6 months

It was six months ago today that we met Max. He weighed 1/3rd of what he does now. He didn't stay awake for more than 30 minutes at a time, he wasn't even "The Bean" yet. We had read a lot of books, and gotten a lot of advice, but we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into.

He's more mobile now, and has loads of personality. He loves us. We love making him smile, and giggle, and laugh. He used to have trouble holding his head up, now he can hold it up as long as he wants. He rolls and jumps. He's on his fourth size of diaper. He's starting to notice the cats. He wants to play with certain toys, and when he drops them he tries to find them.

It's been an awesome 6 months. We had no idea he'd grow so fast. There was a lot we had no idea about.

We've still got a lot to learn....and we're looking forward to it.

Thank you Bean, we love you.

A Big Change

Since she went back to work, Bobbie Jo has had trouble with Max at daycare. We had discussed her working part time, but there was no way we were going to be able to make it work. She applied for other shifts to make things more "ideal", but due to her low seniority, she wasn't able to get any of them.

Today Bobbie Jo accepted a job working Midnight-Noon, Friday and Saturday nights. The shift and the pay will allow us to take Max out of daycare and he'll be able to be at home with mom during the week. On the weekend, he's mine.

It was a really tough decision to make, and we're both a little apprehensive about what it will be like, but being able to have Bobbie Jo at home will make it all worth it. We don't know that we'll stick to the schedule forever, maybe he'll head back to daycare in a year or two, but for now this gives us the best of all worlds.

Bobbie Jo starts in late September, we'll keep you posted.

Water Weekend!

The Bean got introduced to water in a big way this weekend. He had is first bath in the bathtub (he's quickly outgrowing the sink), and on Sunday we took him swimming.

He seemed to enjoy the water, he kicked his feet, and when encouraged to splash he smacked at the water with his hands. We'll definitely try to get him in the pool a few more times before the summer is through.

Jumping Bean

We just got back from our short weekend excursion to Cedar Point for our 5th Anniversary. It was a lot of fun, though a bit of a pain being there on a Saturday. We rode a total of 6 rides (all coasters), as the average line time was just about 2 hours.

It was great to get away together for a few days, and even though our hotel was a dump, we enjoyed ourselves. We missed Max, and were very happy when we arrived at Bobbie Jo's parents' house to claim him (Thanks again, Steve and Sharon!).

The Bean has been really mobile lately. He's rolling over a lot now. So much it almost makes things difficult. He has a bit of an "army crawl" down, and is covering small distances once in awhile. While he's always liked standing, he found something he likes better - jumping. The Bean is now a "Jumping Machine" (there's a song there somewhere). We got him a jumparoo thing that he took to much quicker than expected. When he's in it, it's as though he has to jump. He'll jump so long, he'll start to cry, and continue to jump, acting as though he's being forced.

Now, when we let him stand on our laps, he'll jump there. This kid is going to be moving in one way or another, soon. He demands mobility!

Weekend Update

It's getting late on Sunday night, and it's been a really busy week, but I wanted to get something posted before another week goes by.

Max started going to two days a week of daycare at a friends place this week. The girl who takes care of him and Rebecca is great, and Max seems to be in great spirits when he comes home.

I had a week from hell, we had a website that was supposed to launch in two weeks pushed up to Friday. It was buggy, and as expected it crashed 2 minutes after launch. I may be new, but I know you've gotta test these things before you put them out, but the client gets what the client wants.

Friday, as soon as I got home, we packed Max into the car to take him over to my Mom's place so she could watch him for the night. We went out to dinner, and then to see NEIL DIAMOND!!!! It was awesome! After the incredible show, we hit a new bar here in town, picked up Max and went home to bed. It was an outstanding night to end a rough week.

We started Max on Juice and beans (not mixed together) within the last few weeks. He's not "supposed" to start real food for a month, but he's been enjoying it. Against his mother's wishes I let him suck on a piece of pineapple tonight during dinner. I've never seen so much enjoyment in his face, until he sucked the chunk out of my fingers and into his untrained mouth. Without missing a beat, Awesome Dad reached into his goopy little mouth, and removed the pineapple before he could choke. I'm not allowed to feed him anymore. But, it was cool while it lasted.

It'll be a busy week, we're going to Cedar Point this weekend, leaving Max with Bobbie Jo's parents Friday and Saturday night. We're a bit anxious, but it's our Fifth Anniversary, and we'd like to get away, even if for only a few days.

Oh...and HEY UNCLE MATT, THANKS FOR THE DONKEY!!!!