Christmas with Grandpa Muesch

Grandpa Tom came in town to visit a few days before Christmas and we had a great time together! Tom and Tyler played golf together one day and spent the rest of their time just hanging out with Max. It was really nice to just spend time together not doing anything in particular. We celebrated Christmas with Grandpa on Friday night. We cooked a nice dinner and then opened presents. Grandpa got Max a lot of Packer gear; his little hat and booties look so cute on him! He got a really cute Packer jersey too that will look great on him next Fall. Tyler and I exchanged gifts as well and opened our stockings. It was so much fun, and we hope Grandpa Muesch will come visit again soon!

"Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree!" Max loves looking at the lights.

Grandpa and Max just hanging out together

Ho, Ho, Ho!

I'm ready for my first Packers game!

What a little show-off!

We stuffed Max into his Packer stocking for a cute photo!

Max's First Christmas

What a special first Christmas with Max! We were able to spend time with everyone from Tyler's immediate family and mine over the last few weeks and we had a blast! On Christmas Eve morning, we drove to Hendersonville to see Uncle Eric's new house. It's a really great house and he and Mom have done a great job decorating and furnishing it. That evening, we went to Christmas Eve Mass and then came home and had appetizers and wine. I read Max a Christmas story and then put him to bed for the night. What a nice evening! We all slept in Christmas morning and then shared a delicious turkey and dressing meal. Mom is such a great cook! After we all had full bellies, we opened stockings and Max's gifts. He got some really cool toys including a singing and dancing Elmo that plays instruments. He also got a book, stacking rings, an activity table for when he's older, and some stuffed animals that play music. He loves music! Uncle Eric got him the cutest UT gear; I can't wait for him to wear it! Later that afternoon, the boys left for their annual trip to Arkansas to go duck hunting for three days. I stayed at Mom's house with Max and we had a blast over the next three days! I couldn't have asked for a better first Christmas with sweet Max and I hear it only gets more fun from here on out!

"Santa's coming?! Here comes Santa Claus..."

"And he's going to bring me presents?!"

Our Christmas Eve photo after Mass

Mommy reading a Christmas story to Max on Christmas Eve

Uncle Eric hanging out with Max

Mom and Dad always get us lottery tickets in our stockings. Unfortunately, none of us won a thing!

Christmas Day family photo

A family lunch

Max got gifts from Mommy, Daddy, Mimi, Pal, Uncle Eric, and Santa

Max's first Christmas

His big gift was Elmo that sings, dances, and plays instruments. It is so cool!

He liked to lay in front of the fire and listen to Elmo sing

A Week of "Firsts"

Last week was a "first" for several things...

1. Max slept 8 consecutive hours for the first time. Even though I woke up every few hours anyway to check to make sure he was ok, it still felt so amazing to sleep for that many hours without getting up. Hopefully he will continue down this path and start sleeping 8-12 hours a night without getting up.

2. Max rolled over onto his belly in his bed for the first time the week before Christmas. I was so proud of him, but I had to run upstairs and flip him back over since he doesn't know how to do that himself yet. He's getting stronger everyday though, so it won't be long.

Max loves his singing and dancing snowman that plays "Jingle Bell Rock"

"Mommy makes me practice tummy time, but I hate it! I'm getting better at it though!"

Christmas in Memphis

We spent last weekend in Memphis to celebrate Christmas with Tyler's family. We had a really nice visit with everyone and had a lot of fun too! It was fun to watch the kids play with each other, open gifts, and get so excited about their presents. Max did great and got some really nice gifts from Dede and Pop as well as from his cousins. Thanks for a great first Christmas with Max, Everetts, Fords, and Greene's! We love you!

What lovely princesses!

Opening gifts was a fiasco

All the cousins

Max, Benjamin, and Everett

Pop loves holding Max

Max's First Photo with Santa

Max met Santa for the first time today and he did great! Our neighborhood had free photos with Santa as well as activities and sweets for the kids. It was so much fun and we were so excited the photo turned out so well! I assumed he would scream as soon as I sat him on Santa's lap (like most babies do), but he was too busy looking around at everything to cry.

We have really enjoyed this Christmas season so far. Instead of getting all wrapped up in the hustle and bustle, we are trying to really enjoy all the little things (like meeting Santa). Last night, I was perfectly content just hanging out with Max and Tyler and watching a Christmas movie on tv. My how our Saturday nights have changed! But we are really enjoying our first Christmas with Max and can't wait to spend time with family over the next few weeks. We are also excited about starting our own family traditions and carrying them on year to year.

5 Months Old

So much has happened this month and it's been a good one! Max is now 5 months old and doing very well. He started eating a lot more lately, and got a good health report from his pediatrician and his electrophysiologist. We also met our goal this month of getting his heart rate to 120. That's a pretty big deal and I was so excited to meet that goal. We don't go back to Vandy now for 6 months; I can't believe it! We just get to enjoy him and watch him grow and learn. Since we increased his heart rate, I can tell a big difference in his energy level and I think he feels better in general. He needed that little boost.

I also think we might have made it over another huge hurdle...colic. Max has been a very fussy baby until about a week ago. All of a sudden, he no longer cries all the time and generally seems so much happier and more content. He is also starting to play, smile, and laugh a lot more. I wonder if that has anything to do with increasing his heart rate? I have enjoyed him so much this last week. I'm perfectly content to stay home with him all day and just playing and singing to him. We're having a blast now that he is feeling better.

Max has also started to "coo" a lot lately. I told Tyler last night that there's not much that I enjoy more than listening to Max coo. He sounds like a little hoot owl and it's so cute. He's getting close to rolling over and loves to try to talk and interact with us. He tried rice cereal for the first time last weekend, and he hated it! We will keep working on that. I'm hoping that once he starts liking it, that he might sleep through the night. :)

Here is a list of some of Max's favorites right now...

1. Looking at himself in the mirror. He cracks himself up.

2. Staring at the lights on the Christmas tree

3. Playing naked on the floor.

4. Getting a bath; it relaxes him so much and he smiles the whole time.

5. Toys with flashing lights

6. Being thrown up in the air and caught while singing... "No more monkeys jumping on the bed."

7. His swing. I don't know what we would do without it!

8. Reading books and singing songs

That's right... Five fingers for five months old!

What a handsome little Santa

Our 2011 Family Christmas photo

Stylin'... I'm cute and I know it!

So much to be thankful for!

This year has been full of surprises, good and bad, but I know Tyler would agree that this has been our best year yet! We have so much to be thankful for that I can't even begin to list all the ways God has blessed us this year. Most of all, we are thankful that God has given us this sweet little boy to love and raise. We have had to lean on God more than ever this year. We've been challenged in so many ways and yet He continues to bless us over and over. In light of all this, this Thanksgiving has a very special meaning to us. We are also very thankful for our friends and family that have loved us and supported us in so many ways. We want you to know we are thankful for you!

Another blessing...We continue to get good reports from the doctors. The day before Thanksgiving, Max had an appointment with his electrophysiologist at Vandy. He had 2 echoes and 2 EKG's during the 3 hour appointment. We were all exhausted by the end, but it was worth it because Dr. Radbill said Max is doing great! He said Max's heart looks very strong and that structurally, his heart looks great! His valves are no longer leaking and his pacemaker is functioning well. He increased Max's heart rate to 120, which has been the goal, all along. Dr. Radbill said we will keep his heart rate at 120 for quite a while, now. I can tell a huge difference in Max's energy level since we increased his heart rate. He has increased how much milk he takes, he is more interested in playing, and also plays longer and sleeps less. Those 10 extra beats a minute have made a big difference!

Sweet baby was so good during his echoes. He had to lay perfectly still the whole time. That's a lot to ask a 4 month old to do.

The machine that reads Max's pacemaker.

Max hated his EKGs. He definitely had an opinion about what was going on!

Now for the Thanksgiving photos...

What a little turkey!

Happy Baby!

Doing some tummy time!

4 Months Old

Max is 4 months old now and changing everyday. We had a visit with Dr. Dykstra, his pediatrician, today, and Max got a good report from her as well as some shots. He didn't like them too much and has been pretty pitiful and fussy all day. He now weighs 11 lbs and 7 oz and is 23.5 inches long. She said he is also meeting all his developmental milestones, which was very good to hear.

Max is in a very snuggly phase right now and he wants to be held a lot. That's fine with me because I know it won't last forever. He is growing up so fast! His teacher at daycare tells us he is adjusting very well, which is so comforting to me. It makes it a lot easier to go to work knowing he is being well taken care of and he is enjoying himself. At home, he loves playing on his owl play mat and is very close to rolling over. He also found his voice today and it was hilarious! He "squealed" all evening just to be able to hear his own voice. I'm looking forward to the new things he learns this month and also making some great memories!

"I'm handsome and I know it."

4 months old; playing hard and practicing my squeal

We had some fun with the camera at Mimi and Pal's house

Halloween!

Halloween is one of my very favorite holidays, and I've been looking forward to this one in particular for at least 6 months! Since we have so many babies that are all about the same age, we thought it would be fun to have a theme and dress them all up together. We decided to do the Wizard of Oz as our theme and we got all the kids costumes that go along with the movie. Josh and Allison had the party at their house and it was so much fun!! Allison made taco soup, cute little owl cupcakes, and spooky green party punch. It was madness trying to get all the babies to pose so we could take their picture, but it was a blast! I'll always remember what a great first Halloween we had with our little tin man!

How cute are these babies?! Lilly is a pea in a pod and the other kids are characters from the Wizard of Oz

The Wizard of Oz cast... Walker (scarecrow), Max (tin man), Morgan (Dorothy), Ellen, (Glenda the good witch), and Tripp (the lion). I honestly don't think they could be any cuter!!

All the moms with their kiddos on their first Halloween

We love our little tin man!

Our good friends Josh, Allison and Walker Bailey. Thanks for throwing such a spectacular first Halloween for our kids.

Allison made owl cupcakes and spooky green party punch. What a fun party!

Isn't he the cutest little tin man you've ever seen?