3 hour long 6 month well visit...

well, santa brought us all one final gift....a cold!

so far my mom and drew and the only ones not down for the count.

we had max's 6 month well-child visit yesterday and went in so that the doc could take a look at him. we were there for 3 hours!!!

he got his regular check up...minus the vaccinations.

he weighed in at 19lbs 4oz (75th percentile), was 28 1/4 inches (95th percentile), and his head is 46.1 cm (96th percentile).

doc heyrman sent us for a chest xray, a influenza swab test, and two blood tests. max was a tough cookie through it all but it was a LONG day! all tests came back good...so we were sent on our way with an antibiotic and a steroid.

max and i were up at 12:3oam today. he's finally now taking a good nap. poor little guy! like our ent doctor said...if we can just make it through this winter...

jammin out with daddy...

max absolutely LOVES it when drew plays the guitar and sings to him.

here are my boys and libby enjoying a little jam session.

just had to share...

these pictures cracked me up...so i just needed to share them!

just look at that cute little bottom!

libby must have really liked what was on tv...she was guarding that remote!

thanks dad...

our christmas present from my dad was a little bit of a bathroom remodel. my dad came to visit a few weeks ago and tiled our shower and had a plumber come to help with a change that needed to be made with the faucet.

here is max enjoying his first bath in the new beautiful bathroom!

the day after christmas...

the day after christmas we travelled down to jackson and cedar grove to visit with drew's family. many people were in town to visit his grandpa who just recently was put into an assisted living facility. i didn't have my camera out when we stopped in jackson but max got to meet tammy and thomas from kansas, kevin, gigi, trinton, victoria, and gracie.

(my mother-in-law's gigantic tree!)

after our visit at their hotel, we headed to cedar grove to drew's mom and step-dad's house. we had some good food and opened presents. max got to spend a little time with his aunt amie and his uncle austin.

he was very intrigued by austin and i think austin was with him!

they even had a little music lesson.

thanks for a great time everybody!

merry christmas from our family...

merry christmas from our family to yours!

we hope all of your christmas wishes came true.

we received the "best gift ever" six months ago today.

as we celebrated the birth of jesus today at church, it made me think about how the arrival of a child can change the life of so many...

6 months old...

max at 5 days old...

max at 6 months old...

happy 6 month birthday little man....we LOVE you!

christmas morning...

we celebrated our first christmas morning as a little family! we talked to santa earlier this month and made a special request for max. because of our jobs and knowing how so many kids don't get many presents for christmas, we asked santa if he'd just fill max's stocking and bring him one special gift each year...that way there would be more for other children. since we are so blessed to have such wonderful families who love max so much, we know that he won't go without at christmas time.



max got some stackable rings, blocks, and a bob and wobble lion from mommy and daddy. (and from the look of these pictures mommy and daddy need more coffee!!)



santa brought him a spinning top to help him learn his numbers, colors, and animals. in his stocking he got a teething toy and some new socks that he can't kick off!

christmas eve...

we always go to aunt linda and uncle bill's house for christmas eve. it was a wonderful dinner as usual and we enjoyed a few cocktails as well. we gathered to open gifts and had a new person to start us off!

here is max opening his very first wrapped present. this one was from denny, diane, hannah, and teddy.

and what did he get? an ugly doll and 3 dr. suess books. thanks stachowiak family!

when you're 6 months old, who needs presents when you have bows!

can you believe how big he is getting!

thanks grampa mark...

max got a package in the mail on wednesday from grampa mark. he sent a cute reindeer coat and a book. the book is "the night before christmas" and grampa recorded himself reading it for max. what a wonderful gift and a fun tradition to start for max to have his grampa "read" to him on christmas eve. thanks dad!

visit with santa...

max got to meet santa on wednesday. we weren't sure how he'd do. he was a little sleepy and in awe of all of the lights and people in the mall...so he did okay.

thanks to nancy for the v.i.p. pass so that we didn't have to wait in line!

daisy and max...

max got to spend some time with daisy (heidi's dog) on tuesday. aunt heidi is looking forward to max getting a little bit bigger so that he can ride her. won't that be a sight to see?! daisy absolutely loved max. she couldn't get close enough to him. he was petting her...or hitting her repeatedly on the back of the head, and she was just loving it. when we were eating lunch, max was playing on the floor and every time he would make a noise, she would head over to check on him. i think daisy will be pulling max around on a sled next summer. mush daisy, mush!!

santa's helper...

here is max in his reindeer bib from becky. he looks like santa's little helper with the rosy cheeks and all. i may have mentioned this before...but i just love this little guy!

hanging with hayden...

on sunday aunt leslie and cousin hayden stopped by to visit. they were up in appleton for a hockey game and joined us at the stachowiaks for chili and a disappointing packer game. max and hayden played for a bit. max really wanted some of hayden's bananas and oatmeal...but he's not quite there yet!

drew's graduation...

drew graduated on saturday. he now has his degree in education and will be certified to teach 1st-8th grade with a minor in social science. it was a long ceremony and max was really good through the whole thing. he was supposed to nap and may have gotten in about 10 minutes or so. i guess he was just too excited to sleep...he knew something important was going on and he didn't want to miss it!

our view from the only place we could find to park the stroller!

the graduate!

daddy and max

this photo will look very different in 18 years at max's first graduation

we went home for a bit so our little max could get in a nap. after that we headed over to naut's landing for some pizza with drew's family...or so he thought. about 35 family members and friends joined us for a surprise graduation party for drew. he didn't suspect a thing and was really shocked to see all those people there to celebrate with him! thanks to all those who came down! it meant a lot to us to see you there!

hanging with the stachowiaks...

last friday daddy had a gig, so max and i went to visit the stachowiaks.

we were a bit stir-crazy and may have had the early symptoms of cabin fever.

it sure was nice to get out of the house.

we spent some time just hanging out and playing.

thanks for having us over.

adorable...

here are a few pictures just because max is adorable!

in one week...

i can't believe that max will be 6 month old on christmas.
so much has happened in this amount of time.
here are some things i'd like to be sure to remember...

i love....
the way that max looks at drew when he walks into the room.
the way that the mere presence of the dogs makes max smile and giggle.
that max puts his head on my shoulder when i carry him upstairs.
to watch max snuggle with his blanket and rub it on his face as he falls asleep.
the way that max puts his foot up on the tray of the highchair when he's eating.

wahoo...

max rolled over yesterday!

i had just fed him and put him down in his gym.

i was checking my work email and all of a sudden he was making all kinds of noise.

i looked over at him and this is what i saw.

the little guy had rolled over. i couldn't believe it.

way to go buddy!

best gift ever...

we've been talking about what we want for christmas this year and things like that. and i just can't seem to come up with anything. as hectic, emotional, stressful, and completely exhausting the past 5 1/2 months have been, i have all that i need. i love my job and the youth that get to work with. it is so great to be able to have a job that i feel passionate about and that i don't just go to work and put in my 40 hours each week. i have a wonderfully supportive, caring, and loving family. we are blessed to have food, shelter, and the other necessities that so many go without. i am married to the most wonderful man. he is my friend, the one who keeps me grounded, the one who makes me feel beautiful (even on my worst days), the one who challenges me, and the one who loves me just as i am. we were blessed with the "best gift ever" in our little max this past june. he is such a ray of light. i can only imagine how much joy he will bring to our lives in years to come.

green beans, a different kind of bottle, and hanging out...

max is feeling much better today. he took all 3 naps and was in a really good mood tonight! we spent a lot of time tonight playing, working on looking left, doing his new stretches, reading with daddy, and just hanging out.

mmm....green beans! yummy. he seems to be handling veggies much better this time around.


max wanted some of daddy's bottle tonight. i think he's got 20 years and 6 1/2 months before that's okay!

he's a crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy baby....crazy baby maxwell hicks. (a song that daddy sings!)

look at the feet of these jammies. ..too cute! drew calls them sleeping costumes because they all have silly themes and because they are difficult to get on and off.

max's first snow day...

we had our first snow day with max. we got about 12 inches. daddy spent a lot of time outside taking care of the snow blowing.

we originally had two doctor appointments scheduled for today. one got pushed back to the afternoon and one got rescheduled for friday.

we spent some time hanging out with meredith. mommy and meredith stayed in their pajamas for a long time...so we didn't take pictures!

then we did some hanging out on the couch.

we read some books.

and we went to our first physical therapy appointment.

the pt was GREAT. it looks like this will be a short-term situation. she thinks we'll only need to see her for about 5 weeks. max has a mild case of torticollis. we just need to work with turning both ways, increase tummy time, and do some daily stretches!

we ended our day with our first taste of green beans. they were a hit!