Rise and shine.

Max is nearing his 8 month birthday (or 4 1/2 months corrected now) It's hard to believe he's been with us for so long, and yet he's only been home with us for just under 2 months. That being said, we really feel like a family now. We have our routines and rituals and our secret family jokes. We know what Max wants when he cries (most of the time), the face he makes just before he spits up (we're changing our clothes much less frequently), and just what toy or silly face will make him giggle. He's learning new things every week, and it's so much fun watching him learn about his world.

Morning seems to be one of Max's favourite times of day. Once he's awake enough to realize he's in bed with Mum and Dad, and it's a brand new day, he just beams with happiness. He grins up at us and kicks his legs and bats his arms in the air, dancing and cooing. If he thinks it's a great way to start the day, he has no idea how wonderful it is for his parents. Even waking from nap time seems cause for celebration. A mobile hangs above his crib and it seems to be his favourite toy of late. It's an old, wind up, Fisher Price mobile that belonged to Mum when she was a baby. It has strangely coloured farm animals on it that slowly rotate as the mobile tunes wind down. He watches them intently; kicking, giggling and squealing with delight, only occasionally looking over to make sure you think it's just as exciting as he does.

Max has always loved bath time. Now that he gets to bathe in the big tub and float around, however, it's added a new dimension of interest for him. He enjoys watching his toys float by, "swimming" around the tub, kicking his legs, and recently he discovered the joy of splashing. Most days he'd happily play in the water until he becomes pruney, so he still protests a little when it's time to get out and dry off. He's happy to settle down after the bath with a meal and a good book though. He particularly likes if he can help hold the book, touch the pictures, and help turn the pages.

Max is definitely beginning to learn that his voice can demand attention. Although he hasn't quite figured out that walking away doesn't make Mummy disappear, yelling for her does make her come back - it's a cool new party trick. And, as it's never too soon to start learning new ways to communicate, Mum and Dad have started learning baby appropriate sign language with Max. Max just enjoys watching right now, but hopefully one day he'll be able to tell us he wants cereal, his tummy hurts, he sees a bus, needs a diaper change, or he wants his Mummy, well before he has the ability to speak them.  Hopefully that will ease some communication frustration in the future.

On the medical front, Max continues to do well. As of his last weigh in, he was 11lbs 7oz, and is measuring 22.5 inches. He's still not on the growth chart for his corrected age, but he continues to grow steadily so we don't have much cause for concern. No matter what he does, he's genetically destined to be small.

At his last eye exam he was finally granted the coveted - "we'll see you in 6 months." Preemies in the NICU (and often beyond) are closely monitored for ROP (retinopathy of prematurity) which is an eye disease that affects preemies. At its worst it can cause retinal detachment and blindness. It is successfully treated with laser eye surgery, but best case scenario - it corrects itself with time. At one point several months ago, Max was flirting with eye surgery, but it began to correct itself and in time got better until his last appointment he received his, "all clear!"  We were pretty happy - the eye exams are incredibly unpleasant.

It's hard to believe that in just over 4 months Max will be 1 year old. He should not have been around for that long yet, and yet he should have been home much longer. It all seems so strange. We're trying to not let the time slip away too quickly and enjoy every moment. Here are a few moments we've enjoyed recently.

Kickin it on the play gym.

While the debate continues about whose eyebrows, fingers, forehead, etc., that Max has - there is no debate that he sleeps like his Daddy.

I love mornings! (whose kid AM I?)

Wait, Mum! I have an idea!

Yes...it will be great....

Hey, are you guys listening?

Oh, nevermind...back to giggling!