Happy FIRST Birthday Max!!

I cannot believe it has been a WHOLE year!! Seriously, where does the time go?

Here we were that morning, Ready to get Started!

The Calm Before the Storm!! (for many reasons)

Max One Year Ago TODAY!!

We are so blessed to have our sweet baby boy. This has been such an amazing year of firsts and we still have SO many more to come. Max has FINALLY started showing some interest in standing. He'll get on his knees and with a little help he'll go through the motions and actually stand! I have to say, he does not enjoy standing, so I think we still have time before he actually takes a step or stands unassisted. He still army crawls everywhere. We have him pretty contained but once he sees an opening, he goes FAST. It's hystercial to watch him crawl, which looks more like a wiggle, really fast to try to get to a "no zone" (as we like to call them) before being stopped by one of his mean ole parents.

Riding his Birthday Present

He has this new pout of sorts. It started at the hospital last month. He kinda puckers up like he's about to kiss you when showing his disappointment. He does it sometimes when he teasing you. It's SOOOO cute! Speaking of kisses, we've been working on blowing kisses. So far, he'll only go as far as to place his hand over his mouth - he hasn't actually conquered the "blowing" part. Last night, we were giving each other five. He loves to clap or slap hands. It always makes him giggle. I love when we lay together and he holds my hand. He'll giggle sometimes and it just warms my heart. His new favorite song with hand motions is the Itsy, Bitsy Spider. Max particularly loves when the rain comes down and washes the spider out. One of his new favorite past times is to get on his knees and change the channel on the television or turn on the dvd player, especially when Kelly is watching something. He absolutely LOVES babies and little kids. We've gone on a few play dates and all he wants to do is hold the baby's hand or pat the baby on the head (or pull their hair and grab their faces - whoops! We're working on gentle too.) A few weeks ago, we went to the park to swing and he really enjoyed it. He would just scream and squeal in delight when swinging towards me. His smile is so infectious and his little laugh is enough to bring a smile to anyone's face! He's definitely discovered pitch! Now, he not only "talks" and squeals, he does so at different volumes and in different frequencies! He has this new really high pitched scream. It's provided lots of entertainment!

This doesn't fully capture the new pout, but you get the idea

Max is still such a happy baby. Lately, he's been a little under the weather but even when he's sick he's just an angel. (Poor guy is actually sick on his birthday and went to the DOCTOR!! Luckily he's young enough he doesn't realize the bad timing of his illness.) He just sucks his thumb and snuggles with his mom or dad. I hate that he's been feeling bad but have really enjoyed all the extra LOVIN'. Sleeping is still one of his favorite past times. He goes to bed about 8:30 at night and wakes up about 7:30 or 8:00. He still takes 2 really good naps around 10:30 and 2:30 (Sometimes he'll sneak in a cat nap around 5:00 - he's definitely my child). As far as eating, he really only wants to eat food he can feed himself. We've started branching out to big boy foods and look forward to adding more dairy to our diet. He LOVES turkey and the lunchable jr.s are a real favorite. As far as clothes and size, he is wearing 18 months and moving into more 24 month clothes. He isn't really gaining more weight, but it seems as though he continues to grow taller which makes some of the 18 month clothes too short. We go to the dr. Thursday, so I'll have stats then.

Max and his weird sleep positions

His party is this weekend. We can't wait and will have more pictures soon!! All and all this has been the most amazing year of my life. A year ago today, I had no idea what mother had in store, but I've loved EVERY moment. We are so blessed that I'm able to work from home and spend my days with him. It's just been amazing to be here for every milestone! I love spending my days with him and look forward to what this year will bring.

Happy Birthday Sweet Angel Bear!!