Survival

The first six months of being the parents of two have been rough. As most of you know, Max is not a big fan of sleep and we have been battling some serious sleep deprivation. Alia has been adjusting to big sister life pretty well, but she is still a toddler and can throw a fit with the best of them. On top of all that we have been potty training which thankfully has been going pretty well. But, there are a few things that have really helped us get through and I just wanted to share them with you.....

cupcakes and beer!

Big Girl

Here are some pictures of what's been going on in Alia's little life these days ...

Alia is still adjusting to life in "school" two mornings a week. She is typically absolutely exhausted when I pick her up, but this was the only time she has ever fallen asleep in the car on the way home. She loves her teacher Ms. Saechao. Her favorite part of school seems to be art projects and playing outside (which hasn't happened much because of weather) or in the gym.

One day we picked up Daddy and took him out to lunch just because we missed him and he was having a bummer day.

Once again, Alia has outgrown (or worn out) almost all of her "winter" clothes and winter isn't quite over here, so we are getting creative with her wardrobe. Pretty fancy, huh?

Alia went with me to the dentist this week. It isn't time for her to get her check up yet, but I wanted her to experience the dentist office a few times before then so that it wouldn't be scary. She loved it! She got to wear silly sunglasses, sit on my lap and watch Dora, get her picture taken, get a new toothbrush and play blocks in the waiting room!

After our fun at the dentist we went to Starbucks for a special treat. It was nice having some girl time together. (We left Max at home with babysitter Alex :-)

Sibling Fun

Here are a few random moments in which I have actually been able to take a picture of both kids at the same time. You'll notice that getting a good picture at this point, is pretty much impossible. Someone is always blinking, looking the other way or just being silly.

In the shopping cart at Costco. This was Max's first time to ride in the cart. He seemed to like it and Alia gave him lots of love and encouragement throughout the trip.

At Munchkin Playland. Alia is having snack while Max supervises.

Max is attempting to assist Alia while she was doing a puzzle.

Playing blocks together!

Busy Boy

Max and I went to the children's museum one day while Alia was at school to meet up with some friends and chit chat. This was his first time in the little stroller. He looks like such a big boy!

He loves to play with this whale and chew on the tags!

Sometimes Mommy and Max play up in his room while big sister is napping. His favorite toys to play with up there are his soft blocks. Great for knocking over when Mommy builds towers and really great for chewing!

Max really wanted to try doing the puzzle, but it was too hard, so he tried eating it instead!

His new favorite past time is playing with the big blocks. He likes to pick up things that we build, tip the box over, bang the blocks together and ... you guessed it ... chew on them!

Bath Time

I just realized the other day that I haven't taken any embarrassing, future blackmail, pictures of my kids in the bathtub lately. So, I promptly remedied that situation!

More Video

Here are some more video clips from March including one very small taste of what life with a toddler is like these days ...

March Video Highlights

I haven't downloaded video from my camera in a while and when I finally did it today, I realized that I am a bit behind on my posts. Here is part 1 of some of the highlights from March!

More Pictures

Out for a walk with Mommy ... both the kids were still getting over their colds, so I bundled them up and got us outside for some much needed fresh air. It felt like we were stuck in the house forever!

Max loves his sippy cup!

Trying on her new bathing suit. We are all ready for some warmer weather the start of swim classes!

Being silly. Wearing two pairs of undies and Daddy's socks!

Silly face!

Six Months Old

Mighty Max is a whopping six months old today! This morning he had his check up with Dr. Nash and had to get a whole slew of shots. He has been a little tired and cranky ever since, but did a great job. Max is now 29.5 inches (99%) but still only 17 pounds and 1 ounce (44%). His weight has stayed the same for the past couple of weeks. It could just be because we were all sick and his eating got all out of whack, but Dr. Nash wants to keep an eye on it, so we are going to go back in 4 weeks for a weight check. Other than that, we don't need to go again until his nine month well child check.

This week Max has started sitting up all by himself. It doesn't last for too terribly long, but he's really getting the hang of it. Max also enjoys rolling all over the place and grabbing things that he shouldn't as well as shoving things in his mouth and trying to use a sippy cup! He is a busy little boy. In breaking news, Max had two days in a row where he took a two hour afternoon nap and even had one night (it was not repeated) where he slept for 9 hours straight! Maybe we are starting to turn the corner on the sleep issue ... maybe? He is a very busy, chatty and lovey little guy.

In other news, Max has an appointment at OHSU pediatric neurosurgery on April 6th for them to take a look at the little bump on his head. It will be interesting to see what they have to say about it.

First Day of School

Today was Alia's first day of "school". We decided to enroll her in a preschool/daycare program to help her get a little more practice in social settings. She has a bit of social anxiety and we're hoping that school, and being around other kids her age more, helps her out a bit. We visited her school twice (while it was in session) before today to try to prep Alia as much as possible. I was expecting the absolute worst when I dropped her off this morning and I was very pleasantly surprised... NO tears. I was amazed, and proud! When I picked her up, her teacher told me that she did have some morning tears and during transitions, but overall she had a fun day. When I arrived at pick-up time I could see her before she saw me and I watched her play with a big smile on her face for a minute before she noticed me. Keep your fingers crossed that things go this well on Thursday!