Holy Snaggletooth!

And so it begins.

He thought I was right there. I thought he wasn't going to pitch forward. His hands never made it in time to break the fall. He landed on his face, on the sidewalk. Knocked his right front tooth down and back. Cried hard...wouldn't you? Also bled for a bit. Not as long as you might expect though. Appetite is good. Mood is good. Mom and dad shaky.

I Have Something To Say

I talk a lot though most of my words are still unclear. I have opinions. I understand more than I can say. I explore everythig. I listen well, and I'm happy and excited. Sleeping is hard. Getting new teeth is hard. But I am happy and thoughtful.

He walks, he talks (sort of), he just gets better and better

Here we are again. Max is 14 months old. He began walking in earnest a couple weeks ago. He's a climber, having figured out that if he wants something up high he can push something shorter near where he wants to be and climb up. He chatters and dances and loves to be read to. He is long done with a bottle and formula. He eats lots of different stuff now and his biggest recurring problem now is teething. He throws an occasional tantrum when he doesn't want to go to bed or put on his coat (or other clothes), but all in all he's a super happy kid. Life is so much different than it was a year ago at this time. We're still stressed, but better rested and calmer. Thank God.

Here's an update shot of Max In The Tub from a couple weeks ago:



New sneakers! No new hair. Yet.



Grandma knitted him a sweater. It matches the sweater for the teddy bear she also knitted for him.



Max likes to play guitar.



'Uncle' Zito came over to visit. Here's Max telling Zito what's what.



And playing:



Kim and Todd and the kids are now all settled in their new hometown, Bern, Switzerland. Here are a couple shots from their going away party. We miss them a lot. Garn and Izzi and Auntie Karen:



Xavier and Uncle Steve



Garn, Max, and Andy with Xavier, Izzi, and Kim. Todd was already in Bern, missing his family terribly.



That's all, folks. Until next time...

I know what you're thinking...

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?

Max Kills And Eats Easter Bunny
"Nom," says Max.

In a startling development, Max appears to have tracked, killed, and eaten world-famous psychedelic fairy tale celebrity The Easter Bunny. Mr. The Bunny was busy making his rounds for Easter when he disappeared sometime in the early morning of Easter Sunday. Max "must have jumped him in the middle of the night," said local Maxpert Bug the Cat. Mr. The Bunny has not been heard from since.


The dye is actually a medication for a case of thrush. Let me tell you, that is not something you want if you can help it. Max has recently had a minor return of the thrush, but now seems to be kicking it, and currently has yet another cold, and still somehow he remains happy most of the time and gets funnier and better and bigger every single day. He started singing with me yesterday, stopping when I stopped and starting back up after me. He yells and squawks and grunts and likes to pet the cat (she barely tolerates it). He tries to crawl and tries to say things and sits in his exersaucer thing, rapt with its mirrors and spinning rattles. He can grab stuff reliably and puts everything in his mouth. Spring is happening and we're overdue for some picture updates.

After Easter we met with these characters, Max's cousins Izzi and Xavier:





That was a fun day. And then this last weekend Garn, Max and I went for our first bike ride together, with Max in his bike trailer.



He is very quiet and attentive in it, and only squawks if we stop too long.

And finally before I go to sleep a shot just to show how he looks these days, these amazing days.



Love,
Us