Visit With Santa

Last night we decided to take the big man to meet Santa and get his photo taken. As Andy likes to say, this was done more for his mommy than for his benefit. I am totally ok with that assumption because I had a GREAT time taking him to see Santa. He has been quite fussy lately and we have been assuming it's because his gums are getting ready for his teeth to come in. This made me worried about how he would be with Santa. I chose last night mainly because I assumed that it would be a short line since it was black Friday and people probably wouldn't want to go see Santa on Friday night after shopping all day. I was right because there was no line to see Santa and this made mommy and daddy very happy.

My parents (aka grandpa Jeff and grandma Vicki) were in town for Thanksgiving so they joined us to visit Santa and they too were excited to see the big man's first visit. They even got the big man a "My First Christmas" onesie that he wore to see Santa. Again, this was more for the adults entertainment than it was for a 5 month old baby who had no idea what was going on. I must say, even after being pretty crabby lately he  was pretty good with Santa. For a brief minute his lower lip started to quiver as Santa held him up and he stared back at Santa in the below picture. This is when I thought the whole Santa adventure was going to come to an end.

I was wrong as he did not cry at all. Instead he just stared at Santa and wondered what was going on. Santa turned him around for a few more photo shoots and Maxim just stared at everything around him like the curious baby he is.

Then Santa busted out a very colorful book that glowed from the inside and this got the big man's attention very fast. It's also a favorite photo of mine because it appears Santa is reading to him.

We then had one last photo opportunity where Santa and the big man waved to everyone.

Of course I paid a pretty penny for the above photos, but what better way to say Merry Christmas than to say with very over priced photos of your super cute baby with Santa?

While we were there I struck up a conversation with a mother who had a three month old with her. The little girl was born on September 4th which of course is very close to my due date. So to see Maxim and this little girl next to each other was nice to compare his size. They were the same size except Maxim was much longer than the little girl. For once I got to see that he is right in line with the size that he should be instead of always comparing him to premie sizes. I get stopped all the time when I am out from people commenting on him and asking if he is two or three months old and when I say he is five I get weird looks. I then have to inform strangers that he is a 10 week premie and that is when the strangers faces change from scared to awe.

Following the visit with Santa we did a family photo shot in front of the Christmas tree at Kierland Commons.

One happy Max.

...and he is done!

Happy Thanksgiving

Last year I blogged about the top 10 things I am thankful for, so I will make this an annual blog post and let you know the top 10 things I am thankful for this year.

1. A healthy baby boy
Of course I couldn't be more thankful for having a healthy baby boy, especially at 10 weeks early. To have a premie that early and only have a feed and grow baby is amazing. I am very thankful that he didn't have more problems. He is the most amazing little boy that has brought so much joy to my life and I am very thankful for that.

2. My amazing husband
Andy has been so amazing this year (not like it's different from any other year). He was my rock when Maxim was born prematurely and he stepped up to the plate and took six weeks of paternity leave all so Maxim didn't have to go to the sitter's at a young age. I am very thankful for him. Not only was he my rock and Maxim's daycare provider, but he also cooks and cleans too. He is one heck of a guy and I am very thankful for that.

3. My little family
I just love the little family that Andy and I created together. We have created a life here in Arizona for our little family of 3, plus 3 fur babies.

4. NICU nurses
The ladies at the hospital who take care of premature babies are beyond amazing. They are the ones who are there for your baby when you can't be. They get to know your baby and they show them tons of love. Not only are they educated to be your baby's nurse, but somehow they also are a psychologist. They don't just take care of the babies, but they also take care of the hormonal mommy's. It takes a very special person to be a NICU nurse and I am very thankful for NICU nurses as they are very special people who have a heart of gold.

5. NICU
Since Maxim spent seven weeks in the NICU I am VERY THANKFUL that a NICU even exists. Think about way back when there probably was not a NICU and specialists for premature babies. What did they do back then? I don't even want to think about that. I am just very grateful that there is something called the NICU so my baby boy had somewhere to go and he was taken care of very well by my #4.

6. Friends
I know this item was on my list last year, but I am still thankful for them in 2013 and it will probably be on my list again next year. Without good friends to get you through the tough times and be there for the celebrations in life you will live a lonely life. I am very thankful for my amazing friends here in Arizona, the Midwest and Oregon.

7. Captain
I have to be thankful for Captain as he is the cat who will spot a bug in our house from a mile away. Not literally as our house is super teeny tiny, but you get where I was going with that. Once he spots the creature he always lets you know about it. He is the perfect bug killer/announcer. Perfect example is the snake incident a few days ago.

8. My sweet dogs
I am very thankful that I have two very sweet dogs who have been very chill about Maxim joining our household. You hear stories of dogs not liking the new baby in the house and will rebel. Not our dogs and I am very thankful for that because I would have hated if we had to get rid of them.

9. Pomegranate tea
I have to insert this in here because it's my latest obsession. I just love green tea with pomegranate and I am drinking it as I am typing. It is so yummy and it gets me through these cold winter mornings. Ok, it's cold here for me in the mornings and the tea helps warm me up. The caffeine is also a nice benefit too since I do not drink soda or coffee.

10. Sirius XM
I have to give a big shout out of thanks to Sirius XM. It gets me through my long commute and my workdays. Right now I am loving the Holly channel as I can listen to Xmas music on my way to work, during work and my way home. It gets me in the Xmas spirit and I enjoy it this time of year. I also love the Morning Mashup as those guys help wake me up, or keep me calm when I am fighting traffic in the mornings.

I am wishing all of you a happy Thanksgiving. We are heading to the Seifert's with my parents, Tim and Shelley (they are all in town) for their Thanksgiving.

5 Months

Maxim is five months old today, or two months and 25 days developmentally. I do not know exactly how much he weighs, but I am guessing it's over 14 pounds. About two weeks ago he had an appointment for his RSV shot and he weighed in at 13 pounds 9 ounces so I am sure he is over 14 pounds now.

Maxim, it's crazy to think you were born five months ago already. Time is surely flying by fast. This past month we got to celebrate mommy's favorite holiday. It was so fun to make your Halloween costume, carve pumpkins and take you to my work event. I know you had no idea what was going on, but I had a ton of fun doing it.

This past month we also moved you from the bassinet to your crib at night. We started doing this shortly after you turned four months old. I thought it was going to be a difficult transition on both you and I, but you made the move to your crib easy with no cries. I was too tired to notice that you had been moved, so it was easy on me too. A couple weeks ago you slept through the night without waking up and I panicked at 5am when I realized you didn't get up. I thought something happened to you, but when I checked on you to make sure you are ok I saw that all was good. I wondered if this was going to happen every night, but you assured me the next night that it was only a fluke. You get up about once a night to eat (about 2am) and then you fall back asleep pretty fast.

You have been a very lucky boy as you got to spend this past month bonding with your daddy as he took care of you every day. You just love your daddy as he makes you laugh a ton...even more than mommy can. I do get to benefit from this as your daddy sends me pictures of you during the day to make my work day much easier.

Maxim, you have turned into quite the chatter box. You start your mornings off with breakfast and then a good hour or so of chit chat with daddy during the week and with me on the weekends. You just want to sit and have a conversation. You will just sit and talk our ears off for a long time and you seem to prefer doing this over playing with your toys.

Your big new thing this month is rolling on your side. Once you discovered this new adventure you always do it over and over again. When we put you under the play gym you will flop from side to side and you giggle the whole time you are doing this too.

This past month was the first time I left you over night. Actually, I left you with daddy for the weekend while I went to Palm Springs. It was tough to leave, but I knew you were in good hands. When I did get home and you saw me you just talked my ear off. Daddy said that was the most you talked all weekend, which told me that you missed me just as much as I missed you.

You do love watching TV. We do not like you to watch TV right now as your daddy read somewhere it's not good for your development at this age so we try and prevent you from watching. However, you are always determined to watch. You will break your neck to turn and face the TV. I cannot feed you with the TV on as you will turn and watch instead of eating.

You still clench your fists closed tight quite a bit, but you are doing much better. We are working with you to teach you how to grab things and I feel you have improved. We got you ball that is easy for you to grab and I think it's been helping you.

I am starting to think teeth are right around the corner as you are drooling quite a bit and you keep munching on your fist all the time. You are also "eating your gums" too which is a nice sign of your gums getting prepared for teeth. Mommy bought you a couple teething rings and you do have Sophie the giraffe to munch on, but for some reason you just want your fist.

Maxim, it's been an amazing five months. Being your mommy has brought so much joy to my life and it's way more fulfilling than I ever imagined it would be. You are such a good and sweet little boy and I just love watching you discover and learn new things. I look forward to more adventures with you.

Love, your mommy

Snake Scare

Living in the desert you are expected to come across all kinds of creepy crawly things and we have had our fair share. Last night took the cake though when Captain spotted a snake in our house. Yup, in  our house and under the couch! This is our fourth snake in eight years of living here.

The first snake was at our doorstep at our apartment. We were out with a good friend that night and the three of us arrived home via cab (safety first) and when we got to the door a snake was there to greet us. Of course I freaked and hurried in the house while Andy and Jordan decided to play with it. Good thing nothing happened to them.

The next snake appearance was in our pool filter. I never saw it but when Andy was cleaning the pool he was excited to come and announce there was a snake in the filter. How awesome is that?

The third snake appeared in our grassy area in the backyard. Andy was doing yard work with a trimmer when he spotted the snake. The boy inside of him was pretty excited to take the trimmer and chop up the snake. Very disturbing! I am glad I did not see this either.

Last night I fell asleep on the couch while snuggling with the big man. I woke up to Andy making noise. He proceeds to inform me there is a snake under the couch and he is trying to find it. Really? How did you lose it? Well, he didn't have his contacts in so he couldn't see very well. I think this is a good time for him to take a minute and put his contacts in. He busts out the dyson and eventually finds the snake. He sucks up the snake and then takes him outside to determine what kind of snake it is before he kills it. Since Andy is a snake aficionado (insert sarcasm) he determined it's a desert night snake. He also assumed that since it rained for the past 24 hours the rain probably uprooted the snake from its home and somehow got in the house. You gotta love living in the desert.

Chatter Box

This past month we discovered that we have quite the little chatter box on our hands. Mr. Maxim just loves to sit and have a conversation with you. He will go on and on until he passes out from being tired. It is too funny and absolutely adorable. I do believe that this would be one trait that he acquired from my family as everyone knows my family just LOVES to talk. Maxim even prefers to have a conversation with you over playing with his toys. It's hard to record this because as soon as you pull out the iPhone to record he stops to stare at the phone in your hand. We have done our best at getting footage and Andy has done a better job at this than me.

Now that he talks so much he just loves to hear himself squeal. Just another adorable thing that melts my heart and cracks me up.

Snuggle Time

Last weekend after I nursed Maxim it was snuggle time for us on the couch. Izzy saw this and climbed up on the couch next to me, backed her butt up and flopped back to snuggle with us.

This is how we snuggled as Izzy is such a weird dog.

Back To Work

I have been back to work for three weeks now and I definitely have mixed feelings about it...which I know is totally normal. On one hand, I am very happy to be back at work and do what I love to do and interact with other adults, but on the other hand I miss the big man so much all day long. 

As the day was approaching for me to go back to work I was getting excited as I love what I do and I really do like where I work. I was looking forward to being career focused again and definitely the social aspect of working. I was also preparing myself for the cry-fest the first morning of work that I heard so much about from my friends. Apparently Andy was also preparing himself for that morning too. It was a surprise to myself that I did not cry that first morning back to work...and before you think I am heartless I will let you know that I got the crying in the night before. I started to cry and Andy checked in on me and here is how it went.

Me: I am going to miss him so much and I don't want him to think I left him.

Andy: Uh, I was not prepared for this. I thought this was going to happen tomorrow morning and I was ready for it then, but I am not ready for it now.

Me: What's the difference? Just give me the speech you were planning on for tomorrow morning as it might make me feel better now.

Andy: I can't because you just threw me off my game and now I can't remember my speech. You should have planned your cry-fest better.

I then continued to cry while Andy tried to get back on his game and remember his speech to make me feel better. I cried because I knew I was going to miss him dearly and I didn't want him to think I deserted him. I also cried because I was feeling guilty for looking forward to going back to work. I was feeling like every other mother who heads back to work...kind of like "what kind of mother am I to want to go back to work?" I knew the feelings were totally normal, but I still cried. It made me feel a million times better knowing that the big man will be hanging out with daddy for the next six weeks before he goes to the sitter's house. Yes, we are truly fortunate that Andy's place of employment allows him up to 12 weeks of fully paid paternity leave and he agreed to use 6 of those weeks. I am very happy that Andy gets this bonding time with him like I had as I know most fathers don't get that. Another bonus of Andy being home with him he sends me daily pictures and videos of him playing and it helps me get through the day.

The BIG NEGATIVE of me going back to work is that I get home at 6pm and he pretty much goes to bed an hour and a half later. So, I get 1.5 hours with him and during that time he is either super crabby because he is tired or he is half asleep anyway. It's pretty much a bummer! This makes me really appreciate the weekends and I cherish all my time with him before I have to head back to work on Monday.

Sooooo Tired