All About Max at Four Months

Yes, I cannot believe it - my baby boy is already four months old! Max continues to grow and impress us everyday, and his smiles just melt my heart.

photo by Jamie Lindsey

Turning four months meant a trip to the doctor. Max weighed in at 15 pounds and 7 ounces - right at the 50% mark. He is measuring in at 24.5 inches, also at 50%. The doctor says that Max is doing great - so alert and responds well and very attentive. His only concern, which was our concern, is Max's flat head. The poor boy has a pretty bad flat area on the back/left side of his head. It was suggested that Max be fitted for a helmet to help his head reshape. Our appointment to get this going is not until November, but I will call every week to see if any cancellations have been made so we can get in sooner.

photo by Jamie Lindsey

So what has Max been up to? He loves to lay and watch his mobile, play on the play mat and sit in the Bumbo. He has even started to roll over. We missed his first roll - we were eating dinner and Pat just happened to look towards Max in the pack-n-play, and sure enough he was on his belly! But we have seen him roll now several times, and each time Max gets mad and wants to be turned back over to his back. Cousin Addie taught Max how to blow raspberries - well, at first we thought he was blowing raspberries. But after a few days we have decided that Max is just a typical boy and is not blowing raspberries but is making farting noises instead - what a boy! We have started to use the exersaucer and have now started to eat some cereal. Max loves the exersaucer, but is not much of a fan of rice cereal. I think we will try some sweet potatoes in the next week or two. But in the mean time, rice cereal it will be! Max has also moved out of the infant tub and into the big tub - giving a bath has been so much easier - and Mommy and Daddy have been able to stay much more dry!

The Big 3-0...part two

Pat is finally 30. I no longer have to hear about how I am in my 30s while he is in his 20s! I think he enjoyed his birthday - as it was filled with surprises.

His first 'surprise' he had pretty much figured out. His parents wanted to try to surprise him, but many clues were dropped that he had figured it out before they arrived. One clue was the two boxes of mac n cheese and two packages of kielbasa that had been purchased - yes, this is what Pat wanted for his birthday dinner. Also the overstating by his parents and Nana of 'we are just home by ourselves doing nothing' was another huge clue that something was up. Pat had also remembered Connie mentioning a job she had the week of his birthday in Indiana.

I think Pat's favorite surprise, which truly was a surprise, were his gifts from Leah, Max and me. Leah and Max 'designed' some new mouse pads for Pat for his two classrooms. I gave Pat a new nano iPod - I was even able to get his old one and recycled it for the new one, and he never knew it! His greatest surprise was his new Nike Sportband and running chip. Pat is really into this running thing, and I thought I would help keep him motivated. The chip will allow Pat to keep track of his distances, times, calories etc. My parents even contributed with some $$ for some new running shoes. Pat's parents sorted out hundreds of family photos and created a nice photo album of Pat throughout the past 30 years - Pat will enjoy sharing it with Leah and Max someday. We finished up the day with Pat's favorite dessert, homemade Cherry Cheesecake.Since Pat's parents were in town, we took advantage of going to dinner Friday night - just the two of us. We enjoyed the patio at PF Changs and then went to Bob Roncker's Running Spot for Pat's new shoes. Big mistake - Pat had to get up on the treadmill and run so that the sales guy could help him pick the best shoes for him. Pat did not enjoy doing this with a full tummy and jeans! But he picked out a nice new pair of Asics.

Saturday the family split up - Pat and his dad went golfing while Connie and I took the kids to breakfast and the zoo. At the zoo we met up with Jenny and Lily. The zoo was busy and the animals lazy. But the kiddos had a great time at the playground! For dinner we had delicious ribs and said goodnight with a trip to the 'yellow park' and with a few rounds of Dominoes.
I think Pat enjoyed turning the Big 3-0. Unfortunately I was running around crazy for most of the weekend that I was unable to get some pictures taken. So these will have to do!

The Big 3-0...part one!

While my family was in town visiting, we also celebrated Pat's birthday. Pat is going to be 30 on Wednesday! We celebrated in style by going to the 'blue park', Flub's, just hanging out, a delicious dinner at Montgomery Inn at the Boathouse and singing Happy Birthday while enjoying a DQ cake! It was great to have the ENTIRE family in town for a fabulous weekend! Presents were put on hold since my parents' gift to Pat would keep my gift from being a surprise. Stay tuned for the next post!

Team Betty

My whole family was in town for the weekend to participate in the Memory Walk in memory of my grandma, Betty Snow. The Memory Walk is sponsored by the Alzheimer's Association. The morning started of beautiful - perfect temperatures and sunny. But before we could finish, hurricane Hermine made his way into northern Cincinnati and we got drenched! But the weather did not dampen our day as we completed our walk and remembered what a great lady Betty was. Even Leah walked a part of the way - but soon she was placed back in the Sit-n-Stand - she was too pokey! We are already talking about walking again next year and I hope to be more organized. I had wanted to get t-shirts made, but I ran out of time. But next year I hope to have more family in town - and more donations!

Cheetah Run

Over Labor Day weekend, Pat and his friend Brad ran in the Cheetah Run down at the Cincinnati Zoo. It was Pat's first 5K - and I think he is hooked! We were all up very early Sunday morning to go down to cheer on daddy. It was hard to get pictures of Pat running - he was just way too fast :-) Pat did really well! He is looking forward to his next race!

First Day of School - Pat!

Pat finally started back to work. He has a busy day traveling to three buildings, but after the first week, he says he is happy to be back to work and back to a routine! With Pat going back to work it also meant it was time for early mornings for Leah and Max. The kiddos have adjusted pretty well to getting up so early in the morning. We have hoped that we would be able to get Max to the sitter's house before a bottle - we were 2 for 4 last week with that goal - not too bad. Leah has been pretty good about getting up so early. She has had her cranky moments, but who isn't cranky at 6am?

Hippa, Uncle Bub and Addison

Last weekend (well, two weekends ago) my dad, brother Christopher and niece Addison came to town for a visit. It was Addie's first trip to Cincinnati! We started the weekend off right with a delicious dinner of ribs and then headed out to the park (the yellow park, as Leah calls it, because the slides are yellow). Hippa had a great time with both of his girls - swinging and sliding. We finished the night with a yummy trip to Flub's - another first for Addie - and I think she liked it!

Saturday was Leah's last swimming lesson for the summer. Afterwards we went to breakfast and then I stayed home with the three munchkins while the boys went out to golf. It actually went pretty well - I had hope that all three would take a nap at the same time - but who was I kidding! I was able to have two of the three sleeping most of the time. And just before the boys came home, all were up from their naps.

We finished the evening by heading out to Germania Park for the annual Oktoberfest - another first for Addie and a first for Max. This was actually Leah's third Oktoberfest. What is great about Germania Park is that it is a park. The girls were able to swing and Leah played on the slides. The festival had rides and I actually gave in and let Leah ride one that seemed to be okay. Our favorite part of the evening of course was the Rat Game. Leah loved it - we gave her some quarters to do some betting. She always placed her bets on purple, which of course was 11-1 odds. She did not win. Another favorite - yummy food. We indulge in cream puffs, funnel cakes and ice cream - and washed it all down with cold Warsteiner beer! Leah and Hippa even enjoyed a little Polka!


Sunday morning we had our pancakes, relaxed and headed out to Ikea. Leah needed a few new 'puppies' since she is now back to the sitter. She loves her puppy, and we found it at Ikea. Hippa got Addie and Max new bulldogs too.
It was a great weekend and everyone is coming back to visit again this weekend. Can't wait!