Max - 4 Months

Max is still Mr. Smiles. He loves sucking his fingers, hands and entire fist, and is the king of drool. He has beautiful long eyelashes (like his daddy) and big, bright blue eyes. My favorite feature, though, is his wide grin. Max has started spitting and buzzing his lips, which Wade says means he'll probably take after his dad and be a brass player. However, I predict he'll sing in the choir (like momma) and play the drums.... We'll see!  He is his own little person, so I am sure he'll surprise us. 

Max came down with RSV (bad chest cold in babies) this month and has had to use the nebulizer every four hours. Despite being very sick, he is still extremely good natured and happy. Unfortunately his little bought of sickness has caused Max to revert in the sleep department and, I am sad to report, he is no longer sleeping through the night. This means mommy and daddy are very sleepy, and we sometimes find it very difficult to make it through a full week of work. I don't even remember what it felt like to be rested. It is hard to believe that Wade and I used to sleep-in until 11:00 or even noon on Saturday mornings (pre-baby)!! Despite being tired, we are SO thankful for our little man and love him SO much! I never knew that love like this was possible, and I would take him over 1,000 days of sleeping 'til noon.

This month Max also got dedicated at church.  This was a very special time for our family and symbolized our commitment to raise Max to know and love Jesus.  We were very thankful for the friends and family that were able to be part of this special day.

Max Facts - 4 Months 
Most fingers in his mouth at once: 8
Longest hour stretch at night:  8
Diaper size: 2
Favorite Book:  The Going To Bed Book (Sandra Boynton)
Weight: 16 pounds, 8 oz.
Favorite Song: "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star"
Number of teeth: 0
Clothing size: 3-6
Favorite Toy:  Floor Mat / Mobile Gym
Bottles per day:  7
Average hours of sleep for mom and dad: 5
Latest Trick:  Buzzing his lips

Here are some of my favorites of Max from this month:

Poor Baby Max had RSV this month.  Despite having to nebulize him every 4 hours, he was still a happy boy.

Max loves his Auntie Lisbeth!

Being held by the pastor of our church at Max's Dedication

Reading Max a story from the Baby Bible... one of his dedication gifts

Proud Pappa!

 The many faces of the Max Man:

Thoughtful

Happy

REALLY Happy

Curious

Flirty

Happy New Year!!

Happy 2012 from our family to yours!  

Love, 

Wade, Lauren, Max & Daisy Dog

Max's First Christmas

We had a great time celebrating Christmas this year with Baby Max.  There is something about having a child that makes the season that much more special and meaningful.  First we had an early Christmas celebration with my parents and my brother's family.  This year was a Goodwill Christmas, so we had the challenge of finding inexpensive second-hand gifts for everyone on our list.  It was an adventure!

Mom & Dad with their little reindeer

Gabriel is always the clown...especially in his new straw glasses

Mom likes her new second-hand purse

Max & Grandma Nancy

Eliana is already a good babysitter

Then we headed down to Kansas to celebrate with the Schroeders.  Max was a trooper and endured 22+ hours in the car seat, during our trip there and back.  We had enough Christmas onesies and outfits to dress Max in a new Christmas-themed outfit for 5 days straight (sometimes with multiple costume changes each day).

Still happy after 10 hours in the car... almost to Grandma & Grandpa Schroeder's house

(Don't worry... we were parked when this was taken.)

Grandma & Grandpa Schroeder spoiled Max on this first Christmas! 

First ride on his new rocking horse

Wade and his new tooly thing

SUPER excited to get a sewing machine!!! 

Baby Max is sacked out after all the presents 

Max & Grandpa Schroeder

It's his first visit and Max already likes the farm

...so does Daisy

We went to go see Santa and he was gone... until next year.  Poor Max!

 

The baby Santa suit was on sale at Target... we couldn't resist!! 

We spent the New Year at home and celebrated our own little family Christmas on the first day of the new year.  All in all, it was a fun and busy holiday!

Daisy digging into her stocking 

Another cute Christmas outfit from Great-Aunt Robin

Wade representing his grad school

I got a membership to Orange Theory...nice! 

Max loves Christmas!