Happy Halloween!

Max loved his first Halloween, or maybe mom and dad just loved celebrating it with him. On Thursday evening we went with Nonna Carlotta to Boo at the Zoo. It was pretty fun. The weather was beautiful and Max always loves to be outside. There were little kids all over the place in costume. I think I saw 20 spider men. There were decorations all over too. Max took time out to pose for a pic or two. As you can see he was the cutest little monster ever! He even got to ride on the carousel. We thought he would like the cheetah best:) Max was happy until it started to move, then he seemed a bit concerned. After a few seconds he was okay with it, although I don't think he loved it. To be honest, neither did mom. I think next time I will sit and take pictures while dad goes for the ride.

Last night we had friends over and we sat on the porch with Max passing out candy. We were disappointed that there weren't more kids. I can't wait until next year, or maybe the year after, when we can take Max out. He did get to go see Grandma Mindy and Grandpa Jack earlier in the day to show off his costume. Then we made a trip to Nonna's house too.

After a fun filled night, Max had another busy day today. We had music class this afternoon. There have moved on to a new theme. The past few weeks have been all about latin music. I am not sure if the change is for the better. We are now onto divas. I had to walk around the room with my little man while dancing to Man, I Feel Like a Woman. I didn't know that Shania Twain qualified as a diva. . . I guess I will have to stick it out to see what type of music is next!

Seven Months Old

and a bit more. . . I feel like I am always just trying to keep up. Max turned seven months old this past Saturday. We continues to grow by leaps and bounds. No more teeth have appeared, I am hoping we are in the clear on that front for a bit. He has decided that he doesn't like peas and that he loves applesauce. It is so funny to watch his face when he tries new foods. We fed him peas out with Nonna and Nonno and he didn't like them at all. Nonno Mason said that Max has good taste.

I did take him to the doctor this past Monday. He had developed a crazy rash on his chest. He was also being super fussy, well at least he was being fussy for Max. Being the over protective, first time mom that I am I took him in. I thought maybe he was allergic to something because the rash seemed to come out of nowhere. Ends up our little man has eczema. The doctor said it tends to flare up when the weather turns cooler. I need to put lotion on him twice a day and cover the sore spots with hydrocortizone cream. It seems to be doing the trick. The rash has cleared up and he is back to being is happy little self.

Pumpkin Patch Fun

What a weekend! Today Max had his first pumpkin patch experience. Hard to believe that it is mid October looking at these pictures! The temp was nearly 80 today. This afternoon we met our friends Terry and Emily and their two girls Lily and Vivien at Rombachs pumpkin patch. It is a family run pumpkin patch with all kinds of fun things to do. While Max was too young for the swings and maze, he had fun being pushed around in his stroller. He was very perplexed by the grass when we sat him down for a couple pictures. He wouldn't look up, he was too busy playing with the grass that was tickling his legs. Overall it was a fun day and we even walked away with a great pumpkin.

Max had another fun first yesterday. Brian and I took him to Gymboree for their music class. We have been meaning to take him to a music class since our friend Jackie told us about a class she takes her son to in Kansas City. The only place that offers classes that we can take advantage of is Gymboree - they were the only ones with weekend classes. We took Max yesterday and he had a great time, at least I think he had a great time. Brian thinks it is a bit of a gimmick. They have super friendly teachers that get the babies to smile so that the parents think it is the best thing ever. I guess I am a sucker. I think we are going to sign Max up for a month long session. They focus on all different types of music. Yesterday was the first in a string of Latin song lessons. I can't wait for our next class!

Max's New Best Freind

Max has only been sharing the house with the pets since he came home, but I think he just discovered the cat. He loves grabbing him and squeals with delight every time Chewy walks by. I guess Chewy is a little softer than the dog and he is also right on Max's level. Whenever Max sees Chewy he throws his little body at him and grabs on with all his might. When he gets overcome with excitement he tries to take a big bite, but he quickly realizes that cat fur doesn't taste too good. So far Chewy has been a trooper. He just lays there for a while and lets Max go to town. After he has had enough he makes a smooth get away for a while. Thank goodness we have such an easy going cat!

Max continues to do well eating solids he now understands that he needs to close his mouth and swallow the goodies. Speaking of his mouth, there has been a lot of action going on in there. My little man has eight, yes I said eight, teeth! Five of them are completely visible and the other three are just through. One of his top ones looks so sore. I feel bad for him because I know it can't be fun. I have new empathy when he wakes up for a middle of the night nursing session. All of these teeth have thrown an kink in things and he is getting up once every night to eat. I know at this point he can make it through the night and he just wants me for comfort, but with all these crazy teeth I am willing to give it to him. He is growing up so quickly, am not ready to give up some things yet. Although I do have to admit that sleeping for eight hours straight was nice for a while there. I am sure he will be back to that point in a little while. Even though his mouth must hurt like crazy he continues to be a happy little guy. We are so lucky and we count our blessings every day!

Trip to the Pediatric Optometrist

Well Max had to go see his first specialist today. Over the last couple of months we have noticed what we believe to be an eye turning in a little bit. Since Sarah had eye issues when she was younger we decided to take him to an optometrist today. After being examined, he was diagnosed with Pseudostrabismus. Basically, it is a false turning of the eye. I have attached two links with some more information about it, but he will basically grow out of it by the time he is two.

http://www.drgreene.com/21_1163.html
http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/fh/mch/webcourse/vision/pseudostrabismus.cfm

In addition, during his visit they checked him for corrective lenses. He is far-sided at a pretty high prescription (+4.00). The doctor mentioned that the eyes will self correct some, but we have to go back in a few months and if it hasn't improved greatly, he will get some glasses. Failure to get him glasses could cause his eye to actually turn in. So it will be something that we will be watching closely.

Max's First Meal

Non-milk meal that is. . . Max had his first taste of solid food yesterday. We gave him a bit of rice cearal. He did a great job and seemed to really love it. He had the idea of opening his mouth to let the food in, but didn't quite get the whole closing the mouth part. He looked so cute in his big boy high chair. Nonna Carlotta came over to celebrate this momentous ocassion with us. Daddy video taped the whole thing. I feel like such a first time mom!

He also had his six month check up yesterday. He didn't gain very much, which has me a bit worried, but the doctor seemed to think it was okay. He now weighs 18 pounds 12 ounces. He was also 29 inches tall. He is still 95th perentile for height and close to 75th for weight. Since he is so tall he has officially graduated to his big boy car seat. He is too tall for his infant one! He looks so tiny in his big seat. I will have to get some pictures!

Happy Half Birthday to Max!

It is so hard to belive that six months ago I was just holding my little man for the first time! Time has just flown by! He has changed so much over the last six months, it is hard to belive he is the same little baby that I first saw. I get lost staring at his big blue eyes and I love how cute his little teeth are!

He has had quite the week. My poor little guy had his first fever on Sunday. Saturday night was the worst night we have had since he was a newborn. He was up from 2am until 6am! The poor guy just wouldn't sleep. I finally brought him into bed with us and he eventually dozed off. When he woke up he had a fever of 100.3. He was miserable! Nothing I could do would make him feel better. We gave him some baby tylenol and he seemed to do a little bit better. His fever was back a few hours later so he had a bit more baby tylenol. All in all it wasn't too awful for his first sickness, but I just felt so bad for him!

Since he had a fever on Sunday he couldn't go to daycare on Monday. We were very lucky that my mom was off, so she watched him all day so Brian and I could both go to work. By the time I picked Max up in the afternoon he was my happy little boy again. All smiles! He seems to be all better now. I did notice that a third tooth is working its way through his little gum, so I think that may have been the culprit.

As you can see from his picture Max is doing better at sitting up every day. He can sit unsupported for brief periods of time. He also likes to spin when he is on him belly. It is pretty funny to watch. He continues to push up on his hands when he is on his tummy and he gets his cute little tush in the air sometimes. Before I know it he will be scooting all over the place!

We have his six month check up on Saturday. I can't wait to see how much more he has grown. I think he is begninng to slow down a bit, but I do think we will find that it is time to move him to his big boy car seat! I guess we will have to put that on Daddy's to do list for this weekend!