Happy 1/2 Year Maximilian!

To celebrate Max's 6 months in this world, we introduced our little food fiend to Rice Cereal. Ummmm, what new and exciting tastes for Max to experience!
He took to the whole thing very well.
Once he had that spoon in his mouth he would not let go.
Like his Daddy, More Food, Now!!
Whenever I would go and scoop up another heaping spoonful of the mushy stuff, he would grunt with impatience. I couldn't get the food to his mouth fast enough!
Just wait until he has tastes his first Big Mac!

Our Florida Vacation with Max's Grandparents

We spent a week in Clearwater Florida visiting 'Baba' and Grampa Poole.
Although we were there for only a short time, we had some great adventures.
It was Max's first airplane ride, he was good at takeoff and landing and didn't cry with the pressure in his ears.
It was Max's first time ever in a swimming pool. He was in awe of all the water around him, certainly not the same as the confines of his bathtub walls!
Another new moment for Max, was participating in our tradition of drinks at sunset on the beach. Here he is enjoying his Dad's favourite beer.....
Max also perfected the 'roll'. Everytime we went in to check in on him, he had just been performing some acrobatic feet in his crib. Whether it was going from his back on to his tummy or doing 360's, he was a little jumping bean.
Another thing he started doing was holding out his little arms for you to pick him up....and if he actually got a hold of your hair in his crazy grip, whoa! watch out your hair doesn't come out along with it.
He really enjoyed the company of his grandparents and spent some quality time getting hugs and kisses along with numerous diaper changes by Baba. What a trooper she was. We can say she has sucessfully mastered the art of dirty diapers.

Little Chicklets

Max has now got 2 little bottom teeth! They sprouted on American Thanksgiving November the 22nd. He really is a little American with this little milestone on a U.S. Holiday as well as his birth on Independence Day July the 4th. What's next?
We didn't even know he was teething, he hardly made a peep, just the usual rosy cheeks. He really isn't one to complain about things - he is such a good little boy!

Mini Ur Opa

This shot of little Max is a replica of how Ur Opa would carry himself. With his hands splayed across his chest, he looks like a mini version of my German Grandfather.
Interesting the way genes go from generation to generation.....

A little Pumpkin - a little late

This was to be Max's halloween costume, but with the way things worked out he never got to wear it, b/c Max's mummy spent the evening in the hospital with a supposed appendicitis. In the end my appendix remained intact and all we got out of the night was this cute photo.

Airplane Rides

This is one of Max's favourite pastimes.
He gets so happy he starts drooling and shrieks in delight (his shrieking is a new way of happy communicating).

Lahwrie Loh

Max has been making cooing babbling sound for about 6 weeks now, but just yesterday they started taking on a new sound. At what first sounded like a cat meowing is in fact Max trying to make out consonants. So far he has come up with the 'L' sounds and all the variations on it. Lahwrie Loh is one of the many odd ones.

Check him out!

Ummmm, tasty fingers

Just this week, Max has made the realization that he has hands and that these hands also contain tasty little fingers!
If he is not sucking on his pacifier he is contently jamming his fist into his mouth with such delight.
The other day I noticed he even started sucking his thumb, although he soon forgot about the lone thumb and thought the more fingers in his mouth the better.
He is at the point that he can grab onto his play toys if they are small and soft. He often will grab at his bumblebee friend with curious intent. Of course this makes a swift route to his mouth too!

Salsa Babies!

Got myself a fantastic dancing partner. Max really knows how to cut some rug....well, not really, but we are working at it.
We take a Salsa class every week. Just slap on the Baby Bjorn get out the latin beats and we are flying across the dance floor!
Most of the time Max is quite content just taking it easy and getting some shut eye, but as of late he has been more aware of the music and the flow of it all.
Here we are with some of the salsa ladies and munchkins: Cindy & Georgia, Mary Beth & Brady, Nicole & Sam.

Vive la Montréal

Max experienced the world of canadian culinary delight in Montreal over the weekend. In addition this was our very first vacation together as our newly formed family! We spent three fun-filled days in this lively city.




We decided to carry Max around most of the time in his new favourite mode of transportation - the Baby Bjorn. This is the best thing by far, in that it is the only way to tote him around without him falling asleep in the first 15 mins!
Max sat back and enjoyed the ride through Old Montreal, the famous Montreal Bagel Store. "St. Viateur" and watched us eat copious amounts of foie gras and poutine among other things.

The number one reason for visiting Montreal that weekend was to eat at Au Pied du Cochon, a restaurant touted as one of the best finds in Montreal as per celebrated chef and icon in the food business, Anthony Bourdain.
'A must do' for a vegetarian it is not, as the menu is really meat-centric with such delicacies as Foie Gras stuffed Pig's feet to Poutine covered in Foie Gras. It's really all about the Foie Gras and the novel ways in which it can be served up. Having eaten these little overstuffed duck/geese livers everyday in Paris, I knew I wouldn't be disappointed at Au Pied du Cochon.
Here is a link to this charming little spot in the Latin Quarter - if you ever fancy a cholesterol overload!
http://www.restaurantaupieddecochon.ca/

Max & Brady

Here are Max and Brady - They are best friends. Brady who lives right across the street is exactly 6 weeks older than Max. Max looks up to Brady for everything. He is so infatuated with him that he must even eat his yummy-looking locks. Max is just really jealous that his friend has hair!
The two of them usually hang out in the alleyway smoking Popeye Cigarettes and starting fires behind people's houses......

Cloth Diapers

We decided to go ahead and give cloth diapers a try.
Just thinking of all the disposable diapers that end up in landfills is disgusting. I figured I could do something to help the environment by using cloth ones instead.

If you consider the facts, its a wonder more people don't use cloth!: 18 billion disposable diapers are thrown in landfills each year, taking as many as 500 years to decompose. Disposable diapers make up the third largest source of solid waste in landfills, after newspapers and food and beverage containers.
Others point out that washing cloth diapers requires large amounts of water and energy , (along with soaps pouring into our waters). However, feces runoff from heaps of disposable in landfills after a rainfall sounds worse to me.

What A Smile!

Getting to Know his Uncle 'Symie'

Just thought this was such a cute picture. It is evidence of how much Max loves his Uncle. Whenever Simon is around, Max will stare at him for hours!
Perhaps its that crazy beard Simon sports!

The Shrimpie-Shrimp

It seems we have all sorts of silly names for Max, and we seem to call him anything but. There is Munchie, Poopsie (or depending on size, Poopie) and also the Shrimpie-Shrimp. In this photo he is so curled up we couldn't think of anything more befitting.
He really loves sleeping in this pose - can he really find this comfortable....Is he crazy?

Max's First Party

Max attended his first party at my parents sailing club. They put on a 'Carribean Night', something that is an annual tradition.
There was Jerk Chicken and lot's of fun out on the patio.
Max loved the soothing sounds of the steel drum beats so much that he instantly went to sleep. In fact he slept right through the whole party! He is definately not the party animal his Dad is...but Billy's working on that!

Chubbers

Max is growing very quickly. His paediatrician says he is in the 90th percentile for being long, and he is in the 50th percentile for his weight.
Although as of late it seems Max is doing nothing but gaining weight. As his chubbly little cheeks are evidence of.
This is a photo taken of him in the garden. He has quite the serious gaze as he is always studying something or other.

The Charmer

Today is Maximilian's 1 Month Birthday, and wouldn't you know it - to celebrate his 30 days in the world Max gave his cutest 'First Smile'.
Now this is the stuff that all mothers long to experience. It is one of those ever important 'Firsts'. The First Smile would have been terrific if it was meant for me.... But not the case, instead Helen our cleaning lady (who Max had never before met) was the recipient of this ever endearing expression. Talk about depressing, it's not enough that I've got a mild case of the baby blues, baby spit-up in my hair and mustard coloured pooh stains on my shorts, but Helen who has spent all of 15 minutes with him gets the smile I have so long awaited!

I promptly scoured all the baby info sites out there in search of some validation - could it have been Gas? A facial reflex?
In the end my research led me to realize that 4 - 6 weeks is about the time that babies start smiling, so I guess I just have to deal with it.
- He really was very cute though........

Nipple Confusion?

O.K. I have to admit that I've been giving Max the occasional bottle when I'm out and about - really what's a girl to do, whip out the 'girls' in public?
Everyone and their aunt has been telling me that you should wait at least 4 weeks (when the baby is well versed on nipple sucking) before introducing it's silicone sister, but this just seems absurdly long to wait.
And wouldn't you know it, Max has developed a very confused reality of just what a nipple is, (as you can see in this photo). If it's pointy and nibbable, Max will go for it!

Like Father, Like Son

Looks like Max has already taken to Billy's favourite pastime.
At this point Max sleeps an average of 17 hours a day, waking up every 3 hours for feeds (day and night) although it feels like it's more frequently at night....
He is eating well and gaining weight rapidly, he means business when it's feeding time.

'D' Day

Maximilian Eldridge Poole made his entry into the world 2 days early 'Born on the 4th of July' at exactly 2:00 am and weighing in at 7lbs 5oz. Needless to say he made his American Daddy very happy.

Max's arrival prompted the assistance of an emergency paedetrician to clear his lungs of meconium as he was not breathing at delivery. To make a long story short, Max had pooped in his amniotic fluid and ingested it, making it hard to breathe with this sticky substance in his lungs. (He is clearly no gourmand). He started breathing quite fine after a short time, by giving us a little cry to let us know he was O.K.

Coaching me through the delivery were Billy and my Mother, who has had experience with deliveries as she used to work in a maternity hospital in Paris.