Happy Sunday! Max's First Church Experience From the Outside (of my belly)

Yesterday was our first time taking Max to church since he's been born. When I was still pregnant, Max would kick like crazy in my belly when the music was playing and then go to sleep when Pastor Carter spoke. Nothing has changed! He did the exact same thing yesterday!

While at church, Pastor Carter pulled the three of us aside and we introduced him to Max. He then prayed a special prayer for the three of us. He thanked God for giving us this sweet, sweet boy and for giving us such a good outcome with his surgery and health. He prayed that Max would come to know Jesus at an early age and become a follower and good steward of His teachings. Carter also prayed for Tyler and me to bless our marriage and make us good parents to Max. He prayed that God would strengthen our marriage as well as help guide and direct us with raising Max.

What a special thing for Carter to do; we really appreciated it! Church was great; Carter is doing a series on "what it means to be successful." It was an awesome message and I define success so differently now that we have Max. I've really had a lot of things put into perspective in these last few months and I've learned a lot of lessons.

Here is one definition of success that Carter quoted that I really like (not sure of the author)...

"Success is an intentional, faith-filled approach to life to align my passions and resources to leverage myself fully to elevate everyone around me to their greatest potential in order to find and live out their unique part in God's Larger Story and to help others know, love and become like Jesus."

There's a lot to think about in that run-on sentence. :) How do you feel about it? I think that's a great definition of success!

Anyway, to lighten things up a bit, here are a few photos...

Like Father, Like Son! They both wore their white button down shirts and dark jeans to church.

After church, Uncle Eric came over to watch the Titans game with us and to visit Max. Of course, we had to put on our "football watching outfit" to get ready for the game. After the Titans won, Max and I took a nap and then Tyler, Max and I took a walk around the neighborhood. How could you ask for a better Sunday than that... a great church service, a winning football game, a nap, and a little exercise.

Oh, wait, it actually does get better. Max slept for 8 hours straight last night, then got up and ate, and went back down for 4 more hours. I couldn't believe it when I woke up and saw what time it was! What a rockstar baby!

A Road Trip for Cousin Grayson's Birthday Party

Mimi and I drove to Evansville, IN for the day to go to cousin Grayson's first birthday party. What a blast! Jamie and Daric had about 50 friends and family to their house to celebrate Grayson's big day. Jamie spared no detail and everything was perfect! It was an amazing birthday party and Grayson had so much fun. We enjoyed spending time with family and helping Grayson celebrate. Max loved sitting outside in their backyard; it was a great day and we are so glad we made the trip. Jamie told me how quickly 1 year flies by and I believe it. I know before I know it, we will be planning Max's first birthday party. That makes me so happy and sad at the same time!

Amy and Max and Mandy and Grayson

Mimi loves to hold Max

Uncle Keith is so good with babies; Max was so comfortable snuggling with him

What a display!

Grayson loved his turtle from his parents

Jamie, Daric, and Grayson

Happy Baby!

Get in there, Grayson!

Oh yeah! That's good!

Copycat

Max is becoming more observant and interactive everyday and I love to see what new thing he will do next. He has recently started smiling and laughing. Nothing makes me happier than when he laughs at me! He is generally a very happy baby, so we frequently get smiles and laughs out of him.

This week he has started "copying" me when I sing to him. As I sing, he will stare at my mouth and open his really widely as if he is trying to sing too. It's the funniest thing! Good thing he doesn't know what a terrible singer I am. I don't think he cares; he just loves the attention

I sure love those smiles!

Max was listening intently to what I was singing and then he tries to sing too

Uncle Greg was in town on business and decided to stop by for a visit and to meet Max

Meeting My Cousins

It's been a while since our last posting, not because there's been nothing to write about, but because we've had so much going on. Here's an update...

We took our first road trip with Max September 15th-18th. We went to Memphis for Tyler's 10 year high school reunion and also to introduce Max to Tyler's family. Max did great in the car, and slept almost the whole way. We had a great weekend and were able to introduce Max to his aunts (Aunt Stacy, Aunt Fel, and Aunt Brooke). He also met his Uncle Jimmy and Uncle Jeremy. Max also met his cousins (Lily, Andy, Everett, and Emery) and had a lot of fun playing with them. Emery absolutely loved Max and didn't want to take her eyes off of him even for a second. She helped take care of him all day, just loving on him, holding him, and giving him his paci. To her delight, Max went home with Aunt Brooke and Uncle Jeremy for the evening so Amy and Tyler could go to Tyler's reunion. She was such a good baby sitter! What a nice weekend!

Lily and Max

Andy and Max

Aunt Stacy

Emery and Brooke with Max

What a good babysitter!

How cute is this? All the kids loving on Max. We showed them his pacemaker and scar, and they thought it was cool

2 Months Old

Max is now 2 months old and I can't believe it! He's getting more and more fun everyday and we're having a blast together. He now weighs about 9 pounds and is close to doubling his birth weight. He has become much more alert and definitely responds to voices and tracks objects. He loves his owl play gym and his Bumbo. Max also enjoys frequent visits with his friends, Walker, Lilly, Ellen, and Morgan. Soon he will have another buddy named Tripp (due in October).

He also started intentionally smiling last week. Mimi snagged the first smile and it was so sweet! Then, Tyler came home from a weekend golf trip and Max smiled for him as soon as he saw his Daddy. It couldn't have been more perfect! Now, everyday we try to get some smiles out of him and he's usually pretty generous. I can't wait to see what this next month holds because I enjoy him more and more everyday.

Doesn't this face just make you melt?!

Still so tiny, but growing fast

A Big Week for a Little Guy

Family Time

Last weekend Tyler went out of town on a golf trip, so Max and I packed up and took a trip to Mimi and Pal's house. Mimi had her 3 sisters and her mother in town to celebrate Aunt Paula's 50th birthday. What a nice weekend! Max met his aunts and his Great Grandma Dietz for the first time. Great Grandma loves to rock him and spent a lot of time on the porch swing with Max. We also took the opportunity on Sunday to take some family photos since it was such a nice day outside. We have 4 generations in some of the photos which is very special because we can't all get together very often. Great Grandma and all of the aunts live in Indiana.

Tyler and Pal had to go out of town on business Monday and Tuesday, so we stayed with Mimi another two nights. What a treat! That gave Mimi some extra time with Max to herself to snuggle and play with him.

An Update on Max

Max's health continues to be great and we are so thankful. He had his 2 month check up with his pediatrician this week. We got good news and bad news while we were there. The good news is that he is growing well and now weighs 8 lbs and 14 oz and is 21 inches long!! Holy cow, this boy is growing! He has gained 3 1/2 lbs in two months. It shouldn't be surprising because he is such a good eater. He is still small for his age, but we are not worried because he is growing well and we feel sure he will catch up to his friends soon. The bad news is that is was time for his 2 month shots. He got shots in both legs and he didn't think too much of it! We could tell he didn't feel good that evening; he was very whiny and unsettled. It was pitiful, so Tyler and I spent all evening just cuddling him. Check out his snoopy bandaids; he has them on both legs.

Max met his Great Grandma Dietz for the first time last weekend

4 generations

Great Grandma, Mimi, and Mimi's 3 sisters (Karen, Paula, and Christy)

An Alexander family photo

Hands tend to tell a story. These hands cover 4 generations (Great Grandma, Mimi, Mommy, and Max)

Both of my babies!

Aunt Paula (the birthday girl) playing with Max

Great Grandma on the porch swing with Max (his favorite place).

Aunt Paula opening her birthday gifts

the big 5-0!

Poor Max got his 2 month immunizations in both legs on Thursday. Ouchy! He was pitiful that evening, so we did lots of snuggling.