Max - 4 months

4 months old

17 lb 11 oz

26.75 inches

red hair

blue eyes

Loves: playing with toys on floor gym, grabbing, being entertained by Katie and Isaiah, kicking on the paper on the exam table at the doctor's office

Hates: being tired, messy diapers, Mom or Dad using the bulb syringe

Milestones: grasping toys, being left with a babysitter (Grandma) for a few hours during the day, squealing, rolling to side and changing positions

Max, you are getting more control over your muscles, and you're starting to roll to the side a bit to reach for toys or change positions on your floor gym. You light up when you see any of us, and you're figuring out that sitting on our laps isn't so bad because you can see what's going on (although you'll only tolerate it for so long). This last month you grasped a toy for the first time, and since then you have become extremely grabby--grabbing Katie's hair, Isaiah's clothes, and lots of parts of Mommy (hair, nose, mouth, shirt, etc.) while you nurse. You are very drooly and soak your clothes constantly. More than once we've been asked if you're teething because of this and the fact that you chew on your fingers and fists. In the last week or so you've learned to like the sound of your voice and now you're squealing and yelling as loudly as your brother and sister (darnit!). You're an amazing sleeper, usually only waking once a night to nurse, sometimes not at all, and taking naps easily when swaddled in your crib.

You continue to light up our home with your joyful presence; you're the happiest baby we know! You only cry when tired or hungry or hurt, and even though you've been sick (ear infection), you've smiled through it all. We love you, Bubba!

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday-Love at Home

*Pretending to be asleep is a vital skill at our house. (What, you haven't threatened your children within an inch of their life if they don't stay in bed and go to sleep NOW!?) Max is the only one who hasn't learned this skill yet, probably because he is an awesome sleeper. But he'll learn; look at who he has to teach him!*

Sick Day Boredom Buster

So, we're all sick. The snotty, hacking-up-a-lung, runny eyes, headache, sore throat kind of sick. Yeah, everyone but Adam. And it really sucks. It actually coincided with SEPs at the elementary school, so Isaiah and the rest of the kindergarteners had Monday and Tuesday off anyway. But everyone home and no outings because we are infectious makes for a crabby, crazy bunch.

As the kids were getting wild and I was going deaf, I remembered a project I'd seen in FamilyFun magazine, an orange juice carton wallet. The day after I'd read the article I was grocery shopping at WalMart and saw those very cartons of orange juice on sale, so we bought some instead of our usual frozen concentrate, and I had rinsed and saved them for the perfect time. Now was the perfect time! Here are my bedraggled sick children (remember, I'm sick too, and yes, they were playing outside, don't judge me, it's not that cold here) with their creations:

They had a lot of fun putting small coins in through the spout when the wallet was folded up, and they carried them around all day.

If you choose to make one (or more), keep in mind that this is more of a big kid activity. Isaiah could help a little with cutting out the pattern, taping, and tracing. Katie just cut up paper scraps while I made hers. It worked out really well to do them with each kid individually instead of both together because I did most of the work. It was fun to talk quietly and have some one-on-one time. And be sure to score the fold lines well, it makes it a lot easier to fold.

Here's my sick baby (who, by the way, doesn't fall asleep anywhere but the crib or carseat normally) conked out on my bed, sending you "don't get sick" wishes!

WPPI and the Parade of Homes

On Wednesday night we got home from our adventure at WPPI in Las Vegas. It was great to see our loyal photographers and a great chance to meet lots of future loyal photographers. Here's Adam saying, "Another picture?!" Unfortunately it was the best one of him in our booth.

When I say it was an adventure, I mean that not only in the sense that it was our first venture into formally marketing Instaproofs (it's all been word of mouth for the most part), but it was also my first time leaving Max for any real period of time. Adam's mom, Sybil, came with us to help out, and it was such a great experience! She stayed at the WorldMark resort with him while we were at the trade show during the day, then had dinner ready for us when we got home. It made me seriously think how great a nanny could be . . . and a housekeeper/cook . . . . But Sybil was really so great because she has a vested interest in us. We sure appreciate her support and love.

Speaking of great, this whole trip wouldn't have been possible without my mom and Shelli taking the big kids for us. They had such a great time, neither of the kids had any interest in talking to me on the phone ("Mom, can I get off this phone now, we're trying to play . . . ") and could have stayed days longer. Friday they acted like they hadn't seen their cousins in years (actually less than 48 hours) when they got to play with them again while Shelli and I went out to the Parade of Homes.

And here we come to my rant for the day . . . why can't I have a 3.5 million dollar home?! I don't think it's too much to ask to have a full basketball court, racquetball court, climbing wall, and putting green in my basement. Right? Okay, maybe it's just the economy, but the excess of the Parade this year was irritating. At least this year there were several affordable homes, including a 650 square foot senior community home, that was beautiful and so well-done. Many of the houses were much more realistic than they have been in the past. And the big houses were cool, too. But they were also just . . . well, to quote a breathless someone I ran into while touring the 15,000 square foot behemoth that prompted my rant . . . "ridiculous."

Here's a shot I got of a house on the next block from it. A literal castle, complete with creeping vines:

It makes me wish I was a princess, or at least a multimillionaire . . .

eat your HEART out!

Some Valentine-y treats:

Old-Fashioned Pancakes made into hearts (the kids' version had red sprinkles!)

Valentine Pizza, made from my favorite recipe

A Valentine from my Valentine, the one man who knows how much tulips mean to me. I love you, Adam!

Big News!

This week we made an offer on this house and it was accepted! We expect to close sometime in March. In the meantime, we're busy getting our house ready to put on the market (we'll do that sometime in the next week), and getting very excited!

Sick Day

Katie has been sick for two days with the fever-runny nose-headache-etc yuckiness. Poor girl. Almost nothing gets her down, but here she is in the middle of the day, still in her pjs, fast asleep on the couch: After alternating Tylenol and Ibuprofin off and on over the last two days, here's hoping we wake up fever-free tomorrow . . .

Wordless Wednesday - The Wheels on the Bus