Where did the fall go?

Wow, it feels like it was just yesterday that Holly went back to work. Now, I'm done raking all the leaves in our driveway (21 bags!!) and I'm shoving off to work tomorrow myself. I'm going to hopefully get a few posts up here over the next few days so I'll attack the last couple of weeks in chunks.

Daycare
So Max has spent about a couple of weeks at daycare now and things are going somewhat better. He's still trying to get used to having only one nap a day, which leaves us with a cranky little guy on our hands when we pick him up. However, he goes to sleep really, REALLY easily at night. And earlier too, so Mom and Dad get to reclaim a bit more evening time together, which is nice. In fact, he goes to sleep so easily now that we may have to cash in some babysitting favours in order to have some hot dates :). Max seems to prefer Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays when he gets to go to play group with his two buddies. But he's eating better every day and isn't crying when we pick him up anymore. This past Tuesday, Max was playing with a tricycle in a pile of leaves in the driveway when I picked him up. He didn't notice me at first, but then caught me out of the corner of his eye and immediately broke into a frantic crawl over to me so that he could stand up and hang on to my pants. SO CUTE!

Swimming
Grandma Heather bought Max a term of swimming lessons for his birthday, but has been unable to take him for the past few weeks. However, he's still been going with Daddy and is progressing way beyond what I would have expected by this point. He can get in the pool, toddle down the ramp a bit, float (assisted) on his front with his chin in the water, get water poured on his head, hang out in a lifejacket, fall in off the side of the pool (into my arms, of course) and (best of all) enter the pool on a slide...all with very few tears. He'll be missing tomorrow night's class, but we'll pick it up again when we can.

Mobility
Um, let's see. Max is really walking now. On Thanksgiving Sunday, Max decided he would go from trying to take a few steps every now and then to opting to walk whenever possible. Prior to Sunday, he had maybe taken a hundred steps or so across a couple of weeks. That day alone, he probably took 150 steps. Since then, he has started choosing walking over crawling, which has been cool to watch. In fact, he is already starting to test his balance on his feet by bending over or crouching down (sometimes to pick stuff up) and then standing up again. He hasn't started to get to a standing position from the ground without the assistance of furniture or a wall or something, but I'm sure that's coming. Neat aside: Max is even starting to "walk" on his knees and is learning that by rocking in a movable object (high chair, stroller), he can move it around a bit. Cool. The only irritating thing is that when he's pushing around one of his rollable toys (his favourites these days) and gets it stuck against a wall or jamb, he has a mini meltdown. Sounds like he's about as patient with roadblocks as his Dad. Boo.

Motor skills; understanding speech
Two of the neatest things that Max has started doing VERY consistently is waving hello or goodbye and clapping for himself whenever he finishes a course at a meal. Max has started to understand that "Yay", "Good job", "Good boy", "Right on" all mean "you should give yourself a hand". Max has also started to dance and clap when he hears music. Dancing is not just jiggling around, either. Max has figured out how to do knee bends AND twist his upper body a bit. Super cute.

Babbling
Max is getting more and more vocal these days. He still hasn't blurted out a definite word, but is inching from MISS to HIT on mama and dada. Allegedly, he yaks all day long at daycare too. I have a feeling that once Max starts actually speaking, he's just not going to stop.

Here are a few pictures. Stay tuned for some events we've taken part in over the past weeks.


Here's Max enjoying his first spaghetti. Yum. Check out his awesome Venetian gondolier t-shirt courtesy of the Wieners in Wien (aka Rob and Jessa).

Max loves to hit the slide at the park.

Max is still trying to understand this autumn thing.

Here's Max wheeling around his birthday gift from his great-grandma.

Max's first two days of daycare

So I bet at least some of you are wondering how daycare is going. Well, pros and cons, as expected. First off, we are very fond of our caregiver. She's pretty awesome and we know that Max is in good hands. Second, the reviews seem to be generally favourable. Here are the specifics:

On Day 1, Max and the other two boys being cared for at the same house (an adorable blond 2.5 year-old and a cute 2 year-old red-head) headed out in the morning for 2 hours of play group. Everything went well and Max had a little snack. He had a bottle on the way home (feeding himself...impressive) and then a bit of lunch before passing out at 1 p.m. for just under two hours. I don't know how he made it to 1, but he did. However, when Max got up from his nap, he had himself a good meltdown. Now, the easy thing would be to chalk it up to waking up in a strange environment, but he had actually been having some rough wake-ups here at home over the previous week in the late afternoons. We're not sure what's up, but the morning naps seem to be much better. Max kept crying pretty much until I got him at 3, but then got pretty smiley once I picked him up.

Day 2 was a day at home with no play group. This time, Max saw me go and had a little cry. Everybody went for a morning walk, and Max had another good meltdown after 10 when they got back. He didn't really want to eat so he got put to bed. It took him a while to cash out, but when he did, he shattered his personal best with a 2.5 hour nap. Someone was tired. This time, when he got up, he was OK, but still didn't really eat much. He played happily until I showed up. When he heard my voice, he lost it again. I guess he had some pent-up issues from the day. I cuddled him a bunch and he got happy really quick so nothing completely tragic was going on...just getting used to being without his favourite people.

In the end, he turned out to be in full on trooper mode tonight. He got crabby around 6:00, but then we went to our friends' place for dinner and he stayed up playing and socializing until 9:00. Considering that he got up from his afternoon nap at 2:00, that's pretty phenomenal.

In any case, we'll see if tomorrow is any different. In the meantime, here are those videos I promised you:
1) Max playing. I couldn't believe when he abruptly stopped to go open the chest. I had no idea what he was up to.
2) Another skill for Max. Admire both Daddy's hair and a quick snippet of Max's scrunchy face before the first kiss - he makes that face all the time for some unknown reason.
3) A not-very-exciting video of Max scaling around Daddy, but it closes with a good shot of his chiclets
4) Finally, a video of Max chaining a few steps together. We've now seen him pull a 10-step walk involving a change in direction so even though it was taken just a week ago, this video looks a lot less impressive now:) Apologies that it's sideways, I don't think there's any way to change the orientation.

Stay-at-home dad

This post is LONG overdue. We kind of got hung up posting the birthday post (I had misplaced the camera cord for downloading pictures) and then this past week got kind of crazy. But enough with the excuses!

I have been absolutely loving being at home with Max while Holly pulls in the dough. I've been telling everyone that I've had it lucky - Max is interesting, can entertain himself to some degree, naps regularly and is willing to go on long excursions without needing much more than some food and the occasional change. When Holly was home alone with Max prior to this past summer, the Max she had on her hands didn't nap much/well, couldn't communicate much to her and couldn't get around on his own, putting a lot of the onus of entertainment on Holly. Furthermore, in terms of extra-curricular activities, I can reap the benefits of the pile of information Holly had to research on her own...back then, there was no play group and she had to go find out about things like sing-alongs at the library, hushabye classes or strollercise. I can imagine how those days must have been so much more taxing than the days I have at home right now. Max and I have been having a great time getting up to a whole whack of adventures. Here's a short list of the things we have done.

Our first doctor's appointment, just the two of us: 22lbs and 28 inches tall. Just about normal weight, although Max is still pretty short.

Continuing to attend the weekly play group formed with Holly's Hushabye crowd. So much fun!! I almost feel like one of the women.

A few more trips to the pool: Grandma H enrolled Max for another session of swimming and he seems to be doing much better than before.

Seeing Max's top four teeth come in. FINALLY!!! Now he sleeps much better (about 9-10 hours a night and 2 hours' worth of naps during the day. Sigh...)

A day at the Richmond Fall Fair with Holly: a great way to spend a birthday.

Our third Food Bank Charity Garage Sale: Holly will be blogging about this and posting pictures. Priceless!

Two play dates with office colleagues and their children: Max loves socializing with other kids. And I love it because it wears him out:)

New culinary experiments ranging from new purees (leek, eggplant, zucchini) to a lot more grown-up food (salmon, pasta, Jell-o, udon noodles)

Transitioning Max from nap-by-breast to nap-by-bottle of whole milk. It seems that Max is a fan of cow's milk. Good thing, 'cause I can't make the other stuff.

Watching Max learn to kiss, nap before he gets to the so-tired-I'm-crying stage, stand for extended periods of time and even chain a few steps together. Walking is seriously right around the corner.

So all in all, it has been a wonderful month getting to take the reins a little bit more with my boy. It might sound like I'm getting a bit wistful...well, it's because my time alone with him is drawing to a close. The main purpose of my time at home with Max this fall was to secure a daytime caregiver of some sort, in case he did not bubble up to the top of the list at the Tunney's Pasture Daycare Centre. After many frustrating conversations with the TPDC, it looks fairly certain (I qualify it this way, because I don't even think they know whether I'm at the top of the list or even on the list at the moment) that we won't get a spot there in the next couple of years. When they say get on the list once you know you're pregnant, I guess they mean it.

In any case, back in June, I filled out an application form for one of the child care agencies here in town and they managed to locate a caregiver about 5 blocks from our house. We paid a visit earlier this week and it looks like a great situation for Max. And a heck of a lot cheaper than TPDC. The only catch was that the spot needed filling ASAP and so we have Max slated to start next Monday. I'll be off work for an additional bit to ensure that the transition goes smoothly for Max, but then I suppose it's back to the daily grind (and a little earlier than anticipated). So I'm a little conflicted now - happy that I've accomplished my goal of finding a decent care option for Max, but sad that I'm going to be back to spending 4 hours a day with him. Bring on the weekends!

Here are some pictures from our month together. Videos will follow.


Max, stoked about learning how to use a straw at The Works.


Max celebrating the big 0-1 with his Mom.


The boys, kicking it at the RCMP HQ mess for a friend's surprise 40th birthday party.


Rocking the bear jacket at home.


Losing a pillow fight against our sofa.


Time to move into the fall wardrobe. Thanks to Winnipeg Grandma for this natty new sweater. I keep forgetting that Max has already been through an autumn...not like he remembers it or anything.


The end result of trying to get Max to feed himself using a spoon. After attempt #1, I got smart enough to remove his top first.


Interacting with the petting zoo denizens at the Richmond Fair.


Max's first model shoot.


Ridin' the John Deere. Grampa R and GG will be so proud.


Checking the contents of a fortune cookie. The fortune was kind of ho-hum and cryptic.


Max practices standing an awful lot while playing with his Leap Frog magnetic barnyard (hosted by Farmer Tad and his banjo). Thanks to Auntie L for this awesome new toy.


Papi! Estas loco! I'm not even sure what was happening here, but I think it was right after he put mushroom and leek ravioli in his hair.

Mi frstt birdy (by Max)

So, it's been a year now and I thought that it was about time that I wrote my first post. I don't have a gmail account so I had to log in under Mummy's name...

I woke up hungry at 7 AM. I had my first birthday meal in bed with Mummy then I decided that because it was my birthday, I had earned the right to sleep in until 9 AM. I woke up well-rested with a big smile on my face. Mummy had a weird look on her face after I woke her up and she looked at the clock. Daddy, my other favourite person, climbed into bed to play with me while Mummy scurried around in the bathroom and putting clothes on. I don't understand why she wanted to get away from me so quickly - what else could she have wanted to do more than play with me all day?

Eventually, Mummy left and Daddy and I got to start our day together. We had a scrumptious breakfast - nothing out of the ordinary, but there certainly was a lot of it. Cereal with papaya and peach purees mixed in - yum! Daddy then cut up some fresh nectarines for me to eat while he moved very quickly around the main floor, stacking things on shelves or in closets and doing something with all of our dishes in the sink. Why all the hurry? And why put all of that stuff away? Daddy knows I like stuff all over the place.

After I finished my fruit, I played for a bit upstairs while Daddy took some pictures of me on a strange looking camera. Every time the flash went off, it made a strange clicking and whirring sound. I wonder what that was. I tried to look as cute as possible in my outfit.

Then Daddy popped me in my red stroller and we went to the grocery store. We got all sorts of things I hadn't seen before: long sticks of bread, pink fish...this is usually where we get food for me so I figured that I'd be having some of this stuff. Sure enough, after I had a quick snooze to reenergize myself, I got to try some of the fish. Daddy said it wasn't farmed, but can I trust him? What does farmed even mean?

After a bit more fun time with Daddy, Mummy arrived home way earlier than normal. That was weird. Something was definitely going on. Auntie L showed up right after and we caught up on old times. Then Dad put me in some new clothes and Mummy put some sticky stuff in my hair to make it look weird. I didn't stay in the clothes long, but everybody was looking pleased. I would have asked what was happening, but I was running out of energy again.

I had another short nap and when I woke up, I had a few big surprises. While I was sleeping, some of my favourite people had arrived and they all wanted to hold me. Some were old like Mummy and Daddy and some others were really old. Except for my girlfriend. It was nice of her to bring her folks around - we hadn't seen each other for a while. I played on the ground while everyone else either stood around talking to one another, put food in their mouths or joined me on the floor to play.

Eventually, Mummy brought a pile of colourful boxes into my play area and looked expectantly at me. I have no idea what she was saying, but upon surveying the pile of stuff, it looked like one thing was shaped like a person or something. I wanted to rescue it from all of the boxes. Daddy sat down next to me and ripped its covering off and it turned out to be a weird-looking monkey. Why was it covered? Why was it with all of these boxes?

Daddy kept making ripping sounds while taking the nice coverings off of the things in the pile and giving me things to hold or holding clothes up in front of me. I don't know who they belonged to, but they were really nice. Maybe their owners would let me play with the toys or wear the clothes sometime. They sure were nice.

Once all of the coverings were taken off the toys and clothes (seriously, I don't have coverings on my toys and clothes...why were these ones covered? Weird), Daddy fed me dinner. He usually feeds me a lot more, but I only got a pile of the yummy orange and brown stuff. I was still hungry!

But then Daddy wheeled my high chair into the living room and the lights went darker. Everybody in the room started singing (gee, I wish I knew the words so that I could have sung along. What a catchy tune! Though not as interactive as The Grand Old Duke of York...). Everyone was looking at me and then Daddy put some beige and white thing on my tray with a glowing stick on top of it. I'd never seen anything like it! The glowing stick was hard to look at - it was bright! Daddy's cheeks got big and then poof! the glowing stick stopped glowing. Everybody clapped so I did too. Daddy took the unglowing stick away but left the thing it was stuck in. I poked at it a bit in the white part and it didn't seem dangerous. After passing the touch test, everything has to pass the taste test...WOW! I'd never tasted anything like this before. It was so sweet! I had to have more! So I got a handful and crammed it in my mouth. People laughed. Oh well, I was still hungry. YUMMY! The beige part behind the white part was OK, but less tasty and required more chewing. I'm not so keen on chewier foods so I left it behind and focused on the other stuff.

I had had a bit to eat but wasn't entirely finished when Grandma started asking to hold me again. Or at least that's what I thought she said - she was a little tough to understand. People gradually started leaving after that...I don't understand why. I felt full of energy and was ready to play! Mummy and Daddy stayed up until I was ready for bed (they seemed pretty pooped too - the first two pictures on the clock were both sticks) and then had another wonderful sleep. I'm not sure what made that day so special, but I sure hope I have another one some day.

Max

Milestones

OK, so we're 364 days in now and just before certain important days happen tomorrow, I figured I'd do a quick review of what Max has and has not done, as per Dr. Sears' list of milestones (taken from The Baby Book). Let's see...at 9-12 months, a baby is supposed to do the following (successes in green, coming attractions in red).

Master skill
cross-crawling and cruising (Looks like the next step is walking and I probably give Max a month, given that he's not even really standing much on his own yet.)

Gross motor skills
Goes from crawling to sitting.
Scales and climbs furniture. (we love watching him climb the car seat)
Crawls up stairs not down. (yeah, he can go down stairs just fine)
Cruises around furniture.
Stands without holding on. (this is still a little dodgy, but it does happen)
Walks with assistance.
First solo steps, stiff, unsteady, wide based, frequent falls. (Grandma claims she saw a step. I certainly haven't)

Hand skills and self-help
Well-developed pincer grasp.
Points and pokes with index finger. (haven't seen him point yet)
Changes hand to accommodate shape of objects
Stacks and drops blocks. (he likes to stack nested cups, but doesn't show a lot of interest in blocks right now)
Shows hand dominance. (I'm pretty sure he's right-handed at this point)

Language and social skills
Two-syllable sounds ("ma-ma, "da-da") and associates the right sounds with the right person. (touch-and-go on this last part - he's been pretty convincing at times, but never consistent)
Understands "no". (I think it's more understanding the tone of "no", but whatever...)
Imitates sounds: coughs and tongue clicks.
Understands gestures: waves bye-bye. (this is our favourite; Max is now at the point where we can say bye sometimes and he will wave)

Cognitive skills
Shows memory of recent events (this one's blue because I don't even know how to assess this one. He sees one of us walk around a corner or through a door and then follows. Does this count?)
Cue words trigger mental picture of action to expect. (When we say "up" or "arms up", he knows he's about to be picked up and lifts his arms.)
Remembers where toy is hidden under one of two covers.
"Mama's coming" triggers mental picture of mama - stops fussing. (Not sure. I think "X is coming" alerts Max to the fact that someone can hear his crying and so he ramps it up. Does that count?)
Shows separation anxiety. (Not to speak ill of the dead, but Max is getting clingier than Bella. Unless he's thoroughly engrossed in toys or food, he just has to be around a parent)

What babies like
Container play: pouring, filling, dumping
"Pickpocketing" dad's shirt. (Umm, if dad ever wore a shirt with pockets, maybe we'd know...)
Flirting with self in mirror. (and anything that walks)
Banging and matching lids on pots and pans. (Not sure about pots and pans but definitely with Tupperware!)
Stacking 2 or 3 large blocks.

So aside from all of these 9-12 month skills, he has also skipped ahead a bit and tackled backing down stairs, opening cabinets and removing contents, co-operating (a bit) in dressing, holding a bottle (still working on that cup though. However, the straw thing is awesome) and enjoying a ride on daddy's shoulders.

We have a newborn next door and it's amazing to me that Max has gone from that stage, essentially capable of nothing) to where he is now in a single year. I can't wait to see what the next one holds!!

Just an awesome video - that's it.

I think this one's self-explanatory.

Something special

So today, we took Max to the blood lab to get some blood drawn. Apparently, around one year of age, it's important to know if a baby is iron deficient in order to see if there will be problems in transferring from breast milk/formula to dairy. We got Max all set and the medical staff poked once, jiggled, found a vein and drew two vials from Max. Max didn't cry or make a sound. He didn't even really move. He looked at the pokers (Who are these people?), looked at the needle (are they attaching a third arm? I wonder...), and casually glanced at the vials (that's a pretty shade of red. Maybe for my next room...). He might have sighed during the process. The lab techs (one of whom did Max's blood work a few months ago at the lab) were tripping over themselves in wonder, saying that they'd never seen a baby so calm while getting blood drawn. We were pretty amazed ourselves.

This harkens back to when Max got his twin 10s on the Apgar tests right after his birth. That and when the Grand Forks numerologist mentioned that his birth date of 09/09/2007 made him a "9" and that both Mother Teresa and Gandhi were 9s - that this foretold greatness. I'm not really a superstitious dude, but when I see the look on someone's face saying that they've never seen something before until your child breaks the rules it kind of makes me wonder whether I've got something special on my hands. I mean, Max is definitely special - all kids start at that baseline and work their way up (or down?). I mean specialer than normal.

Anyway, I don't want to go on and on too much - it's a bit obnoxious. And furthermore, I'm sure every parent feels this way about their children.

The rest of our day went well too. Max sat very still for his second haircut and then postponed his nap just long enough to let mom and dad have a lunch date at Lone Star...mmm, Tex-Mex. Here are some pictures from our day and a video demonstrating that Max won't soon be addicted to cola.