Our Max

It has been 4 months since I last blogged about Max and our adventures as parents. It hasn't been easy, but it has been the most rewarding experience of our lives. Max brings so much joy to our lives each and every day; I wish the same could be said about how he makes us feel at night {a girl can dream} :). 

In the past 4 months Max has learned so many new things. He says dada, dede, ba, baba, and a few other babbling sounds. He started clapping in September, crawling backward in October, crawling forward in November and holding himself up in December. He loves to wave, give high-five, blow kisses, click his tongue, touch his hair when you ask him where his hair is, play peek-a-boo, and making the Indian call (tapping his mouth with his little hand) which he learned to do between Thanksgiving and his birthday last week. His motor skills are developing well. He is picking up his food by pinching it and can feed himself, his grip is strong and he just recently started pointing at things. Max loves to eat! He especially loves potatoes, sweet or not, avocado, chicken, hummus, cheerios, Annie's cheddar mix, and bananas, but he really eats just about anything. Anthony and I eagerly waited for Max to get some teeth, partly because he was in so much pain and continues to be, but mainly because we miss our sleep. He got his first tooth (bottom) in early November and shortly after he got his second tooth. 

Teething is awful! Max had just started sleeping throughout the night when all of a sudden he started teething. He gained teeth and we lost sleep. It is miserable at times. No living person should ever see the dreadful numbers we have seen on our alarm clock. Of course it was more difficult at first; I have learned to become a zombie at night. There are mornings when I wake up in my bed with Max in my arms and wonder how it all happened. Max has not been a good sleeper. He is one and still wakes up in the middle of the night. I have gotten great cuddle time, but sometimes I need my SLEEP! (Can you tell we miss our sleep?) And I know some of you are thinking "what about Anthony?" Hummm...yeah what about Anthony? haha. I am kidding, Anthony is such a huge help. He gets up and gets bottles ready, but the bottom line is he is not Mama. Max has major 'mamitis,' it's a Spanish word meaning 'I want my mom and I want her now!!" The boy loves his mama...can you blame him? ;) Don't take me wrong, Max loves his Papa, but Papa apparently doesn't cuddle like Mama. 

Our favorite things about Max are his smile and eyes. Max's smile is special, it speaks to you, it says "I love you" and "I am thankful for you." We have had people of all ages tell us how wonderful his smile is to see and how they want to smile because of his smile. His eyes and the way he looks at people is tender and understanding. It is the strangest thing, but his eyes show compassion and love. It's almost as if he understands the love, pain, joy, sorrow people are feeling. Our Max is such a special boy. 

Since having Max (6 and 1/2 months) we have learned so many new things about ourselves. Parenting truly makes you more selfless. I feel it is the closest I have ever come to understanding Christ love for me. Parenting is hard, it is beautiful, but hard! You have to give your self LOTS of grace. 

One of the very first times he rode on the BOB

Look How much he has grown in just a few months!

His two little teeth

Getting ready to go one his very first ride.