The Max Attack of the Day

Here are the obligatory Max photos of the day. In this one you see the little guy passed out in his new swing (it vibrates! it swings! it plays music!) and wearing a new onesie from his Auntie Lisa (she's obviously trying to prep him up) ;-)
And a pensive Max considering his options....Hmmmm, am I hungry or do I just need to pee again?
And here's the little guy from this morning when we were playing around. I'd post the other pictures, but he was naked except for some striped socks and I'll save him the embarassment. Right after this he peed on me (and the blanket and the carpet). He's a regular water sprinkler. And here I thought I was safe since he'd just peed like 5 minutes before.

The little bugger is keeping me busy today (as per usual). He's finally napping now, but this has been his feeding schedule today (don't even ask about the diapers!):

• 4:50 AM
• 8:20 AM
• 9:40 AM
• 10:30 AM
• 12:10 PM
• 2:10 PM

And somehow, I'm expecting him to wake up any minute demanding more!

Looking for a dog?

Got this message forwarded on about a bunch of dogs that will likely be euthanized by July if they aren't adopted because of a shelter closing...lots of great dogs, including one that already knows sign language! We do want to get a dog someday, probably when Max is about 3 or 4. Now would be kind of a crazy time, though their stories make you want to go and adopt one. Not to mention the pictures...such sweeties.

To check the doggies out:
http://picsbycindy.com/marion_grant_dogs.htm

Recent Places...Catching Up

There's a whole bunch of places we've been to recently that we haven't had time to write up because, well, about 8 lbs. of ever-hungry boy. I'm probably missing some of them, but here's what I can remember...

Elly's Pancake House
435 Townline RdMundelein, IL 60060 (847) 837-8100

This is another one of the ubiquitous pancake houses that dot the landscape around here, albeit a really good one. Everything was perfect -- the eggs (scrambled, with cheese all nicely melted), bacon (crisp), pancakes (fluffy), syrup (warmed), juice (fresh). Nice fast service too. Definitely a good diner / breakfast location. There's a lot of these types of places but this one I would definitely go back to.

Hillside Restaurant
804 Barron Blvd Grayslake, IL 60030

This is another diner-style restaurant. Tony actually wound up stopping here the day Max was born, to catch dinner on the way home (GIANT pork chops). We've also gone there once for breakfast/brunch. The portions are large and the service is pretty decent. The food is good, standard diner fare.

Firkin
http://firkinoflibertyville.com/
515 N. Milwaukee, Libertyville, IL 60048, (847) 367-6168

This is the first place we've found out this way that feels like it is in the city. It's trendy. It's hip. It's got good food and a casual, fun (reggae-inspired) atmosphere. And "big city" type dishes like lobster tacos.

We've been twice (both times with Max and he behaved very well) so far and we'll surely go again. Firkin also has an extensive beer menu (including a really good root beer) and homemade pretzels. What's not to like?

Incidentally, it shares a kitchen with The Tavern, another good place in downtown Libertyville. Kitschy, but good.

Cafe Pyrenees
http://www.cafepyrenees.com/
1762 N. Milwaukee Ave, Libertyville, Illinois 60048.
Reservations/Info 847-362-cafe

This is probably Tony's favorite new local place. It's a restaurant /bar / retail wine shop in nearby Libertyville. I'd been wanting to try it for a while, but every time I mentioned it Tony didn't get where I was talking about and/or thought it was something different. So we finally went the other night (mentioned in a previous post...Max's first night wearing shoes).

Really nice place with great food (and foie gras for Tony -- the ban is only in the city of Chicago). The seafood risotto I had as an appetizer was particularly good. The dinners were great too -- we both had a "game" plate with venison and duck and pheasant sausage.

The staff was great as well, including being welcoming to little Max (who behaved quite well, thank you very much, though I'm sure he made some other diners nervous). We'll definitely be back (probably again and again).

The Perfect Brew & A Rare Find
619 Park St. in Libertyville, 847-305-4459

We found a local home brew shop. Small, but pretty well equipped (nice glass carboys). Strangely enough, it is combined with a small furniture / hot sauce shop.

Jamaican Gardens North
14595 W Rockland Rd, Libertyville, IL 60048 (847) 367-5570

From the "North" designation, I'm assuming there's a "South" somewhere closer to the city. This is a gardening shop...actually it's a huge gardening shop with not only plants, but also all kinds of pots and other paraphenalia. Prices were about on par with other local shops (though Pasquesi's is still my favorite...you can't beat them for atmosphere). One good thing about the Jamaican Gardens is that they have 40 varieties of tomatoes, including heirloom ones.

Spice Bazaar
139 E Townline Rd, Vernon Hills, IL 60061, (847) 549-0065

We're always looking for good ethnic markets. The Spice Bazaar is a pretty decent Indian market. They even have a small selection of fresh stuff (samosas, etc.) and lots of frozen things. Best of all, they are opening up a small Indian cafe next door that's going to have dosas! Yay! I love LOVE LOVE dosas. So we'll have to check it out in June or so when it opens up.

Wearing out Daddy's Arms

Tony likes to swing kids around, including little Max. Of course, he wears out his arms doing it...but at least not too badly right now. A few more months, though...

Sleepy Max

When Max is really sleepy, it is just about impossible to wake him up, no matter what daddy does (like blowing in his face, which just produces the look you see below instead).
Notice the chubby cheeks the boy is developing. And the double chin.
Falling asleep on daddy is a favorite past time of both Max and Harley, both our boys (Harley being the furry one).

A few pics of Max...

Just a quick update since I've been getting in trouble for not updating frequently enough...but hey, Max has been keeping me busy!

Here's the little guy in a sweater his Auntie Lisa got for him. Still a little big on him, but getting there! He's getting bigger every day. He's actually got some meat on his thighs now...no more pencil legs!
And here's a happy Max...
And a flirty Max, with his new friend Claire.
And Max doing some "tummy time" to help strengthen his neck muscles. And, no, Mom, we don't walk away and leave him on the counter alone. :-)
I'll try to do a more informative update soon...have lots of things to report (not all Max related, sorry)...just little time.

Max and Harley

A dryer is a wonderful thing

Finally, sleepy Max...

Max's one month checkup

Max had his one month checkup today. The doctor says he's in excellent health. He's up to 7 lbs. 15 oz. (almost 8!) and has grown an inch (20 1/2 inches now). Sadly, he also had to get his second Hep B shot, which he did not like at all. He went from 0 to tomato in 0.2 seconds.

Here is his going to the doctor outfit for today.
And here's a shot from last night showing the power of breastmilk.

Max on Safari

Happy Month Day to Max

Max is one month old today, so happy Month Day to him. :-) He's been keeping me busy all day (it's been a banner day for both outfit and diaper changes). He's definitely a growing bean; we have had to officially retire some outfits that he's now too big for (!).

Here you see him in his first little hoodie jacket.
And here he is taking a nap with his great-grandma (who is home now; our guests left yesterday).
Here's a picture of Tony with his mom and grandma and Max. I think they all had a good visit together.
And here's my little man wearing his first pair of shoes (courtesy Auntie Lisa). We took him out all gussied up last night to a nice restaurant (more on that in another post). He did pretty well, though we learned a few lessons (pack more breastmilk/bottles!).
And finally, it wasn't planned but here's Max's Month Day present -- a new chair for his room that I'd ordered and happened to be delivered today. Too cool, huh? My mom had actually spotted it in one of our catalogs (along with a storage ottoman that is on back order and will be arriving later) and we just had to get it. Ultimately, the glider in the room now will go down to the basement and the leaf chair will be in Max's Wild Things room.

In other news, I got the final proof copy of my manuscript (and need to finish reading through it tonight to get any changes back to my editor tomorrow). And more news that I'll be putting on my "author" blog -- the publisher has put together some really cool stickers and will be doing a book trailer (kinda like a movie trailer, but for books) that I'll be doing the copy for (Mina's inner monologue). Very cool, I'm uber-excited.

I'm also super behind on my YABC stuff, but I hope to get some of that done today and tomorrow (Max, you are verrrry sleepy, verrryyy sleepy....).

Mr. Max & Family

We've been busy with our visitors, Max's grandma (Tony's Mom) and Great-Grandma (Tony's Mom's Mom). But here are a few shots of our little Wild Thing.

Here he is in some "big boy" jeans. A wee bit big for him, but very cute.
And here he is with Mamaw Carol.
And Nana Debbie.
And Max got a bunch of wonderful presents (thank you's soon to come, promise! I just need a minute or two!). Here he is with one of them (from Mark and Sue, my brother-in-law's sister & husband), a cute little binky dog blanky.
And another shot of Max with his great grandma.

March pictures

I've updated our online photo albums with all the pictures from March, most of which didn't get posted in the blog (the beauty of digital cameras...you can't waste film). So, check it out.

So far today...

2:15 AM
--peanut begins to wake up
--go to bathroom
--turn off alarm set for 3:00 AM
--feed from left breast, 15 minutes
--burp
--change diaper
2:45 AM
--feed from right breast, 10 minutes
--attempt to burp peanut
--lay peanut in bassinet
--fussy peanut
3:15 AM
--feed from right breast, 10 minutes
--burp peanut
--peanut passes out
--lay peanut in bassinet
--drink glass of juice
3:45 AM
~sleep~
6:36 AM
--peanut begins to wake up
--go to bathroom
--say goodbye to Tony
--feed from left breast
--burp
--realize am starving
--eat some cold pizza while standing in the kitchen and continuting to burp the peanut
--change diaper
7:15 AM
--feed from right breast
--burp
--lay peanut in bassinet
--peanut spits up on outer outfit
--take peanut out of outfit, wrap in blanket
--lay peanut in bassinet
--peanut fusses
--pick peanut up, realize back is completely soaked, experience confusion over just-changed-diaper blowout
--change really poopy, wet diaper. no apparent blow out, but inner onesie outfit is completely soaked
--strip peanut
--peanut in good mood, but breathing heavy
--gird loins and decide to break out the dreaded aspirator
--successfully suck two giant boogies out of peanut's nose with aspirator, alternating with saline solution
--quietly cheer
--dress peanut in new onesie and pants
--attempt to burp peanut
--peanut looks so cute in pants, prop him up in chair and take a couple of pictures

--notice cold peanut feet, add socks
--lay peanut in bassinet
--fussy peanut
--make up a bottle of breast milk pumped last night, put up pizza, grab sip of water
8:30 AM
--feed peanut 1 1/2 oz.
--attempt to burp peanut
--peanut passes out
--lay peanut in bassinet
--re-attach peanut's socks
--pick up assorted pee-soaked and spit-up soaked clothing and blankets, bring to laundry room
--peanut wakes up
--pick peanut up
--attempt to burp peanut
--peanut passes out
--lay peanut in bassinet
--locate camera in kitchen (?)
--post to blog (cursing blogger for not saving formatting from pasted-in notepad text and being forced to re-format whole post)

Max Swimming

I know I said earlier that I was just going to post the new videos to YouTube and not put all of them on the blog too...but this one is really cute, so I'm posting it here as well. Here's Max "swimming" in the tub with Daddy.

The Max Update

He's still a stuffy little guy, but a bit better today than yesterday after some new nasal saline and some time spent in a steamy bathroom. Max had another bath last night since he was starting to get that stale milk smell. He really does like his bath time, unless daddy happens to accidentally dunk part of his head.

I'm going to be posting some additional videos to YouTube today, so check it later.

Note daddy's strategic placement of the washcloth to protect Max's modesty.


He also likes to be warm and cozy in the boppy bouncy chair his Auntie Pam got for him.
Look, Ma, I float!