Max's First Photo Shoot

While we were in the hospital, a professional photographer came by on Sunday and took pictures of Max.  I really love how they turned out.  We used 3 of them on his birth announcement.  (Someday I will get around to scanning it so I can post it here.)  It was quick, easy, and I didn't put makeup on or do my hair.  :)

I dare you to look at these pictures and not fall head over heels in love with my sweet Maxwell.

Before the out of towners went home...

Here is everything else that happened while Kimberly was still in town with her kids.  It was really, really, really wonderful to have her help.  I am so glad that Max came at the beginning of her visit.  She helped take care of Max, she helped take care of me, she cleaned (I especially loved that she cleaned my bathroom), she cooked for us, she cooked freezer meals that we could have later, she shopped, and I couldn't have made it through without her.

Aumt Kimberly and Max

Before - starting skin to skin with daddy

After - skin to skin with daddy

Kaitlyn loved holdin Max.  She reminded me so much of myself at her age - I just loved babies and wanted to be holding them as much as possible.  She was great with Max and so cute!

Tummy Time!

Letting his bottom dry so he doesn't get diaper rash

Kaitlyn, Brittantm Landen, Kimberly

It's so great to be around cousins!!!

Hangin out playing video games.

Kimber, Hayden, and Tyler

Here's a video of Max sleeping - I think he is so adorable when he's sleeping.

Giing Max his first sponge bath at home



All done with his bath



He was a happy camper after that bath.

My babe all swaddled up like a Chipotle burrito.

BIG yawn

Getting kisses from Daddy

Wide awake

On Saturday we ventured back out again as a group.  We headed to the park for the kids to burn off some energy.  We walked around for a bit.  However, it was crazy hot (over 100, of course) and I still was feeling some pain from my incision so Peter and I didn't last very long so we hung out in the nice cool car while Kimber and Britt took their kids to play in the water.

Peter and Tyler with Max - we are ready to go to the park! Let's see this awesome stroller at work.

He slept through our walk through the park

Cousins at the park

Family picture!

Holding dads hand in the air conditioned car while the kids played at the water park.

After such a hot day at the park, we went for a treat - Snow Cones!  I hadn't had a snow cone all summer, what a travesty!

Snowcones make us happy!

Have our tongues changed color?

That night we all went out for some authentic Texas barbeque at Spring Creek.  It's so great to spend time with my sisters and their kids.

Suckin' on that thumb

Snuggling with Dad

Snuggling with mom

Spending time with cousin Tyler

Sadly, the Amos family couldn't stay forever and had to go back home on Sunday.  I was so sad to see them go.  I really hope we can convince them to move to Texas.  Peter took them to the airport and also took Max with him so that I could get some sleep.  It was the first time Max was ever more than a room away from me.  While I enjoyed the chance to sleep, it was nice when they got back home.

Amos family - Tyler, Kimberly, and Kaitlyn with Max

Goodbye kisses from Kaity

Goodbye hugs from Tyler

We will miss you Amos family!!!!  Please come back soon.

Happy Birthday Peter!

Peter got his birthday wish, he didn't have to share his birthday with his son.  :)

It was a lot of fun to celebrate Peter's birthday with a bunch of family.  Kimberly and her kids and Brittany and her kids all joined in the celebration (and thanks to my sisters who did the shopping for Peter's presents since I was unable to).  Kimberly made rice casserole for dinner with garlic bread and green beans and then she also made a marble cake with chocolate frosting for Peter.

Kaity and Peter's Birthday cake!

The cake - Kimberly did a great job (there are sprinkles on it but you can't tell)

The presenting of the presents...

Peter putting together his present - the digital picture frame

Don't worry, we didn't let the baby eat any of that good lookin' cake

Today was the first day that Peter went back to work and even though he only went for a half day, he shared with me that he didn't want to go into work and leave Max.  And then during the day when I texted him pictures of Max, he said that he missed Max and wished he could be back home.  I decided that a digital picture frame would be a perfect present so that Peter could enjoy pictures of Max at work and not feel so far away from his sweet baby.  I wasn't sure he would like it, but he loved it and immediately put pictures on it and took it to work the next day.  I also made sure he got a bunch of junk food that I normally would never buy for him but hey, it's his birthday so I wanted to get him the things that he enjoys.  :)

These two videos don't have to do specifically with Peter's birthday but they were taken on August 25th (his b-day) so I am going to add them to this post.

I love this video of Max waking up because there are so many faces and movements that he does that are typical for him and I don't want to forget them.  Plus there are a couple appearances of his dimple. :)

Video of Peter trying to burp Max.

Max's First Week

Peter and I are definitely first time parents because we have taken TONS of pictures.  It's so hard to pick and choose which ones to add to the blog.  This blog will cover the rest of the time after the hospital up until Max turns one week old.

Once we brought Max home from the hospital, we had to get a few things figured out because we weren't completely ready for a baby yet.  Brittany, Kimberly, and the kids were sneaky and came over and cleaned our house before we got home.  That was SO appreciated.  Plus they set up the Pack-N-Play in our bedroom.  The rest of that day was spent getting adjusted and set up.  My friend Chad also came over after work and brought with him a box of newborn diapers and some wipes.  Thank Goodness because we only had the diapers that we brought home from the hospital that were newborn size.  When we left the hospital, Max was down to 6 lbs 5 oz so we needed that small newborn size.

Kimberly, Kaitlyn, and Tyler stayed at our house once we got home from the hospital.  It was awesome to have them around.  Kimberly was an amazing help to me.  She cooked and cleaned, changed diapers, helped with the baby, and really took everything off my plate so that I could just rest and recover.  Peter stayed home from work on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday and then because Kimberly was so helpful and had everything covered, he was able to go into work for about half a day on both Thursday and Friday.  I was still feeling a lot of pain from the incision so moving was hard which meant I tended to stay in one place for long periods of time and needed help with even the small things like sitting up.

Kaitlyn holding Max for the first time - I love her face!

Kaitlyn feeling a little more sure about this



I love this picture because the definition is so good you can see his soft little baby fuzz on his arm and back.



Max's bed in the pack-n-play.  We are keeping him in our room until he gets a little older and then we'll start putting him in his room in the crib.

Hanging out in the bouncy seat

Sucking his thumb

When he's not bundled up in a blanket you can see just how little he is!

Momma and Max

Cool dude taking a nap (this is what he looked like when I came in to check on him).  Too funny!



Hanging on to the pacifier to dear life.  Although in reality, he is not a big fan of the pacifier and rarely lets it stay in his mouth for long.



Kaity and Peter

Kaitlyn, Hayden, and Tyler ready to watch a movie in 3D.  The kids had a lot of fun playing with each other and kept each other occupied which meant that the adults (and Landen/Max) could hang out and visit.

 

I love my baby in PJs



Everything is going to be "okay"

Cute video of Peter and Max

Another video this time with Aunt Kimberly - He can't decide what mood he's in.

Profile shot

Love, love, love this baby face

Here's a video from one of those fun late, late night/early, early morning feedings.

And those late night feedings lead to mornings that look like this:

Dad and Max sleeping

On Wednesday, we went for our scheduled car seat check at the hospital.  When we set it up, we were just going to be checking to make sure the car seat was installed correctly but didn't plan on a baby being in the car seat.  A couple things happened that really pointed out to us how our lives how changed.  First thing, when we drove to the check, I rode in the front passenger seat, just like I've done for years.  The car seat tech mentioned how usually new moms ride in the back with the baby.  It didn't even occur to me to ride in the back!  The second thing that happened was that with Max in the car seat, it was clear that his little body wasn't quite long enough so sitting in the car seat caused his back to be curved in a way that could hurt him if we were in an accident.  So the tech asked if we had a washcloth or diaper cloth with us that could be used between him and the buckle to help him sit at a better angle until he got just a little bigger.  Peter and I both looked at each other - not only did we not have either of those, we didn't have anything.  We had left the house with just Max, no diaper bag.  Apparently even if it's a quick trip, anytime the baby leaves the house we should be prepared with all the goodies in the diaper bag.  :)

Wednesday, we also took Max to his first visit at his pediatrician's office (WITH the diaper bag).  His weight was all the way back up to 6 lbs 13 oz (only 2 oz below his birth weight - not bad for only being 5 days old!).  When we left the hospital he was a little jaundiced and so we gave him some time in the sun.  At this visit his doctor said he looked good.  She still ran a blood test to make sure, but called us back later in the day and said that his numbers were fine and we didn't need to do anything extra.  Each of the rooms in the office have a different scene on the wall.  We were in this room with the scene you see below.  I think it's pretty fitting for us.  :)  It's the closest we are going to get to a tropical beach vacation for awhile.

Peter and Max at the pediatrician's

Handling his first doctor's visit like a champ

Mom and Max at the pediatricians

Hayden holding Max

I love coming in while he's sleeping and seeing what cute position he's laying in

Even his scrunched up face is cute

That night we decided to go to dinner at a restaurant called Babe's Chicken House.  They have yummy southern home style cookin' that is served family style.  It was a place we wanted to make sure to take Kimberly to while she was here and provided us the perfect opportunity to celebrate Tyler's upcoming birthday.  The servers surprised him at the end of our dinner and sang a "happy birthday" song to him while he got to wear a fantastic chicken hat and perform a little.  It was fun and he was a good sport.

While I enjoyed the food and being out of the house, I won't make the same mistake of going out to eat 5 days after giving birth ever again.  All I did was walk from the house to the car, the car to the restaurant and then back again and boy, did I pay a price for it.  I was in so much pain that night just from that little bit of activity.  While it was minimal activity, it was still too much at that point.  Lesson learned.

The whole group at Babe's
Kallie, Max, Peter, Tyler, Kimberly, Hayden, Kaitlyn, Landen, and Brittany



Max sleeping in his car seat under a blanket at Babe's - he slept through the whole thing

My sweet baby



Kissable lips! (notice that sweet baby fuzz on his face)



Tyler holding Maxwell

Can't get enough of that face

Hanging out with dad

Close up - doesn't his skin look great?!