Max & Maisie get Baptized

Family is a wonderful thing. Okay, so motherhood has maybe made me a bit cheesy and sentimental, but in all seriousness we just had a delightful weekend surrounded by family and friends, and celebrating the two littlest ones from the Johnston / White / Swensson clan.

(The whole gang)

Max and Maisie were off to the church on a beautiful morning. The plan was to baptize them together, however it was too special of a sacrament to share so Maisie (being the older and more generous one) let Max get his turn first with Reverend Bill and she got baptized after the service with a smaller, more intimate crowd of just family. I know what you're thinking, "Oh, it must have been because getting a 2-year old to stand still in front of a crowd of people is impossible", but no, it was really because Maisie knew what a special moment it was and that they should each have their own. She is smart beyond her years (both of them ;)).

(Max and Dad having some guy time)

(Dad and Maisie playing)

Long blog short, it was a delightful weekend of big, crowded dinners and early mornings with the little ones running around ready to play while the parents hunted for coffee. We also got to spend some time celebrating GrandPop's bday (and why I am featuring him in this blog with his grandkiddies) and really surprised him with Mom's gift!! She is always keeping him on his toes, that one :)

On The Move

Drill mounts versus hypertension? These are the decisions Erik and I are facing right now... what type of baby gates are right for our house and our family :) Although he is still too lazy to actually get up on his knees and move around, Max can get from one side of a room to another and has even gone from our living room to our kitchen in a matter of minutes. The army man crawl can get you where you need to go apparently. He's not quite at the stage where he is moving every second of every day, but with the right motivation (like Sonora below) he will make it happen!

(Ahhh... Sonora, I like her)

(If only I could reach...)

(Almost... )

(Finally - I gotcha!)

In addition to playing with Little S and starting to crawl, Max has been enjoying the summer out in his baby pool. He loves the water, whether it is the bath tub, at-home pool or even the adult swimming pool -- he's ready to dive in head first (and unfortunately drink the water while he's at it). I think we have lots of summers at the pool to look forward to with this one.

(I love splish splashin')

Welcome Sonora

Max's long awaited cousin has finally arrived! Sonora James Johnston graced us with her arrival on May 31 to her already wonderful, loving, perfect parents Jen and Derek... we are so happy for them and very excited about Max's new playmate.

It's amazing how now, he being almost 7 months old and she being only a few weeks old, they seem worlds apart, however in just a few short years those 6 months will become less and less important. Although Sonora gets to spend her days and nights at home with her dotting parents, when she is ready for "school" she and Max will be attending the same one! Max is really going to have to step it up and play the protective cousin role for her. He will have to keep bullies away from her, share his snacks with her, teach her how to play and read and write (yes, I suppose the teachers will help out in that department as well), essentially act like a big brother.

This is how excited Max was when he heard about her birth....

WELCOME SONORA -- WE LOVE YOU!

Passing on Palm Trees

There is just something about the smell of the beach, warm sun and air surrounding you and beautifully tall palm trees that just makes your body relax instantly. Although I still attest that to be true, the effect was shorter lived for me on my latest trip than it usually is -- I just wanted to be home with my boys. I feel like such a sap. Who wouldn't want a few days away to catch some rays, get away from your desk / computer screen and just go somewhere new? This girl I suppose. Although I had great company and the event was a professional success, I seemed to stare at the clock hoping time would fly by so that I'd find myself at home sooner rather than later.

(I was done with this....)

I think I was overly homesick because just a few days before I left, when I picked up Max from school, I read his report card for the day and realized that they had checked two activity boxes for him that had until now never been touched -- crawling and climbing. What?!?! Max is moving around and I missed it? Ugh, those are the worst days for us working Mom's -- the day you think or realize that you may have missed a first. I drove straight home and plopped my boy on the floor and ordered him to crawl for me. Thirty minutes later he was still playing with the toys he could reach so all and all I felt better about not missing too much and have watched him like a hawk ever since. I am ready to see him make that first crawl :)

But seriously, how could you not miss a face like this? Who needs palm trees when you can play with Max Man! This is where I wanted to be (insert awww or gag here ;) )

(Max trying to eat some snacks -- still prefers the really mushy stuff)

The Half Year Mark

Six months has come and gone -- where does the time go? These days, at the ripe old age of six and a half months, Max is trying to get into everything! Just today, he practically crawled out of his bathtub and when Erik wouldn't let him do that, he took a nose dive into the water just so he could bite his ducky. Was he upset about water going up his nose and getting all wet? Absolutely not! He wanted to splash around some more. And so begins a dangerous trend with our little Max man. In fact, in addition to attempting to drown himself or hit his head on the tub while falling out of his baby bath, there are other things that are not good for his wellbeing that he absolutely loves to do --like fall asleep with something covering his entire face, play with anything that crinkles like helium balloons and plastic bags, and wake up at 5:30 am every morning and only have sleep deprived zombies (what Erik and I are before 6am) to watch over him.

(A few recent shots -- Max in his bday suit, sleeping with his lovey over his face, out at Viva Vienna with Mom and trying to steal Uncle Derek's lemonade later that day)

Aside from being a little dare devil who lives on the edge, he's right about average as far as height, weight and head circumference, coming in around the 75th percentile for height and HC and 65th percentile for weight. All I know is that this little guy is getting a bit heavy (over 18 lbs now!) and walking around holding him is starting to qualify as "working out" ;) In fact, I'm starting to integrate Max into my calisthenics every day in hopes to really tone and sculpt some nice Mom arms.

Nothing Gets Past Max

I know parents have told me for years about how cool it is to watch your kid discover all of their "firsts", but I always figured they were referring to things like walking and talking (big firsts)... now that I have my own baby, I realize it's so much more! The other night after Max finished his bedtime bottle and I had him up on my shoulder trying to pull out some burps I realized he was mesmerized with something and couldn't stop staring at it. His eyes were so intense and inquisitive one moment and then light and playful the next-- all because he could see the sunlight creeping through his blind and lighting up a section along the wall. Something that if I had seen it on my own I probably wouldn't have even thought of, or actually, I'd have though "ugh, these black out shades don't actually always black out the light!", made Max stop in his tracks. And so watching him take in that light dancing along the wall made me realize that EVERYTHING is a new discovery to him. His little baby brain and baby senses are working overtime to take it all in and understand what it is he is seeing. It is truly amazing that someone who only a few short months ago could barely keep his eyes open and had to be held with such care is now a little person, so observant and aware.

Some recent shots of Max out and about, observing and discovering new things.... ENJOY!

Moving Madness

If I don't talk to you on a regular basis, you might not be aware that in addition to having a baby and then going back to work after having said baby, we also decided "hey, this is a great time to pack up and move into a new house"! We must like being busy (all the time!) So, as you can see below, the past few weeks have been filled with house hunting, townhouse fixing uppering (yes, that is a word! watch me use it in my next words with friends game with you if you're lucky! ;)) and then finally, moving!

(Our little giggle box)

(Max helping Erik and Papa fix up the floors in the townhouse -- he's so handy already!)

(The Swensson gang outside of their new house!)

With all of that going on it's no wonder we have all been passing around a lovely cold (even Erik had it-- and he never gets sick!). While it's mostly an annoyance to Erik and I, it turned into ear infections for little baby Max and he's had two in the past two weeks :( As you can see in his 4-month picture, he was still feeling pretty lousy and wasn't in his usual-smiley mood.

(Ugh- I have an ear infection and am grumpy!)

(We re-did the 4 month photo shoot a few days later once Max's meds had kicked in and he felt better -- yay, smiling again!)

And so to close out this blog post, I'll end with the little man's 4 month stats. He's growing big and strong just like his Daddy :)

Height: 26 inches (75-90%)

Weight: 16 lb 6 oz (50-75%)

Head Circumference: 42 1/2 cm (75-90%)

(Max at his 4-month check up)