Happy Birthday Max!

My gorgeous little baby boy turned one today. Such a huge milestone!

The Big Man and I both worked today, but we still managed to have an awesome day with Max and squeezed in plenty of celebrating.

We started the day off super early (5am early) so that we could open his presents. Although Max did insist on having his morning bottle first. This kid has his priorities set in concrete!!


After the bottle was done and dusted the Big Man helped Max open his first present. It was a truck, one of Max's favourite things at the moment. He seemed to really enjoy pulling at the wrapping paper and finding out what was under it. His reaction when he realised it was a truck was way too cute.




After work/daycare the Big Man and I took Max to sizzler for his birthay ('coz we're all class in this family!) and he loved that too. I loaded his plate up with all sorts of yummy foods and tried to sneak in a few things he hadn't tried yet like broccoli and mushrooms. He decided that he liked the potato salad and cheese bread best.


After dinner I gave him a tiny bowl of ice-cream. Check out the video if you want to see my baby on a sugar high! He sure did love it :)



...

On Saturday we're having his first birthday party, so hopefully he will have another fun day with just as many smiles!

Kisses From Kate

Last week I took Max over to my friend Nat's place for a play date with Baby Kate. Normally when I take Max around there he is tired and cranky from a busy week of catching up with my Hervey Bay friends and family and he just sits on the floor and cries when Kate comes near him. Not this time! I fed him lunch as soon as we got there and then he was super happy to play.

They did a lot of alongside playing, but they also interacted quite a bit. They even gave each other a couple of kisses. It was so sweet!


Kate is walking already and I was hoping that she might inspire Max to give it a go, but he just crawled around after her. He's a champion stander, but shows no interest in walking!

It was really nice to see them happily playing for the first time without bucket loads of tears :)

After a couple of hours we put them both down for a nap so that we could have a grown-up catch up and lots of snuggles with little Emily.

A perfect day, thanks Nat!

A Busy Week

This week I'm on annual leave from work and Max & I are up in Hervey Bay. I booked the time in so that I could spend time with my sister and her new baby girl. I'm also loving catching up with all my Hervey Bay friends and family.

I'm trying to fit as much as I can into the week that I am up here and we ended up having a huge day on Wednesday.

We started out the day at the local library. Jen had the great idea to take Max to the under 2's reading session. It was called the Rhyme and Rattle class and max absolutely loved it! We sang songs, shook maracas, danced, read a story and did lots of clapping. I loved it as much as Max!


After that I took Max home for a 25 minute power nap before we went out to 2nd Kitchen to have lunch with Cat. Max was on his almost-best behaviour and lunch was delicious. Plus I got to catch up with one of my favourite girlfriends. Good things all round!

Max was absolutely exhausted after lunch so I planned to take him home for a real nap. On the way back to the in-laws (where I am staying this week) I remembered that I promised to take Max into their shop so that the girls could see him. Whilst I was there my brother-in-law asked if I could take him grocery shopping (he doesn't have a licence at the moment). So I did, cos I'm nice like that :)

Next up Jen and I packed our kids (Max, Ava and Emily) and took them out to have a play date with another of my favourite friends and her two gorgeous boys. The three older kids got along beautifully and Max spent the whole time trying to join in with them. When Max wasn't following the kids around he was pressed up against the window 'talking' to Ange's dog. So cute!

Ange has a cake making business (Angel Cake), so we also planned out the cakes for Jen's baby shower. I can't wait to show you the photos, it's going to be gorgeous!!

Max fell asleep in the car almost as soon as we left Ange's and slept the 20 minutes it took as to get back to the in-laws. We tried to bath him, feed him and give him some cuddles before bed, but he wasn't having a bar of it. Poor little baby was exhausted!

Two days later I think he is still playing catch up on his sleep. He's needing three naps a day instead of two :)

Weeks like this where I get to catch up with some of my closest girlfriends, spend the days with my sister and see Max spoilt by family make me really want to move back to the Bay. It wont be happening though... It looks like we are going to be in Brisbane for at least the next five to ten years.

The Social Network

Yesterday my Sister and I decided to take our babies to the cinema and see The Social Network. I never (never, ever, ever) go to the movies so I was really looking forward to it.

We decided to go to the 10am session, that way there hopefully wouldn't be too many people there and they wouldn't mind too much if we had our babies.

I planned ahead. I kept Max awake through his usual 9am nap, I packed two bottles, I packed a blanket, 5 dummies and heaps of quiet toys. I figured I was pretty well sorted.

Nope.

While Jen's gorgeous baby Emily slept and fed through the movie. Mine smashed his bottle in record time and then proceeded to yell 'DADA' and other cute things at the movie screen.

Needless to say Max and I spent most of the movie out here...

I did get to see the start, a few bits in the middle and the last 5 minutes and it looks like a great movie. I will definitely have to get it out when it's released on dvd.

In the meantime I think I will find a babysitter next time I decide to go to the movies!!

Emergency Room

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My poor little baby has a rash. A nasty, spotty, on his face kind of rash. Yuck.


He's never really had a rash before so I kind of over-reacted when it first came up. It was a Sunday and there were no doctors open, so I took him to the emergency room at the hospital. The checked him out and said that there is absolutely nothing wrong with him. He might be teething or have a cold or something like that. But nothing seriously wrong. Phew. The doctor was really nice about it though, he gave me a few tips on when to worry about a rash and got me to feel some glands behinds Max's ears because they were a bit swollen. A nice change from Dr Horrible!

{This gorgeous little girl and her Mumma made the hour and half wait fun, more on her soon I promise!}

Anyway, today his rash was worse and he has a temperature as well. We saw a nurse today (whilst the above baby was having a check up) and she also said that nothing is wrong with him. The common thing everyone we see says is that because he is so upbeat and smiley that obviously there is nothing wrong with him...

I don't think that is a good indication though. While I was absent from the blog Max got a bad case of tonsillitis and had a temp of 39.9 degrees Celsius. I waited 2 days before taking him to the doctor because he was so happy and normal that I figured nothing was seriously wrong. I felt so bad when I found out how sick he was.



I guess I will just wait and see again though. If he still has the rash and a temperature tomorrow I might take him to the doctor for a third opinion.

How Dare She

I just had the most horrible experience I have ever had with a doctor today. It was horrific.

I am still sick (nausea, vomiting and diarrhea) and thought that seeing as it has been five days I should probably go and make sure that everything was ok.

Whilst the doctor was asking questions it came up that I have a baby. Here's what unfolded...

Dr Horrible: How old is your baby?

Me: (obviously proud of the fact that I am a Mumma) He's 9 months old

Dr Horrible: Well, where is he?

Me: At daycare. Actually today is his first day!

Dr Horrible: At daycare!?

Me: Yep

Dr Horrible: Does he go there all day.

Me: Some days he will be.

Dr Horrible: In a daycare centre, all day?!

Me: Uh-huh, some days.

Dr Horrible: Don't you know that they rarely ever hold babies in daycare centres?

Me: Ummm

Dr Horrible: Babies need to be held. He is not going to feel loved. You baby needs to feel loved.

Me: (holding back the tears) Well, you see I have a job. I need to work. To pay bills and stuff.

Dr Horrible: And your baby needs to feel loved. He needs to be at home. With you.

I managed to hold back the tears until I got to reception, but then I started bawling to the girls and the front desk. They were really nice and sympathetic, but didn't seem overly surprised. I guess I'm not the first person that has felt judged by her.

I was (and still am) really upset when I got out to the car. I called the Big Man and ended up crying so hard that I threw up in the car.

I just feel so angry and so guilty. Angry that she felt the need to judge me, but guilty because part of me thinks that maybe she is right. I should be at home with Max giving him all the love and attention that he deserves.

An Afternoon in the Park

This afternoon Dez and I decided to take our beautiful baby boys down to the park for some fresh air.


Ethan is still a bit young to fully appreciate the outdoors, but Max absolutely loved it. He watched the big kids riding around on their bikes, played with the grass, crawled around and generally had a really good time.


It was a welcome change from the usual afternoon play date Dez and I have. Max is normally a bit moody in the afternoons and gets grumpy easily. The change of scenery did wonders and he was too busy exploring to be grumbly.


Something we will definitely have to do more often!

Happy Birthday Dad!

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Last weekend my family got together to celebrate my Dad's birthday. We had a gorgeous time.

Lots of family bonding...


Eating of food...


And of course birthday cake...


Thanks for letting us celebrate your birthday with you Dad!! xxoo

A Lucky Baby

Being a parent is by far the most amazing and rewarding thing I have ever experienced in my life. So I can only imagine the feeling when you become a grandparent. Seeing your babies have babies of their own must make you feel like you are going to burst!

We we're fortunate enough to have quite a few family members come and visit us last week. First up was my Mum. She hadn't stayed with us for about 8 weeks and Max had so many new things to show her. He crawled around like a demon, stood up (with some help from me), showed his Grandma that he could feed himself and topped it all off with a monster tantrum! Luckily Mum loves him unconditionally :)



More family updates soon!