Max's First Mother's Day

Mother’s Day at our house started out like many other Sunday mornings. Everyone slept in. Of course, by sleeping in I mean when Max wakes up we all get up. I think he made it to 6:30 or 7 o’clock before he was ready for breakfast. I took the dogs out while Shannon fed the baby. He was happy and “talkative” as usual.

I came back in from walking Owen and Foxxy and went in to Max’s room to see how the morning was progressing. Shannon had the baby up on the changing table and was putting on a clean diaper. Swapping clean diapers for dirty ones is getting more tricky as the boy gets bigger. You still have to be ready for a possible “little geyser”, but now he has added kicking legs and twisting to the mix. Sometimes I feel like a ranch hand trying to brand a steer when I change his diapers.

After the diaper change, Max gave his Mom a nice Mother's day card and then had his picture taken with her. We played for a little while and then he slept in his swing. While he was napping I made a big breakfast for Shannon and my Mom. Grampie and GiGi came over after church to eat and spend the afternoon with us.

We all sat down to eat at the kitchen table. (The baby actually sits ON the table in his little Bumbo Seat) We had eggs, bacon, potatoes, biscuits and gravy. Max was apparently hungry, too. He had a bottle, a full jar of carrots and then a bowl of cereal. Wow! The whole time I was thinking “this is going to be bad when it comes out the other end”.

Later that day, Mom, Dad, Max, Foxxy and Owen took a short siesta.

All in all it was a very nice way to spend a Sunday.

It's a big exciting world ...

Before we had Max I hadn’t really spent much time with babies. Sure I have been around children, but not for any extended period of time. I have casually observed the offspring of friends and relatives grow from newborns into tiny people. This is different. Who knew they were so fascinating? I feel like one of those guys on National Geographic or The Discovery Channel -just quietly observing Max in his natural habitat.

Now that Max’s neck muscles are getting strong enough to support that “coconut” of his, he wants to look at everything. In his chair, in his swing or on the floor his head is on a swivel. The slightest noise and he swings around to see what he is missing.

I particularly like it when he is close enough to grab something. He will hold it just inches from his face and study it very intently. His little brow is furrowed as if he is trying to figure out how it is made. He will twist and pull it. He will shake it and bang it on the floor. When he is satisfied with the quality of workmanship he promptly pops it in his mouth for the taste and moisture test.

Smiling and proud of his new discovery he will hold it up and look at me as if to say, “Have you ever seen anything like this before?” “Why yes, son,” I think, “I have seen one of those before. It is called a drink coaster. Your mother would like it very much if that was under my glass of sweet tea instead of in your mouth.”

I enjoy being a Dad and showing my young son the planet. As he grows I will introduce him to the world as I know it (except soccer). I am going to continue to watch Jeopardy every night so that I will be prepared to answer the inevitable questions that are sure follow.

All Boys!

April has been a fun filled month at our house. Max enjoyed meeting his Auntie Carole and his cousins Aaron and Meier early in the month and his Auntie Suzanne and his cousins Cole and Nate later in the month. His little face would just beam at his new found friends any time they came near him. And I think the boys liked having a baby cousin in their midst. Aaron said he wanted to teach him to spit, but we told him he might not be ready for that just yet. Although now that he has his first tooth coming in, it probably won't be long!

We thought he might be starting to get a tooth but with dreaded ear infections, it was hard to tell. But sure enough, we started to feel a little bump this past weekend and yesterday it felt like he had a splinter coming out of his gum. He's very proud, biting everything that even comes near his mouth at this point.

He has really enjoyed trying some vegetables this month, too. So far, he's had green beans, squash, peas, and carrots. He likes them all as far as we can tell. We've been trying to teach him a few table manners and not let him put his hands in his food. He frequently looks just like a baby bird sitting in his seat, leaning forward over the lap tray, arms stretched out to the side like wings, and mouth wide open waiting for us to drop in the good stuff.

We sure are enjoying this stage of parenting. We can't wait to come home from work during the week and so look forward to the weekends when we can all be together. Life is good at the Minninger house.

4 Month Stats

I just had my 4 month check up and I'm a growing boy! I weighed in at 15 pounds and 13 ounces and am 27 inches long. That's in the 80th percentile for weight and 95 percentile for height. And my doctor said I was big enough to start having some cereal, which I think I'm really going to like! I had a little trouble with the whole "spoon" thing but I'm sure I will have the hang of it in no time.

I Confess!

Well, Dan is out of town this week so I'll make an attempt to post something myself. I might as well tell on myself before Dan can rat me out anyway.

We went to view Max's 3 month photographs at Irwin Photography last week. Dan and I were both really excited about seeing the first professional photographs taken of our baby boy but I guess I hadn't prepared myself for the full experience. Connie, the photographer, has a beautiful studio very well equipped with the latest technology. So, she sat us down in a viewing room, dimmed the lights, put on the pretty music and projected the sweetest photos I've ever seen! Before I knew it, the tears were flowing. Those of you who know me know I've always been easily brought to tears. Maybe I'm just overly sensitive. Maybe I'm still a little hormonal. Maybe I'm a little stressed with Max being sick and requiring breathing treatments. Or maybe I'm just still completely overwhelmed at how much I love this little boy and seeing such amazing images of him is more than I can bear without a little release! Whatever the reason, I wear my bloodshot eyes and tear streaked face with pride. (And maybe it was just a spec of dust, but I think Dan may have had a little something in his eyes, too!)

There are a couple of other photos posted of Max under the "Worth the Wait" post at www.irwinphotography.blogspot.com.

Do babies really like this stuff?

I am upstairs in the office uploading lullabys and singalongs to iTunes. So far I have input the CD’s “Lullaby Classics” and “Playdate Fun” from Baby Einstein and “Loving Lullabies: 15 Christian Instrumentals” from Cedermont Baby.

“Why on earth are you doing that?” you may ask. I am doing it for two reasons. First, because there is a lot of research that says childrens brains are stimulated by music. Max has an iPod player in his bedroom and I want to fill it with soothing, happy songs. Second, because I do not remember any children songs and I have failed miserably at singing to my son.

Max is becoming very aware of his surroundings. He watches everything and likes to “talk” and interact with people. When you talk and sing to him he becomes very animated. He smiles and coos and kicks his legs. “Great” I thought “I’ll sing him some kiddy songs”.

So I start the first verse of “I’m a Little Teapot”. Now picture this in your head. Max is laying on a blanket on the floor looking up at me. I begin the song “I’m a little teapot, short and stout…” I am doing the arm motions and everything. I get to “here is my handle, here is my spout” and forget the rest. Of course, Max is a baby and he could care less that I am singing “something, something, something, blah, blah, blah”

At that very moment I could hardly remember the words to any song, let alone, one appropriate to sing to my baby boy. I wasn’t sure how to proceed. I can just imagine the look on Shannon’s face if she heard me singing “Breaking the Law” by Judas Priest to my impressionable son. I fumbled through the song and entertained Max for the next few minutes. I vowed to be more prepared for my next performance.

So here I sit learning the words to “Itsy Bitsy Spider” and “Pop goes the Weasel”. This kids stuff is okay. I am determined to work in The Beatles, Stones and maybe some Led Zeppelin too.

A baby can fall asleep listening to U2’s “Joshua Tree” right?

Max in his Lazyboy!