The Ito Family

Little Drummer Boy

2011-03-31T18:35:00.000-07:00

Max has started doing this funny thing with his tongue when he is concentrating. You see it here after about 1:05. Too funny.

Fort Yau-der-DALE

2011-03-17T18:54:00.000-07:00

Despite the fact that Max thought he was going back to New York City when we boarded the plane to Ft. Lauderdale last week, he adapted pretty well when we arrived in Florida and there was no Times Square or Central Park. Mike wondered what the map in Max's head must look like. I am sure it would be fascinating.

One of our first nights on vacation we treated Max to sushi. He had his own (whole) sushi roll and also split some dumplings with us, generous boy that he is.

We spent quite a bit of time on the beach. This is Max's patented double-dump method of filling a bucket.

And his "cool dude" sunglasses, which he will remind you of if you don't say it when you put them on him.

He loved looking at the water from our balcony.

And swimming with daddy and mama.

But probably his favorite thing was climbing out of the pool, touching the deck and jumping right back in to daddy.

A close second was filling up this dump truck, pushing it to the grass, and dumping it out. Over, and over and over and over and...

More evidence in support of Captain Tornado's nickname:

Apparently the outdoor table also makes a lovely bench.

Squishing ants (or trying to...his motor skills aren't quite fast enough yet):

Best picture ever:

Max was such a good boy on the plane both directions. On the way there we planned the flight for nap time in hopes that he would sleep, and he did for two hours. Unfortunately the flight home (which was just me and Max since Mike stayed for spring training games) was not at nap time, but despite that I got him to sleep and he took another great nap, two hours before his normal nap time. We were super lucky and got to sit in first class on the way home too and even had an empty seat next to us so we could spread out and Max could play with his cars.

All in all another very fun trip.

Conversational

2011-03-01T18:32:00.000-08:00

Max has been becoming more and more conversational over the past weeks and months. A couple weeks ago I had a really funny conversation with him:

Max (looking at my recently-pedicured bare feet): Mama, paint feet!
Me: Yes, do you like it? Doesn't it look pretty?
Max: Good job mama!

Another funny one that sticks with me is:

Max (singing Old MacDonald in the back seat of the car): Moo moo here, moo moo here.
Me: Max, I just love how you are starting to sing all these songs. It is so great!
Max: Tanks mama!

It is so funny to hear things I say to him parroted back in different ways. One of his favorites is "No way!" when he really doesn't like what I want him to do, just like I use it when I really don't want him to do what he is trying to.

Two weekends ago we took Max on his first trip to New York city. He thoroughly enjoyed the amenities (read: cookies) of the Admirals Club at the airport.

One of the many ways I tried to keep him occupied on the plane was with stickers. He would rather put them all over himself than in the sticker book. It is way more fun, of course. He did pretty well on the plane, as well as a 1 1/2 year old can be expected to do. At least there was no screaming or crying. But he was hard to keep contained to his seat. (We were super lucky and there was an empty seat next to mine - key since we had not bought a seat for him.)

Max and his new friend Connor really enjoyed our very cold outing to Central Park.

Max also enjoyed the New York Times. A very cultured boy.

Or something.

We stayed one night at a hotel in Times Square. Every time we left the hotel all weekend Max would point at the tall buildings and yell "New York City!". When we drove through downtown Chicago after getting home that weekend he also yelled "New York City!".

Max and Connor had tons of loud fun once the air mattress was deflated.

And they got some hugs in too. They were too cute together.

But let us compare. Sweet, quiet, calm Connor:

Captain Tornado Max:

It was COLD when we went to Central Park, but the boys didn't care, and didn't want to leave when it was time.

One of Max's recent favorite pastimes is stomping on snow.

We sure had fun!

The Blizzard of 2011

2011-02-02T14:47:00.000-08:00

Max experienced his first blizzard over the past 24 hours. Last night the wind was whipping around our house (apparently up to 70 mph gusts - making us glad we took care of our tree issues las summer!). This morning we woke up to this:

They say we only got 11 inches here in Lombard, but the drifts were much higher.

Our neighbors are awesome and most everyone was out, shoveling everyone's sidewalks and driveways together.

There was no one out today, so after the snow plow came we took a walk in the road.

Max had a blast playing in the snow, and stayed out close to 2 1/2 hours, even though it was really cold too.

One of his favorite things was sliding down the snow banks.

It's a good thing daddy was home to shovel us out!

Well into 2011

2011-01-29T18:27:00.000-08:00

And I haven't even posted any pictures from the holidays. Unfortunately I didn't take too many... I guess we were too busy running from one place to the next. I did take a few videos, and have just now discovered that no sound recorded. Super disappointing! We have video of Max opening presents and his stocking with no sound... I'll have to have someone more adept with technology figure out what the problem is - I couldn't figure it out.

I did have a helper this year with making treats for friends and family. Max (with daddy's help) crushed up the candy canes for our Peppermint Bark.

Santa brought Max this wonderful train table and train set, which he has been using (and by using I mean destroying the tracks that daddy sets up) a lot!

In the cold Chicago winter we've been spending a lot of time at the DuPage Children's Museum. Max loves the wind area and especially loves playing in the wooden boat.

More boating. Hard at work!

Today Grandma Alyse and I took Max to the Arboretum to play in the snow and see some Huskies. We didn't get too close to the dogs, but it was a great day to be outside - not too cold and lots of good packing snow. Max had fun trying to make snowballs and throwing them on himself and trying to make snow angels (face down in the snow).

We had a lot of laughs.

I need to be better at taking more pictures, like I did the first year of Max's life. I have been kind of thwarted by the poor lighting conditions in a lot of our house and the fact that my flash makes pictures look totally horrible. And I need a better system for dealing with the pictures I do take. I need to sit down and deal with them and file them and everything once a month. It is almost the end of January, so I'll make my goal to take more pictures in February and put on my calendar to deal with the pictures at the end of each month. Maybe I can get into better habits... There just are never enough hours in the day.

HA-PY

2010-12-16T18:51:00.000-08:00

I seem to have a lot of pictures of Max eating and making a mess... Here he is with a nice bowl of chili and cornbread. It was ALL over the floor too. What a mess. You'll also notice the little stickers on his face. He loves stickers.

He loved his first taste of oreo cookie (or the Trader Joe's version at least). Yep, we often do lunch in the buff except for a diaper and a bib. Makes the laundry easier.

I also have a lot of pictures of Max "making soup" in his little kitchen. At least it mostly keeps him out of my hair when I am trying to actually make dinner. His favorite soup to make these days is the delicious Block Soup.

He also climbs up on the kitchen and tries to give me a heart attack.

We had a very cold trip to the zoo recently to get our Christmas tree, and Max asked to go back the very next day. Of course we took him. He had fun riding on daddy's shoulders.

We took Max to see Santa again this year. At first this is the closest he would get.

But after we bribed him with a candy cane, which he insisted was a sucker. One of his favorite things. Then he sat on Santa's lap nicely. When we asked him what he wanted Santa to bring him he said "presents". When we asked him what kind he said "orange". He is starting to understand a little bit at least. He also is pointing to the fireplace and saying "down!". Mike was telling him the other night that Santa will come down the chimney, and he seems fascinated by that.

And he checked out the geese with his friends at the window. He hugged and hugged and hugged his girlfriend Maddie - she seemed unimpressed.

Max is learning what we say during the holidays, and when prompted (and sometimes unprompted) he'll say HA-PY for Happy Holidays. So, HA-PY to all of you!

Fall

2010-11-09T07:17:00.000-08:00

What a beautiful fall we have had. We took a trip to the Arboretum where mama bought a huge bag of Kettle Corn. Poor Max wanted in... BAD... but didn't get to sample any. (Still a choking hazard, little guy.)

We explored the caboose at the Cosley Zoo in Wheaton.

Spun the ball at the Arboretum.

Grandma and Grandpa Purdy came to visit and we went to a pumpkin patch and had a hayride.

And bought a pumpkin that weighed exactly the same as Max.

Max tried to pick up the huge pumpkins at the zoo.

And danced on daddy's car.

Captain Spatula went trick-or-treating (though he never got the hang of saying "trick or treat" and would just say "CANDY!" when we went to the houses) with his friends donut and owl.

Captain Spatula would not hang onto his special spatula that one of our wonderful neighbors gave him, but didn't let go of that Snickers bar!

And I chopped off all my hair too!

Happy fall!

At Long Last

2010-10-07T17:21:00.000-07:00

My apologies go out to those of you who have been checking back on our little blog to find nothing new here. I think my New Year's Resolution of posting once a week was a little overly ambitious, especially given the go-go-go nature of our lives of late. So, here is a little recap of the rest of our summer.

First we spent many, many hours in the car. Max was pretty good considering.

All in the name of a week's vacation on Mackinac Island! We had one luxurious night at The Grand Hotel at the end of our stay.

During the week we sought out all the best playgrounds that Mackinac Island has to offer.

We biked around the island, went hiking, and visited the Butterfly Conservatory.

We played and ran on the lawn of the resort we stayed at the rest of the week. It was a super-relaxing, fabulous family week.

Then, on our 5th anniversary we got to attend a wedding! Bill and Erin got married just a mile or two from where we did. It was a fabulous time.

In September we had some visitors from British Columbia. It was so great to catch up with Hank and Carolyn and meet their incredibly personable daughter Leah. Max chased her around asking for "hug-a"s. He is very affectionate.

While our visitors were here we took Max to his first baseball game at US Cellular Field - the White Sox vs. the Tigers. He was enthralled (at least for the second it took to take this photo).

Max always wants to stir things that are on the stove and generally makes a nuisance of himself while I am trying to make dinner. I suppose that is the prerogative of a 16-month old. So I got him a little kitchen set, which he loves, and does seem to help. I keep sending him off to his kitchen to help me by making some soup or whisking up some eggs. His favorite thing, though, is to pull out the sink and climb right in. For some reason I see this photo and I see Max's Uncle Phil.

We also had a fun visit to the Arboretum recently where Max also decided that this big ball needed a hug-a.

Max is growing like a weed. In the course of 6 weeks this summer he grew 1 1/2 inches! He eats like a horse as a result. The other morning for breakfast he ate two banana muffins, an entire banana and a bowl of cantaloupe and pineapple.

He is so affectionate with us and with all of his Gings (grandmas) and Pas (grandpas). The best part of my day is when I get an out-of-the blue hug and kiss, which is fairly often. His favorite things are pens and garbage, and is constantly disgruntled by the fact that we won't let him handle either one.

He can tell us what he wants (by saying "want" and pointing), he can tell us when he is "hunga" (hungry), or when he konked his head or if he needs help with something. He has so many words already it is amazing and I am constantly amazed by the things he comes up with. He points at fire hydrants and says "water" - turns out Grandma Alyse taught him that.

He loves saying "hi" and waving to everyone - he is hilarious at the grocery store. Hmmm, maybe it is genetic. I seem to remember stories about myself doing things like that when I was a baby. In any case, he is the best baby boy (and if you call him a big boy or a good boy he is sure to correct you by saying "baby") that anyone could ask for.

What a joy, what a joy, what a joy.

First Camping Trip

2010-07-15T08:14:00.000-07:00

Max went on his first camping trip for the 4th of July this year - reviving a tradition from when we lived in Boston and would go up to Maine or Vermont for the weekend. This trip was quite different with 14 adults and 10 kids age 3 and under. No one got hurt and everyone had fun, so despite some overnight rain I would say the weekend was a huge success!

Telling stories to his birthday-buddy:

Max slept through the night both nights in the tent - so we might even try to take him on another camping trip yet this summer/fall.

Everyone had a great time at the beach. We spent almost a full day playing in the sand, with seaweed, and swimming in Devil's Lake.

And we tried hard to get a picture of the "triplets" - all three born on the same day - but they weren't too interested in our plans. Here's the best one.

Happy camper!

Favorite New Game

2010-06-30T08:32:00.000-07:00

Don't mind my disaster-area of the kitchen - Hurricane Max wreaked havoc throughout the house yesterday.

Early Summer

2010-06-22T19:50:00.001-07:00

In just a couple of days you will be 13 months old! Where has the last month gone?? We've been running all over creation, seeing friends and family, visiting grandparents, reunion-ing with high school friends and enjoying the summer - especially our wonderful garden. We even harvested our first vegetables this week - a big bowl of beautiful and delicious lettuce for Father's Day Dinner. We have visited the pool, which you can't get enough of - especially when you have a tiny little watering can to fill and dump over and over (and over and over and over) for two hours at a time (no joke).

We started off the summer on Memorial Day Monday by throwing you a first birthday party. You ate more pie.

In the pouring rain.

Despite the bad weather, more than 60 friends and family came out to celebrate you! You were such a good boy and had fun chasing the older kids around, trying to do what they were doing.

You have exploded in the last month in your understanding of what we say to you and trying to communicate with us, or at least mimicking the sounds that we make. You can tell us what a doggie says (though you've been able to do that for months) and what a pig says and you are trying to say car and ball and bubbles and blueberry and you definitely know how to say banana. Before you were even calling me mama you were calling the dog across the street by name. You look for Coco every time we leave the house. You amaze me every day with something new that I didn't know that you knew. A couple days ago you signed "more" to me after I said it in conversation to someone else. You stubborn little thing - you won't do it when I ask you if you want more of something, but you know what it is! (I wonder where you get that stubborn streak from. It can't be from me, that's for sure.)

You are so affectionate. I love your kisses and hugs and cuddles. Just tonight while I was making dinner for just the two of us, you came up and hugged my leg, just a little at first then tighter, then you started patting my leg like I pat your back. Sweet sweet boy.

You are solidly walking too, after taking your first steps the day before your party, on May 28. You toddle after everything like Frankenstein, but you get where you want to go. And you love your climber and sandbox in the back yard. You are an outdoor kid for sure.

Cool kid.

Birthday Boy

2010-05-25T19:12:00.001-07:00

Dear Max,

One year ago at 4:48 in the afternoon, you appeared in our lives like this:

Beautiful as can be! Crying and snorting (you still do that) and waving your arms. And everything changed - for the better. This is your huge self today:

Our first year together (not counting the 9 months we spent together before I could tell how much you look like your daddy) has been amazing. You are such a good boy and have such a big personality. I have the best job in the world right now - chasing after you and taking care of my baby boy. I couldn't ask for anything more.

Grandma Alyse and Grandpa Vic helped us celebrate your first birthday by going to lunch at the Arboretum.

Your two bachans were there too.

It was hot outside - unlike last year. Last May 25 was cool and rainy. I remember fogging up the back window of the car when we were sailing down Lakeshore Drive on our way to the hospital - I wondered (in the back of my head somewhere) if anyone could tell that I was not buckled in, kneeling on the back seat trying not to have a baby in the car. After making us wait so long (10 days late!), you were in a big hurry! We barely made it to the hospital before you were born.

Today you got to try Bachan Sumie's famous apple pie for the first time:

You LOVED it.

We love you. Happy birthday baby boy!

More travels

2010-05-18T19:58:00.001-07:00

Max and I have been doing some gardening around our house and at our vegetable-garden plot down the street... We have a LOT of weeds at our garden plot, but we also have lots of lettuce sprouts coming up, which is very exciting! Hopefully all our other experiments will go as well. Though we have a lot of work ahead of us to get there!

He loves riding in his wagon! Especially when there are gardening tools to play with.

We took our last airplane ride for a while and went to Maine with Grandma and Grandpa Purdy. Max took his first boat ride. It was too early for whales, but we saw a Bald Eagle and porpoises and Harbor Seals.

Max LOVES macaroni and cheese (Annie's organic, of course!) and loved rubbing it all in his hair just as much as eating it.

We did some hiking at Acadia National Park:

And played in the sand.

And on the playground at the condo complex.

Max was super in the car. We spent a lot of time driving around exploring, and he was very patient. He even took a couple naps in the car.

We rode on a teeny-tiny turbo prop to and from Boston up to Maine. It was a crazy experience. This is a picture from the last row of the plane, where we were seated. The "main terminal" of the airport was a double-wide trailer and the baggage claim was a hole in the fence. It is a different world between Rockland Maine and Chicago's O'Hare Airport.

We have almost nothing planned this week so that I can get myself re-organized, do some vegetable gardening and get some spring cleaning done (finally!). We need it before our busy-busy weeks coming up with Max's first birthday party, visits from grandparents, CK 15-year reunion, Soldier Field 10-mile race, camping, and a trip to South Haven over the next six weeks. Lots of fun - but a lot of work to get there!

Travels

2010-05-04T18:27:00.000-07:00

We have had a fabulous couple months with lots of travels and visiting friends. First we visited two of my boyfriends. My VERY first boyfriend:

And his little brother, my 6th (-ish - I've lost track!) boyfriend:

Then we went to Boston to visit friends and Max and I watched the Boston Marathon. For once it didn't make me want to run one. We watched from mile 24, and people were really hurting at that point. But we did have a perfectly lovely lunch with Jo and Makoto that afternoon.

Then we had a great, though short, visit with some friends in San Antonio on our way to Mike's conference. They have two little adorable kiddos.

Mike and Tom got wagon duty.

So fun!

Then Grandma Alyse and Grandpa Vic met us there for the rest of our Texas trip and we went on Max's first visit to a National Park - the San Antonio Missions.

We all had a great time.

Now Max and I are off to Maine soon, and his second National Park (all in his first year on the earth!). What a lucky boy. That will be all of our airplane-travel for a while. He is getting TOO active to be restrained to one seat!

He is super fun these days - he is repeating a lot of what we say (mama, dada, gaga, t-t-t, etc.) he barks (squeaks) when you ask him what a doggie says, he points to what he wants, he tries to snap his fingers when Mike does, he claps all the time (especially when cheering for himself climbing the stairs), and gives lots of kisses. What could be better?

Haircut

2010-04-08T14:52:00.000-07:00

Max had his first haircut last week. Daddy thought it was time, and mama finally agreed.

Bye-bye baby comb-over.

How do I look?

Lots more firsts

2010-04-01T08:27:00.000-07:00

Before we took Max on his first real family vacation last week, I took him for his first visit to the park on our first nice day here in the Chicago suburbs. He liked crawling around on the play structure.

But didn't know what to make of the slide...

Or the swings.

Then we headed off to Arizona for a week-long trip. Max and I travelled by ourselves down there and I felt pretty impressed with myself after navigating an 8-hour travel day - lunch at the airport, a delay on the tarmac, an in-flight diaper change, luggage pick-up, carseat installation, a closed highway and finally our arrival at the hotel where we had our first non-grandparent babysitter in a new city (a friend-of-a-friend who was fabulous!). The trip was relaxing, but not restful since Max was not able to get adjusted to the 2-hour time difference. So we were up around 4:30 am Arizona time each morning. It made for some long days, but good ones. We took Max on his first hike - a wonderful 3 1/2 mile trail up and down Pinnacle Peak.

He fell asleep about halfway through both days that we did the hike and had a good morning nap. I got a good workout with a 20-pound weight strapped to my back!

I wouldn't say that he enjoyed the first White Sox (spring training) game that we took him to, but he did have fun crawling around in the seats.

Max and daddy with matching hats:

We seem to be in the middle of a major learning spurt! Something has clicked for Max recently and he now understands and uses his sippy cup, understands the little basketball toy he has and puts the ball in the basket, is climbing up the landing steps from the family room to the kitchen with no problems, loves getting into cabinets and drawers (time to child proof this weekend!) understands several words (cracker, dance, bye bye, wave, hi) and points to what he wants. He loves being outside, and doesn't like being confined to his crib or the pack and play unless he is asleep. And, his second tooth has finally broken the surface. Tooth #1 is still barely sticking up on the bottom. No sign of the top teeth yet. I am definitely not complaining about him not having more teeth, but it is so funny to still see an almost-toothless grin at 10-months-plus.

I guess we are going to need a new box of tissues.

And all that shaggy hair is going away tonight. After being mistaken for a girl last weekend, Max is getting his first haircut tonight. Hopefully we'll get some before and after pictures to post here next time.

Spring Has Sprung (At Least For Now)

2010-03-17T18:57:00.000-07:00

Max was all dressed in green for St. Patrick's Day today. We were a little matchy-matchy. Oh well - it is a new mothers prerogative, right?? At the grocery store today, the checker asked me how old Max was when I "got" him. I am frankly pretty surprised that this is the first time (at almost 10-months old!) that someone has (out-loud) mistaken him as adopted. He still doesn't look much like mama.

When we turn on music now he bounces and dances along with the beat. Too cute.

We have been really enjoying getting out and getting some exercise (me) and some fresh air (both of us) during this wonderful spring warm-up that we have been having the last week or so. Max has been really good in the stroller - nothing like last summer when he just cried. And in fact, ever since our trip to Michigan, he has been pretty great in the car too! A major (and wonderful) change. I took him to the park for the first time this week and put him in the baby swing. He was not too impressed by the whole experience. Maybe next time he'll get excited.

We are still figuring out his new schedule with Daylight Saving Time... He is now sleeping (most of the time) until 6:15 rather than 5:15 (MUCH more reasonable) and is up long enough that we can all have dinner together. We can also now get a walk in before his first nap in the morning or after lunch. It is amazing what a difference one hour makes to a schedule. It has been a big adjustment, but so far so good.

We are having to guess what he wants less and less these days as he is pointing to everything, and in particular what he wants to eat. What a surprise! We know where he gets his appetite and love of food from! The other night at dinner Mike discovered that Max would point to what he wanted (broccoli in one dish, ground beef in another, or kisses from Mike). He's still not too into the sippy cup, but does love drinking a little bit of water from a regular cup.

I don't know how he did it, but even with pajamas and a bib on he still dripped blueberry juice all over his belly and onto his diaper. Bathtime doesn't usually happen at 7:30 am, but this week it did.

After one small incident today, I am looking forward to the day when Max knows not to put his hand in the toilet. Yuck.

I think we are expecting snow next week, but at least for now we have crocuses blooming in our yard. It is so fun to see what comes up this year - the first spring in our new home.

Happy St. Patrick's Day. Happier Spring!!

Road Trip!

2010-03-09T13:26:00.001-08:00

No posting last week because Max and I took a roadtrip! Mike was away for another whole week, so we packed up everything we own (or that's what it felt like at least) and headed to Michigan. Lucky Max got to see all five grandparents in the span of a few days. We stayed with Grandma and Grandpa Purdy, spent the day Friday with Grandma Wood and then celebrated Bachan Yone's 90th birthday in the Detroit area along with Grandma Alyse and Grandpa Vic.

The drive was way less painful than I had imagined. We timed it just right and got both naps taken care of while we drove. Over the whole time we were in the car, we probably had only 20 or 30 minutes of baby-freak-out, which was a major accomplishment considering the number of hours we spent in the car.

Max found a special hiding spot at Grandma and Grandpa Purdy's - his own little Max-sized fort.

When we got back he surprised me by climbing into this laundry basket all by himself. This kid has no fear. He also pulled his piano table over on himself today and didn't even cry.

He's pointing like crazy at everything and also waves (when he feels like it) when he hears "bye-bye". We don't even have to wave anymore to get him to do it. I told him to splash in the bathtub last night too and he did it. He surprises us with how much he understands!

No, Max, YOU DA MAN!

Sweet happy baby!

Lunch, or an entire weeks' food for other babies

2010-02-26T10:58:00.000-08:00

Today for lunch, Max had:

3 Baby Mum-Mum crackers
1 handful of cheerios (some went on the floor of course)
1/4 cup cottage cheese
1/2 cup plain yogurt with blueberry puree mixed in
1/4 cup pureed sugar snap peas
1/2 carton of raspberries

And I think he still would have eaten more.

Holy wow.

Yummy yummy raspberries.

And oh yeah, my house is a wreck. Gotta get cleaned up before book club tomorrow.

9 Months!

2010-02-24T18:36:00.001-08:00

Tomorrow Max is 9 months old!

He is finally getting some teeth. In fact, all four front teeth are coming in at once. No wonder the kid won't sleep. Hopefully the poor baby will be able to get some sleep soon after they all come through. (And then mama can get some sleep too...)

Thanks to his hearty appetite, he gained almost 3 pounds in 3 months - going from the 15th percentile to the 25th in weight and now weighing in at a whopping 18.2 pounds and 27 1/2 inches long. And once again he had three needle pokes and didn't cry. But then cried and screamed all the way home because he didn't want to be strapped into his car seat. Crazy kid.

He has a new trick, which is climing up the entire flight of stairs to our bedroom. He is quite a daredevil. He learned how to do it really quickly! Literally one day he was inching his way up one or two stairs and the next he climbed the whole flight. I sound like an overly-proud mama bear. : )

Happy 9-month birthday kiddo! You have now been out in the world as long as you were in my belly.

Crawler!

2010-02-18T13:40:00.000-08:00

Something just clicked for Max this afternoon, and now we are really in trouble!

Happy Valentines Day

2010-02-14T11:14:00.000-08:00

Mike left for Switzerland yesterday afternoon, sadly leaving me home alone with Max for Valentine's Day. This weekend is also our 10-year anniversary of meeting. Thanks Diana!! : ) Mike and I went out for a date on Friday and I thought that was the end of our V-Day celebration, but these flowers arrived this morning "from Max".

Max and I had a relaxing morning with a trip to Target. He gave me the wonderful Valentines Day present of sleeping in until 6:15 am! Two mornings in a row of sleeping past 6:00 am. (Now that I have typed that, I am sure it will never happen again.)

I had to dress him up in red and white as my little valentine.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Growth Spurt

2010-02-13T16:34:00.000-08:00

Max seems to have hit a growth spurt over the past couple of weeks - all of a sudden his 9-month clothes are getting too tight so I had to go to the bins and pull out all of his 12-month hand-me-downs. I am not too surprised considering the quantity of food that this kid eats - easily at least three or four times as much as other babies we know who were born the same day. So far I got my wish - a good eater. We'll see how long it lasts. And his hair is really starting to grow now too!

He still loves his bath, and we signed him up for swimming lessons starting in April, just to get him used to being in the water.

Here he is, about to steal Iris's toy (aka an empty play-dough tin).

We are looking forward to taking Max to his first White Sox game this spring in Arizona during spring training.

He is not looking forward to wearing this hat in the sun.

Wrestlemania

2010-02-04T06:45:00.000-08:00

For the past month or more, every diaper change and clothing change has been like Wrestlemania. Max wants nothing to do with laying nicely and getting changed. He flips over, scoots around and tries to get at anything and everything on the table.

Just this week he has started waving. He has been staring at his hand while he opens and closes it - but this week, when prompted, he waved to Mike as he was leaving and also (prompted) waved to me after I dropped him off at Grandma Alyse's for a few hours. Cute, cute.

He loves sitting in the family room playing with his toys.

And he loves fruit. Here's his first taste of blueberries.

One of his favorite comfort objects seems to be the (clean) cloth diaper wipes. They are now scattered around the house because he has been carrying them everywhere.

He can get to standing up in his crib, and now also in the Pack and Play - he proved it this morning when I was in the shower. When I went to get him, there he was standing waiting for me. Strong baby!

TV Debut

2010-01-28T09:05:00.000-08:00

Max made his TV debut last week in this clip from a local Chicago show called Check, Please! that reviews restaurants in the city and suburbs. We happened to be at one of my favorite lunch spots, Urban Belly the day that they were filming for the show. You'll see a really quick clip of us in the first one-minute-plus segment and if you click 'play' again you'll see more footage of Max and mama in the next six-minute-plus segment.

Here he is with one of his favorite "toys" - a travel-size lotion bottle.

And after slobbering all over the window, giving it kisses:

He just loves standing at the window looking out, and also standing at the full-length mirror checking out that baby that looks just like him.

We had a warm-for-January day last week, so we headed over for a walk in the Morton Arboretum. Max was so peaceful in his stroller and just took it all in.

Max has been cruising around his crib lately. And though I haven't watched him figure out how to get from laying down to sitting up to standing (we have seen him many times go from sitting to standing, but never from laying down) - he has been standing up in his crib waiting for us to come get him the last few mornings. Time to lower the crib mattress again. He is very proud of himself.

He is still not liking the car normally, but he does get all snuggled up when we go for a ride now.

What a face!

2010-01-20T07:37:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Max discovered the joy of the teething biscuit. Still no teeth coming in (as you can see), but man did he love sucking on it and gumming it. I have gone from having spit up all over my clothes to having his food all over me (and of course all over him ) after each meal. Now I will also have teething biscuit residue all over me apparently. He needed a bath after his first experience with the biscuit!

His winter coat is still a little big for him, but it does keep him warm. By the end of the winter it should fit just right. : )

I have been doing some grant writing the last couple weeks, and Max has already started with the separation anxiety, so we have had some fussy times, but here's a happy smile - playing with a new toy from the Barrs.

I see baby Mike when I look at this picture of Max:

I just took this picture off my phone. At Christmas we definitely thought there were some teeth coming - but still no evidence. With as much as he enjoyed gnawing on the chair, I am surprised he hasn't started doing this with his crib rails.

In less than a week Max will be 8 months old. He is starting to wave, cruising around his crib, holding up his arms to be picked up, showing a preference for certain toys (especially non-toy cell phones and remote controls!), and sleeping through the night!!! Hooray sleep training. It is certainly a work in progress, with short short naps during the day, but having him out of our bed and sleeping almost 12 hours at night feels like a small miracle.

Crawling!

2010-01-16T04:55:00.001-08:00

I wouldn't quite call him proficient yet, but Max did start crawling yesterday! Grandma Alyse, Grandpa Vic and daddy were all here to see too.

Dinnertime Snorting and Jumping

2010-01-13T17:21:00.000-08:00

I am so glad that Max seems to enjoy his food as much as mama does! So far he likes all things sweet - sweet potatoes, carrots, butternut squash, apples, pears, mango, and most especially bananas. Avocado, cereal, yogurt, chicken and green beans he tolerates when mixed up with other things.

We aren't letting him do this anymore so close to bedtime, but he sure had fun when we did! No wonder the kid couldn't fall asleep!

Happy 2010

2010-01-07T14:46:00.001-08:00

Happy New Years Resolutions everyone! Though I didn't keep my 2009 resolution (to go to bed with a tidy house) one single day in 2009, I am doing a good job so far with my many 2010 resolutions, one of which is to update Max's blog once a week. So, grandparents - lament no more! There shall be a plethora of Max photos (and it's not like you don't see him often anyway). : )

Over the holidays we had a great, though hectic time with lots of visits with family and friends. Max opened his first Christmas presents, and couldn't have been less interested. Next year that will all be different. First we celebrated with the Itos. Here is Max opening gifts with Uncle Jon:

And we had a lovely visit with the Mochizukis - Min on the right was the one who married us 4 1/2 years ago and also married Mike's parents 39 1/2 years ago. We were so thrilled that they were able to stop by and meet Max. Max only had eyes for Min's wife June.

Then we headed for our whirlwind trip to Michigan to visit Mike's family in the Detroit area - Max just LOVES his cousins!

And doggies - seriously daddy, I think Max really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really wants a dog. Preferably a big one.

Santa managed to find us Christmas morning even though we weren't at home and brought Max his first stocking. Complete with a hand-knit hat that Mrs. Klaus must have made for him.

Max had a visit with Uncle Phil who is headed overseas with the military this month.

Grandma Wood got Max a sled for Christmas so we took it out today to try it in our new fluffy snow. Max enjoyed it, and it was a good workout for me.

We had an amazing 2009, and are looking forward to a great 2010 watching this cutie pie grow up. We have lots of firsts ahead of us, including hopefully a first night of uninterrupted sleep as we started sleep training last night. Max surprised us by not crying as long as we thought he would. So we are making baby steps towards getting on track in the sleep department too.

And this is just another gratuitous shot of cute hand-knit items that I made for Max.

Happy New year!

We do kind of look like cousins, don't we?

2009-12-01T19:53:00.000-08:00

I forgot! Mike, Max and I also took a trip back to the city last weekend to visit my cousin and her fiancee. We visited a GREAT restaurant near their condo - Uncommon Ground - and hung out for the afternoon. Max somehow peed on his socks and shoes and had to be changed into his pajamas. Silly Max.

Where do the days go?

2009-12-01T13:39:00.000-08:00

This month has been another crazy one with grandparent visits, finishing getting settled into our new home, lots of social activities, and hosting dinners and holidays. Amazingly it has been six months since this adorable baby was born.

We had some great light in our family room yesterday morning so I took lots of pictures of him. Perhaps you will see one of these in your mailbox soon on a Christmas card.

Early in the month we took a trip to Michigan to introduce Max to (most of) the rest of Mike's family. He did well in the car (thanks in large part to some advanced breastfeeding techniques). Thank God for that - we didn't have too much car screaming this time.

While in Michigan we picked up Max's new favorite toy, his piano table, and discovered that he was able to stand on his own while playing it. He sits up on his own too - has been doing both of these things for almost a month now - he's a strong baby!

Max had his first taste of food last week. So far sweet potatoes and banana are a big hit. Avocado and rice cereal not as much. But, he eats like a champ.

We hosted Thanksgiving dinner in our new home. Our delicious turkey was 23.5 pounds. Max now weighs 15 lbs 5 oz. I missed out on a great photo op - Max next to the massive turkey. Max continues to be long and lean. He is in the 56th percentile for height and only 15th for weight. Now that he is eating solid foods, maybe the weight percentile will go up.

The day after Thanksgiving we headed over to the Morton Arboretum - it was a beautiful sunny day so we took some family pictures.

Max in his cute penguin hat made by Alyse's friend:

And now we are getting geared up for Max's first Christmas. We had brunch with Santa and our first Santa encounter last weekend. Max was fairly unimpressed and didn't cry - just gave his beard a little tug.

Happy holidays!!

Photos this time

2009-11-04T09:12:00.001-08:00

We had a lovely day a week or so ago so Max (who can now sit up, more-or-less in the stroller) and I went for a nice long walk on the Prairie Path near our house. It is 60-something miles of biking/walking/running trails that wind through the western suburbs. I think we are going to love it! He did pretty well until the end of the walk when he just wanted to get home.

He's not doing much better in the car, but has some good moments. God help us for the drive to Michigan! Not looking forward to that one. However, just in the last week we've made some major progress on the sleep front - he has been napping by himself and not on my lap (though on the couch, so still not ideal...) for the past few days and we've been able to get him into the crib, at least for an hour or a little more at the beginning of bedtime. It's not much, but for us it is major progress.

Yesterday while in the Bumbo next to me while I was washing dishes, Max pulled on of my measuring spoons off its hanger on the wall and decided to eat it. His coordination is getting really good!

And one more picture of his cute Halloween costume. The cutest Wild Thing!

First Halloween

2009-11-04T08:43:00.000-08:00

Max dressed up as Max (King of All Wild Things!) from Where the Wild Things Are for his first Halloween. It was the perfect re-purposing of an adorable bunting that Aunt Ruthi gave him.

We stayed here and gave out candy to the very few trick-or-treaters that braved the no-sidewalk side of the street. Good thing I bought five bags of candy!

Grandma Wood made up a version of peek-a-boo that Max was absolutely loving.

Max's First Vacation

2009-10-26T09:22:00.000-07:00

Max celebrated his five-month birthday yesterday. He is getting so big and so expressive.

We are all getting settled in to our suburban routine. Yesterday we raked leaves for the first time - definitely not the last time this fall alone! This yardwork thing is new for both of us in our adult lives. I guess that's what happens when you reach your thirties...

We have been walking around, despite the cold weather this fall, exploring our new neighborhood. Max still prefers the Moby or Bjorn to the stroller, but he does tolerate it for longer periods of time these days - especially if he is freshly rested and fed.

We took Max on his first airplane ride last weekend when we tagged along on Mike's business trip to Virginia Beach. He did great on the plane - slept almost the whole time both ways. He was good at the hotel too and at the party we were there for. He got lots of attention as usual - especially since he was the only baby there...

He loved the extra time with daddy!

It was too cold to dip his feet in the Atlantic, but we watched the ocean from our balcony.

He didn't enjoy his first swim much - I don't blame him though. The pool was cold (too cold for me too!) and he didn't like going underwater at all. He was pretty clingy in the water, but later on we took him in the jaccuzi tub in our room, and he liked that much better - even letting us hold him to float on his back.

Overall, we had a really nice and relaxing first vacation with the baby. I am hoping to do it again soon!

Whirlwind

2009-10-08T11:31:00.000-07:00

Whew - what a whirlwind month! We have spent the last six weeks or so packing, garage sale-ing, check-writing, house-buying, moving, un-packing and settling in. Max got in on the action (oh- and that is the super cute quilt I made for him while he was in utero):

He has been remarkably happy and flexible through the whole transition. (Thanks in large part to Grandma Alyse who has magic powers to help him sleep.)

This is our cute new home out in the suburbs. Though it didn't when we took this picture, it does now have a house number, mailbox and doorbell. Still no phone jacks though. Very strange. All three of my parents were an amazing help at getting the house ready to move in to and also to do some projects (see above house number, mailbox, and doorbell as well as pantry shelves, drawer pulls and cleaning among other things that got checked off the project list) after moving.

We are mostly unpacked and settled in - bookshelves purhcased and put together, kitchen and pantry totally unpacked and organized. The only big thing left to do is buy some furniture for our living room.

Max has recently discovered the joys of bouncy toys - both this one and the Exersaucer that keeps him occupied for at least enough time to unpack one box.

He did his first tummy-to-back roll on September 20 after Grandma Wood arrived for a visit - to everyone's suprise and delight. Good timing Max! When we applauded and cheered he cried though. Maybe a little too much enthusiasm on our part.

Though I may be biased, I do believe he just gets cuter every day. Uhh, no, he definitely isn't watching TV in this picture. Definitely not.

This seems to be his favorite new face - sucking on his bottom lip. He just started doing it this past weekend - it is so funny.

We'll try to do a better job of keeping this updated now that we are settling into our quiet suburban life. Do come visit!!

Talker

2009-09-02T16:19:00.000-07:00

I think Max is going to be a talker like his daddy.

Three Months

2009-09-01T15:18:00.000-07:00

At three months Max can hold his head up while on his tummy (though he loses patience with this position pretty quickly).

He is just starting to grab at toys. This octopus that plays Twinkle Twinkle Little Star is his favorite.

He figured out how to get just one or two fingers in his mouth a week or two ago. But he still likest trying to shove one or both fists in.

He is alert and happy (when he is not being tortured by his car seat) and talks to us all the time - especially at dinnertime and when he is having his diaper changed.

He's still not a great sleeper, but I don't even care when I wake up and get to play with this little guy all day:

The Many Expressions of Max

2009-08-20T08:23:00.000-07:00

Max is getting bigger and bigger. He has been enjoying his playmat and has lots of what Cousin Kevin calls "happy spazzems" while there. He also loves stretching:

He is starting to try to shove his whole fist in his mouth frequently and is drooling so much that we have had to start putting bibs on him. Here's a cute one from Cousin Matt:

Max woke up this morning (after a nice *extra* bit of sleep from 6:20 to 8:20 am that let mama get an hour extra sleep and get a few things done too) a happy boy even though he was soaked thorugh.

Hammin' it up:

Today is our four-year anniversary. How much changes in four years! How much changes in just one year! Last year at this time we wanted so badly to have a family, and this year we have a beautiful, charming, personable little almost-three-month-old baby. Like 2005 was for us, 2009 is a year of big changes. A brand new baby, I am trying out the stay-at-home-mom thing (and LOVING it), and now it looks like we are moving to the suburbs. We are on track to close in late September on an adorable home in Lombard near the downtown area and the Metra tracks (hopefully that will make it easy for us to visit our friends in the city). The perfect place for our new family.

2009-07-28T09:13:00.000-07:00

Max is now 9 weeks old now. For the past few weeks we've been feeling like we really have his pattens figured out - at least when we are at home and things are fairly predictable. But since we've been running Max around meeting friends and family, looking at houses in the suburbs, and going to doctors appointments, Max and I are spending today and tomorrow just at home getting lots of sleep (I wish!) and getting life back to normal.

When he is rested and fed, Max is an absolute joy for an hour or two before he hits the wall and needs to sleep again. We've been spending that time reading to him and having "tummy time" and trying to capture some of his smiles on camera.

When we read to him he coos and coos - responding to our voices. It is so cute. Yesterday evening when Mike and I were getting him changed for bed he gave us his first laugh.

Sleep is a challenge - the sleeping through the night gig lasted all of that one night - he's up at least twice a night and sometimes thinks that 4 am is the start of the day and won't go back to sleep. But we know that this time will be (relatively) short lived and try to keep that in mind at 5:30 am when we have been awake for an hour and a half.

But Max doesn't seem to mind and we don't mind either as soon as the smiles start in the morning.

There is drool running down my leg as I type this post

2009-07-23T14:31:00.000-07:00

Max with his mohawk at 8 weeks:

Max had his two-month checkup yesterday - and the pediatrician declared him a "gorgeous healthy baby". We couldn't agree more! He is up to 10 lbs 12 oz (32nd percentile) and 23 3/4 inches (83rd percentile). We have a long, lean baby! But the doctor said his weight gain is good, so it looks like he is growing well.

Enjoying some time with daddy:

Max met all of my sides of the family this weekend - at least some representatives from each side at least. It was Purdy Reunion weekend, one of my favorite summer gatherings and this year we resurrected the tradition of homemade ice cream (grandma's recipe made by me) and held the second-annual water balloon toss with the Ass Backwards statue (a little guy riding backwards on a donkey) as the trophy. Mike did not reprise his roll as winner - instead Erin and Bill will take a turn with the trophy on their mantle. (And I am sure we will hear about it every time we see Bill between now and the next water balloon toss.

Max was knocked out by all the activity.

And he got to meet Uncle Phil for the first time AND take his first trip to Pizza House so mama could get a Chipati. Yummm.

Overall a successful weekend trip to Michigan. He was so good in the car we may even do it again sometime.

Summer Mornings

2009-07-15T08:27:00.000-07:00

This week has been much more of what I had in mind for this summer: nice long walks on the lakefront while we still live in the city (no move scheduled yet, but we are shopping for suburban homes), dinner outside, no huge rush to do anything, and a trip to Michigan at the end of the week to visit family.

It took seven weeks for me to figure out what I am doing enough to make this happen, and I am certainly still figuring things out as I go along, but we are getting more mobile and enjoying getting out both on our own and to go visit friends and family.

On Monday we took a walk in the stroller:

Max was happy and sleeping on the way south along the lakefront, but woke up and was fussy on the way home. Today I took him out in the Moby wrap (a sling-like contraption that is thankfully very easy on my back) and he slept the whole hour and 45 minutes that we were out walking. It was a nice morning for a walk - humid and sticky but not too hot, and overcast and shady so I didn't have to slather on the sunscreen (or "liquid raincoat" as Mike calls it).

At the beginning of our walk on Monday it was pretty chilly so I got to dress Max up in the green sweater that I knitted for him while I was pregnant:

What a perfect morning! I kept thinking this morning that some people talk about high school or college being the best time of their lives, but I think I am living the best time of my life now. I feel so fortunate to be able to have this experience of raising this cute litle man and being home with him full time, at least for now. It is a challenge, and exhausting at times, but it is so rewarding, especially when he smiles at me!

Sleeper

2009-07-12T08:07:00.000-07:00

At just about 7 weeks old, Max slept through the night (7 1/2 hours from 11 pm to 6:30 am!) last night. Too bad I woke up every hour or two to check and make sure he was still okay. It was still a VERY good night. This is how happy we all were this morning:

Smiles!

2009-07-09T11:33:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Max spent time with both of his bachans (great-grandmothers) at the same time and they couldn't get enough of him.

At six and a half weeks, Max is gracing us with lots of smiles - especially while laying on the changing table! He has been doing it about a week, and they just get better and better every day as he spends more time awake and aware. He especially likes the goofy songs that daddy makes up for him.

He makes such fun little sounds that seem like laughs too.

We are so excited to go to Michigan next weekend so that Max can meet a lot of the members of the Purdy and Wood families. Hopefully he'll be smiley and happy then.

Max is here

2009-06-25T10:11:00.000-07:00

Max - 1 month old

Max - 1 day old

Maxwell Thomas arrived in late May after a very fast (4 hours!) and intense labor. He was 10 days late, but after making mom and dad wait that long, he was in a big hurry to get out into the world. He was delivered by the wonderful midwife group at Northwestern in Chicago - we had a wonderful, unmedicated water birth. Our Doula, Natalie Evans was amazing and helped keep us calm and focused. I have been feeling totally recovered since about 10 days after his birth.

We have spent the last month (how time flies!) figuring each other out and getting to know each other.

Over the past few days we have made some major leaps. Where we had been having to supplement his diet with some formula, we are now on day 4 with zero formula! And Max was smiling up a storm at Mike this morning while he was on diaper duty. Max is quickly becoming more aware of his surroundings and has been quietly enjoying the mobile in his crib for up to 45 minutes at a time - giving me enough time to take a nice long shower or eat lunch or wash diapers! His neck is really strong and he is starting to grab things - like handfuls of mama's hair.

Max is five weeks old. He is a pretty good sleeper, though I am usually up up about twice each night to feed him. He is also super snuggly and wants nothing to do with sleeping by himself. As soon as we put him down in his crib or co-sleeper he is awake again and screaming.

I am loving being able to be at home with him and spend a lot of time enjoying this time with him. We are looking at houses out by Mike's office in order to enable him to spend more time with Max too. We found one that is just about 10 minutes from his office, which would be so great after 9-plus years of hour long (each way!) commutes for Mike. Moving with a (potentiaaly) two month old baby will be interesting, but at least there are lots of grandparents who I am sure will be happy to help us out.