iPhone Dump - And Then Some

I try my best to snap a few photos of our little cutie each day - and usually it's not hard to do!

Here are a few shots of daily life in the Rich household from my iPhone (and our Nikon):

One evening I decided to contain Max in our little living room area 

by strategically placing an ottoman and bench. Our smart little booger 

decided to try and squeeze through the small opening between the bench and the couch - 

and got stuck in the process! He was not happy I decided to take this picture before helping him out of his predicament. ;)

 The toothy grin of our little one melts my heart every time!

Max has decided he prefers being in his play tunnel when it's collapsed. I left it laying out one day and he crawled right in! He'll even collect little toys to put in it like a bird's nest. :)

 Lovelovelove those big brown eyes!

Max has recently developed a great affection for his stuffed animals.

When I surround him with his stuffed menagerie, 

he literally squeals with delight! It is so stinkin' cute I don't think I can stand it.

 

 My little chef in the making. :)

 Max's new favorite spot is underneath the dining room table. Clay calls it his "boy cave."

 Too cool for school!

 First time to Joe T Garcia's with our small group several weeks ago 

(and first date with Charlotte???)

 Reading with Great Uncle Bob and Cousin Jaxon

 The week of Spring Break we went to the Botanic Gardens several times 

because the weather was so beautiful! At first Max was a little wary of the grass, 

but he soon warmed up to it - and even wanted to eat it!

 This little shark finger puppet pretty much never leaves Max's mouth.

I'm not sure why he likes it so much!

 Max loves to watch the construction trucks at work on our street. 

Fortunately they haven't disturbed his naps - but we'll see how that goes 

this coming week as they'll start in on the stretch right in front of our house!

It amazes me how smart Max is. He has figured out he can reach into his crib and grab his WubbaNub! Now I have to make sure it's out of his grasp. ;)

Sharing sunscreen with Abby at the Botanic Gardens.

I love a good picture post - don't you?! ;)

Rich-Craft: Playmat and Fabric Alphabet

I hope I'm not the only one whose project list grows exponentially 

every time they browse Pinterest. :)

These were two fun finds several months ago, but are just now seeing completion.

I actually started these crafts way back when, but then there was the whole thing about not reading the instructions thoroughly and making several mad dashes to the store to get more materials...

but that's a story for another time. ;)

I saw this adorable playmat and knew I just HAD to make one for Max -

 even if he is a little old for Legos yet. I figured we could use it for pretty much any of his toys!

 I mostly followed the instructions, although my bag turned out a few inches smaller 

than the one in the tutorial. Still cute though, don't you think?

Here's the inside:

And here's the outside:

The drawstring is super-long, but I couldn't figure out how to remedy that 

and still get the mat to lay flat on the floor.

In an ironic twist of fate, I saw these Lay-n-Gos on a blog I follow - 

of course, the day after I finished the playmat! Oh well.

The fabric alphabet is actually just a slightly different version

of some instructions from Lotta Jansdotter's Simple Sewing for Baby.

My Pinterest find was actually much simpler and easy to follow.

The only modification I made was to make the letters a bit bigger and omit the magnets.

I think they turned out cute!

What are some of your latest Pinterest projects? I'm now looking for suggestions. ;)

Photo A Day Challenge Update

My photo a day challenge for February looked a little something like this:

You can keep up with the March photo fun by clicking the button on the sidebar 

to follow me on Instagram! :)

Nine Months

Right after Max was born, I heard someone say

"The days are long, but the years are short."

While we haven't reached the year mark yet, the months sure are flying by!

 

 

 

 Ha ha - Max looks like he's laughing at us in this picture!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's hard to believe that Max has been outside my tummy longer than he was in it. :)

This morning's well check at the pediatrician was very short and sweet - just like we like it!

Little man weighed in at 19 pounds, 13 ounces and measured 29.75 inches long.

The doctor did, however, find that Max has another ear infection, 

so we're going at it with the antibiotics yet again. Poor kid. :(

But other than the allergy issues and ear infection, our little man is growing right on schedule.

He is still nursing 4 times a day, and eating 3 meals a day plus some finger foods at dinner with us.

Max has added yogurt, black beans, and canteloupe to his repertoire this past month. 

He is also enjoying the independence of finger foods - diced cooked carrots and peas, 

sweet potato fries, diced pears and bananas, cubes of canteloupe, and blueberry halves. 

He has also (pretty much) mastered holding the sippy cup on his own to get a drink.

Little man now has eight teeth, so I'm more confident in trying new finger foods!

Max sleeps about 11 hours at night and takes two 1.5 hour (usually) naps during the day.
With the daylight savings change, it has pushed his schedule back a bit - but we're not complaining!

Max is a man on the move, for sure! He is cruising around pretty well and pulling up on everything.

And when he finds something he can climb up on (the folded-up pack n play or stairs), he's going to take that opportunity! He is getting more and more confident with his balance and will often hold onto things with only one hand. Yikes.

He loves to explore the house and finds all kinds of mischief to get into. 

Now that Max is a faster crawler, I really have to watch him!

He loves pulling the magazines off the rack, taking clothes out of his laundry basket,

and pulling things out of the drawer under his crib - just to name a few.

Max enjoys jumping in his jumperoo, going on walks with Mommy, 

and knocking down anything that's stacked.

He still enjoys storytime and insists on turning the pages himself (even if it's in the wrong direction).

Music is another of Max's loves. He enjoys bouncing (dancing) to the beat and 

clapping his hands when prompted.

When I hear Clay's scooter in the driveway and say, "Daddy's home!"

Max will look around the room to find him. So cute.

We cannot believe the joys (and challenges!) that Max brings into our lives.

But we wouldn't have it any other way. :)