Day 1: Born August 19th, 2009, at 8:41am, 7lb 4oz 19.5 inches long
Max spent the first month sleeping and eating. I wasn't so good about the resting aspect of being a new mom-- I wanted to be "normal" again. So me and Max hit the town. We visited Target daily, checked in on friends, had lots of family stopping in, and did a lot of laundry. Having a new born is hard, but it flies by so quickly- too quickly actually. I was warned I would feel this way but I didn't listen. Max was never a fussy baby, he was good about sleeping, he loved being held, and he would cuddle.... at this age.
Happy 1 Month: September
On his 1 month day, he boarded a plane and headed in Indiana (with his mom!). We headed north to surprise my Mamaw at her surprise birthday party. It was the first time she got to meet Max, her first great grandson. When she showed up at the door and I answered, she said "What are you doing here?" Later in the party, she also patted my new- Mommy gut and asked, "What is this?" But we'll discuss that later.
Chad drove up to Indiana to pick us up, so Max also had his first road trip too, during his first month. He took the 8 hour drive like a champ, sleeping most of the way. And when we arrived home, our county, along with much of the rest of Georgia was flooded. It took us 2 hours to drive the 2 miles to our house once we exited the highway, because apparently our road was the only road NOT under water.
The next morning, we got bad news that Chad's grandmother, Grandma Donatto's health was failing quickly and that the cancer was numbering her days. So we did laundry, packed suitcases, and got on the plane to head to Texas. It was a blessing that Chad, Gabe, Max and I all got a chance to say goodbye. We also enjoyed seeing the family and showing everyone our new baby Max.
Month 2: October
Month 2 was great. We ushered in fall and even had our first blast of cold weather. Max was on a great schedule, which did NOT consist of sleeping through the night...
I had my first birthday as a Mommy, and I realized that life was a lot less about me- which was totally ok, thanks to those eyse and that darn chin dimple. We visited the pumpkin patch and took our 2nd family picture- the first was in the hospital, and well, I hope to never see it again!
During month 2, I went back to work and Max began wrapping his Courtney around his finger. She came to our house 2 days a week and got to learn this baby, right along with me. Between the two of us, we figured out just how to hold him to get him to sleep in no time. Max slept on his side, had to be swaddled, and had to have his sound machine. But he was so stinking cute that it was worth the extra effort!
He also celebrated his first Halloween, and borrowed his buddy Hudson's pumpkin costume. We celebrated at Aunt Ruth's and Uncle Jonathan's Halloween Extravaganza, and we even learned to skype our Granny Annie, too.
(Note: Granny Annie is my mom. Once Max talks, we're thinking it will just be Annie. Why, you ask, since her name is Vicki? Well we just couldn't find the right name, and I read a fiction book about the time he was born where a character in the book was Granny Annie, so I started calling her that, and well, it just stuck. Lucky for us, her middle name is Anne, so we can pretend?!?!? And for those of you wondering, yes my Dad still wants to be "Uncle Dan" and hasn't been convinced otherwise.)
My Dad came to visit towards the end of the month. He even babysat so I could work for a few hours. It was great.
Month 3: November
During Max's 3rd month, he came with me to a girls weekend in Gatlinburg with my college friends. He held his own as the only male :) This month was busy for us-- my parents and brothers stayed with us for Thanksgiving, and our whole extended family was together. LOTS of Noblitts! We had our parent commitment service at church, and Max had his first on-stage experience. His friend Haven was born and thanks to Kellee's encouragement, he started organic rice cereal too.
(But no, he still wasn't ready to sleep through the night................................)
Month 4: December
So month 4 consisted of his first Christmas, his second trip to Indiana, his second trip to Texas, watching Grant and his team win the State Championship, and Max's Uncle Eli babysitting him for the first time. (I think Eli was exhausted afterwards!)
Lucky for us, Max came with plenty of clothes and supplies and his grandparents have made sure it stays that way. My job is to feed him, and everyone else has decided that it is their job to spoil him. I think it works well for him!
Month 5: January
We started off the year with a bang... and baby food! Now that our travels were over, I began introducing him to food and I also decided that making all of it myself would be better for him. And it's pretty easy with the handy dandy food processor that Max got for Christmas. I like it because I can make sure he gets the best, freshest food there is- but on food making days, it would be easier if a tornado hit the kitchen than cleaning up the mess that's left! Let my publicly thank Chad for his help in disaster management on these days.
Max now eats bananas, avocados, sweet potatoes, apples, pears, butternut squash, and today, he'll try green beans! He loves all food and grunts until you get a spoonful in his mouth. It's adorable.
In January, Max also switched sitters and now he sees Maggie 3 mornings a week. When I come home, they are both sitting on the floor giggling and playing. She also dresses him so cute- I just love it!
Max went to his first wedding in January, a very wonderful wedding! His Aunt Ruth made Jonathan McCord the luckiest man in the world by marrying him on January 23rd. I was in the wedding and my mom came into to take over Max duties so I could enjoy the wedding weekend. I'd like to announce that days before Ruth's wedding, Max decided that I had earned a HUGE reward for being such a great mommy and began sleeping through the night. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, bliss.
And now, today, it's his 6th monthday. And as my boss put it yesterday, I only have 35 more 6 month spans before he leaves me for bigger and better things, agh! This month he's already experienced his first snow, his big brother's 7th birthday, and he got his first Valentine and his first sickness. His first tooth has begun poking through, he claps if you say "yay", he knows meal time is over when we sign "all done" so he stops grunting, and he even sits up- if he feels like it!
Max Ryan Bowman has been a blessing to our family and has brought more joy to my life than I thought was possible. It's been incredible to see how much other people, besides us as his parents, love him. His milestones have been so fun to watch, and I can't wait to see what the next half of the ride around the sun brings! I am honored to be his mother, and so thankful that Chad is his Daddy. We pray that God captures this boy's heart at a young age, and we thank Him daily for entrusting us with the gift of Max for 6 whole months.
And here he is right now, with his big brother-- bed head and all!
And here he is right now, with his big brother-- bed head and all!
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