List making

I'm copying a friend who blogged about this a few weeks ago. I make lists usually every day to keep my brain on track but here's one for the summer. These are the fun things I hope we accomplish:

Visit the zoo (a lot) - we have a pass
Mom's group activities
Mr. Cooper at the library
Make ice cream with our ice cream maker
Make lots of popsicles
Pick berries
Go to the state fair - for Maggie, this means see the piggies :-)
Go on one or two road/camping trips...two camping trips are planned, one local and one far...
Visit the ocean
Have backyard barbeques and campfires
Lots of play for the kids in the kiddie pool
Swim lessons
Go on family bike rides
Garden/pick tomatoes all summer
Walks with the kids during the day/to the park

Not on the list, but yesterday we set out for a local nature tour - I took them to a little botanical garden I saw off the road in our town, but it was a short walk and the garden hadn't been kept up too well. So we visited Effie Yeaw Nature Center which had more for Maggie to explore. When I told her we were going on a hike, she looked scared and said "mountain lions"! Last year, it was rattlesnakes. Instead, we spotted a family of turkeys and pipevine swallowtail butterflies. Good day in the sun (and I'd have uploaded a picture of Mags out there but it's too big).

Summertime

My posts have been lacking and Max will wake up any minute now (which is why they are lacking...) but trying to get something documented from the past month of fun! Just realized the guy that runs the little train by our house, who is also a photo instructor, changed the settings on my camera and all my pictures are huge! So, taking forever to upload...grrr.

I was on the daycare search this past month and then found out I need to return to work even sooner than I'd hoped but because of that, my mom and mother in law were able to work out a schedule to care for Mr. Max like they did when Maggie was a baby. So happy about the arrangement, I was more than nervous about finding a good fit for him.

Blueberry picking with cousin Eden

Maggie, our oh so wonderful 3 year old, is fiesty, sometimes driving us crazy but mostly just making us smile and laugh. She's such a great helper with Max, but at the end of the day, I'm exhausted regardless. We got rid of her naps because of late bedtime, then brought them back because we had a tired monster on our hands. Now she's napping but we wake her up after a bit which seems to be the best solution.

Max seems to have come out of the colicky stage thank goodness and he's a happy little guy. While looking for daycare, one of the ladies I met up with brought up Baby Wise, which advocates a schedule to put your baby on. I tried it for a day but then it backfired. Too much sleep during the day left him restless at night. It was a good lesson though in being mindful of our babie's cues and when to feed, put down for sleep, etc.

Maggie had her first round of swim lessons as a Guppy and in a few weeks she starts as a Minnow :-) I can't wait for what has now become my favorite holiday - the 4th! It's warm, late nights, fireworks, swimming, good food, and a party I can go on and on about. We're going on a trial camping trip just before the holiday. Babies are pretty easy to camp with and Maggie is at a great age for it. We got an awesome tent for our growing family with two rooms and you can stand up in it. I get to try out my plush camping thermarest for the first time and you can fit a pack n play and more in the new tent, I'm stoked. We used to be a backpacking couple, now whatever it takes to be comfortable car camping with two little kids, I'm all for it!

Finishing out May

While hubby tallies up his miles for May is Bike Month (over 1,000 miles with goal of 500 and don't think you had any of us fooled mister on how competitive you are in May compared to your colleagues), I tally up photos of our happenings around home. I am settling into managing two and we have our good and bad days, mostly good. The colicky crying gets old but it doesn't last too long and in the evenings Mr. Max usually goes for a long walk with dad for peace and quiet. Funny side note: talking with a neighbor, she said her sister swore Michael was walking with a puppy in the ergo. ha ha, must be all of Max's hair poking out.

Max is close to 2 months old now. He's got wild, strong arms. Breaks out of his swaddles and sticks his fists in his mouth trying to suck on them. He can be quite fussy, but he coo's and "talks" often and Maggie makes him smile when he's not overwhelmed by her smothering him. He seems to be through the newborn acre/cradle cap stage and is really filling out. He's all chubby cheeks.

Maggie tells everyone that she is "free" (three), dresses herself and always wants to wear fancy shoes, a dress, and jewelry. She's our girly girl. She can't wait to feed Max with a bottle and she is constantly amusing us with the things she says. She mimicks a lot of what I do with Max (feed, change, etc.) with all her animals and dolls and she's my big helper.

Hello June!

Zoo wildlife show

Memorial day BBQ

Happy boy

Today is...

a question mark still. Yesterday was wonderful. Last weekend? Not very pretty interspersed with endearing moments. Max is a sensitive baby. Turns out hubby and I are in the business of making sensitive babies :-) Wanting to rule out anything serious but guessing just fussy/colicky at times, the pediatrician confirmed just that. We've got a big healthy boy on our hands who looks like a 3 or 4 month old but is truly a newborn working out his issues. Un-swaddled or not sleeping, he flails around a lot like he wants to take off and run a marathon but can't yet. The sweet pediatrician we saw said the flailing is him not knowing what to do with his body (midwives said the same), so the tight swaddling or me wearing him in the moby does the trick of simulating the womb environment for him while he still adjusts to this big bright and loud world.

I'm praying for no more boob issues. Those shooting pains and chills scare me!

I'm really starting to look forward to summer activities. The sun felt so good yesterday. Can't wait to go camping or on a little road trip. Swim lessons, Mr. Cooper, picnics in the park...

Before and after



March 2012

May 2012

Good start

My breakfast suprised me this morning!

I re-discovered/remembered that when you put a baby in front of a running dryer, they calm down and sleep. The chair that pops out of the swing is perfect for this. Loving this quiet morning.