Maxwell: 3 Months Old

my sweet baby boy is three months old.

and you know what that means....

the skills & life experience of a three month old:

1. already stretching out his size 3 month clothes and fitting into some size 6 months.

2. he rolls over from front to back often.

  and he rolled from back to front twice. definitely not a fluke.

3. he seems mesmerized by his sister. he stares at her and smiles.

it's adorable and pulls on my heart every single time.

4. he is such a smiley guy and always so content.

 his mellow attitude has brought the perfect balance to our family.

5. he giggled. not for me, only for kirk. not fair!
i have been desperately trying to get him to laugh for me,
but kirk claims i'm just not funny enough.

6. he is still sleeping in our room in the bassinet and/or with mommy.

i moved him into his room for a trial period and it didn't go as smooth as i hoped.

so, i moved him back into our room where he sleeps really well, most of the time.

 i don't know when i will try transitioning him again. 

i guess i'm just not rushing it this time.

7. when he gets excited his arms and legs go wild at full speed.

it's really funny until he whacks himself in the face,

then i feel bad for him. [as i'm still laughing]

8.  kirk feels loved by max now. he used to tease him for being a momma's boy.

but they bond & watch football together now.

it's the father/son relationship kirk always dreamed of! ;)

9. he hasn't traveled outside of texas yet. 
but we did get some practice going through airport security.

10. he's developed a wrist roll. yes, i said wrist.
do you know how unbelievably cute* a wrist roll is? 
[*wrist rolls on babies are cute, not adults]

Growing out of his newborn clothes & rolling over.

 I keep telling him to stop it. Stop changing. Stop growing.

Stop trying to reach those milestones.

 It's totally fine if you want to be a baby forever.

I remember being so eager for change when Lyla was a baby, 

but this time I feel a little sad each time Max does something new.

Don't get me wrong, I'm proud of the little dude, but I need time to freeze.

We planned on limiting the size of our family to four humans.

However, newborns babies are a little addicting.

Maybe I can do that pregnancy thing one more time...

just kidding. or am i? 

Mom of the Year

I was going to post pictures of this little incident on Instagram,

but then I decided I should save this parenting fail exclusively for my blog.

That way it is slightly more difficult for people to judge me.

It went like this: 

Seriously? That damage was caused by one little tiny Hershey kiss.

The moment I saw her in the mirror I gasped and the look on her face was priceless. 

I'm pretty sure she thought she was going to be in trouble.

But, then we laughed together and she made some silly faces for the camera.

I don't know what I was thinking giving it to her in the car.

Clearly I wasn't. 

Back to Normal

Libby left us today and, because she is a minor, 

I got some practice taking two kids through airport security. 

It wasn't difficult, only slightly annoying because they require every

 single baby item to be shoved through the conveyor belt.

It was so much fun having her here. She is such a cutie.

We decided a Texas visit will be in order every summer!

Now it's back to normal. However, I'm not sure I know what normal is.

So many visitors this summer & now it's turning to fall.

[hmm, turning to fall isn't the right term. it's still 90 degrees.]

But my point is that the summer months passed by in a flash and 

I feel like we hardly did very many summery activities.

I guess that is expected with a newborn though.

Next summer will be a blast. 

Libby: Part 2

I'm going to be one sad momma when Libby leaves us.

We are having so much fun & it's not so shabby having a live-in nanny either!

Some of our recent activities include:

1. a very serious coloring session.

2. [libby] modeling school clothes for aunt kari.

3. petting stingray at the aquarium. ahh!

4. the happiest little dude in town. 

5. fun times at the park.

I didn't think much changed between 14 and 24,

but having Libby here is making me feel OLD.

She's making me realize that all things I find cool are actually uncool. 

[and she makes fun of me when I wear the baby harness carrier thingie]

exhibit a:

She also informed me that kids her age never call each other on the phone.

Now communication is all about Facebook or texting.

What. is. the. world. coming. to.

Do you realize this means she has never gone through the heart-racing anxiety

 of calling a boy's house with the possibility of a parent answering the phone? 

That was as real as fear got for me as a young gal.

I know I'm merely one generation ahead of my sweet cousin,

but the influence of technology has me slightly freaked.

Seriously. The world is becoming too smart for its own good.

I really hope my children remain human & don't turn to robots.

Kirk and I decided that when Lyla is old enough for a cell phone

 we are going to disable the text messaging feature. 

Not cause we are mean, cause we are funny!

This & That

Libby is here.

Which means Lyla has a buddy, again!

  I don't think Libby was expecting to see anything but cactus and cowboy's,

so I'm happy I'm able to show her civilization actually does exist in Texas. 

Hopefully I can keep her entertained for two whole weeks.

I am really hoping she can avoid that dreaded home sick feeling.

A few of our adventures this week so far include....

Waiting for Libby to wake up.

Umm I forgot how LATE teenagers sleep in.

Good grief. I might be a little jealous...

Lyla quietly checks on Libby,

and as she's opening the door she looks back at me and says "shhh"

She makes me laugh. I sure do love that girl.

A trip to the pottery place.
We get to pick up our creations next week!

It was really fun & even Lyla got into it.

[My last attempt at letting Lyla getting artsy with paint was an epic fail]

Max was a very content little guy the entire time.

And today we ventured out to Charli's for some pool time.

It was pretty overcast today, so I decided it was the 

perfect opportunity to let Max test out his splashing skills.

His swim trunks are size six months. 

I don't know whether to laugh or cry!

He relaxed with Ashton for quite awhile 
and really seemed to enjoy himself.

Overall, we are having a great week and
even more good times are planned for the weekend.

I'm getting great enjoyment watching Libby gag anytime Max spits up. 

Also, she changed Lyla's poopy diaper tonight and

 it was the most hilarious thing I've ever witnessed.

I was downstairs and heard screaming followed by,

 "ew! ew! ew! OMG. Kaili come here!!!"  
I haven't laughed that hard in a long time, thanks Lib.

I think it's safe to say I'm providing free birth control.

Spoiled

Lyla's aunt & uncle spoiled her rotten when they 

showed up to our house on Sunday with this adorable toy kitchen.

They really went all out and bought the food, dishes, pots & pans to go with.
Favorite aunt & uncle award? I think so!

I knew Lyla really liked her new toy when the first words

out of her mouth Monday morning were "cook? cook?"

So, the three of us ventured into the new playroom and

Lyla cooked up some breakfast.

What a nice sister!

Did I mention Kirk surrendered his "man cave" and 

agreed for it to be transformed into the most awesome playroom ever?

He thinks having a playroom will contain the kid mess to one room. [fool]

eeeek! so excited. more to come later.

Later that day we took her new kitchen tools to 

the real kitchen and made some play dough.

We made "cookies" and it was really fun!

And yes, she is still in her pajamas.

She had a meltdown when I attempted to remove them. 

Sometimes you gotta choose your battles and

 if staying in pajamas all day is what she wanted, that was fine by me.

I think someone had a case of the Mondays...

And lastly, I'm sorry for letting her sit on the counter, grandma.

I promise she was never left unattended. :)

[grandma has been getting on my case lately]

Please Come Back!

We've been pretty lucky when it comes to visitors all summer. 

I really haven't had to go too long being "alone" since we moved into our house. 

And this week it was Kurt & Olivia's turn to keep us company. 

We had so much fun!

 It's nice having other adults around while Kirk is at work.

It's nice having someone to share my addiction to McDonalds [diet] coke.

It's nice having extra help for diaper duty and car seat patrol.

It is just nice to have friends! I miss that. 

side note: it isn't nice of Olivia to fatten me up with brownie & ice cream. twice.

Lyla is especially fond of them and it's moments like 

watching her chase Kurt around or Olivia do her hair that 

make my heart ache that we no longer live in Idaho.

I have to remind myself that Texas is the best decision for our family.

It truly is allowing us to give our babies the best they deserve.

BUT, there is always a BUT. I hate saying goodbye to our guests 

cause it reminds me how alone we are down here.

okay. the pity party ends now. 
at least we have each other.

Idaho for Christmas. 

Maxwell: 2 Months Old

2 Month Doctor Visit

Weight: 13 lbs, 4 oz, 80th percentile

Height: 23.5 inches, 80th percentile

Head: 15.5 inches, 67th percentile

Somebody turned two months old yesterday & I can hardly believe it. 

Time is flying by. I know, so cliche, but it's true!

I put Maxwell on the scale and even the nurse proclaimed, "holy crap!"
I was wondering why his diapers were already feeling so snug.

He is my chubby boy and I love it. Love them baby rolls.

So opposite from his "big" sis, who has always been so petite. 

I didn't even shed any tears when my baby got his shots.

Looking back to the crying fit I had at Lyla's first appointment, 

I would say I've come a long way in 18 months.

It was still very tragic though!

 Here is Max enjoying himself, being cute as ever while we waited for the doc.

Then that nurse walked in with those needles and ruined his day. 

Sorry buddy. Mommy loves you.