Stho.... I went to the dentistht...

Stho... I had to go get a filling this morning (second cavity in 31 years!) and talking with half my mouth numbed had both Ben and me in stitches. Enjoy. :-)

http://youtu.be/mWL0bYX6bbM

42 Weeks In, 42 Weeks Out

If you keep up with the weekly photo page you'll notice that this is Max's 42nd week of life. That means he's been on the outside as long as he was on the inside! I thought it might be fun to do a side by side comparison, so I found a photo from a few days after Max was born and got him in the same "outfit" today (the hat from the hospital and a swaddle blanket).

Things sure have changed! haha

...and here's a photo with the hat and baby mittens from the hospital 42 weeks later.... he seemed so perplexed when I put the mittens on his hands! haha

Howdy, Partner

One day in June, Max's daycare had pony rides and pictures for the older kids. They took the babies out for pictures, and the results were so cute!

"Happy But Squinty"

"Cowboy Showdown"

"Are We Done Yet?"

First Haircut

Max was born with a head full of hair that has filled in and grown quite a bit over the past nine months. Ben has been rallying for a haircut for weeks as there were lots of random long hairs in the front, and it hung over his ears at least a good half inch. I was reluctant to cut off his "newborn baby hair" as it meant my tiny little baby was turning in to a boy! Sniff!

I finally came to terms with the fact that Max was starting to look a bit disheveled at times with all his crazy hair, so we decided to give him a little trim on the back porch.

A "before" of the front (we forgot to pull the hair in front of his ears for this shot...)

Max sat in Ben's lap and I started to try and trim the front; however, Max was more interested in the scissors and got really wiggly. I ran in and got some Cheerios to distract Max and Ben did a "sneak attack" of trimming from behind Max while I sang songs and doled out Cheerios. We swapped jobs near the end to finish up some "tapering" behind his ears as his haircut was beginning to look a bit mullet-like.

Here are some of the trimmings. You can see how long this hair was that was clipped from above his ear! I scattered it in to the wind and told Max a bird would use his hair in its nest.  :-)

It started raining as we were finishing up the haircut, so the "after" photos were taken after Max's bath.

Left side of his head... "Nice job, Mom and Dad. You're real pros."

Right side of his head.... "Ehh... don't quit your day jobs."

Adventures in Eating

Now that Max is a little older and has the chewing motion down, we've started working a bit harder on introducing finger foods. For a long time he would only pick up Cherrios and Puffs (a rice-based baby snack) and put them in his mouth, and then he'd just poke at other foods we put on his highchair tray. He seems to be getting more bold and understands that he is supposed to eat whatever we put on his tray.

It's pretty messy, but it's fun to see him learn! Only about a third of what we put on his tray generally ends up in his mouth, so we still feed him purees, yogurt, and oatmeal, too. Here are some photos of the fun!

Blueberries and peaches dusted with dry baby oatmeal (makes it a little easier for little fingers to pick up)

The Great Banana Massacre of 2013 (he had sticky bananas up to his elbows, all over his face, in his hair, everywhere!):

Peas, carrots, and a few Cheerio bribes...

Surveying his handiwork...

He seems kind of "meh" about the peas and carrots (which he usually likes in puree form), so I scattered a few Cheerios on his tray to make it seem more appetizing. Max makes sweeps across his tray and tries to get whatever made it in to his fist in to his mouth. Every once and a while some peas and carrots would get swept up with a Cheerio (which is what I hoped would happen) and he'd make this face- haha!:

Shredded cheddar cheese calls for a dignified pose:

Water Baby

Given that Max loves bath time we thought he'd go crazy in the water. He's now been in the lake, two different baby pools, and our neighborhood pool and just seems to be lukewarm about the whole thing. Max doesn't seem to dislike the water, but he generally plays in it the same way he plays out of the water (minus some occasional splashing). Hopefully he'll continue to grow to enjoy the water and become a little fishy!

Here are some cute water baby pictures for your enjoyment...

"Mmmm.... lake water is delicious!"

Our neighbors happened to be at the pool when we went over the weekend. Our sweet little neighbor, Sophie, is in the background! She kept playing peek-a-boo with Max by going under water and popping back up. It was so sweet!

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Also, beware of the monster in Lake Chatuge.

First Father's Day

Father's Day was extra fun this year as it happened to coincide with Ben's birthday! We happened to be in Hiawassee so we were able to celebrate alongside Ben's parents, too. After a breakfast of blueberry muffins and orange juice (two of the birthday boy's favorites) and a little homemade card/book thing that Max and I gave Ben, we all got ready for the day.

We went to church (where Max shouted, "Yeahhhh!" after the choir sang a hymn- haha) and then out to lunch with a big group of Ben and Peggy's friends. Of course, we forgot to take pictures (doh!), but Max enjoyed being admired by his "Hiawassee Grandma's and Grandpa's" and we ordered him his very own sweet potato off the menu.

Later, we enjoyed relaxing at the house and playing with Max. Ben showed him important guy stuff like bugs on the porch.

.... and making funny sounds with your mouth.

Max gave Ben some goodnight snuggles before he went to bed, then we enjoyed dinner and Ben's annual "puddin' pie" (graham cracker crust with chocolate pudding and Cool Whip filling") to round out his birthday celebration.

Not surprisingly, Ben is an amazing father, and Max and I were so excited to spend a day celebrating our favorite guy!