So Big!

Our little monkey is 2 months old, and this is as close to a picture of a smile as I can get. He started smiling for real (as opposed to those cute sleep-smirks in the beginning) at about 5 weeks, and we can invariably get huge grins and coos from him if we make eye-contact and talk to him. He is so jolly and happy, particularly with the full attention of whomever is around. Cameras don't make eye-contact, however; thus the difficulty capturing his adorable full-face grins.

Just a few notes about life with our baby: At his 2-month doctor's appointment, he officially became our chubbiest baby at 95th percentile in height and 90th in weight. I know it is totally irrational, but when the nurses all acted amazed that he was so chubby and exclusively breast-fed and then called me "Super-Mom", I felt a rush of pride. It's probably a good thing that they couldn't see the inside of my house right about then. Ha.
At about 6 weeks Max started sleeping a good 7-9 hour stretch at night, which is amazing to me. I think I'm starting to figure babies out a little bit, but I am mostly just blessed with one of the best. He also goes to bed pretty much at 7 every evening with the other kids, so I feel like I have some time to myself. This is huge for my sanity. I should be feeling very well-rested, except that I've been staying up way too late getting things done, and I often stay awake after that 3 or 4 AM feeding to work some more. Why isn't my house cleaner, you ask? Good question. I'm not quite sure when I'm going to get the hang of taking care of things with one extra body in the house, but, for all I'm lacking as a wife, mother, and house-keeper, I do love my little/big family. Max keeps us all smiling with his naturally happy disposition.

Luke and Audrey are hilarious with him. Luke has got the high-pitched baby-talk tone down, and he is convinced that Max has said his first words in response. Luke will definitely be excited when Max can finally grasp a light saber. Audrey has a special bond with Max, probably because she adores spending time with him. She still begs to hold him all the time, and she just sits there talking to him and getting him to smile. I think Max has a love/hate relationship with his older siblings, as they can get smothering very quickly. Not to mention how Audrey never ceases to move Max when I happen not to be looking; like when I had him on his playmat on the floor, and the next thing I know he is across the room on her lap. Yikes!

This picture cracks me up, because it is the scene around here so much of the time: Luke and Audrey vying for attention, with an "I-need-some-space"-look on Max's face.

Audrey surprised us all at her 3-year doctor's appointment with these stats: 95th percentile in weight and 100th in height! Holy moly! I guess I shouldn't have been surprised, as she is just a few inches shorter than Luke and wears almost the same size clothes. Big brother is definitely not going to be the big one in the family. I think Audrey is too cute for words, though. A la Fancy Nancy, she must be fully accessorized with sequined bag, feather-lined shoes, all manner of jewelry, and her pink Care Bear umbrella just in case before we head out the door... pretty much every. single. time.
She just started her first ballet class, and it made me want to jump for joy that I have a little girl. All those little 3-year-olds in their tutus were just so dang cute. The teacher warned me that the freshly-turned 3-year-olds usually drop out of the class because they are too shy, but I don't think that's going to be a problem for us. She has a touch of shyness about her, but Audrey was SO excited for this dance class, that she jumped right in and fully participated. Thank goodness all my children aren't going to have Luke's disposition. Don't get me wrong, I love my little Luke to pieces and wouldn't want him any other way, but having a very shy child can be draining. We needed one with a little spunk, and we've got her!