirror (nothing but smiles for himself), sing songs, grab toys that are hanging on a mobile, and eat. He always has a healthy appetite! Rob and I feel so lucky to have such a good boy.