Baptism

Max was baptized on June 10th at West End Community Church, where we are members. Our senior Pastor Carter Crenshaw baptized Max before the 10:30 service with the support of close friends and family. Afterward, we enjoyed the church service before we headed back home to celebrate Max's big day. Then, many of our friends and family joined us for a lunch at our house to help celebrate the special occasion. 

Max in his little baptismal outfit. I embroidered his monogram on his outfit with my sewing machine

Some family shots before Max got baptized... 

with Grandpa Tom, Tyler's dad

Max was thinking, "you want me to do what today?"

Carter Crenshaw is our senior pastor at West End Community Church and he baptized Max. 

The baptismal ceremony took place in front of the whole congregation

actually getting baptized

Then we had a lunch at our house following the baptism. Our close friends and family helped us celebrate Max's special day

Ellen and Max... what a cute little couple :)

Jessica and Tripp 

I think Lilly is telling Max a story

Lilly gave Max a "congratulations for getting baptized" kiss

Lookin' for the good stuff already! Actually they were just playing with the ice

Could Ellen be any more photogenic?

Nick and Lilly

All the babies playing with Elmo

Lilly is the boss and they all watch her to see what they should do next

Lilly kept stealing Max's paci and Max thought it was so funny!

What are you two talking about?

Yummy petifores 

What a sweet little prayer Max received as a gift...

"Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep. Guard me safely through the night and wake me with the morning light. Amen!"

A sweet kiss from my sweet baby

A Good Appointment with Dr. Radbill

 Max had an appointment with Dr. Radbill at Vandy on May 30 to check his pacemaker and make sure it is functioning effectively. 

Our brave little baby having an echocardiogram to look at the structure of his heart, the blood flow through it, and to watch how it contracts

Crackers make everything seem easier!...

...except for EKG's. Max absolutely HATES them. He hates the stickers and he hates the wires.

Max also does not enjoy having his pacemaker adjusted up and down. Nancy, the pacemaker nurse, reads how his pacemaker is functioning. She also turns the pacemaker off to see how Max's own heart rate responds. Then she turns it up a little bit, then really high, then back to normal. They like to see how Max's heart and body respond to the adjustments. As you can imagine, all of this manipulation makes him miserably tired.

Dr. Radbill, Max's cardiologist, reviews all Max's tests and information, does his own physical exam, and then gives us his results and recommendations. We love Dr. Radbill for many reasons including his compassionate nature, excellent bedside manner, and his expertise.

Overall, the appointment went well and Dr. Radbill said everything looks fine right now. He still has a PDA (patent ductus arterioles) that will have to be fixed sometime in the next year or two. That basically means that he has a little bit of mixing of oxygenated and deoxygenated blood. Usually this goes away at birth, but Max's ductus didn't close. They will do a cardiac catheterization to correct the PDA, and Dr. Radbill assured me that it is a very simple procedure.

His pacemaker seems to be functioning well and he is meeting all his developmental milestones. We still expect to have another surgery to replace his current pacemaker sometime in the next year or two. Right now, he has plenty of battery power left. So, good news for now, and we hope this trend will continue. 

11 Months old

 

11 Months Old...

...and crawling everywhere

Max is now 11 months old and weighs 19 pounds 6 ounces. This month he has become a wild man and is into everything he's not supposed to be. He's such a curious boy and I can just see his little brain working. He loves to get into our kitchen cabinets and pull out all the tupperware. He also loves to open and close any door, especially the pantry door because there are all kinds of things to pull out of the pantry when no one is looking. Tyler and I love that he's such a curious and adventurous boy!
He's got crawling down very well and now loves to pull up and stand like a big boy. He learned to throw a ball this month and also loves to give kisses.

We have also entered the "temper tantrum" phase. Every time we change his diaper, his clothes, take too long to get his food ready, or just make him do something he doesn't want to do, he has a full out temper tantrum. The kid acts like we are ruining his whole life! I guess that's normal, but I hope this little phase doesn't last long.

He's been spending a lot of time at Mimi and Pal's house and they love to spoil him. Max's best new friend is Rosie and they are obsessed with each other. 

Max's favorite new pastime is opening and closing doors

He also loves to open the pantry door, pull out a few things, close the door, and then do it all again

Silly Monkey!

He loves to pull up and stand

Max really loves Elmo, but they fight over the microphone

Max loves his daddy and they are best buds

Here are some photos of Memorial Day weekend...

Max's first time in the pool. He loved it!

 

We have to cover that big, bald head 

I love little baby feet

Max did not enjoy his lifejacket. It lasted all of about 3 seconds. 

He loves floating in his little car. It's so funny because he held onto the steering wheel the whole time. 

He also loved floating with Mimi

Graham crackers and Townhouse crackers are his new favorite snack.

His first pool day tired him out!

Happy Mother's Day!

A Mother's Day Family Photo


What a wonderful Mother's Day! I was so excited about my first Mother's Day, and it was definitely a good one. I got good morning kisses from my sweet baby and then Tyler gave me my gift from Max. It was a sweet card and it had his hand print and footprint on it (with finger paint). He then gave me his gift of a DVD compilation of photos and videos of Max's first 10 months. What a sweet and thoughtful gift and I love it! Then we went to church and drove to Mimi and Pal's house to hang out for the day and see Uncle Eric. The boys cooked us a wonderful breakfast and then we all just spent time together and playing with Max. The boys wanted to play golf, but it was too rainy outside. Pal and Mimi made  smoked ribs for dinner and they were so tasty! What a great Mother's Day!

Mimi, Mommy and Max; 3 generations 

10 Months Old

Max is 10 months old now, and he is more and more fun everyday! He has turned into such a happy, silly baby that enjoys himself every day. He is very curious about EVERYTHING and loves to explore. His big celebrations this month are that he now has 6 teeth (4 on top and 2 on bottom) and also that he is now crawling. 

10 months old... I can't believe it 

What a big boy!!

Likes:

1. Eating...he eats like a pig now and likes just about everything we give him. He loves feeding himself table food. His favorite food right now is rotisserie chicken.

2. He also loves sweets (cake, icing, ice cream, etc). Mimi spoils him with sweets when he visits. It's so cute to see his face when he tries something new for the first time and then lets you know he wants more. 

3. Crawling around the house and pulling up to stand

4. Opening cabinets and pulling out Tupperware.

5. Balls- he loves to crawl after a ball or play a game of rolling a ball back and forth to you.

6. He loves his train toy that Dede and Pop gave him; it's one of his favorite toys right now.

7. He love Elmo and his musical keyboard

8. Walking around the yard and looking at plants and listening to the birds.

9. Puffs- the kid could eat his weight in those little dissolvable puffs. (like I said, Max likes to eat!). 

10. Drinking water from a cup. He can't quite figure out a sippie cup yet, but we're working on that.

10. He loves Ms. Abby, his teacher at school. He gives all the other teachers a hard time. 

Dislikes:

1. Having his diaper and/or clothes changed.

2. A cold bottle.

3. The word "no." He definitely knows what it means, but he usually keeps trying to do whatever it is that he's not supposed to be doing. 

Max loves to stand on the back of the porch swing and look at the plants.

Fun with bubbles!

Max is so ticklish! He loves to swing on Mimi and Pal's porch swing while listening to the birds.

 Daddy and Max like to wrestle on the floor

 Max discovered cabinet doors and was pleasantly surprised what he found inside... Tupperware! He can unload the cabinet in less than a minute!

He is learning to pull up and loves to stand up while playing with his toys. I think it makes him feel like a big boy.

That boy still LOVES his swing!

Daddy's little golfer

Mimi and Max snuggling

Max and Great Grandma Dietz at Great Grandpa's 80th birthday party

Great Grandpa and Max. There are 80 years between them! Isn't that wild?!

On the move. He is concentrating hard because he learned to crawl the day before.

What a silly boy!

Max loves Ms. Abby, his teacher!