39 Weeks Old

And, yes, he is standing up holding that big toy up, not leaning on it! :)

Well, Max has been a busy boy getting into everything this week...what's new, right? Every day when I pick him up from daycare, they tell me how he is just into everything, specifically the diapers...pulling them out and throwing them everywhere. You would think that they could put them up higher where he can't reach them, but if they want to continually pick up after him, that's their business. This week has been a little rough in the evenings. He has not been going down for an afternoon nap at daycare. This means that around 5:00-5:30, he passes out at home for about an hour or an hour and a half. Then, he is just a bear and doesn't want to eat or do anything. I begged them to do whatever they could to get him down for an afternoon nap. I think he is just so busy there that he doesn't want to slow down or miss anything. We have no trouble with him taking naps on the weekends. By the time Thursday came around, they were able to get him to sleep for about 40 minutes in the afternoon...that's enough for us! We'll take every little bit we can get! On Friday, Max stayed home with Mommy. We were all fine, he had his 9 month check up as well as his 9 month pictures and I just decided to take off work rather than running back and forth all day. We even got to have lunch with a friend from our Bradley Class. Emily and her daughter Ava joined me and Max at Olive Garden. It was so nice to visit with them and we can't wait to play again sometime soon!

Max is getting so big so fast. He is now 28 1/2 inches long and weighs 18 pounds 6 ounces. He is such a big boy. He has been pulling himself up on things for awhile now, but he is starting to stand on his own, and balancing longer and longer each day. One of his favorite things to do is stand up in the bathtub, get really excited and start flapping his arms, then make himself fall down and make a big splash! He LOVES splashing in the tub. He will take the wash rag and wave it around, making sure to get all of the floor and Mommy wet. But, he's having fun and when he laughs and smiles at me, I just can't make him stop. He's already got me wrapped around his little finger...lord help us all!

Here is a little video of Max dancing at his table. I laugh at him every day. He just makes the music go and rocks out!

My cute little man at breakfast one morning!

Dancing in his pirate jammies!

Looks like he's posing for a body builder contest!

Look at me...I'm so buff!

And then he turns on the charm!

Precious parts

Having so much fun!

Buried in toys!

The smile that melts my heart!

Instead of "SO BIG!", we're teaching him "TOUCHDOWN!"

This is how he starts to stand up

He's getting better with the sippy cup...a little practice each day!

First he gets one leg up...

...then both feet are on the floor...

...and he's standing!

Remnants of his photo shoot...can't wait to see the proofs on Tuesday!

Playing with Daddy's cup was so much fun!

38 Weeks Old

Such a cool dude with drool all over his shirt!

Gosh...looking at last weeks pictures, it seems like Max has grown soooo much! I got over my sickness and not a moment too soon because Eric had to leave for Chicago on Sunday afternoon. I guess I was still tired and weak cuz I cried like a little baby when he left. He was going to be gone until Thursday night and I was just praying that Max wasn't going to get sick with whatever I had. After him being sick in June and me missing a week of work and then me being out last week sick, I couldn't afford any more time off. But, we are all healthy and happy here in the Wilbanks household this week!

Things were pretty routine for Max and I while Eric was gone. One that I did discover was that when Max wakes up crying at night, if you just let him cry for a few minutes, he'll go back to sleep. This happened because he would always wake up right as I was washing my face or brushing my teeth or getting out of the shower and trying to get dressed. After a few times, I decided do a little experimenting with this new found information. Max usually wakes up around 11pm and then around 2 or 3 am. I decided that the first time he woke up that I wasn't going to go in there and see how long it would take for him to go to sleep. Well, it only took a few minutes. Then, when he would wake up around 3, I got up and gave him a bottle and changed his diaper. Sometimes, he would cry again around 6:30, but I just let him cry for a few minutes and back to dream land he went. I know that we could have done this a long time ago and had a baby sleeping through the night by now, but as a first time mommy, it is hard not to go running in there to soothe him. Guess I'm just really tired now and I know that he doesn't need to eat twice during the night. Last night was the best. He went down a little after 7:00 and didn't wake up until 5:30 this morning...I gave him a small bottle and he went back to sleep until 8:00. So, I think we are on the right track and it is a good thing for all of us.

Eric was able to come home a day early from Chicago and I was so excited. It wasn't bad taking care of Max by myself, I just wasn't able to sleep very well at night. I don't know why, but this time, I just got so scared and my mind would just constantly be thinking about what would I do if someone were to break in and I couldn't stop thinking about it. Now I understand why, when I was younger, our neighbor would always ask if I could come and spend the night with her when her husband was working nights. I think it would just have been nice to have someone else in the house. Oh-well. We made it through and Eric said that as soon as we went to bed on Wednesday night I was snoring. I slept good that night! So, the thrush is gone, we are still at 6 teeth and he hasn't taken any independent steps yet. He will go across the living room behind his push walker pretty fast and I think it is going to be any day now that he takes a few steps on his own. I was really impressed on Wednesday, he stood up for the longest on his own than he ever had before. In fact, he was standing, bent over to pick up a bottle and straightened back up without falling down. He is really trying to balance and learning how to counter his weight when he starts to fall. It is amazing to watch him get more and more brave. I'm sure he'll be walking just in time for our Texas trip and it will be impossible to keep up with him, but that's what Grandma and Papa are there for! :) Max has his 9 month checkup next Friday, so we'll see just how much he has grown...I know it's a lot! And don't be stingy with those comments...you need to leave messages for Mighty Max to look back on and read! Have a great weekend!

He is so tall!

Mr. Drooly

A good picture of those top teeth!

One of the times that he was standing up, I was able to snap a picture

Daddy put me in a box...

...and I didn't think it was too much fun.

Still putting everything in his mouth

Being silly with Daddy

Such a cute little boy

Holding on with just one hand

Took me forever just to get him to look over at me

37 Weeks Old

Last weekend was AWESOME! We just stayed at home and relaxed. It was so nice not to have to be anywhere and to get all of the chores around the house done so we could start the week of right! This week has been another crazy week. It started out okay on Monday. We all got up and went off to school and work and put in a full day. I did the grocery shopping and picked up Max in the afternoon and we came home and just hung out until Daddy got home. Later that evening, I started to feel kinda sick to my stomach. I was up most of the night not feeling well and when I got up on Tuesday and took a shower, thinking it would make me feel better (because that's what mom always said), I felt worse. I got Eric and Max out the door, called into work and went back to bed. I don't think I got out of bed until noon. That night, when the boys got home, I still wasn't feeling well and wasn't able to keep anything down all day, so Eric took me to the after hours clinic. She said it was just a virus and I would be out of commission for a few days. So, Wednesday was another day at home and another day of not being able to eat anything. Thursday, I woke up still puking. It was not pretty. Max had an allergist appointment that day and when I called to see if we could reschedule, they said it would be late September before they could get him in. So, we kept the appointment and I mustered up the energy to get there. It was a good appointment. They did some tests and he had a reaction to egg and peanut. The doc said that doesn't necessarily means that he is going to be allergic to those things, but we will go back in January and they will do a food challenge to see where we are. For now, we will avoid those things. I got in to see my doctor that afternoon. I was down 6 pounds from when I had been there on Tuesday. Basically, she said that I wasn't going to get any better until I could get some food in me. She gave me some medicine to help me not feel sick so that I could eat something. She wanted to give me a shot in the office, but I had driven myself and I had taken this medicine before and it knocked me out pretty quickly. So, they called it in and I picked it up from the pharmacy on my way home. I got home and got Eric all settled and only took half a pill. I fell asleep and my mom called and woke me up. Then I was awake, so I came downstairs and spent some time with Max and Eric. I told Eric that if he gave Max a bath, I would give him his bottle on the couch. It was so funny how that medicine started to make me feel. It was like I was so drunk. Max kept getting heavier and I felt like we were sinking through the couch. I can't remember what we were watching, but I just kept laughing at everything. Eric put Max to bed and I soon followed. I was able to get 2 small bowls of rice down that night. Friday morning was still pretty rough...I was having a really hard time getting up and down these damned stairs, so I stayed put and decided to get some rest. I think that is what I needed. I tried to clean up in the kitchen some in the middle of the day and I couldn't do much before I was exhausted. But, today I finally feel that I have returned to the land of the living human beings. Max woke up around 6 this morning and I got up with him, thinking he was gonna go back to sleep after a bottle. Nope, he wanted to play, so we came downstairs for about an hour and a half and then he started fading. After another little bottle, he was out and we went back to bed. Eric got up around 9 to mow the lawn and when he was done, Max and I were still sleeping. That boy slept until almost 11:00 this morning. I think it did me good to sleep in as well. I didn't feel that great when I first got up but after a shower I started to feel better. We even went over to some friends' house today. Eric helped move some furniture around and we just visited for awhile. Eric leaves for Chicago tomorrow and won't be back until Thursday. So, thankfully, I'm feeling better and I hope that I continue on the wellness track so that I can take care of Max by myself this week!

Our little man is getting so big! He is over 18 pounds now. Every day he is trying more and more to balance on his own, letting go of our hands or his table, whatever he has a hold on. He got a big box of toys in the mail from Aunt Mary this week and his eyes just lit up when he got home. He wasted no time in dragging them all out across the living room floor. The most exciting news this week is that the thrush is FINALLY gone!!!! Max will be able to get all of his toys back. I still need to figure out how to clean his soft toys, but he has two ice cream buckets full of toys that I know he will be happy to see again. It has been a long fight with it and I hope we don't ever get it back again! Our next challenge is going to be getting him to drink from a sippy cup.  He does alright with it, depending on his mood, but I think he just has to get used to the flow of it. We'll see. Enjoy the pictures!

He loves to go and look out the front window

My cute little man...he is getting so big!

Go, go, going...he doesn't stop for much these days!

Chewing on the book

My sweet little angel

Busy Bee!

He just got finished dragging all of those toys out of the toy bin...he's very happy with himself

Looks like he's up to no good in this picture

What? I'm chewing on my remote!

I just thought this picture was so cute!

He loves chewing on our iphones too!

Everything goes in his mouth...take something away and he finds something else!

Our feet picture!

I think he just spotted a cat...this look is usually followed by an amazing laugh and bouncing up and down

Max Gets Around!

A big day for Mighty Max...

36 Weeks Old

 

Not much to report this week. Since I was so late on last week's post, I feel like it's only been a few days since I've done this. I had to go out of town on my first overnight away from Max. It was hard to be away and not to see him, but the trip went by pretty quickly and it was good to get home and spend time with my boys. He still has thrush, we've started our 5th bottle of medicine. I am very upset about this, but I don't really know what else to do. He is starting to climb over things and trying to balance. It is amazing to see how much he is growing and learning new things. Not many pictures this week, but we will be more on top of things in the future. Have a wonderful week!

Chewing on the handles is more fun than actually drinking.

We are constantly fighting the 'get away from the TV' battle

A good shot of his two top teeth

Berkley!

Hangin' with Daddy

He loves Simon and is getting really quick at grabbing his tail as he walks by

Just like Daddy...hooked on the iphone

Daddy...you better give me that remote!

Victory...until he lost his balance!

After dinner time on Daddy's shoulders

Such a cutie...iphone picture, so it's not the best, but he is adorable!