WEEEeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!

Max got to swing for the first time a couple of weeks ago. Hard to believe that we hadn't tried it before then but those swings seem so big in comparison to his little body. He loves it! Watching him smile on the way up and down is so wonderful. I remember loving the swing as a kid - especially when you'd get the underdog. That is still a bit far in Max's horizon but something for all of us to look forward to. Of course, my eyes will probably be closed the first time it happens...



How nasty is this seat with all the cracks in it. I lined it with a burp cloth but it still seems kind of sketchy. Not nearly as hazardous as the 1960s teeter-totter. No kidding the park up the street has an honest to goodness teeter-totter that is as rickety as these swings and nothing but beauty bark to cushion your fall in an equipment failure scenario. Good stuff.



Though you can't see it in these early shots, our little fella is quite the daredevil. He doesn't even hold on any more with his hands. My heart leaps a bit but it's not like he's going to slip out. Still, I wish he'd use that kung fu death grip for something other than grabbing my lip and hair. =)

I Like to Move It, Move It!

It's official. The boy's on the move. He thought about it for a long time but he was so excited about the sitting that he just wanted to savour that triumph before moving on. Now he's moved on and he is off like a shot!

He had a hard time figuring out what to do with that extra leg. On Thursday he developed a work around where he sort of dragged the remaining leg at a slight angle - see below.


How do I get to the train?


That'll work.


Now back the other way.

So far the train that both spits and poops balls and the cat's tail are the strongest motivators for movement. (In case you are wondering what sort of new fangled toy the cat's tail is...it really is Lyle's tail and he is none to keen on having it grabbed.)

On Friday Max figured out the leg thing. He was at work with me and he just scootched then crawled across the room and started pounding on the door. I guess he was ready to go. He's been moving since then and it's a whole new ball game.

This morning I left him in the living room while I went to get his food and fully expected him to try to follow me as per usual. NO. He decided to go for the dog's water dish and got there in less than one minute. I heard a huge bang and some squeals of delight. When I got in the living room, I found our little Max with the water dish that he'd dumped on himself. He was so happy!


Checking out the tree at work.

That joy continued all day. He was just smiling, giggling and laughing all day long. Moving from place to place and exploring all these cool new things. He had a ball and can't seem to get enough of that crawling.



Concentrating so hard but loving every minute!

Looks like we'll spend our weekend babyproofing. GO MAX!


What a sweet face.

"You Wouldn't Like Me When I'm Angry"

So, the other day I dressed Max in those handy snap t-shirts you get for newborns being as I could easily dress him in said t-shirts without having to lay him down. Well, faster than you can say Lou Ferrigno, that t-shirt was torn off and hanging. See below.



Seriously, look at those pecs...

On a side note, remember that rumor in Junior High about how Lou Ferrigno died of a heart attack while pumping iron. NOT TRUE. I just found that out. Where have I been? Not only is that rumor not true, but Lou has been the voice of the Incredible Hulk in both the Ang Lee bomb and the more recent Edward Norton version of said Hulk.

This is the first in a series of back logged posts. I hope to catch up in the next two weeks. They will be sprinkled between current posts like so much funfetti on a day old celebratory cupcake.

CRAZY HAIR, crazy hair

Our little Max is starting to have the craziest hair! His growth pattern has a natural mohawk, which is pretty funny and then it's so fine and straight that it sticks up all crazy almost the whole day through.



I try to tame it from time to time with a little Burt's Bees apricot oil and that works for about 3 hours. Then *poof* back to crazy.

Looking at the man in the mirror...


Max has just about always loved the mirror. He thinks the "hallway baby" is quite funny and loves to say hello to him. Lately, it seems that he's grasping more and more about the mirror. He definitely knows it's Dan and I in the mirror but it's hard to tell if he's starting to understand that the baby in the mirror is himself. It might just be that he's more coordinated and can get into more animated conversations with the baby in the mirror. Either way, it's pretty fun to watch.

Sweet Dreams

Rub-A-Dub-Dub

Two men in a tub...Bathtime is pretty goofy 'round our house. Dan gives Max most of his baths and Max just loves it! Dan makes up a new bath song for Max every night and it always cracks me up.



Lately, I've been so relieved that Dan takes on most of the bath duty because there have been several happenings. A few nights ago there was a "What's Grosser than Gross?" moment. As a side, for those of you who don't know me particularly well, I've never been that great about body fluids and having a baby has DEFINITELY resulted in some personal growth in that area. I think you know where this is leading, but let me be abundantly clear. I'm in the kitchen and hear an abrupt pause in the bath song which is quicly followed by a what's that in the tub? You guessed - bath time was over. Our little one left a little turtle in the tub.



A comparison shot from December.

Secondly, I SWEAR, the little guy is trying to drown himself. Either that or he's starting in early on his training to swim the English Channel. Suddenly, he'll go all limp and then woosh he swings himself outward and down in the tub. I hope he passes through this phase soon because he is one slippery fish and not so little either.



Post-bath Dance Party. You can see how red his sniffles have made his nose.

Max and I had a quick visit with the doctor today - checkin' on his ears and lovely runny nose. Picture of health but might be getting a virus was the verdict. Of course, that is not the noteworthy news...Max is 19 and a 1/2 pounds! He's getting so big. I know there are a lot of babies that are bigger at 9 months BUT they didn't start out at 5 pounds 11 oz. He's almost quadrupled his weight. It's so amazing. It'll be interesting to see what happens with his weight once he really starts to move. Will he lose his Buddha belly?



(Pictured here with Auntie Sarah)

Cover Girls

Aren't we all the bees knees? From left to right, top to bottom: Alice, Cecily, Judy, Barb, Max, Annis and Cheryl. This picture was taken on the trip out west. We had such a great visit. It was wonderful to see everyone and get caught up AND Alice baked something fantabulous as per usual. Chocolate Chipotle Cupcakes. A little kiss of chocolate and little kick of pepper. Perfect.

The Maestro, Gerry Gaxiola, "branded" all of us former AAMC gals with his "cross over M" brand and stuck us on the cover of our very own special edition Mills Quarterly. Max was branded, too and on both sides of his onesie. As for the brand, it is registored with the state as Maestro's brand. It represents his belief that art is a religion not a business.

For those of you who haven't met the Maestro he's married to my dear friend Alice and he's an artist, who is pretty interesting to talk with and always has something new in the hopper. You should take a moment to check out his stuff. He's pretty amazing and wicked talented. Visit his blog: http://www.maestrogaxiola.com . You'll see lots of cool stuff. Gerry has a bunch of cool covers that he's done with the branding concept. I don't think they are on the blog now but will be later this year.

First in Flight

You may be thinking that we headed to North Carolina but NO. Max took his first plane ride and it was a looooooooong one. He exceeded all expectations and was a real champ. A traveling pro!

There were three of us headed for Oakland, California on July 3rd for Janet and Jeff's wedding (July 5). Max, Barb and Max's Auntie Sarah, who was such a good sport to sign on for this journey.



We were a little nervous about how it would go but everything fell into place and we made it. Max made not a peep the whole trip. He did a little singing but it was definitely a happy noise and not so loud. Max thinks Sarah is the greatest because she lets him pull her hair and grab her nose and all sorts of fun things.

We had a several hour lay over in Seattle and both my mom and brother were able to come visit. It was great to see them and Max finally got to meet his Uncle Jefferson! Thanks for coming out Mom and Jeff.



Max meets his Uncle Jeff, who has a very cool toy with pictures of fish. Of course, Max was just as interested in tasting the phone as looking at it.




Here are some pictures of Max on the flight home.




He loved looking out the window and banging on it. He was quite a bit more lively on the trip home and let out a few shrieks. They were good-natured shrieks but shrill nonetheless. I'm sure the gal in front of us was thrilled to be wedged between Falsetto Max behind her and the crying baby girl next to her.



Asleep at last...

Happy 4th of July!

It's a bit late but we'd like to wish you a Happy 4th! I may not be big on the flag waving but I am amazingly GRATEFUL to live in this wonderful nation. I cannot imagine a greater gift than life itself and to be loved than we have living in the United States of America. It's not perfect and we have challenges but it's a pretty amazing place and I feel so blessed this is our country.

We have the most amazing opportunities just being born here. It's easy to forget how much we have because it's all so close at hand. We can walk the streets and live in our homes with relative safety. We have food, plenty of clean running water, electricity 24 hours a day, the ability to criticize our government and its policies, the ability to elect our government, the freedom to worship or not as we choose to name just a few.

We have challenges to meet as a society. Being aware of the suffering and imperfection around us is important as is working to create a just and nurturing community for ourselves, our families and our neighbors. It's part of our responsibility as citizens. Indeed it is a privilege to choose our own path. So, to our founding mothers and fathers and the generations to follow us, thank you for creating this nation. May we continue to live up to the ideals you set forth. Ideals which have not always been achieved even in the days of the revolution and the writing of the constitution. Still generations before us have strived to uphold them. Though our actions may at times be imperfect, that which we pursue is honorable.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

The power of these words echoes still and genuinely stirs my heart. Imagine the courage to write them and read them in public. Amazing.

SHAZAM BUTT

I love this picture of Max and Dan. Brings new meaning to the phrase, "Thunder Pants". Before you say it, yes, I know that it's really lightening on his pants but lightening and thunder are pretty closely related...

If you look closely you can see that this picture has 3 generations of Zander Fellas. Robert is in the front yard waving at Max and Dan in the window.


Dan loves to play with his Incredibles doll from Auntie Fari. It's hilarious to watch him with the doll. His whole face lights up when he see the doll. He'll try to take the pacifier and put it in his mouth and when the doll talks, Max will talk back. He's even started doing his hair like his doll. Free to Be, You and Me...anyone?


Early morning games with Grandpa Z. Cat made this blanket for Max and it's so awesome. I might even try to make one some day. Yeah right, and monkeys might fly out my...But I can think I might make a crafty blanket one day. Suspension of disbelief is an important skill.


Hoover at rest for the evening.

Now a little snippet from the Writer's Almanac, It was on this day in 1858 that a paper by Charles Darwin about his theory of evolution was first presented to a public audience....He was reluctant to publish his ideas, though, because he didn't want to create a controversy by offending anyone's religious beliefs. Atheism was a crime punishable by prison at the time, and Darwin feared that people would object to the idea that God hadn't created each creature individually. When he finally told one of his friends about his theory of evolution, he said it was like confessing a murder.

But then, in 1851, his oldest and favorite daughter, Annie, died of typhoid, and suddenly Darwin began to worry about the future of all his children. He was terrified that they would all have health problems and that they might not be able to provide for themselves. So, to help assure his children's well-being, Darwin began writing a book about evolution, which he hoped would become a scientific classic.

It's always amazing to me to see how much society can change in a short period of time.

Signing off and wishing you all a good day! Be well, do good work and keep in touch.