Smiles…

Max had his two-month doctor appointment on Wednesday, and he is now 9 lbs 3 oz and 22 inches long. He went down to 5 percentile in weight but shot up to 48 percentile in height.
Mark’s mom and stepdad (aka Bubbe and Poppy) visited us last weekend, giving Max lots of reasons to practice his newly-arrived smiles. Bubbe took lots of cute pictures (and was on camera herself…last week Max moved out of our room to his nursery, where, via monitor, we can keep on eye on him and eavesdrop on unknowing Bubbes having silly conversations about giant poopies with their grandson)

 
Excited to go for a walk in the park
Excited to go for a walk in the park
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Bubbe took some great photos of the autumn leaves
One of Bubbe's great photos of the autumn leaves
Mommy and daddy saying bye before they head out for their first Max-free dinner date
Mommy and daddy saying bye before their first Max-free dinner date...mmm, sushi
Super babysitters Bubbe and Poppy
Super babysitters Bubbe and Poppy

Max's new favorite toy
Max's new favorite toy

Halloween

For Halloween, we had to do something with Max’s abundant hair, so we made him a punk rocker.

 
Rain put a damper on the trick-or-treating, but we had fun dressing him up.
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Max has been taking lots of walks/strolls in Central Park while the weather allows. On the way home visiting Mark at work one day we had a photo shoot. As you can see, he is getting more wide-eyed and curious about the world each day.Of course, we took lots more photos you can view here.
Admiring the fall leaves
Admiring the fall leaves
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NYC Baby

Max went to the pediatrician on October 20th and weighed in at impressive 8 lbs 1 oz. Afterwards we celebrated with a cheeseburger at Shake Shak. He is getting nice and chubby and starting to develop a double chin and sausage legs and arms.

 
Friday we visited a pediatric ENT because Max sometimes sounds like he has trouble breathing. We were relieved to learn the problem was just a mild case of laryngomalacia (a floppy airway in his throat) that he should outgrow within a few months. And his weight is now 8 lbs 12 oz. Keep eating those cheeseburgers!
mmm...cheeseburger
mmm...cheeseburger
Lunching with the ladies
lunching with the ladies
Each week Max meets new friends and explores new neighborhoods of NYC.

 
The Radio City Rockettes have been rehearsing around the corner from our apartment, so Max has been meeting them for lunch. He doesn’t know how lucky he is to be cooed over by so many beautiful women.
Now that Aunt Courtney moved from Switzerland to Halifax, Canada, she was able to come meet Max. She provided lots of help, doing nighttime feedings, cooking and cuddling. When she was younger, Courtney made her family and friends stage fashion shows, and Max obliged her by going through five outfits in one night when she was taking care of him.

 
Max had already been to the Modern Museum of Art with Brittney and a neighbor baby, and checked out the Metropolitan Museum of Art with his favorite Aunt (sorry other siblings…you have to come visit to be in the running). Which museum did he like better? It’s hard to say, he slept through them both.
 
We also had some nice walks in Central Park with the whole family, enjoying the colorful autumn leaves.
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Of course there are many more photos of our growing boy.
 

King of The Poopies

Last week was our first on our own without Bubbe or Nonna to help with middle-of-night feedings and daytime diaper changes (and yummy home-cooked meals). And our mellow baby learned to scream when he is hungry or poopy. It was rough for a bit, especially a few nights when Max decided he needed to eat every two hours, so we got behind in our blog posts. But, at 3 1/2 weeks, Max is still a dream baby most of the time, sleeping better each night and up for lots of outings and adventures.
 
On Tuesday, September 29th, Max went down to Soho so mommy could get a haircut that was postponed from September 19th. Nonna took him to a fancy chocolate shop, and on the way home he had his first subway ride.
With Nonna in front of a fancy chocolate shop in Soho
Evenings and weekends are Max’s snuggle time with Daddy — and time for Brittney to go out with friends to dance shows, plays and movies, like Fall for Dance with Jessica and Sae La on September 30th. (The next day Max went to his first movie with mommy and Nonna, Bright Star, a period drama about John Keats that he slept right through, just like his daddy would have)
img_3993Going to Fall for Dance with Jessica & Sae La
We have lots of nicknames for Max. Mark likes to call him Spanky, Brittney calls him Baby. Lately both of us have been calling him “King of the Poopies.” We won’t go into stinky details, let’s just say that he is still wearing preemie diapers, which we have to order online, and no matter how many we order, it’s never enough.
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Max spent lots of time with fellow baby William while they were still in their mommies’ tummies, doing prenatal yoga and going out to lunch, but William must have been drinking different water or something — he is only 2 months older than Max but about 3 times his size. Max was 6 lbs 13 oz at his last doctor’s appointment on October 6th, and is at the 5th percentile in size. But he is eating lots and hopefully will catch up with William soon.
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One of our favorite things to do is to meet Mark at work and walk home through Central Park while the weather is still warm enough. Last Wednesday Max got to visit the trading floor — he’s ready to do some business.
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Oh no, we're short gamma!
So many photos, but he is such a good model, and everyday we discover something else we love about him. Some of our favorite things:

– The funny faces and noises he makes before, during and after he eats

– Singing him to sleep

– Watching him grow and change

– Introducing him to friends and family

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Soon he'll be bigger than the penguins...
Soon he'll be bigger than the penguins...