the kid can roll

As of a few days ago, the kid can roll over. This is awesome. Only problem is that although he is capable of rolling back onto his back (I've seen him do it more than once) he usually gets too worked up to do so. Since he hates tummy time, this has led to quite a few frustrated tears. I eventually go and roll him back over. He then repeats the process. Although I'm sure he doesn't think it's funny, it's slightly amusing. It's also not as easy to get things done as it used to be...:)

Man, I love this kid.:)

Max adventures

How can my little man be almost 3 months old already?!

When did this change happen?:)

I will not lie and say this has all been easy, (in fact probably at least the first 5 or 6 weeks I wondered what the heck I had gotten myself into:) but Max really does make being a parent a pretty awesome experience. We have loved our little guy more than we ever could describe or imagine from the very beginning and getting to know him and his personality more every day is an absolute joy. It has definitely taken awhile for me to feel like a human being again, but Luke has been an incredible support and a terrific dad. Between breastfeeding challenges, health challenges and lack of sleep the first few weeks were hard especially while I was still recovering from the C-section. The past month or so, though, we have kind of gotten into the swing of things and are starting to have a slightly more established and reliable schedule.:) I started back to work part time last week and so far that has been going pretty well.

It's been fun to see Max's personality evolving. This kid loves to smile and is quite a laid back and happy fellow. He is an incredibly good sleeper and has become a good eater.:) He's been sleeping 8-10 hours at night, which has been so awesome and usually only wants to eat about every 4 hours during the day. When we got the go ahead to let him sleep as long as he wanted and to let him tell us when he's hungry, I was thrilled because I had been having to set an alarm to wake him up every 2ish hours. And trying to nurse a baby that is basically still asleep is no fun especially when you want to be asleep yourself.:) I could tell he was going to be a good sleeper (pretty sure he gets that from his dad:). It's funny how your entire world becomes wrapped up in and revolves around this tiny person. But at the same time you absolutely wouldn't have it any other way.:)

I'm sure he wonders what kind of crazy world he was born into (or maybe just what crazy parents he was born to:) as here are a few of the activities we have engaged in over the past few months:

Bath time:

This may not sound extreme, but someone was not a fan of bath time the first few times. Although you would never know that now that he has discovered he can splash.:)

Photo Shoot:

My sister-in-law Christy does photography and took some great photos of Max. He cooperated when he was alseep.:)

Concert:

At a month and a half, Maxfield attended his first (probably of many:) music and arts fest. We hung out all day in and out of my studio and the Harrison Center and got to stay and hear "company of thieves" in the evening. He was great! (Although he did cat nap a bit during the show:) He also got to rock his Ramones t-shirt that Luke and I picked out for him just a few weeks before his birth.

Swimming:

As with bath time, he was unsure about this initially and opted for pretending to sleep anytime I put his feet in the water. This eventually led to him actually sleeping and so our first couple of attempts at the pool were unsuccessful. More recently, though, he actually started smiling at the pool. I perceive this as approval.:)

Camping:

Max got to experience camping for the first time over the 4th of July. We had a big family camping trip, which was tons of fun. Max did great. I'm sure it helped that there were lots of aunts and uncles there to give him extra love. By the look of this picture, we apparently wore him out.:)

He also got to go on his first boat ride at the lake house we stayed at with Luke's family, but I failed to get a photo of him in his life jacket.:) I'm sure there will be many more adventures in the near future. Clearly we have been busy the past few months. Max is an absolute trooper and acclimates well to just about anything. He is growing and changing so fast already. I just want to enjoy every moment with him and for him to always know how much he is loved.

week by week

I promise to update more later, but just wanted to share these week by week photos of Maxfield's first 8 weeks. This little guy is one happy, growing boy. We are loving having him around.:) Of course how can you not love this face?!:)

little man makes his appearance

On April 25th at 2:55 p.m. we were excited to welcome Maxfield Atticus into our family. He weighed in at 8 lbs. 12 oz. and 21 in. long. I must say he was definitely bigger than I had expected. We are quite enamored with the little guy and although running a little shy on sleep, we are excited about this transition in life.

The labor and delivery of little Max did not go at all as we had "planned" or expected. Since he was late coming (9 days overdue) we went into the hospital on the evening of Sunday the 24th (Easter Sunday) to begin preparation for scheduled induction on Monday morning. After some irregularities with Max's heartbeat during contractions, the doctor decided that it would be best to induce me late Sunday night. After laboring through the night I starting pushing mid-morning on Monday and had high hopes of delivering him before noon. However, after pushing for 3 hours and making progress things pretty much stalled and my doctor decided that he was just really too big for me to deliver that way. He was also facing the wrong way, which added a great deal of discomfort to the entire situation.

Around 2ish in the afternoon I was moved over to surgery for a C section. It was quite the thing to go through and is still sometimes hard for me to think too hard about without feeling extremely overwhelmed and emotional, but the end result of a healthy baby was so worth it. I think Luke and I both felt a bit traumatized, but we made it through and are just thankful for great doctor and wonderful nurses and God's protection for Max and me.

We were in the hospital for 4 days total and were very impressed with the great care we received from all the nurses and staff. I'll still be recovering for awhile, but seem to be making strides every day. I'm so thankful for Luke, who has been taking such good care of Max and me. He's had even more responsibility from the start because I was confined to bed for a few days and when I wasn't I still required a great deal of help any time I got up. He had to get used to changing diapers immediately and to having a baby in one arm while trying to accomplish things with the other.:) Max loves his daddy; Luke is usually more successful at calming him down than I am.:) I feel incredibly blessed by the love, support, patience and care he has shown to Max and me. I'm so thankful to have him in my life.

We got home last Thursday and have been making the transition into this new phase of life. My mom came and stayed with us for several days cooking and cleaning for us as we learned how to take care of this little guy. She was incredibly helpful and it was such a blessing to have her here. I love my mom so much!:) Luke starts back to work next week, which will feel so weird to me being on my own during the day. Hopefully I'll be up to the task.:) Max is overall a pretty happy kiddo and he's even a decent sleeper. We are so in love with him and while slightly biased, think he's just about the cutest thing we've ever seen.:)

Welcome to this world and to our family, Maxfield!!

come on little man!:)

Apparently I've made the little guy too comfortable in there.:) He doesn't seem to be in any kind of hurry to join us here in the outside world. I told Luke he's already showing signs of our personalities-- he's clearly a home body and doesn't like to rush into anything.:) The waiting is definitely tedious, but I know it will be worth it when we get to finally meet him. Come on buster, your mommy and daddy want to hold you!:) (and i'm pretty sure there are several aunts and uncles wanting to meet you as well:)

happy thoughts

-I'm so happy to see that the spring weather has decided to stick around.

-I'm so addicted to the Iphone Luke surprised me with a couple weeks ago.:)

-I'm so in love with Luke, an incredibly supportive and thoughtful husband.

-Most of all I'm so excited that I get to meet my son soon!

life inspires art

A couple of recent paintings inspired by the past 9 months. Life has a way of affecting what flows from the paint brush.:)