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.