Chubby Bubby

Max had his 1 month check-up today (a little late, he's actually 7 weeks) and it appears that he is going to be a big boy, just like his daddy. According to our doctor, Max is following the growth curve of a large Samoan. At birth, Max was 7lbs 13oz and 21 inches long. In only 7 short weeks, Max has grown to 12lbs 15oz and measures 25 inches long. That means that Max is off the charts for his height and is in the 90th percentile for his weight. Check out the rolls on his arms in this picture of him in the bathtub.

Extreme Walking

We have taken full advantage of the fantastic October weather by walking every morning with our walking partners, Liz and Cameron. We don't let the near-frigid temperatures deter us--we just bundle up in coats, hats, and blankets. Max enjoys the rhythm of the stroller and takes a snooze, Hank likes to point out all the trucks and construction equipment, and I'm doing my best to burn the last of the baby weight off.

FHE

Last night we had our first official family home evening. Usually, Aaron and I will read the first presidency message from the Ensign after the kids have gone to bed, or splurge on milkshakes, or take a family outing to Costco and call it good. We decided that Hank is finally old enough to grasp basic gospel principles and enjoy a brief family home evening lesson. So, we piled all the pillows on the floor and gathered together in the living room. Hank thought it was a treat to sit on the floor together. Aaron greeted us and welcomed us to family home evening, Hank said the opening prayer, we sang "I am a Child of God," and I taught a very simple lesson about Heavenly Father. We played a game where we tossed a ball to each other, repeating the phrase, "Heavenly Father loves..." and when it was your turn to catch the ball, you said your name. Hank thought it was fun to throw the ball and chase it around the room. Then, we colored crowns that said, "I am a Child of God." Hank was a big fan of the hat, but wouldn't sit still long enough to have his picture taken while wearing it. Overall, I thought our first attempt at FHE was successful.

Who's Who?

Ok, so maybe they're not twins, but the resemblance is uncanny, right? While they have they're own distinctions, they both have the same thick brown hair, blue eyes, dad's forehead, mom's lips, and cute little chin. A friend of mine who saw Max for the first time yesterday said, "what did you do, use the same cookie cutter?" I love it. My two cuties.

P.S. The first three pictures are of Hank and the last three pictures are of Max.

Punkins

I've seen pumpkins carved with intricate landscapes or detailed portraits...nope, not ours. We prefer the traditional triangle-eyed, googly-mouthed kind of pumpkins. Aaron tried to be a professional pumpkin-carver by tracing out the face but Hank started to lose interest fast so we opted for the get 'r done method. I guess we won't win any pumpkin-carving contests. Oh well, I think they look cute.

All Smiles

If you're not interested in seeing a bunch of pictures of the same kid, in the same outfit, in the same pose, with the same smile, then just scroll down. So why are there a billion repetive pictures? Simple. 1. I'm an unapologetically proud mama and I think my baby is beautiful. 2. Capturing an infant's smile on film is ridiculously difficult so, as an amateur photographer, I consider it an accomplishment to have acheived such a feat. 3. Max likes to smile. I think he actually just likes the camera. I'm hopeful that his early photogenic aptitude will carry on for a few more years. 4. As the 4th child in my family, there seems to be zero photographic record of my childhood. I made a vow that each of my children would be photographed equally, so, in fairness, Max deserves his share since I definately took a billion pictures of Hank as a baby. 5. Its my blog and I can if I want to!

The Pumpkin Quest

Yesterday, we decided to beat the weekend rush and took Hank and Max to the pumpkin patch. Hank loved it! There were so many fun things to do: pumpkin sligshots, tractors and wheelbarrow rides, farm animals, corn maze, rubber duck race, and PUMPKINS! Hank was way more interested in the activities (more specifically the water feature and mud puddles) than he was in the lifeless pumpkins. As soon as it was time to pick out his pumpkin, Hank tromped right up to the row of pumpkins and grabbed the very first one he laid eyes on. For all Hank cared, we could have just picked one up at Walmart and called it good.

Giddy-up!

Out of the millions of pictures we took at the pumpkin patch, this is the only family shot...sitting on a haybale horsey.

Mr. Max

If I think about it too hard, it makes me want to cry--I can't believe Max is already 1 month old! I know I must be getting old because time seems to be slipping away in years instead of in days. Is it possible that I have two boys, 2 years old and 1 month old? I've enjoyed getting to know Max this past month and learning all of his little quirks. Max sleeps ALOT and eats ALOT. Its such a treat when I get to see his eyes because he's usually sleeping. He sleeps in 3 hour segments at night with one glorious 4 hour segment. Other than that, he wants to be fed every 3 hours like clockwork. When he is awake, he likes to play on his tummy, be rocked and cuddled, take warm baths, and "exercise his lungs."

Silly Boy!

This morning Hank went pee-pee in the potty for the very first time! I think Hank has been ready to potty train for the past few months but, lazy me, I haven't had the motivation/time to do the training. Hank must have been tired of waiting around for me to initiate the potty training, because this morning, he did it all by himself! HOORAY! As I was getting Max into the bathtub, Hank brought out his potty seat and potty book. I helped him take off his PJs and sit on the potty because I figured as long as he was occupied I would be able to give Max a bath in peace. A minute later, Hank says, "Silly Boy" (you have to be there to hear it--its hilarious how he says it). I turn to ask him whats the matter and he says that he went pee-pee in the potty! I checked, sure enough, he did it! Unfortunately, Max was still laying helplessly in the tub so I couldn't fully celebrate his accomplishment, but as soon as we were all dressed we went straight to the grocery store and bought Hank an M&M cookie and a jar full of M&Ms to use as bribes for future potty time. So far, we haven't had a repeat occurence, but I'm hoping it wasn't just a fluke.

Breaking Bread

Today Hank started his first class in the second round of his feeding group. I am hopeful that during the course of the next 10 weeks, Hank will make a miraculous recovery and start eating table food like other toddlers his age. Today, Hank made a big step towards that goal: he ate bread for the very first time! (just a small bite, but he did chew and swallow it) While this may not seem like a major accomplishment, I was so proud of him and excited for this breakthough that I had to hold back tears. It would make me undescribably happy to see Hank eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Maybe soon...

Sweet Reward

I NEEDED Max to give me a smile. I think that babies must sense when their mommies are getting sleep deprived and weary and, as a survival measure, select such a time to practice their smiles. It is such a sweet reward to a long days work to see Max smile. I could tell that Max was on the verge of smiling, so I decided to take my chances and see if I could capture a precious smile on camera. Remarkably, Max found the flash on the camera to be funny and gave me some of his very first smiles!

I think the word "obsession" would be an understatement to describe Hank's fascination with tractors. Whenever we are driving in the car, Hank points out every tractor we pass along the road and can name them according to category: digger, dump truck, pump, cement mixer, back hoe, etc. So, it is no surprise that Hank was quite excited to take a ride on Papa Z's tractor during our visit to my parent's house this weekend. About every 15 minutes, Hank would ask to go out to the garage to see the tractor. In fact, he even wanted to say goodnight to the tractor before going to bed. If you ask Hank about the tractor, he says, "Hank drive Papa Z's tractor. It be loud!"

Stack 'em Up

Last week Hank and I pulled out the blocks and built towers together. We haven't played with the blocks in awhile so I was amazed that Hank was able to build towers even taller than himself! He had just as much fun destructing the towers as he had constructing them.