The rest of the pictures...

PICTURE PEOPLE

Click above if you're curious to see the rest of the Picture People pictures...all the ones that I didn't order, that is! :)

(If our last name is anywhere on the photo site, please let me know so I can remove the photo link. Thanks!)

Just For Fun...

We got a duplicate on a big brother gift, so I used the money to buy Alex a very special toy. He LOVES this latches board by Melissa & Doug toys! He even tried to take it in the bathtub one night because he wasn't ready to stop playing!
I wouldn't use the word jealous, but Alex wants to be in every picture with Max. He's very proud of his baby brother, and he always wants to be near Max.

He's sorting red & green noodles into red & green bowls. When prompted, Alex will say "geen" and "der". For some reason, he says red backwards. He will purposely put a green noodle in the red bowl, grin at me, and say "Uh-oh!"

Snugglin' with Daddy

I see this about a zillion times a day (slight exaggeration...), but Alex LOVES to cuddle with the baby.

He just looks TOO grown-up!

Cheap entertainment - and the contents were a VERY special treat for Mama!

enjoying the lights & music - sometimes he "talks" to the lights

ready for church in his Curious George shirt (Alex LOVES it!)

I was so sad when Alex outgrew this hat, and I'm so glad that it should fit Max through the winter!

Brothers! (aka Scanner Cord Found! :)

A Day at the Mall

Last week, I took the boys to get their pictures taken at Picture People. I wanted to get there before Max outgrew his "Little Brother" onesie.

I try to take turns inviting family to come along for pictures, and I'd planned to ask my mom to come along. Unfortunately, that didn't work out...but Deb & Donna were able to come along, and it turned into a pretty nice day.

We got the first appointment of the day - 10 AM. Both boys were awake and happy, which I still find absolutely unbelievable! The photographer was GREAT at positioning the boys and capturing shots in that brief moment before kiddos moved or looked away. We got some great pictures that made me smile! :)

I exercised as much willpower as I could, getting just the free package with coupon, an extra page of 4x6s for aunts & uncles, and one photo sheet to fill our frame at home. There are so many other portraits that I *wish* I could have gotten, as well, but it's so pricy! I went in determined to keep it minimal, but it was TOUGH!

Alex got SPOILED on this day! Alex got to go on his first carousel ride at the mall, and he just LOVED it! We don't go to the mall often, but when we do, Alex loves to stand and watch the carousel. Aunt Deb treated Alex to his very first ride. He picked his horse, and he smiled the whole time! Thank you, Aunt Deb!

We had lunch at Subway, with a very special dessert - FREE cookies! We happened to be at the mall on the day that Mrs. Fields was giving away one free cookie per person between 11 AM and 1 PM. Yum!

Alex also got to ride on the escalator...which might not sound that special, but it's the first time I've let him stand on an escalator on his own two feet. He held my hand while his aunties & baby brother waited at the bottom. We went up and down, up and down. He was thrilled!

We'd borrowed Karen's double stroller - the Joovy Caboose - to try it out, and Alex loved that, too! He thought it was pretty neat to sit on the jumpseat on the back!

I'm not sure there's anything about this day that Alex didn't enjoy! I had a lot of fun, too, and enjoyed sharing a day with my sisters!

Max? He was just along for the ride. ;)

(I'll post the Picture People photos just as soon as I figure out where the scanner cord is hiding!)

Real Life

(written Sunday night, but just getting around to posting it now...)

An e-mail from a friend got me thinking. She said, "I don't know how you get it all done, you're so regular at blogging and obviously do a lot with the boys." Then, while glancing at Facebook as I de-stressed from a crazy day, I saw a post from someone that said it seems like everyone else has a good life while hers is tough.


Both of those posts got me thinking how we document/comment on the good stuff in life, but we don't often touch on the negative. Sometimes it's because we like to focus on the positive; other times, it might be a matter of keeping a certain image of the "good life". For me, it's not at all about portraying the image of a perfect family...it's just that I don't see the point of blogging about the lousy stuff when there's so much good in our lives!


But, just to keep it real, here's an honest look at our past few days...from someone who does NOT want to use the blog to complain, but wants you to see that our life is just as normal (and crazy) as everyone else's life...


Thursday night (into Friday) was a terrible night for Alex. He just could not sleep, woke up crying many times, and needed to be put back in bed repeatedly. Nobody got much sleep. Friday was a long day, and I was tired, had to go to a midwife appointment, and didn't do ANYTHING around the house...including actively playing with a bored (and, therefore, mischievous) Alex. Keith came home to a messy house, frozen pizza for dinner, and a somewhat cranky wife.


Looking forward to a good night's sleep on Friday night...well, it didn't happen! Max was nursing about once every hour - hour & a half all day long. I figured he'd sleep extra well that night, but nope...the boy who's been sleeping a 5-6 hour stretch at night woke every 1 - 1.5 hours ALL NIGHT LONG. And there's no taking turns with night wakings when you nurse. A still-tired mommy didn't want to do ANYTHING on Saturday, either. We cancelled plans with friends that night, got a pizza for dinner, and bummed around at home. (I did manage to scrub the kitchen floor for the first time since Max was born, though...it was getting pretty nasty!)


The constant nursing continued all day Saturday & all day Sunday, and I'm sure it was just a 6 week growth spurt. On top of this, Max hadn't pooped since Wednesday. (How's that for honest & real?! You probably didn't want to know that.) He was cranky, uncomfortable, and restless. Even in his sleep, he was grunting and moaning. He was uncomfortable on Sunday, and he cried almost all morning and early afternoon. We were all exhausted. I was so exhausted that I forgot to put Alex down for a nap on Sunday afternoon...and I *never* forget naptime!


The house is a wreck. The trash can and recycle bin are overflowing. The kitchen is filthy. The laundry is clean, but in need of folding/putting away. There are about 9,472 toys on our living room floor. I'd show you pictures, but I haven't even attempted to use the camera on this crazy day.

We've been bouncing, rocking, and doing anything else possible to keep Max comfortable. Alex wanted our attention, too, of course, so whoever wasn't bouncing & rocking was reading 37 tractor books in a row...or zooming cars around the living room floor...or letting the dog out for the 94th time today...or yelling at Alex for sitting in the baby's swing...or throwing something together and calling it a meal. We ate pizza three times this weekend. How's that for healthy?! (For the record, I could NOT have survived this weekend without Keith. He's a great daddy & a very patient husband!)


I'm sure this is more than you want to know, but Max finally had a 2 nice big dirty diapers on Sunday afternoon, which Mama celebrated by letting out a great big cheer and HAPPILY changing dirty diapers. He still had a lot of...uh...gassy issues to work through, so we spent the rest of the day taking turns bouncing an uncomfortable baby and keeping Alex occupied.


Now it's Sunday night. The house is still a wreck. Keith is at football night with the guys, hopefully enjoying some much-needed kid-free time. Alex is sleeping in his bed. Max is sleeping on my chest. (Ahhh, the sweet little moments...nothing better than a sweet-smelling baby cuddled on your chest!)


And I'm trying to relax after a crazy day...and let you know that we're just a real as the rest of you! :)

Brothers & Smiles

Max is giving out smiles a little more freely these days. It's just hard to capture it on camera...but here are a few smiles for you to enjoy! You'll see that Alex is anxious for Max to get big enough to play with him.

Max was giving Alex BIG grins as Alex drove the Matchbox car all over his little brother.

1 Month

There's not much to say about a 1 month old, other than STOP GROWING!!!!! I don't think Max is keeping his promise to stay newborn forever. He's already noticably bigger, more alert, and outgrowing his newborn clothes.

We used up his NB diapers and moved up to Size 1 late last week. We've probably pushed the limits on the NB diapers, but I just couldn't let him grow! :) We're using our small cloth diapers when we're at home, but sticking with disposables when we're out and about. When he's a few pounds bigger, we should have enough cloth diapers that fit him, and then we can full-time cloth diaper him. (But that won't happen because I'm not letting him grow any bigger...)

Max is a fairly quick nurser, eating in 15 minutes or less most of the time. He's done that from the time he was born! It's so odd, since Alex took a lot longer, and I feel like I'm not feeding Max enough. I guess we're doing okay, since he keeps growing!

Max goes to bed around 10:30 PM, then usually wakes to eat around 3 AM, and then again at around 5:30 AM and 7:30 AM. He nurses quickly, then goes right back to sleep during the night. While my sleep is interrupted, it's not too bad since he's such a quick nurser. Some nights, he'll wake around 1:30/2 AM, and then he's usually up a few more times during the night. When that happens, he barely nurses & I can't keep him awake to eat more...which leads to those additional night-time wakings. It's frustrating, but it's only temporary...I can handle it! He's been getting better about giving us a longer first stretch, and we're hopeful that this will happen more and more often! We swaddle him for his night-time sleep, so hopefully that's helping to teach him that it's time for "real" sleep.

Speaking of swaddling, Alex loved it and we had to really work at getting him to sleep without the swaddle blanket when he outgrew it. Max...well, not so much! He tolerates it, but some nights, I'll go in to feed him & find that he has the swaddle wrapped around his middle with his legs and arms sticking out from above & below the wrap! Silly boy!

He likes the swing a lot more than Alex ever did. Max will contentedly swing to sleep. He doesn't care for bouncy seats as much as Alex did at this age, though. Max also LOVES to be in the sling! I mainly use it for shopping, taking walks, or holding him while out & about...times when it's the most convenient way to carry a little baby while still caring for a toddler. A few days ago, though, I used it at home because Max was fussy & the sling just totally relaxes him. It was the only way to get dinner on the table! I don't know how I would live without this sling - it's a lifesaver! So, thanks, random Walmart customer who makes baby slings...you were a BIG help! Thanks, too, to Grandma P for offering me the sling as a birthday present!

He has started following objects (like a rattle or bright toy) with his eyes or turning his head to follow it. We tried him under a play gym a few days ago, and he was content and enjoying the lights/colors, but I worry that Big Brother might step on him! Maybe I'll have to put a play gym in the pack n play to protect Max as he looks at the toys!

Max is generally a content, relaxed baby. He sleeps through just about any noise other than Maggie's barking. (If only he could teach his big brother that trick!) He doesn't usually fuss during the day, unless he has a specific need. He does have a fussy time most evenings, but it's not terrible. Hopefully he'll get past that before too long!

I'm pretty sure he smiled (a "real" smile) for the first time at about 4 weeks old. He was wide awake, sitting on my lap, and I was talking to him. He was looking straight into my eyes when he grinned. He did the same thing with my sister last week Tuesday at Kohl's. We tried to get a picture, but didn't act quickly enough. Earlier this week, he was smiling at Alex, too. I wish I had that on camera! He also smiled at Keith a few days ago, and he's given me a few more smiles late this week. It is awfully rewarding to see those first smiles!

Since we are skipping the one month pediatrician visit, we're not sure about accurate height or weight at one month. We stopped by my friend Karen's house this week, and we used her baby scale while we were there: 9 lbs, 6.5 oz. (Alex weighed 9 lbs at his one month visit.)

That's about all there is to say for now...he's growing, he's healthy, and we are totally in love! :)

(The pictures in this post are just a few random pictures from this month that hadn't been used anywhere else on the blog.)