March 17, 2010
10:16 pm—(Posted by Becky)—Max stayed with Mimi and Grandpa last night. Grandpa said Max got up a little after 6:00 this morning. He went walking and then to Bojangles for breakfast. This morning I also went to Bojangles, but I was there quite a bit earlier. When I went through the drive-thru window one of the long-time employees introduced me to a new hire as “Max’s mom.” She said she was very happy to meet me and that she just loves Max. That was super-sweet!
Max enjoyed a nice nap this afternoon. I guess in some weird way he knew that today’s rainy weather called for a good nap. When Max got up I was already home. He was very surprised to see me when I went in to get him. He’s been in a much better mood today, and we’re very thankful for that. Yesterday we were thinking about checking on a return policy. Just kidding, of course! But we are happy things are better today.
Jaddie, Max, and I went to IHOP for dinner and Max was very good there. He also was a very good eater. When we got home I gave the little fellow a bath. After his bath I gave him the treat the leprechaun left for him. He really enjoyed his Lucky Charms. We got some cute pictures of him eating them that we’ll share soon. Max is hanging his hat with Mimi and Grandpa again tonight and Jaddie will catch up with him in the morning.
March 16, 2010
10:20 pm—It’s been kind of a tough day with the Maxster. He’s been ill-tempered at various times throughout the day. We’ve given him Motrin, Mylicon, fed him a good bit, gave him plenty to drink, and kept him busy. We don’t know what’s causing this sometimes-nasty behavior, but we hope it’s just a phase.
He was a flippy-floppy bedfellow last night, so at some point Becky took him out of our bed and put him in his bassinet. He awoke at the sound of Becky’s iPhone alarm shortly before 7:00 am. She changed his diaper and I fixed him a bottle. He and I watched a new (new to us, anyway) Barney DVD until it was time to head to the mall for our walk and stroll with Grandpa. They had breakfast at Bojangles and came over to get me shortly after 9:00. We went over to uncle Larry’s to look at an old car and then to Granny’s to ged rid of a dead tree. Granny took care of the little fellow while we took care of her dead tree. Larry was at Granny’s, too, and it’s always good to see him. When we left I told Max to give Larry bye-bye sugar and he threw Larry a kiss.
When we got home the little fellow wanted to play with shoes instead of taking his bottle, so I indulged him for a while. I don’t know why he’s so interested in shoes, but shoes are currently his favorite toy. He even looked to the place where I store my shoes—over our living room’s entertainment armoire—saw that there weren’t any shoes there, and began crying. The next pictures we’ll share here show the little fellow enjoying my sandals.
Our little fellow was everything except sweet when Becky got home. Nothing would please him. Mimi phoned and asked Becky to run up to our local Goodwill store to look at a toy box for Max, and Becky said Max was a bit of a hellion in the store, though he was blowing kisses to fellow motorists on the way home. Mimi and Grandpa came over to get the little fellow to spend the night with them tonight. Mimi and Becky were trying to find Max something to wear tomorrow, and Grandpa asked them to find something featuring green for St Patty’s Day tomorrow. That’s funny because it isn’t like Grandpa to think of things like that.
Oh, how we hope tomorrow is better! Going through this is scary for Becky and me because we don’t know if it’s a phase or if we’re raising a selfish prick who has no patience, frustration tolerance, or empathy. Time will tell and we’re in this for the long haul. The phrase “for better or for worse” is often used in weddings, but it’s more appropriate for becoming a parent.
March 15, 2010
10:17 pm—(Posted by Becky)—Max got Grandpa up quite early this morning—around 5:00. Mimi and Grandpa said Max lay down with them for a while before going walking. Grandpa, Max, and Daddy all enjoyed a walk this morning. Bojangles was, of course, the next stop on their morning tour. When Grandpa and Max got back home they had to go visit the ducks. When that busy morning was complete Max was worn out and ready for a nap. The little fellow slept for three-and-a-half hours this afternoon.
When I got home Max was a little fussy and ready for a change of scenery, so we went to Walmart. We had to return a movie and do a little shopping. Max was good boy while shopping. After Walmart we went to Mimi and Grandpa’s. Grandpa cooked us all dinner while Mimi and I took Max for a walk through the neighborhood. Max really enjoyed his walk.
When we got home from Mimi and Grandpa’s Max and I lay in our bed and watched the new Barney Easter video we bought at Walmart. It wasn’t long before little fellow’s eyes we getting droopy. I put him in his bassinet and we will scoop him up when we head to bed.
March 14, 2010
1:08 pm—Two from Friday and one from yesterday:
9:28 pm—The first word I heard this morning was Mama as Max was waking up and crawling on a still-asleep Becky. ’Twas sweet.
We serviced the little fellow, got him a bottle, and put him back in bed with us for a bit. Then we headed over to Granny’s for breakfast. Max was a little fussy over at Granny’s—and, later, here at home—because he wanted to go outside. He kept saying, “A door, a door, a door,” as he reached his hand toward the door and furrowed his brow.
Max went down for a nap when we got home from Granny’s. A dirty diaper woke him after about three hours. Becky came home from fetching groceries a short while later and looked after the little fellow while I worked on some way-overdue images of a prospective model. (I have a lot of new images to post on our photography section, and I hope to update long-overlooked portion of our site soon.) When I finished working on images, I took over Max’s care while Becky got a nap. I chased him around in circles for a while, let him climb like a monkey on the furniture, and then we settled down to finish watching a Barney video on my iPhone.
Becky put the little fellow in her big garden tub and jumped in with him to give him a bath. He had so much fun in that big tub; it was like a swimming pool to him.
He had a loud meltdown shortly after his bath. We don’t know what the problem was, but we stuck a bottle in his kisser and things got much more pleasant around here. He didn’t get to finish his bottle before Grandpa came to get him to spend the night. Grandpa said he and Max were going to bed early tonight. I’ll catch up with them in the morning at the mall.
March 13, 2010
10:08 pm—I saw Max and Grandpa this morning on our walk/stroll at the mall, Becky had breakfast with them at Bojangles, and then Becky and I took the little fellow to Gymboree for play class. He was a much happier camper this morning at Gymboree than he was last Saturday. This morning he melted down just once, when I went to the restroom.
We put him down for a nap when we got home, and he slept for five hours. He hasn’t slept that long in a good while. When he woke up, he was in a chipper mood and was ready to get a bite to eat, some juice, play, and watch Barney on my iPhone.
The three of us went out to pick up some dinner at Costco and to get the movie Up in the Air, which is now available on DVD. They dropped me off at home so I could get a shower, and they went to Mimi and Grandpa’s to visit with aunt Emma Jean and cousins Cam and Hunter.
Once home the little fellow quickly finished off a bottle and is now in his bassinet beside our bed, which is where he always naps when he’s home. We’re going to put him in bed with us tonight.
Today Max is saying, “light,” more clearly and is beginning to make some G sounds. He was calmer today than in recent days.
Becky’s getting her bath and we’ll soon be closing the curtains on March 13, my wonderful maternal grandmother’s birthday.
March 12, 2010
11:43 pm—(Posted by Becky)—Max got up this morning around 7:15. We got him a fresh diaper and a bottle and took the little fellow back to bed with us. He enjoyed Barney while snuggling with us. I got to sleep a little long today because of the teacher workday. Max went to Granny’s today because the housekeeper was supposed to come. We found out later in the day that she was unable to because something came up. Max and Granny had a good time, though!
I picked up the little fellow on my way home from school. He wasn’t ready to leave Granny’s. Max didn’t understand why he couldn’t go out in her front yard, even though it was pouring rain. Granny said Max had not had much to eat today, so when we got home we fed the little fellow, He ate pretty well. After his late-afternoon meal Max watched Jaddie and me clean the house at a fast and furious pace in preparation for tonight’s Bunco party. Max was a really good boy while we were cleaning and only strew a few things.
While I had a Bunco party tonight Max stayed with Grandpa. Mimi came to the party, Jaddie worked on the computer upstairs while the party was going on, and he texted me a few times to bring him snacks. We’ll catch up with Max in the morning on our walk, at breakfast, and at Gymboree.
March 11, 2010
1:30 pm—Six from Tuesday:
11:09 pm—I saw Max and Grandpa at the mall this morning, but I didn’t get to see the little fellow again until after 4:00 pm. He took his nap at Mimi and Grandpa’s today. I took the time to finish the images above and work on my Photoshop workspace a little. We recently changed the size of the large versions of the images and had a handful of Photoshop actions that needed updating to work with the new image sizes. Actions that enable one-click creation of vignettes, pinstripes, and thumbnails all needed updating, and I finally had a meeting of time and energy to do it. Another thing I finally got around to is updating our Lilypie ticker above.
In addition to Max, Becky brought Grandpa home with her. He came to fix our recliner, hang some pictures, caulk around our kitchen counters, and hang a knob on one of our closet doors. Becky and I noticed that our backyard Christmas reindeer are now gone. It’s possible they were stolen, but it’s more likely that Grandpa got tired of seeing them still standing in our backyard and took them down for us. I guess there was no convincing him that we were just early for Christmas this year. It rained all day yesterday and Grandpa brought our trash cans up from the curb. I’d planned to wait until the rain stopped, but that wasn’t soon enough for Grandpa.
It was good to finally get some face time with Max this afternoon. He was as ill as a hornet when he came home, but after a three-hour nap, he was full of warmth and cheer. He sleeps better at home than anywhere else. He’s back in bed for the night now, but Becky and I enjoyed some quality time with him once he caught up on his beauty rest.
Apple’s new iPad goes up for preorder tomorrow morning at 8:30 Eastern Time. We’re going to order one and see if it’ll serve as a replacement for our eight-year-old PowerBook G4 whose lid now has two broken hinges. We used the PowerBook for Web browsing, simple text and data entry, and only rarely for graphic design and photo editing, so we believe the iPad might work for us. Becky and I have been having nearly nightly conflicts over who gets to use the Mac. She’s a serious coupon shopper and deal finder, and the Internet is her retail research library. And I’m a voracious consumer of tech news and opinion, so I feel quite handicapped when stuck with only our iPhones to traverse the interwebs. The iPad (WiFi, not 3G) is supposed to be available on April 3, but heavy demand could cause us to wait longer. Max loves our iPhones, so we’re looking forward to seeing him enjoy interacting with the iPad.
Tomorrow is a teacher workday at Becky’s school, and she doesn’t have to be there until 8:30, so we’re going to sleep a little later than we normally do on a school day. I’m looking forward to watching Barney with Max in the morning as he enjoys his morning bottle.
March 10, 2010
10:45 pm—Max got up shortly before 7:00 this morning, and Becky changed his diaper while I made him a bottle. He and I snuggled up in the bed and watched cartoons for a while before heading out to the mall for our morning walk and stroll with Grandpa. As usual, they went to Bojangles for breakfast. Grandpa brought the little fellow back home around 10:00, and Max and I played and watched Barney on my iPhone until it was time for his nap.
Becky phoned from school to suggest that I take the little fellow over to Granny’s and let her keep him while we have an early dinner at Chili’s. I followed Becky’s suggestion and Granny was happy to see Mr Max. I came home from Chili’s, and Becky took Granny some dinner from Chili’s and let her keep our little buddy while she ran to Walmart for milk.
Becky stopped by Mimi and Grandpa’s on her way home. They picked up Mimi and ran a couple of errands. Grandpa wanted Max to spend the night with them tonight, so that’s where the little booger is right now. I miss him and look forward to seeing him again in the morning.
Becky’s aunt Ann is close to closing on a condo in Palm Coast, Florida, that’s located on the intercoastal waterway. Ann said she wants the rest of us to enjoy her new digs, so I guess Max will get to experience the beach for the first time this summer. Ann says there are miles of trails and two pools in the development, so it sounds like a fun place to visit. Grandpa’s already gearing up to help with getting the place going.
March 9, 2010
10:47 pm—(Posted by Becky)—Max went walking with Grandpa and Daddy this morning. Then the little fellow had breakfast at his favorite restaurant, Bojangles. When he got home he and Daddy went over to Granny’s for a visit with her and uncle Larry. Jaddie took some cute pictures of him at Granny’s. I’m sure he will share them soon. Max enjoyed a nice nap this afternoon.
When I got home we went outside, of course. Max would love to stay outside all the time. We walked down to the cul-de-sac and Grandpa picked us up on the golf cart. Max and I played at Mimi and Grandpa’s until dinner. Jaddie was gone shoe shopping. Max and I took a trip to visit the ducks. We’ve been singing a new duck song, so we sang it all the way there and back. Max tried to sing along. The little fellow loves music! Grandpa grilled hamburgers for dinner. Jaddie had veggie burgers. After dinner Max was tired and ready for bed, so we came home and read many stories. Maxipoo is fast asleep and Jaddie and I aren’t far behind.
March 8, 2010
10:47 pm—(Posted by Becky)—Four from Gymboree on Saturday and two from yesterday’s trip to Bogan Park:
Max went walking with Grandpa and Daddy and then went to Bojangles for breakfast with Grandpa. When Grandpa brought the little fellow home, Max and Jaddie went to Granny’s for a visit. Jaddie said they played outside only a little bit because Max was more interested in playing with Granny’s doors. He’s crazy about opening and shutting doors. Max enjoyed a nice nap when he got home.
When I came home from school Max and I went riding through our neighborhood on Grandpa’s golf cart. We, of course, went to visit the ducks. After that we stopped to visit with neighbors Renae and Zachary. Max kept wanting to open and shut Zachary’s truck door. After leaving there we went back to Mimi and Grandpa’s to eat dinner. Mimi and I gave the little fellow a shampoo after dinner. Grandpa talked me into letting the Maxipoo stay another night with them, so that’s where he is tonight. Jaddie will catch up with him in the morning.
March 7, 2010
10:31 pm—Max let us sleep until about 8:00 this morning. I fixed the little fellow a bottle while Becky changed his diaper, and they went back to bed and watched a little bit of a Barney video. Later we went to Golden Corral to have breakfast with Granny, aunt Shirley and uncle Bill; cousins Lee, Kerri, Cami, Trey, Shannon, Mark S., and Hayden; Cami’s sweetheart Casey and two other friends whose names I apologize for not being able to recall.
Max was a pretty good boy during breakfast. He had a meltdown before we went, and we couldn’t figure out for the life of us what was bothering him. We gave him some Motrin and things got better in about ten minutes. Maybe his teeth are bothering him. We don’t know for sure.
The little fellow made good use of his diaper, so we came home and serviced him. Many times over. The boy ran us through an entire box of wipes in the past twenty-four hours. Granny stopped by to see her Maxipoo, but it wasn’t long before he was ready to study the backs of his eyelids.
Becky went to a birthday party and I looked after Max. He awoke around 3:00 with a diaper that was desperate for a changing. And we changed it a few more times before we went to nearby Bogan Park to enjoy the beautiful weather. Max had fun until a game of chase went awry. The poor little fellow did a faceplant on the asphalt walkway at the park, adding a second scab, bump, and bruise to his forehead. He cried for less than a minute before trying to chase down someone else’s soccer ball. We took 154 pictures but ended up keeping only 55. We’ll share some of those here soon.
Becky and Max dropped me off at home went to T.J.Maxx to return something. They returned shortly with Max’s diaper screaming for yet another changing. We changed two or three more diapers before Grandpa came to get him to spend the night. The MiraLAX is gettin’ ‘re done.
I’m afraid for Becky to return to school tomorrow. What am I going to do? Ha! I know what I’m going to do: Max and I will go over to Granny’s! I’ll need a tag-team partner tomorrow if Max is still making stinkies.
Becky and I are about to head to bed.
March 6, 2010
7:13 pm—Six from February 25 through today:
10:38 pm—(Posted by Becky)—Max woke up happy this morning. He went walking with Grandpa and Daddy, and then I met him and Grandpa at Bojangles for breakfast. After Bojangles Max got really fussy, but we decided to take him to Gymboree, anyway. That was a mistake. He had a few meltdowns while at Gymboree, so we left early. We think his tummy was bothering him. Max took a two-and-a-half-hour nap.
When Max got up from his nap he had lunch and then we headed out with Mimi to run a few errands. Max quickly got tired of errands, so he went to Granny’s while we finished up our errands. When we got back to Granny’s we three went outside with Max so he could play. That’s all the little fellow wants to do is be outside. He had a blast playing. We played a lot with his Cozy Coupe. Before coming home Max and I stayed with Mimi and Grandpa a while. Jaddie was busy working on pictures.
When we got home we three had dinner and then got Max ready for bed. The little fellow was tired after running all over Granny’s yard.
Max’s bathroom issue is making up for lost time. He’s no longer backed up, and his belly is no longer distended. Even though the little fellow went through more than a dozen diapers today, we’re glad his plumbing is back in business.
March 5, 2010
9:27 pm—Max spent the night with Mimi and Grandpa last night. Mimi said the little fellow made a couple of sounds during the night, which she attributes to his stomach being upset. We gave him liquid Colase last night to help his, uh, “situation.”
Max, Mimi, and Grandpa went to Bojangles for breakfast, and then they picked me up so we could take our little buddy to a pediatric gastroenterologist, Dr Dinesh Patel, who also happens to be a fellow UGA alumnus. As it turns out, there are just three things we have to do to make Max better:
- Give him three level teaspoons of MiraLAX every day;
- Give him three level teaspoons of MiraLAX every day, and
- If items (1) and (2) fail, give him three level teaspoons of MiraLAX every day.
Max has had MiraLAX plenty of times before, but when things improved we withdrew the MiraLAX until we encountered another problem. Dr Patel advised us to keep going with the MiraLAX for literally years. He says it’s completely safe.
And, as it turns out, Max is already doing much better. Apparently the emergency room pediatrician, Dr Jeffrey Rosenblatt, was correct with his prognosis that there was no longer a giant mass of matter that Max couldn’t pass.
The little fellow has been working is posterior plumbing quite successfully for about twenty-seven hours now. The dipe and wipe companies would be pleased with the amount of their products we’ve consumed.
So after a lot of stress, one enema, four suppositories, a dose of Colase, a trip to the emergency room, and a visit with a pediatric gastroenterologist, we believe our little buddy’s posterior is well on its return to good health.
Mimi and Grandpa kept Max while Becky and I went out for dinner this evening. Grandpa was going to ride the little fellow on the golf cart, and Max broke loose from Grandpa on their walk down to the driveway. Max fell on Mimi and Grandpa’s steps and now has a little bump on his noggin and a couple of scratches.
He was in a good mood when he came home, though. Becky gave him a bath, fed him a bottle, read him some stories, and put him to bed. Becky and I plan to watch the poorly reviewed movie Couples Retreat on DVD when we go to bed. We need some levity after the past three days we’ve had.
We’ll get back to walking in the morning and then take Max to Gymboree for play class. I hope to have the time and energy to get back to pictures tomorrow.
March 4, 2010
9:39 pm—We’ve been busy around here. Max seems to be feeling well, but he isn’t as well as he needs to be when it comes to his posterior plumbing. Tomorrow Grandpa, Mimi, and I are carrying the little fellow to a pediatric gastroenterologist to see what we can do to help him be a happier digestive camper.
I played hooky from walking this morning. Max and Grandpa went walking and then to Bojangles for breakfast where our friend and neighbor Greg joined them.
Little buddy and I played for a short while this morning, and then we watched a Barney video on my iPhone before heading over to Granny’s. Granny kept Max today because I visited an allergist for an allergy test. The rest revealed that I’m allergic to ragweed, a bunch of grasses, dust mites, and mold.
Becky picked up Max on her way home from school. Later they went out to run a few errands. Grandpa wanted Max to spend the night with him and Mimi tonight, so that’s where the little fellow is now. Becky and I are still very tired from last night’s drama, so we’re looking forward to going to bed early.
March 3, 2010
11:52 pm—(Posted by Becky)—Max has been in a great mood today. He went walking and to see his peeps at Bojangles. Then he visited the ducks on the golf cart with Grandpa. He went down for his nap late today and slept for about four hours.
Max is still having a great deal of trouble with his plumbing today. We’re even had to take him to the ER tonight. They gave him some medicine that we hope will help. The poor little fellow is actually handling it better than the rest of us. We just got home and are all ready for bed. We hope tomorrow bring Max some much-needed relief!
March 2, 2010
10:11 pm—(Posted by Becky)—What a day! Max spent the night with Mimi and Grandpa last night. He went walking and then went to Bojangles. When the little fellow got home he had his first meltdown of the day, so we put him to bed early for his nap. When he got up it was time to head to the doctor for his eighteen-month visit. That started out well, but turned south quickly. Max is having trouble with his plumbing again, so his tummy hurts super-bad. He cried for a while before Dr Smiley came in and then really hard when she did his examination. This was the third meltdown, and he hadn’t even had the four shots he needed for the day!
Dr Smiley determined that we needed to have an X-ray of Max’s tummy, so we headed to a radiology lab after dropping off Granny for her eye appointment. She went with us to see Dr Smiley, which was great! It took all three of us to handle that rough situation.
Before we even got back to the eye doctor’s to pick up Granny, Dr Smiley called to let us know the results of his X-ray and what medicine to give him. Boy, we couldn’t believe how quickly she responded. The X-ray was in a completely different building. That was so fast!
Max had a rough time at the doctor’s and was really tired tonight. He fell asleep while taking his bottle. He’s sleeping in his bassinet in our room tonight so we can keep an eye on him during the night.
March 1, 2010
10:19 pm—(Posted by Becky)—Max, Jaddie, and Grandpa went walking this morning. Then, as usual, Max and Grandpa went to Bojangles for breakfast. Jaddie had to run an errand, so Max stayed with Grandpa until Jaddie returned shortly after 11:00. Then he brought Max home, fed him, gave him a bottle, and put him to bed. He took a two-and-a-half-hour nap.
Jaddie said the fun started when Max woke up. He took the little fellow walking through the neighborhood. They stopped and chatted with neighbors Laura and Piper Dellinger, and went down to the Wigleys’ pond to see the ducks. Max traveled on Jaddie’s shoulders the whole time. Their little quest lasted for about an hour. I called to check in on them several times this afternoon, and when I called Max answered by saying, “My Mama.” This was because when I called my picture appeared on Jaddie’s iPhone. This really warmed my heart.
When I got home we played for a while before heading to Mimi and Grandpa’s for dinner. We had breakfast for dinner. Super yummy! After dinner Max, Mimi, and I had some errands to run. At Grandpa’s request Max is hanging his hat with them again tonight. Jaddie will catch up with them in the morning.
