tummy time...

(thanks to the stachowiak family for the cute onesie!)

we've been working with max on his tummy time by having him lounge on our chests. this evening i tried him on the boppy.

the pictures are a bit blurry...but this little guy is so strong already. let's hope he uses his strength to heal and get rid of his stridor!

out to dinner...

tonight we drove to fond du lac to have dinner at applebees with uncle ryan, aunt leslie, and cousin hayden. it was nice to spend some time with them. i thought it would be an easy outing...but i was proven wrong!

this is what max did the whole dinner.

hayden was goofing around...he really should learn not to play with his food! :)

we averted our first disaster on the way home. we got stuck in traffic and my little guy was hungry. the trip should have taken 40 minutes and it took an hour and 10 minutes. there were a few accidents and event traffic from eaa. somehow i managed to use my super powers and repeatedly insert the pacifier using only the rear view mirror and max's baby mirror. we made it home and magically max was asleep. i let the dogs out, fed them, and got to max before the crying began.

crazy hair...

daddy gave max a bath today. he forgot to comb his hair...he definitely doesn't have a "wash and wear" hairstyle. the kid has some crazy hair! (the photo doesn't give it justice...you'll just have to take my word for it!)

max's first gig...

today max went to his first gig. daddy was playing outside at the stone cellar. it was close enough to home that we could retreat if needed. max actually did really well. he just hung out in his car seat and soaked it all in. he didn't want to sleep. we are learning that during the late afternoon/early evening max doesn't want to sleep at all...he'll go 5-6 hours only dozing off for a minute or two (hey all you parents out there any advice?).

max got all dressed up for daddy (thanks becky!)

we got in a quick family photo

and max got some cuddle time in with aunt nan

doc visit...

today we went to meet doc heyrman for the first time. in his words..."max is handsome and growing!" he weighed in at 11lbs 4 oz (90th percentile). he was 23 1/4 inches long (95th percentile). his head was 39.9 inches around (75th percentile). our little guy is growing like crazy!

relaxed...

things have been going pretty good around here. not much sleep...but we were warned. :) we think max is getting used to his new surroundings. he's eating, pooping, and sleeping.

here's a few pics of him from yesterday...relaxing in the bouncy seat and snoozing on the ottoman.

first family outing...

well, we survived. max had an action packed afternoon and evening. first we stopped by the mcpeak's backyard party. he got to meet his "uncle scott" who he can't wait to take lots of naps with!

next we went to the stachowiak family's house to celebrate diane, hannah, and teddy's birthdays. we had some delicious grilled food...ribs and corn on the cob...and some chocolate cake. our family loves to celebrate birthdays and max has many of these to look forward to!

happy birthday to you...
hannah gave lindsay a make-over and boy did she look pretty! :)

lindsay, hannah, and i were being silly.

max got to meet his cousin hayden. i think these two are going to be good buddies!

hanging with the grandmas...

max is one lucky little guy. he got to spend some time with both of his grandmas on sunday. i'm sure there is much more lovin' and snugglin' coming his way from these ladies.

grandma randi

grandma victoria

day 3-4....

day 3 was a bit rough. he slept a lot at night and in the morning and then as a result, he was not at all interested in sleeping from 3-11.

i picked up the book "babywise," on the suggestion of a friend. (thanks janelle!) and now if i could only finish reading it! i got a bit read this morning and hope to get through most of it soon.

today we are going to attempt our first family trip out of the house. we're headed to a birthday party for my aunt diane and cousins hannah and teddy. here goes nothing!

this onesie says it all...

...captain adorable!

day 2 - learnin and lovin...

we made it through day 2 and all is well. we're working on learning about max and giving him lots of love. we've had many family friends visit and meet max so far. he is happy to have so many people that care about him!

on day two, max and daddy hung out in bed after his bottle.

they took a nap together.

and daddy gave max his first bath at home.

trust me, i was there too, i just happened to be the one taking pictures!

there's no place like home...

well, max is finally home! our little guy is 28 days today and spent his first 4 weeks of his life at the hospital. now drew and i have lots to learn about max...what makes him happy, what makes him mad, how much he likes to eat and when...

no more wires...


ready to go...

we waited for 3 1/2 weeks to take this photo...

the ride home...

at home with daddy...

thanks for all the positive thoughts and prayers...they worked! i hope you all can meet max soon. we are looking forward to starting our lives together with him. wish us luck!

ready or not...

we just talked to the hospital and max's discharge is still a go! we'll be on the road by 9 and be back home by dinner time with our little guy! he spent the first month of his life in the hospital...we've got a lot of lovin' to catch up on with him...

(thanks for the awesome welcome aunt nan!)

still waiting...

we spoke with the hospital today and it looks like they want to keep max a few more days. the attending doctor would like him to have a few more days to work with the speech therapists on his feedings. they are thinking if he does well today and tomorrow, that thursday looks like a good possibility.

this is how we feel right now (the photo was taken while waiting for our shuttle to the airport to bring us home from ireland). we know he is in the best place to heal right now, and we know he needs it, but gosh, we'd love to have him home.

well, maybe tomorrow...

we've heard, "well, maybe tomorrow" in regards to max's discharge quite a few times and we heard it again today. on friday when they told us that he'd most likely be able to go home after his echo, they left out a very important detail. and what was that detail...well, they'd have to sedate him and he wouldn't be able to be discharged until 12 hours after they gave the sedative. i can see how that might slip someone's mind when giving information to very eager and excited adoptive parents who really want to bring their baby home that has spent the first three weeks of his life in the hospital....all i have to say about that is...seriously? really? WHAT?

on a more positive note, they did do his echo-cardiogram this afternoon and everything went fine. the surgeon still has to review it, but the surgical p.a., mike, said it looked good to him.

so again, we are sad to report that little max is still in milwaukee. we sure hope he is home with us soon.

emergency baby shower...

today some of our family and friends came together to throw us a "emergency" baby shower. (a huge thanks to mom, denny & diane, leslie and nancy!) there was lots of yummy food, great company and we got lots of goodies for our little man. we are so very blessed to have so many wonderful and caring people in our lives. we had a great time at my mom's house. the only thing missing was max!

i talked to the nurse today and he's doing great. i felt terrible that i wasn't going to be able to make it down there at all today. she assured me that we have lots to do if we're bringing home a baby on monday or tuesday! holy moly...monday or tuesday!!!! she told me that he had his car seat test and did good. the echo is still scheduled for tomorrow. drew and i will be heading down in the morning to spend the day with him at the hospital...hopefully for the last time.

i am excited, anxious, and nervous to bring him home. most moms have months to prepare, read books, and get advice...we've had exactly 24 days. so much has changed in the last few weeks for drew and i and the best is yet to come!

saturday's visit...

after working a brat fry for youth go, i headed home and showered before heading down to milwaukee. i got to spend almost 5 hours with max tonight...it was great! he is doing good and his echo-cardiogram is scheduled for monday. looks like he'll be coming home monday or tuesday! we can't wait!

when i left he had a full belly, was all snuggled in, swaddled and ready to sleep!

why is max so happy...

why is max so happy? well, it looks like he's almost ready to come home! they have to run him through a few tests (like a car seat tolerance test and an echo-cardiogram) before he can be discharged.

we had a great visit today. he's eating like a champ and doing pretty good keeping his oxygen stats up. we have to help him pace himself, but that's easy to deal with if that means we get to bring him home!

and in case you can't tell, max already has his daddy wrapped around his little finger!

todays visit...

me and max

















our family!



he seems to be feeling much better today...we could see it in his face. he was such a snuggler today while we were there. we were able to talk with a few of the specialists and got some good information. we were even present for a feeding and were able to observe and learn from the speech therapist. he did great during and after his feeding. he's still on oxygen, but only a very small amount. during the rest of the week their plan is to continue to work on his feedings and if he continues to do well, the will start to wean him off his oxygen. thanks for all the continued positive thoughts and prayers. we are so thankful to have so much support!

healing and waiting to come home...

max was born with a narrowing of his airway caused by a double aortic arch. basically, a blood vessel from his heart, grew around his windpipe. max had surgery on july 3rd to divert that blood vessel. after a few days of respiratory treatments from fluid in his lungs, he is busy healing at children's hospital in milwaukee. the doctors thought he'd be ready for release last friday, but our little guy has been having some trouble coordinating his eating and breathing. he is going to spend some time working with the speech therapists to find a feeding method that works best for him. as much as we want max home with us...he is in the best place right now to grow, heal and learn. please keep him in your prayers for a speedy recovery and release!

our new story begins...

drew and i were both surprised and excited to receive some surreal news on wednesday, june 24th. we were asked if we would be interested in adopting a baby to be born the following day. on june 25th a beautiful baby boy entered the world and after weighing all our options and making sure that we were making our decision in the best interest of this little blessing, we decided to begin the adoption process.