So it's been a while. O.K. We stopped blogging about the time Max started sleeping. But today is his FIRST BIRTHDAY so we thought it was a good time to fill in a few gaps. (again we marvel at the slippery and flexible nature of time, which with a baby in the house stretches and contracts in ways it never seems to have before, exacerbating this inescapable realization that the older we get, the faster time seems to slip by...at least when things are going well. When things are dark, time slows to a crawl. Weird).
One of the first things to know is that Max, who you may recall had so much trouble eating, now eats like a champ. He has to. He's not only growing, he's just plain a big kid. He's almost 30 pounds at 12 months. He is also a happy boy almost all the time. He crawls now (2 speeds! Cruise and, with head tucked down for aerodynamic efficiency, OVERDRIVE!), and walks around as long as he has something to hold on to. And very recently he has begun taking small risks with his balance, letting go of one thing, then swiveling around to grab something some other object to steady himself.
He also chatters all the time. Although most of his words are unintelligible even to us, he does have some that he clearly associates with specific things, among them ball, Bug, bottle, and Uh-oh (which he actually says pretty clearly). He points and sings and laughs hysterically. He likes balloons, plays peekaboo (in fact, he instigates the game and hides from us, then laughs like crazy when we're surprised that he has reappeared). He goes to daycare three days a week, where he has lots of friends and toys to play with.
In short, Max is pretty fantastic. For our part, we finally get 'enough' sleep, which is to say not as much as we enjoyed a year and a half ago but much more than we were getting when we last posted on this blog. Max is a healthy and happy chatterbox. He sleeps great now, something we never could have imagined in March. In short, nothing is the same in our lives, and although the stresses seem more plentiful, the stress is outpaced by the love Max has brought us. He loves us and we love him and we're so, so happy he's here, and relieved that we've all made it this far.
Also, and I would be remiss if I did not mention this for posterity, Max has the best hair ever. For months now, when he wakes up he often has what we call the Pompahawk, a combination mohawk and pompadour, though the sides look like 70s rock star hair. All blond, and lots of it.
Max at 61/2 months:
In the tub at 7 months:
Minnesota Max at 9 months:
Swingin'at 9 1/2 months:
10 1/2 months:
Going for a ride at 11 months:
It's just food, don't worry:
The First Birthday Cake!
And finally, a bit blurry, but the birthday boy ready for some kitty cat cake:
More later?
