Ben Says Hi!

Here he is!

Just thought this was funny. What a difference a year makes - not only all the changes in Max, but living back in Michigan and now a 2 month old baby too! St. Patrick's Day 2009 and 2010.

Winter with Two Boys (January-March)

Well, things have been just moving along here! There's not that much extra time to sit back and observe, but then when you do, you can't believe all the little changes that have occurred over the past couple months. First Matt had 6 weeks paid paternity leave for Ben, so Matt was home with us all of February. Then my parents came out from California to help once Matt went back to work. So, the first week I had both boys to myself with no help was when Ben was 7 weeks old. It was wonderful to have all that help!

Max is now stringing words together (ex. "Help Dad trash" or "More water, please Mommy" or "Daddy's shoes" - he loves pointing out what belongs to who). He is also definitely a mimicker of his father. He tries to juggle (which Matt did a lot of on his paternity leave) and wear watches. He's pretty social (can't imagine where he gets that from), loves getting to go to other people's houses, and he's pretty good at remembering people's names. Max has been pretty good with Ben. He's definitely curious about him and will even help from time to time (one time I was holding Ben who was crying and felt something hit me - Max had brought Ben a pacifier). But we have had the occasional hits, scratches, and bites (such fun!).

Ben is now smiling. He had his first smiles right around 4 weeks. He's also cooing and has a little bit of a laugh. He has definitely stayed big! At his 2 month check-up he weighed in at exactly 16 pounds (99th percentile) and is 24 3/4 inches long (96th percentile). Funny compared with his skinny brother! Ben's a pretty easy-going baby and continues to get better and better at sleeping through the night. Sorry there are so many pictures - hey, double the kids, double the pictures! So, I split them into two slideshows. One for January and February and one for March. Enjoy!

Here are Max's juggling skills. Pretty cute!

Playing in the snow with Grandpa Jack - a daily occurrence while Grandma and Grandpa were visiting.

Hanging out with 2 boys - my life now!

Welcome Baby Ben!

We welcomed Benjamin Ryan Bosch into the world on Monday, January 18 at 4:48pm. He arrived weighing 10lbs. 8oz. and 22 inches long! We had no idea that Ben was going to be THAT big until he appeared. The nurses quickly adopted the nickname of "Big Ben." Despite how big he was, the delivery went really smoothly. I wound up being induced on Ben's due date, so that was really nice to know he was coming finally and to set up plans for the family members who watched Max while we were in the hospital.

Max got to meet Ben for the first time when we came home from the hospital on Wednesday. Due to H1N1 concerns, our hospital didn't allow visitors 16 years old or under, so Max was never able to come to the hospital. It all worked out though! He was thrilled to have Grandma, Grandpa, Auntie Anna, and Auntie LJ here in different shifts to take care of him.

When we got home from the hospital, Max was down for a nap. So when he woke up, Matt went upstairs and got Max, and brought him down. Here's the video of him right after he came downstairs and saw Ben for the first time.

Here's Max's first time "holding" Ben.

And here's what happened when we took Ben away from Max.

Late Fall / Early Winter 2009 (19-20 Months)

Well, in these couple months we spent a lot of time marveling on how quickly Max seemed to be growing up and preparing for the arrival of Baby Boy #2! Time just flew by! We were thrilled to have some visitors. In early November our friends Michelle and Joe along with their son, Jack (who's just 2 months older than Max), came to visit us from Ohio. It was wonderful to see them and a lot of fun to see Max and Jack play together again! Then after spending Thanksgiving in Grand Rapids with Matt's family, we quickly returned to Brighton to pick up my parents who flew in from California that night. They stayed with us for a week, and they along with LJ and Matt painted Max's and the baby's rooms. Painting the boys' bedrooms brought about other changes - moving the crib out of Max's room and Max getting a new BIG bed. We had a wonderful Christmas with Matt's family in Grand Rapids! We got to see a lot of everyone since everyone was in town! Then the first couple weeks of January were spent waiting and waiting for the big arrival. Max had no idea what was coming his way!

During these months Max's vocabulary just seemed to explode! He has a lot to say and wants to make sure you heard him (ie. you need to acknowledge his statements!). He is still very curious and adventurous - very willing to do something risky (he does exercise some caution and now repeats what I would say to him, "Be careful," in the same tone). You can see signs of his sense of humor. He thinks putting a piece of food or his fork on his head and saying "hat" is hilarious. Max also has definite opinions. He loves watching the movie Polar Express (Matt just bought Kung Fu Panda for some relief for us from watching Polar Express) and has even voiced that he does not want to wear the shirt I picked out for him and wants to pick it himself. My oh my!

As I said before Max loves watching the movie Polar Express, especially the part where they have the hot chocolate song. Here's some of his dancing while the song is going on. Then he breaks into a random somersault at the end - a surprise to us!

Here's Max demonstrating that he really does have an opinion! What you're missing in this video is the 10 books that Max had already turned down.

Fall Time with Max (16-18 Months)

Well, in a couple days Max will be 18 months old! He'll be a whole year and a half old, and we can't quite believe it! We have a lot of fun taking him places (you'll see in the pictures that we visit quite a few animals) and spending time with friends. He loves to run all around the house! You can hear the boom, boom, boom of his footsteps coming at you when he hits the wood floor. Max has quite a few words he says and some words that are "code" for certain things. For example, "dees" means his blankie, "yai" means outside, and "emo" mean Nemo. He asks to watch the movie Finding Nemo daily, and loves watching parts of it if we put it on! Actually, a couple weeks ago we started a list of his words (I know - first time parents!) and by now he has 60+ words he says. He now has 4 teeth - his top two middle and bottom two middle teeth. It's funny to actually see him use his teeth to bite food, but unfortunately there are no teeth in the back to help him grind up certain items. Lately he's been really into flopping on pillow (and Dad if he's around). He thinks it's hilarious and it's fun for us to see his sense of humor! And of course Matt and I have had to start dealing with a few tantrums here and there and discipline issues (like hitting our poor dogs). It keeps you on your toes, but everyone reminds us it's all par for the course. We really love our character Max! Enjoy the pictures and videos!

We started having ducks (really Canadian geese, but we call them ducks) show up in our pond behind our house this fall. Max is basically obsessed with checking for them and quacking at them. It's been a lot of fun!

Oh, poor Max has to go to bed every night, and he would just rather put it off. He's a great sleeper once he's down, but we get a kick out of his "no" to get out of it. Usually Matt puts him down at the end of the night, so then Max tries to go to me to rescue him. When that doesn't work he'll give me a kiss and a tearful "ba-bye" on his way up the stairs. He'll also usually continue to ask for "one more" book hoping to delay the inevitable. It's amazing how quickly they learn to do all this!

Max will definitely try climbing anything he can. On this morning he figured out how he could get up on this chair in our living room.

Here's a little taste of Max's dancing. We never seem to be able to get it on video! He also has his blankie which he adores, points out a box, and at the end asks to go outside (he says "yai" and points towards the garage door - this is something only Mom and Dad understand).

Max loves waking you up if you happen to be sleeping by him. Usually we pretend to be asleep, but this is actually the real thing. Matt taught Max to put his finger over his mouth and say "shhh" for quiet. It happens pretty quick at the beginning of this video, but you might catch him doing it. Max knows he's got to be quiet to sneak up on his dad.

About a week ago Max started jumping, and we get a big kick out of it! He always looks pretty proud of himself when he does it. Usually he gets no air, but there have been a few times (when people are over and he's quite excited) when his feet have actually left the ground.

Summer Time with Max (12-15 Months Old)

Hi Everyone! I know this has been a LONG time coming, but I am finally trying to catch up on Max's blog. Here are pictures from the summer (finishing up our time in Ohio, moving back to Michigan, going on vacation to California, and enjoying the warm weather). It's amazing to look back at these now and realize how far Max has come since he turned one, and I'm sure you'll notice that too with these updates.

Around 12 months Max said his first word, doggie, which was closely followed by his other favorite word ball. He loved pointing out anything that resembled a ball from a grape to a watermelon. He became more and more sure of himself on his feet, and was willing to try more and more new things. Max enjoyed swimming when we got the opportunity, and would even jump/slide into one us from the side of the pool. One of the biggest breakthroughs (literally) was that Max got his first tooth (on the top) in his 15th month! Can you imagine? He went through the first 15 months of his life with no teeth! Grandpa Bob says it's just less time for cavities to form (unfortunately if Max has my type of teeth, the cavities will come anyway). We also announced this summer that Max is going to be a big brother come the middle of January, and right before Labor Day we found out that it's another boy!

Enjoy the pictures (warning - there are a lot of them!) and the many videos too!

One day Max shoved this ball in Matt's mouth and got a total kick out of it. This is back in June pretty close to when we moved into our new house in Michigan.

After moving into our new house in Michigan we had to get blinds for all the windows, so we headed over to Home Depot. Little did we know (or even think about it) that it would take about an hour to cut all the blinds to size. So, what do you do with a 1 year old? Set them loose, chase them, and videotape it - I guess.

Sometime this summer Max figured out he could swing his arms and then clap. He always looks like he is trying to be so cool when he does it - just cracks me up.

One afternoon we realized Max had skipped out of the family room and here's what Matt found him up to. Ah, the joys of new discoveries!

Working on using utensils - key word here is working.

Max actually likes some food items we didn't think he would. He thinks it's hilarious to eat pickles! It's like he likes the taste, but thinks the zing to them is funny.

Max Turns One!

So, on May 16 our little boy hit the one year mark. We had a great time celebrating (and did it a couple times over)! We had a tiny party on the day after his birthday with just Matt, my sister LJ who came to visit, Max, and me. Then we traveled to Grand Rapids the next weekend for my sister-in-law's graduation and where another party was thrown for Max. Two weeks after his birthday we threw a big birthday for Max / going away party since we moved that next week after. Thanks to all of you who helped us celebrate! Here's to another great year with exciting adventures!

Max is Eleven and a Half Months Old!

Hi everyone! Sorry again that this has taken a while! Things have definitely been busy around here. I'm sure most of you know, but Matt found out at the end of March that he got another promotion with Pfizer and this promotion will take us back to Michigan. Needless to say, it's been a busy month and a half with vacations to Florida and California, putting our house on the market, looking for homes in Michigan, etc. It's definitely bittersweet. We have really enjoyed living in Ohio and are so thankful for all the friendships we've created in the last year, but are excited to go back to Brighton, MI where we already have friends and know the area.

Now back to Max. In two short weeks Max will be turning one on May 16! I can hardly believe it! I keep wondering, "Where did my little baby go?" But I suppose I'll be asking this many times over in Max's life - what happened to that toddler, where's my little boy gone, etc. Max was a trooper traveling to Florida and California where we greatly enjoyed time with both sides of the family, not to mention the warmer weather! New things for Max are pointing, doing so big with his arms both in the air, getting his first ear infections (in both ears at once!), actually making noise while clapping, kissing (a lot!), waving more, cuddling again, getting his first haircut courtesy of Auntie Natalie, and the latest, walking! A couple weeks ago he would take one step in between us, but this past weekend it took off into really walking. Very exciting and he's really proud of himself! Enjoy the pictures (warning: there's a lot of them) and videos!

Max finally figured out how to throw his big ball.

Walking around with some help.

Max picked up this glass and made some noise into it. The echo kind of shocked him, but he started cracking up. Here he is doing more of it. The dogs are trying to figure out what's so funny.

First "real" walking this past Thursday (of course to get Dad's Blackberry, that's how we got him crawling too).

And here he is a little more proficient at it this past Friday.

Max is Ten Months Old!

Well, two days ago Max hit double digits in his months! Only 2 more months until he's a year old. I can't believe it! In the two weeks since my last post, Max has learned how to open cabinet doors and drawers. He's also really into the stairs, and he'll head for them multiple times in one day. We definitely have to keep our eyes on him all the time! He has finally started saying "ma, ma," which he has no idea what it means, but I still LOVE it! Thank goodness some spring weather is here (except you always hold your breath for one more big snowstorm living in the Midwest)! We've enjoyed being outside and going to the park. We're also excited about our trip to Florida with the Bosch's next week and going to California to visit my family the week after!

Here he is showing off his new skill. This is when he first started opening the cabinet doors.

A typical dinner conversation in our house.

And some swinging action.

Max's Latest Videos

Alright, I got the videos up! This first one is of one of Max's new favorite games to play. Sorry - the camera angle is kind of funny because I'm in motion! Hope it doesn't make anyone seasick.

And here's Max with some of his newest fascinations - toilets and garbage cans. There's just so much fun stuff to find inside both of these things!

Max has graduated on to eating a lot of the food that we're eating. He still has NO teeth (I know - I can't believe it either, but I am happy that we don't have any bite marks in furniture yet), but he still manages to do just fine. I thought this was funny because I just gave him a plop of acorn squash, and he managed to get in his mouth just fine.

And here he is showing off his "speaking" skills. Actually I can hear him making the same sounds in his crib right now - he just woke up from a nap and is keeping himself entertained.

Max is 9 1/2 Months Old!

Sorry! I am getting bad at keeping up on this. Life has gotten busier around here with just being more settled and having a child that moves and gets into everything he can. So, Max hit 9 months a couple weeks ago! At his 9 month check-up, he was 28 1/4 in. long (which was the same length at his 6 month check-up, so something was wrong with the measuring - probably at the 6 month one) and weighed 19 lbs. 4 oz.

He's basically doing the same things as the last entry; he's just much more proficient at them. Max has started doing a little bit of cruising on furniture - he likes to try to transfer from one thing to another, but like I said the key word is try. He will walk if you hold his hands, but after a while he is ready to get back to crawling. I don't think he's in a big rush to get to walking. Max can do the stairs, but will only do it if we put him on them. He hasn't gone for them on his own (thank goodness, but I know that day will come). Max has explored our house more and more. He'll go after you if you leave the room, has discovered the toilet and all it's joys, and has figured out how to get behind some of our furniture where there always seems to be lamp cords (one broken floor lamp to date). His favorite thing to say is "da-da" over and over again. I keep pushing for mama, but it's just not clicking with him.

Enjoy the pictures! There's a common theme throughout all of them - Max always has some kind of bruise or scratch on his head. I guess this comes with the stage he's at. Like Matt always says it seems that everything Max does now has some element of danger to it!

I've been having problems getting video up with Blogger tonight. So, I'll put this up for now and try to add the videos tomorrow.

Max is Eight Months and One Week Old!

Yes, I am a little late in this one. Sorry about that! This past month has flown by especially with all the festivities of Christmas, New Years, traveling, and more traveling. We celebrated our own little Christmas at home early and then had a great time with Matt's side of the family in Michigan for the actual day. The day after Christmas we took off on our planes, trains, and automobiles adventure to Mexico (drive to Chicago, miss the train, drive to Princeton, IL, barely catch the train, take the train to Denver, and fly with the rest of the Bosch's to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico). We had a wonderful stay in Mexico for 5 days and really enjoyed the warm, sunny weather. Then we had to do all that traveling in reverse plus a drive back to Cleveland. Thank goodness Max is a great traveler! So, we are settling back into regular life and longing for 80 degree balmy days in Puerto Vallarta.

Besides all that, Max has made some big leaps and bounds this month. The biggest is CRAWLING, followed closely by pulling himself up on things (he's got the bruises on his forehead to prove it)! This has definitely made life more exciting around the Bosch household. We've had some new experiences (i.e. digging dog food out of your child's mouth), and Max is definitely enjoying his new found freedom (especially going after the dogs). Everyday he seems to figure out somewhere new he can go or something new to pull up on. Max went swimming in a pool for the first time in Mexico and really enjoyed it! Grandpa Bob also taught him to wave bye in Mexico (Max hasn't been too great at this lately, so we need Grandpa Bob to come back and give him another lesson). Max will give high-fives and clap as well. He's still pretty vocal and expressive. While we were in Mexico Max figured out pretty quickly that he could get a good echo in the hallways since they had tile floors. So, anytime we were out there he would just go "ah, ah" over and over. We thought it was pretty cute because it would start the minute we walked out of our room or elevator. He does have more hair, enough to usually keep it laying flat now. Max is also in love with Cheerios and any type of food that we can give him, but he still has NO teeth. We'll just have to wait and see on that one.

Enjoy the pictures and videos. Since we had a lot of pictures this first set is from Max this month.

This next set is from Christmas in Michigan and our trip to Mexico. Max got to spend some time with some of his second cousins: Evie, Jessa, and Bear.

Here are some videos from this month. This first one is of Max and his second cousin Evie on Christmas Eve. Evie is about 1 1/2 months older than Max.

And here's what some of you are waiting for. Here's Max crawling on the first night he really put it all together and realized what he was doing.

Here he is about a week later and realizing where the dogs like to hang out.

Taking in a historical moment.

Max is Seven Months Old!

"How did this happen?" is all I can think. I remember thinking to myself that Max would be seven months old at Christmas. Now we're here, and I still can't believe it!

Max is doing great! He is definitely more mobile. No crawling yet, but he pushes himself up on all fours and gets his bootie going back and forth, but he's not quite sure what to do after that. He rolls and skootches around, and he is starting to get the hang of moving from lying down to sitting up on his own. He is definitely more coordinated with his hands and still sticks everything he can in his mouth. Max seems to enjoy experimenting with his voice. For example two weeks ago he would constantly make a growling noise, then last week he was into high-pitched noises, and this week he's back to being loud. He's just starting to bang on things and splash in the tub, but he's definitely gotten the knack for sucking his thumb. He also shows his excitement even more now with loud noises, especially when it's bath time, reading a book, or Dad coming home from work.

As for Max's weight and height, here's the official update since our six month appointment was later on last month. Max weighed 17 lbs. 14 oz. (60/65th percentile) and was 28 1/4 in. long (97th percentile).

Well, it's amazing to think that almost exactly one year ago we were finding out that our little baby was a boy, and now we have this beautiful, healthy, and happy baby boy whom we love so much and couldn't imagine life without. We certainly feel greatly blessed! We hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas and Happy New Year!

Here's a little flavor of what bath time is like. And just to let you know, when I was showing Max this video clip and other ones from the tub, he would babble back to himself on the computer. I thought it was pretty cute, but of course I would.

And here he is excited to read one of his favorites.

At the end of a story he knows it's either time to go in the crib or time for another book which are kept in a bin next to the glider.

Thanksgiving Trip out East

We hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We certainly did! It was great to see lots of family and introduce Max to some of them for the first time. My parents flew out to Cleveland from California and then we drove together to Pennsylvania first. There we saw my Grandma Peddie (my mom's mom) and my cousin Amy for a couple days. We camped out in my Uncle Dan and Aunt Martha's place even though they were enjoying much warmer weather in Florida.

Then we continued on to New Jersey where we celebrated Thanksgiving with my dad's side of the family. My sister LJ flew out from Michigan and joined us there too. We stayed there for a couple days and got lots of visits in. Since my Grandma Peddie also went to New Jersey for Thanksgiving, we had a chance to get her and my Grandma Jan together.

Max did a terrific job in the car! This was his longest car ride yet - 7 1/2 hours from New Jersey back to Ohio. Then my parents stayed a couple more days with us here before returning home. We had a great time and really appreciated everyone's hospitality!

Max is Six Months Old!

Wow! We can't believe that he is half a year old already! Like everyone told us, time really does fly. Unfortunately Max's 6 month doctor appointment got pushed off into December, so we don't have his official weight and height. According to our own measuring, Max weighs around 18 pounds and is 26-27 inches long.

He is much more alert and starting to be more interested in other babies. Max also loves his baths, and really enjoys sticking bath toys in his mouth and wiggling them around (must feel good on those gums - yup, that means no teeth yet). If he's going to his bath, sees the dogs in the morning, or when Matt comes home from work Max will make this excited squeal which we think is pretty darn cute! He's getting the rolling thing down and will roll around on the floor to all sorts of things. Also, he has figured out to how to get his toes in his mouth. It is quite interesting slurping noise when he sucks on a toe!

We got to go back to Grand Rapids for a weekend this month, and my sister and her friend came out to visit us too. We are looking forward to having my parents here in a few days and visiting all our relatives in Pennsylvania and New Jersey for Thanksgiving. Max will get to meet 2 of his great grandmas then. Happy Thanksgiving everyone and enjoy the pictures and video clips!

Here he is having fun with Matt. Max definitely knows that's what his daddy is for!

Here is basically what Max is like on a normal day. Notice the missing sock. He's so into his feet that I can barely keep socks on him. So, a lot of the time I'll find him with only one sock on.

And here's what it looked like at our house Tuesday morning. We got a lot more snow during the day and are supposed to be getting more all week long!

Happy Halloween!

Well, I know this is a little later than I originally planned, but here are some pictures from Halloween. We got Max a chicken costume and his Auntie Maria got him a monkey one. Max did not go trick-or-treating (I think that would be a little too self-serving being that Max can't eat the candy). Instead he helped us greet trick-or-treaters at our house. He stayed in his costume for about 45 minutes, but then was totally fed up as it was near bedtime. We also got to visit Matt at his office for lunch since they had a Halloween party and trick-or-treating for all the Pfizer kids. I should be getting more pictures up soon since Max will hit the 6 month mark this weekend!

Someone at Matt's work was saying that you dress up as your alter-ego. What does that mean for our poor son?

Checking himself out with Dad.

At Matt's work. One of Matt's co-workers has a 7 month old baby, CJ. They were pretty focused on the toys as you can tell.

Here's his monkey costume from Auntie Maria.

I loved the tail on it! Too cute!

Max's First Snow!

Yup, that's right! We have already had snow covering the ground here in Ohio! This past Monday night it snowed, but once it hit the ground it melted. Then last night, my baby (no, not Max actually, but Samson of the canine variety) woke me up to go outside at 4am. When I opened the sliding glass door, my jaw almost hit the floor. Not only was it snowing huge white flakes, it was accumulating on the ground and not melting. So, Wednesday morning we woke up to a blanket of snow on everything. Kind of weird to see trees with red, orange, yellow leaves with snow on top! It continued snowing all this morning. I think we got about 2-3 inches, but the weatherman keeps promising us that it will be 62 degrees on Halloween. We're keeping our fingers crossed.

So, Max got introduced to snow for the first time (and it's still October!!!). He kept looking all around him because it was snowing when I took him out. Of course Matt was at work and I was trying to think of a way to get Max's picture with the snow, so the best I could come up with was to use his little seat. We don't even have gloves, mittens, or any snow gear for him. Just a jacket that it's a tad to big, a hat my mom gave us while I was pregnant (thanks Mom), and some boots (thanks Auntie Natalie and Ruthie). As for the other two babies, they had mixed opinions about it. Grace loves the snow, while Samson can't wait to get back inside.

Enjoy the pictures and hopefully we'll get some Halloween ones up this weekend.

House Updates

Well, we have done some work on the house making it our own. Mostly we've gotten some painting done (a big thanks to Matt's mom and dad who helped with the family room and kitchen). Now I'm trying to work on curtains and pulling everything together. It all just takes time (what doesn't?). So, here are some pictures of what we've done so far.

Max is Five Months Old!

Well it's official today - Max has hit the 5 month mark! I really can't believe it, but I think I'll be even more shocked when he hits 6 months. Let's see ... Max now reaches for anything he can (you've got to be much more careful) and really loves grabbing our noses or mouths. Grabbing at toes and socks has also been a new obsession. We also found some online computer games for infants, so he enjoys reaching for and banging at the keyboard (ahh, your precious and expensive computer becomes a baby toy and is baptized in Max drool - got to love it). He's rolling over, but gets frustrated after he's been on his stomach for a while and usually forgets that he knows how to roll back the other way. He can also sit up for very short chunks of time. Max is now much more into the dogs and will laugh at them. He likes looking at books, yelling loudly, eating his rice cereal and pears, and kicking in the tub. He still only takes short naps, but sleeps nonstop for 11-12 hours a night (usually).

We've had some visitors in Ohio in this last month. Matt's parents came for a long weekend and helped us get a lot of work done around the house. Unfortunately I didn't take that many pictures when they were here (too busy painting I guess). Then last weekend Matt's grandparents and great aunt and uncle stopped by on their fall color tour. It's really nice to have company! Enjoy the pictures and 2 videos!

New Tricks

Well, today Max officially rolled over from his back to his stomach! We had some close calls in the last week, but he could never figure out his arms. So far he has done it twice today - whoops, make it four (he just did it twice while I was working on this and I got part of one on video).

Also, yesterday Max started doing this spitting thing with his tongue. It makes it especially interesting when he does it while eating his rice cereal. These are both from his dinner tonight. Enjoy!

And here he is rolling over.

Max is Four Months Old!

Well, he will be this Tuesday. Max is now laughing and has decided that he can be really loud when he speaks. He actually does this shriek thing when he's excited (kind of like a cat or bird - I don't know if that makes sense to you, but it's the best way that I can describe it). We're thrilled to see more of his personality coming out! He continues to chomp on his fingers which my mother and sister informed me is the beginning of teething. His 4 month doctor appointment is tomorrow, and I'll update this with how much he weighs and how long he is.

Alright, we just got back from Max's doctor appointment. He showed the doctor what strong lungs he has with all his crying - yikes! He weighs 15 lbs. 3 oz. (75th percentile) and is 26 in. long (90th percentile - there are those Dutch genes).

Here's Max laughing. Unfortunately (in my opinion), Matt discovered one day that Max will usually laugh when he asks the question, "Did you poop in your pants?" Don't ask. Just thought I should give you a head's up.

We thought the below clip was pretty funny. We put him on the floor and he started doing this for about 15 minutes or so and wouldn't stop. The same thing happened again today. These are definitely some of the noises that Max is into lately.

California Trip

Here are some pictures from our recent trip to California. My brother John and my new sister-in-law Natalie got married on August 23. This was the big event we went out for, but we also got to see lots of family and friends. The wedding was gorgeous and we really enjoyed seeing John and Natalie get married! Max acutally did pretty good flying. There are two slideshows here. The first one has pictures from the wedding and the second is from the rest of the vacation. Enjoy!

Max is Three Months Old!

Well, we can hardly believe it, but Max is officially 3 months old as of yesterday! We are really enjoying seeing all the little progressions that happen every week. He still babbles and bats at his toys, but he's starting to grab some things now (keeping his hands more open) like my hair - joy, oh, joy. He'll roll from his tummy to his back, make bubbles with his spit, and definitely enjoys taking in new scenery. We've even had a few laughs this past week. Oh, and another thing that we've discovered (although I feel like an awful parent for having discovered this) is that Max has some Irwin genes in him yet - he'll watch and just get hooked on the tv. We've had the Olympics on so much in this last week that we discovered when we lay him on his play mat he'll hit at the toys, but try as hard as he can to watch the tv.

Max has gotten to meet lots of new people and be around lots of friends and family in the past week. He met his second cousin, Evie (Matt's cousin Randy's daughter), who is one month older than him. He also met Ethan who is about 2 months younger than him. Ethan is the son of some James and Kim, friends from Brighton. Last but not least, Max met Cadence who is the one-year-old daughter of Rob and Melissa, friends from Calvin who were out visiting from Washington. It's been exciting, and we're looking forward to our first plane ride and trip to California with Max this week for John and Natalie's wedding!

Here's Max doing some more "talking."

And here he is rolling over.

Playing Around

Max has been getting really interested in playing with things. He basically can just hit items around and likes to bring things to his mouth (if he can). He gets really focused on an item, but hasn't quite figured out how to open up those little hands and grab something. The last picture is another video clip of him.

He managed to get his fists on either side of this ball and then could bring it towards him ...

where he could try it out and see what it tasted like.

Preppy boy in Auntie LJ's outfit.

Flying high with Dad.

What is this?


Our 3 bambinos.



Matt was videotaping while I was talking to him.

Lazy Sunday Afternoon

Hi All! These are just some quick pics of Max hanging out this afternoon and his first video debut.

Sleeping while Dad watches the British Open (intently).

Working on those neck muscles with some tummy time.

And here it is ... Max just wanted to say "hi" to all of you.

Home Sweet Home

So here's a slideshow of our new house. I'm kind of embarrassed since it's not all put together. Oh well, that's going to take plenty of time to get things how I want them. This will just give you an idea of where we are. Enjoy! (The slideshow goes a little fast for the comments that I wrote, but I couldn't figure out how to slow down the slideshow - sorry - just be prepared for that.)

Yeah - We Have Smiles!

One of the greatest pleasures we've had since having Max is that he now returns smiles! We are constantly finding ourselves doing dumb stuff and babbling to get a response from him. Our poor dogs now get absolutely none of our attention and are probably wondering what's wrong with us. He started this about 2 weeks ago and it just gets better and better.

Max is 2 Months Old!

Well, here are some recent pictures of the little guy. Well, maybe he's not so little. He's up to 13 pounds (90th percentile) and 22 1/2 inches (only 50th percentile which was not was I was expecting with all his Dutch genes) according to his 2 month check-up yesterday. You'll see the dreaded 3-sided fireplace that literally stuck out right into the middle of our family room. Thank goodness Matt and my dad removed it!

Visitors in Ohio

We have been very fortunate to have family come out and help/see us here in Ohio. Matt's parents were here when we moved in and his mom, Linda, stayed a little longer. My dad, Jack, flew in from California for a week to help us get settled. Matt's sisters, Anna and Maria, were also out last weekend to see our new place.

With Grandma Linda before she headed back to Grand Rapids.

Checking out Grandpa Jack.

Chillin' with Auntie Maria and Auntie Anna.

Leaving Michigan

So, at the end of June our little house got packed up and loaded on a truck set for Ohio. We were sad to leave, but really enjoyed getting to see lots of people right before we left. Below are some pictures from some visits we had.

This last year there were 3 other gals that I had taught with that were pregnant too. Oh, the year of fertility! After school was out all 5 of the babies had to get together, so here they are. Max was the youngest and is the 2nd in from the right. If you're doing the math, you might have already figured that someone had to have had twins and you're right. The baby girl (the only girl in the bunch) in the red pants and her twin brother all the way on the right were the oldest at 4 months.

Here's Max with Jonathan. Jonathan's mom worked with Matt and they lived right by us in Brighton. They were nice enough to let us crash in on them for dinner our last night in Brighton. It allowed us to escape the maze (and smell) of boxes in our house. The movers had already packed up our house and had left us 2 chairs, our table, and bed as the only unpacked things (they even packed up our bathroom towels, but our really nice neighbors gave us some to borrow). Jonathan was super sweet with Max and really excited about holding him!

Then we went to Grand Rapids for the weekend. Here's Max on Grandma and Grandpa's kitchen counter after getting a bath.

Sucking on Great Grandma Soper's hand while they stopped over to see Max.

Sleeping away in Matt's cousin Lydia's arms. She sure was a good baby holder! Too bad we don't live close enough to get any babysitting from her or her sister, Elizabeth!

Max is One Month Old!

Here are a few shots as Max approaches his one month birthday. Can you start to see why we call him Mr. Bobble Head?

Max Meets the Bosch's

Since all the Bosch's were in Spain visiting Maria when Max was born, we had a big get together at our house the day after they got back (just 5 days after Max was born). This baby was sure spoiled by all the love and holding. Linda (Matt's mom) couldn't get over how much he looked like Matt as a baby. And although there's tons of pictures of Grandpa Bob holding Max, you can rest assured that everyone got their turn (we just weren't very good on the taking pictures end).

First Week at Home

These are some highlights from Max's first week at home. My mom flew out from California to be here with us, and my sister LJ had just finished finals at Calvin, so she was able to hang out with us too. As you can see there's a lot of sleeping going on! Max did get to meet another little baby - my mom's new puppy Tucker whom she got in Michigan and took back to California. My mom and LJ were invaluable and helped us a lot with Max, shopping, and cooking!

Welcome to the World!

May 16, 2008 - What a great day to be born! Here are some pictures from our little guy's first days in the hospital. He was born at 6:10 am and was 20 1/4 inches long and weighed 8 lbs. 7 oz.