Max Goes to 11

Max has been testing the high-end of his volume control the last week. Well, maybe 'control' is being generous...He has discovered that he can 'turn it up a notch' (or 10) whenever he wants. Yay. He will do this when he is upset, frustrated, trying to exert his will, bored, or perfectly happy & just feeling like being LOUD.

I can't remember exactly when he started doing this, though it was definitely within the last two weeks. But I do remember with distinct clarity when I realized what he was doing...and that's because it was in church last Sunday. Now, we haven't been to church regularly since Max was born. There are a number of reason I could site for this, but it mainly boils down to laziness. But we decided to go last Sunday. Our church now has a nursery, and I got to sit through most of a service & actually listen to what was being said. At Communion time, I went to go pick Max up from the nursery, so I was holding him as our community Pastor, Sam (who happens to be a Dad himself), got up to make a few announcements and pray to close out the service. It was right about then that Max decided he was bored. So, he yelled. He must have thought it sounded cool, because he decided to do it three more times just during the announcements. We had to retreat back into the nursery during prayer. So, I almost made it through an entire service...

He's also decided that the car is a great place to yell, too. Another unfortunate location, if only for my ears' sake. I guess, since I am the mother of a boy, I am going to have to get used to all this noise. And since Max is Clint 'the Loudest Man on the Planet' Jurek's son, I'm bound to be doomed to two loud males in my house from now on. Sigh.

Dancing Shoes

We bought Max a pair of shoes this weekend because he is the master sock remover. They are brown, flexible leather shoes, similar to the Robeez brand. We have an awesome pair of these, with pirates on them, in a size 18 mo. that we got from Sarah. I cannot wait until Max can wear them! They look something like these, but in different colors:

Arrg. Also, Max started Dancing this weekend!!! Friday night Max and I were playing on the bed while Clint was at a friend's house. While we played, I started singing to Max and he started dancing! He was bobbing his head side to side and kind of bouncing his body. It was the most adorable thing. Since then, he's done this all weekend-dancing to music playing in the house, dancing and clapping to 'If You're Happy and You Know It,' and, dancing to the music in his head, I suppose. So maybe those shoes will turn out to be his dancing shoes before too long! I've got rhythm, I've got music...

Getting Big(ger)

Max is 10 months old now, as of February 13th. TEN. Whole. Months. I cannot even fathom this. We are now less than 2 months away from a first birthday. I had another parenting first where I suddenly realized that my baby boy is soon going to be a little boy. And then a big boy. And then a young man. And there is NOTHING I CAN DO to stop it. This seems to be one of life's strangest ironies. As much as you want your children to grow into healthy, happy, caring adults and you want them to experience all that this world has to offer, you also wish that you could slow that process down and hold on to THIS moment-this one, the one where he is laughing and smiling and looking up at me with those adoring eyes-for just a little bit longer.

As has been true for the last 9 months, Max has continued his blistering pace of learning and growing. Just this last week he learned how to clap! And we clap all the time about everything , now. He claps when I say 'Yay!' I am hoping that clapping will soon replace his more-common form of expressing excitement, which is to slap with both hands whatever happens to be in front of him-whether that is the table or your face. He also spent about 2 weeks almost exclusively making a ppptthhhbbbb! noise with his lips. It was ppptthhhbbb! all the way to school and pppttthhhbbbb! while we played. Over. And Over. And Over. And Repeat. And now? Now he won't make that noise at all...I guess he pppttthhhhbbb!ed himself out.

As I've mentioned before, Max loves books. He loves to open them and look at the pictures, and turn the pages by himself. But the problem with books, when you can't walk, is that they are hard to transport. Max discovered the solution. He opens the book and puts one hand on either side of the pages. Then, he crawls using just his legs. He can propel himself forward, sliding on the hard surface of the board book! He learned this trick all on his own.

We took our first family trip to the park last weekend. We decided to test out the swing, first, and Clint and I were surprised to find that Max was a little uncertain about swinging. While I want him to love the swing and I know one day he will, I was a little relieved that there is at least ONE activity involving fast movements and high places our little daredevil has some trepidation about. Up until now, he's been more likely to try and throw himself off the couch (or your lap, or the bed...). After the swing, we spread out a blanket under a tree and explored the grass, ball moss, sticks, leaves, dandelions, rocks....

And Max is now exclusively eating finger foods. He is so independant and wants to feed himself. He still loves most everything that we put in front of him, but you can absolutely spoil the child with grapes. He loves grapes. And I love that he is on cloud 9 eating something that is healthy for him. He also eats:
squash, green beans, sweet potato, white potato, peas, carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, bananas, pears, applesauce, mango, peaches, wheat bread, tofu, kamut puffs (cereal), rice, black beans, pinto beans....and much more that I can't remember right now. He also loves his sippy cup and is Finally drinking water regularly with meals.

Having four teeth makes eating solids a bit easier. I was hoping that after the teething that we went through with the first four, we'd get a decent break. But no. After about 2 weeks, Max started teething again. And just yesterday his first lateral incisor came in (his second tooth on the top left). The one on the right is still working it's way through.


Here, you can see Max's firs 4 teeth (click the picture to blow it up).


Playing with Papa. Max is actually in Clint's messenger bag, on his back.


I wear my sunglasses at night...


Swing uncertainty.

Spanish ball moss


And I was there, too.

Happy, Healthy Boy

Max is back to health and was happy to be back at school this week after having spent most of last week at home with either Mama or Papa. Today, as we entered his classroom, all of his friends looked up at us in greeting, and we had a note this afternoon on his sheet that he played with his friends, Katie, PJ, and Arina. This is saying quite a bit for kids at the age where getting around is a challenge. It is so fun to watch Max interact with other kids, like Naomi at small group tonight. I've heard from his teachers that he loves to pull the socks off all the other kids, and that he and Katie spend all day stealing each other's pacifiers.

Last weekend we went to Houston to see Cousin Bella for the first time. And wouldn't you know it?, we forgot the darn camera! She is just beautiful and lovely and Tiny! I can't wait to watch her and Max grow up and play together at Mimsy and Pappy's. Unfortunately, Max couldn't get too close to Bella because he was just getting over the nasty-high-fever virus, and because his signs of affection are still lacking in subtlety and grace (the most common form being either leg kicking or throwing both hands over his head and then bringing them crashing down). Mimsy and Pappy did take some family photos, and I will post them as soon as I get copies of them (hint, hint...). Until then, here are a few from Christmas...


Max loves books, especially this one of real animals, because it has dogs in it.


Kind of like this pony that Mimsy & Pappy call a 'dog,' Sonny.


Christmas morning bath time in the big bathtub!


Merry Christmas, Uncle Kevin!


The twins kept begging to hold Max-too cute!


A very special gift from Grandmommy & Granddaddy.


Four Generations of Jureks!

9 months, 4 Teeth, 2 Haircuts, 1 Cousin and a Celebratory Trip to the Hospital...

Today, Max turned 9 months old. And to celebrate, he decided to run a 103.2 degree fever, which prompted a trip to the Dell Children's Medical Center. A $100 dose of motrin later, we were sent home with a rambunctious and giggling child and instructions to 'watch him.' We were told it's probably viral, in which case they could do some uncomfortable testing, only to tell us that there was not much they can do...and so we opted out of scream-inducing testing. But the doctor was really nice, the hospital prompt (and close, and new), and our fears allayed, and so I think it helped squelch the sting of feeling ripped-off.

Max has been getting harder and harder to keep up with these days. Not just his locomotive abilities, but also the rate at which he is learning new things. He is 20 lbs and 12 oz (perfect timing on that new car seat!!), crawling like he was born with the ability, pulling up, walking behind push-toys, and even testing his balance standing-but only on the bed. I think he knows it doesn't hurt if he falls on the bed. And this very evening he waved at someone in the hospital for the first time! Max 'talks' all the time, still, with an ever-expanding repertoire of babble. Some of it is even starting to sound like actual words. And the laughter...It's true that babies' laughter is the best sound on Earth, but when that laughter is your child's...Words cannot describe the overwhelming joy that envelopes me every time he laughs. And he laughs so often. Even with a fever.

As you might have read in previous entries, Max got his two bottom front teeth right before Christmas. In the last month, his two top front teeth have been working their way in. They have almost broken through. These seem to have taken much longer than the bottom pair, but I think that's just because they have been so much more obvious. His poor gums have been swollen with two teeth-shaped lumps for weeks! Either that, or he has the largest, rabbit-esq front teeth ever to be seen on an infant coming in!

And Friday night, Max got his second haircut. This time, Clint wisely chose to use the hair clippers on our little animated shag carpet. The results turned out much better, and my baby looks so much like a little boy I almost expect him get up, walk across the room, tap me on the shoulder, and ask me if he can borrow the car tonight. Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating a bit, but can someone figure out how to freeze time already? I meant to take pictures today, but I got side-tracked with panic. Sorry.

Last, but only because we are saving the best news...Max has a cousin! Clint's sister, MaRee, gave birth to the first grandaughter of the family, Bella. And let me tell you, I can not be more excited! Little Bella was born 1/11/08, weighing 6 lbs, 14 oz. I'm not sure how long she was or the exact time of birth because I was talking to the proud Pappy, and well, insert male stereotype here. Look, look at how beautiful she is:

Welcome, Bella! Max can't wait to play!

All I Want For Christmas...

Max's second bottom tooth came in on Monday! And let me tell you, those little things are sharp! I don't know how soon he'll be able to wish you a Merry Christmas, but we are definitely moving in that direction. We hope that all of your holiday preparations and activities are bringing you joy! I certainly hope that we get to see each and every one of you very soon!

1 Down, 19 to Go...

No, I'm not referring to the number of years until Clint and I are FREE...(just kidding, sorta). This morning, Max got his first tooth! Or rather, sometime between last night and this morning. And after at least 3 months of crankiness and face rash and drooling and 'should I give him tylenol or does he just need a nap?' we finally have an honest-to-God tooth. It is a small thing, but it feels like such a victory. Go Team! and all that jazz. I would post a picture, but I've never been a fan of pictures of the inside of people's mouths...That, and I don't want to encourage Max's taste for consumer electronics (he particularly likes to try to eat the camera).

But I promise, some more pictures coming, soon.