Splish Splash Max was takin' a bath....

Baby Max had the best day ever with his girlfriend Natalie. She is only a little older than him and they play together so well. We were two tired mommies today, but with our bouncing babies and some mommy mojo we made it happen. Kelly is such a wonderful mother and I love being with them!

Blessed days like these are what dreams are made of. And it is my dream for Max to have a clean baby bootie all the time. Sounds like a win, win to have happy, clean babies, huh! Love that.....Heck, I just loved this day!

Sweet little Maximilian's updates include:

He slides down the baby slide at the park all by himself. He dives face first like superman....yikes!

He knows how to put the lid back on a water bottle. I was very surprised to see him turn the lid around to screw it on correctly.

He gives french kisses to boys and girls with his mouth open. He also helps himself to food out of his friends' mouths....even if they were planning on swallowing and keeping it for themselves.

He sits in his own little chair that has his name monogrammed on it. It's a fun game him and Marc play. "Go get in your chair!" And Max runs back and forth from his chair to his toys.

He says a lot more words. A few that I heard this week include up, blueberries, i love you, and kitchen.

If your cocktail needs a little stir, he does that with his entire fist. Then he will proceed to feed you ice cubes--even if you are wearing a beautiful dry clean only suit and you don't want your cranberry drink to spill on your front.

He climbs three flights of steps in less than a minute. This has become a daily ritual because he loves it so much and it wears him out.

He has 11 or 12 teeth, 3 of which are molars.

When he wants milk he rips off my shirt--regardless of where we are.

He cleans his air jordan basketball shoes in the toilet.

He falls about 3000 times a day and manages to get away with only about ten bruises on his knees and shins.

He growls when I take his pacifier away.

He gives lots of hugs and wraps his arms tight around my neck. He is the center of our world......xoxo

Baby Band Baby Down!

It's Saturday afternoon and I am rebelliously blogging while Max naps. Showering, cleaning, and getting ready to meet my friend that will be here in 15 minutes may seem more important, but this is how I want to enjoy a few minutes of alone time.

I seem to be enjoying life more lately. That is always a goal, but since our fabulous Mammoth getaway, I have reconnected with the free-spirited side of myself. Don't get me wrong, I'm still not overly committal. I only plan one activity per day and that's my max. If we have time and energy for more, then so be it. But I'm a one stop shop in the plans department.

Today my plans are as fun as they've been all week. Paisley and I are going to walk the beach path with baby Max and then lunch with Marc. Doesn't that just sound nice. Southern California may have earthquakes, traffic, and smog, but damn it is beautiful. And perfect for a child to grow up. I can't imagine being so lucky to grow up in the mecca of entertainment. And I'm barely speaking of showbiz when I say entertainment, because the canyons and the sunshine provide more to the masses than the walk of fame has to offer eager tourists snapping pictures with their digital cameras.

December was full of rain and we just don't know how to behave in California after it has been raining for a few weeks in a row. Our activities are all outside-based and I almost went crazy after a month of no hikes, no Santa Monica stairs, and no parks. I guess that's why the Mammoth trip was the perfect kick in the butt. Since my wonderful days on the slopes, I have exercised almost every single day.

Yesterday I packed up baby Max in his new Ergo baby carrier and did six sets of Santa Monica stairs. That's at least 900 steps I climbed. We are getting in stellar shape for our hike in and out of the grand canyon in March. I'm so glad I sprung for the Ergo because it is by far the most comfortable baby carrier for mommy and baby.

Baby Max is in a band now and we have been rehearsing like crazy. He plays the drums, maracas, and makes his own music with random sticks and toys. And yes, you guessed correctly. It sounds beautiful! He is a talented musician along with the rest of his massive skill set. He is getting ready for broadway, but sometimes he likes to take a break to canoodle with one of his girlfriends. Frankie Bear might be a little clingy, but as you can see, chivalrous Max does not mind.

And sometimes a lil rockstar will fall or pass out because the fun is more than they can bare.

On Thursday we went to the park like we always do, and the most interesting thing happened. We were all playing on our patchwork quilt full of blankets. Moms were catching up and babies were grabbing each other's toys as usual. But Max decided he wanted to go play in an area about 25 yards away from us.

Whenever he crawls off I don't chase him because obviously he knows where I am and I can see him perfectly. So he went and sat by himself and played in the dirt and looked back every minute or two to make sure I was watching him. He would occasionally bring me a handful of dirt and then go back to his isolated spot under a tree. He is so secure and leaves me when he is ready, and that makes me so proud.

As other people would walk by, we were joking that maybe they forgot to take their baby. Everyone was laughing about who that baby belonged to. He was so independent without a care or worry in the world. I wish every baby could have the complete in arms experience in the beginning of life, and leave their mom when they are ready.

I hope Max never feels sick in his environment like he needs to run away. Attachment parenting has been so important to me. The Continuum Concept has given me so much confidence in my parenting style. I love my rambunctious rockstar!

Plan B

The biggest news we have these days is that Max is sleeping in his crib and only gets up a couple times a night now. The way we initially devised the plan was not the way I carried out the plan. But sometimes you have to go to plan B.

Plan B involved me jumping up and down through out the night like a jack in the box. I could no longer breast feed him laying down in the middle of the night because I would fall asleep while nursing. And then forget about waking up to put Max back in the crib. I was too tired to care, and too absent minded to think about the baby sleeping anywhere else besides right next to me. So I would breast feed in the rocking chair and lay him back in the crib when I was finished.

It sounds like a really easy process, but nothing was easy that first week. It was harder on me than anyone. It wasn't very hard on Marc (except for a couple feedings he did) because he slept in another room and couldn't hear what was going on. And it wasn't hard on Max, because he always got and continues to get fed and soothed whenever he needs. But for me it was brutal.

We put the air mattress in Max's bedroom for me to lay down on after feeding him. That was especially useful when Max wouldn't go right back to sleep after a feeding. I could lay him down in his crib, and if he woke up I would be right there in his room to assure him that he was ok rather than running back and forth from one room to another.

Most importantly, I am very pleased with the results. We didn't use any cry it out methods or any baby training techniques. We didn't subscribe to the Ferber method or any other nutballs. We stuck with basic attachment parenting principles and hold your breath. Dun dun dunnnnn.....maternal instincts.

The easiest way to transition a baby to a crib this way is to have the father do all the night time feedings with a bottle. That way they still get their milk without looking to the boob for comfort all through out the night. But I crossed the hardest hump on my own before Marc's mom came in town. She did almost all the night feedings and helped me out tremendously. I think that really allowed us all to adjust to our new sleeping arrangements.

And just to clarify, I would start off co-sleeping if I had to do it over again. There is no way in the world I would have been able to hop up and down to breast feed every hour or two in the beginning. I'm certain that there is no way I would have succeeded with much separation between us. I believe mommies and babies are meant to be very close together in the beginning to develop a strong, secure bond.

Max is doing tons of adorable things that are much more interesting than just sleeping. He's been eating solid foods for well over a month now. It took a while to care about food, and now that he does I think he's obsessed. Today he wouldn't stop eating and Marc just kept feeding and feeding him. Marc thought he would know when to stop eating because he was full, but that was absolutely not the case.

Marc fed him hummus, a little slice of a peach, and a ton of sweet potato. He wouldn't stop eating sweet potato and Marc thought he was still hungry. Later when Max threw up we decided that it is our job to have portion control in mind after a certain amount. If he really likes the taste of a food, he might never stop eating if we don't stop feeding him.

We also like to feed him some foods such as avocado, banana, and boiled carrots that he can feed himself. It's fun for him and keeps him busy while we are doing other things in the kitchen. Here's Max in his high chair where he hangs out and watches me make shakes and clean dishes. The blender doesn't even phase him because he is so used to the noise. This is part of our routine almost every single day.

Marc's mom brought her friend Barbara with her to visit us and they stayed for a whole week. We went to some really fun events together. We all went to the movies and saw "The Town" with Ben Affleck. It was a great plot with a tremendous amount of violence. I got to see a fair amount of the flick except for when Max was talking to the big screen and we had to take some breaks to go sit outside.

We went to the Ahmanson Theatre to see "Leap of Faith" with Brooke Shields. It wasn't up to Broadway's standards, but we enjoyed it. I was so excited about getting out with the girls in my high heels that I wasn't paying attention and ungracefully fell down a small flight of stairs. Let's just say, "Ow, I'm still sore from that mistake!"

One night we got a babysitter and all went out to a comedy show at the Groundlings. We laughed our butts off and probably got a little ab workout that night. It was an absolute blast.

And for some "me" time, I went to a few yoga classes, got a massage, rode my bike, and got lots of extra sleep. That's really all it takes to make me happy. That was such a treat for me to do these things that I love and come home to the cutest baby in the world. It's amazing how he becomes even cuter after the opportunity to be selfish....I am so blessed!