10 Months (and a week!)

Max continues to grow and change every day!  He is so big and currently wears 18 month clothes quite comfortably.  I am really excited about the cold weather because all of Max's summer clothes are getting to small and I don't want to buy any more knowing that I have fall clothes in his drawers that fit him!  It is crazy the amount of clothes this boy has gone through.  We now have 4 large plastic totes full of clothes that are too small.

Max is now crawling everywhere.  He started his crawling by getting up on all fours, flattening out on his tummy, and army crawling.  Just this past week, Max has been crawling on all fours as his preferred method.

This kid eats everything!  He loves trying new foods and experimenting with his two teeth that have come in over the past month!

Jason and I are hoping that Max gets back in the habit of sleeping through the night.  Teething and a little cold have meant that Max wants to join us in bed at 4am.

Here are some photos from the past month!

This day, I forgot to put diapers in the diaper bag when I left Max with my grandma!  Poor Grandma Kay had to put him in a towel and then as a last resort, but him in the tub (aka kitchen sink.)  Max loved it and thought it was quite the deal!

Max having his first Panda Express.

Loving every bite!

First time with Spaghetti!

In the big boy cart at the grocery store!

Max Rude, One of a Kind!

As promised, here are the stats from Max's 9 month checkup:

At 9mo 9days, Max weighed in at 22lb 11oz (78%), he was 30.5in (96%), and had a head circumfrance of 46.5cm (79%).

We love him and are so excited in all the ways he has been growing and learning!  He has his first tooth trying to make its way in and he has also began crawling... kind of!  :)  Max will get on all fours and then flatten out on his tummy and army crawl to wherever he would like to go, and I mean WHEREVER he would like to go! ;)

Last weekend, our great friend Rachael Hall, took pictures of Max and our family.  Rachael is so talented and we are ecstatic at how she was able to capture Max's personality in these photos!  Her website is www.rachaelmariaphotography.com.  For your enjoyment, here are a few of my favorites (I have so many favorites!!!)

Those chunky legs are my favorite!!!

Some really handsome guys!

Those legs!!!

This is a classic Max look!  Such a good guy!

This one made Jason and I laugh out loud!!!  What is he doing?

Such a nice wave!

Is he in 2nd grade or something?

I think he loves me?

Baller.

I love him!

Our little family!

Iowa State Fair

Adding to Max's year of firsts, Jason and I decided to take him to the Iowa State Fair.  A fun time was had by all!

Max on his way to the fair!  So many things to look at!

The two best guys I know!

Mommy, Max, and Clifford!

Daddy did Farrell's and so did Max!

Jason and me!

Max was worn out by the end!

I think we experienced all we needed to at the fair!  We walked around and took in all the sights (even a cow peeing, which really smelled!) and ate some great fair grub!  I had a corn dog and a deep friend snickers bar and Jason had a strawberry smoothie!  Yum Yum!

Park

We went to the park by our house! So fun! Max really enjoyed himself! The swing and slide were fun, but the wood chips were the winner! Go figure! ;)

Here is the link to a video of him swinging! Max Swinging

Max is 9 Months!!!

Max has his 9 month check up coming up on the 20th, but until then here is what Max has been up to this past month!

One of the highlights of this past month was that Max went on his first Rude Family Vacation!  Jason stayed behind to work and to work on finishing our basement, but Max and I joined the majority of the Rudes on vacation in Branson, MO.  There was a lot of swimming, getting kisses from aunts, and even a trip to the Dixie Stampede!

Max sat in the cart like a big guy for the first time in Branson!

Max with some other handsome Rude boys!

Max wanted everyone to know who he is rooting for in the Olympics!

We went to BBQ with TJ, Julia, and Jessica.  Max was pumped!

On the way back home!  So excited to see his dad!

We got a bit off schedule while on vacation.  While trying to keep him awake a little longer in order to take his nap on time, Max let me know that he just could not make it any longer and he fell asleep on the floor of the living room!

 We had such a great time on our trip and we're looking forward to next year with Jason!!!

Max's Likes and Dislikes at 9 Months:

Likes:

• His dad and his mom!  He loves playing rough with dad and cuddling with mom.
• Scooting around on his belly.  No crawling yet, but we are so close!
• Food, he still likes anything I give him.  A new favorite are pancakes even though he doesn't have any teeth!
• His crib?  Well, I think he does, he sleeps very well in it every night!
• Big boy jammies! 
• His cousins!  He is still so entertained by all of them!  We got to spend time with them on vacation and then his cousins on the Stopek side came to visit on Thursday!  We went to the park and Max loved watching them play!
• The bink.  He is happy as long as he has his bink, especially his new basketball ones!
• The tub!

Dislikes:

• Waiting for food.
• When he is in the car and the car stops moving.

I am sure there are more things I will add later!  Just can't think of all of them right now!

Off to put Max down to a nap!

8 Months!

Max turned 8 months this week! I know I say this all the time, but he is such a great kid! Jason and I love him so much!

Likes:
Food- really! Any food! He hasn't turned down anything regardless of the fact that he has no teeth!

Bouncing on his bottom when music comes on! He has some rhythm! We went to lapsit time at the West Des Moines Library, and Max LOVED it! He was totally in his element with all the other babies there to look at and all the singing and bouncing!

Social gatherings! He really likes to watch people and doesn't mind being passed around.

The pool! I am so glad that he likes the water. He will just sit and splash and watch the other kids play or float in his floatie and relax! What a funny kid!

His cousins! He likes all 15 of them (and even the 16th on the way)!!! We have had the pleasure of seeing Max's cousins quite frequently over the past few months and Max is entertained by them and loves laughing with them!

Remote controls! If one is in his sight, he will dive for it! It has caught Jason and I off guard many times!!!

Dislikes:
Vacuums. Especially when Daddy isn't there to rescue him and save him!

Clipping his nails. Okay, maybe it is just me that dislikes clipping his nails! I am always scared I am going to cut his little fingers by mistake.

When things go out of his reach. He doesn't crawl yet, so when things are too far for him to reach, he gets very sad.

Milestones:
He says both dada and mama, but I don't think he associates the words with Jason or I.

He sits so well on his own! He will occasionally go from sitting to laying on his tummy and then rolling over, no signs of crawling yet though!

Thankfully, he has started sleeping really well. He will sleep through the night and take naps in his crib!

Jason often says that Max has the sweetest faces. He really looks like he is empathizing with you some times and his smiles light up the room (and my heart!)

Three Rudes on the 4th!

As you may know already, the 4th of July is my absolute favorite holiday!  It is such a great day to spend with family, you can be outside, and there is no pressure for gifts!  It is a win, win, win!  This 4th was extra special because it was Max's first!!!  It was so exciting to share this great holiday with him and Jason!

We started off the day by going to the Urbandale parade.  It was super hot so we stood back from the street in the shade, but next year, I expect Max will want to be all up in the parade business!

Daddy got a flag for Max!

Proud to be an American.

My best friend!

After the parade, we went home.  Our little guy was worn out from the morning's festivities, so he took a nap!

When Max woke up from his nap, we went to pick Jason up after he walked in the Windsor Heights parade and went to the church camp for food, friends and the talent show!

Connor was so nice to take a break from playing with his friends to take a picture with Max.  He did inform me, though, that I should be quick so he could get back to playing!

After the talent show, Jason, Max, and I watched the West Des Moines fireworks!  I think Max liked them almost as much as I did!!!

What a great family to spend a great holiday with!

Also, be sure to check out my new blog for Dahl's!  You can find a new post each week at: http://www.dahlsfoods.com/meals-entertainment/recipes/author_list.aspx?a=1