Merry Christmas!

Max had a great first Christmas! He woke up in the new pjs that grandma got for him and had fun opening his presents. He really enjoyed the ribbon more than anything else, but he had fun nonetheless! Then we made the snowy trek up to Bob and Jaja's house and had a great time visiting, eating, and finishing the night playing cards. Max had his own deck that he was playing with/trying to eat! We ended up staying the night up there since the roads were pretty icy, Max finally made it to bed at 12:30 after his busy day!

Our Sledding Adventure

Today we took Max out to the small hill between our house and our neighbors' and we went sledding. Max enjoyed playing out in the snow, even enjoyed being buried to his waist in it! We have somewhere around 8-10 inches out so sledding conditions were perfect. After Max went inside dad stayed outside for another hour and sledded down the big hill with all of the neighborhood kids, they even made a jump and caught some great air!

Max's First Snowman!

We are in the midst of a little blizzard and we took Max out for his first adventure in the snow! We built a snowman (minus a nose and mouth) and Max had fun crawling around in the snow, he didn't seem to mind the cold at all!

Max the motor boat

Max has mastered a new capability. Everywhere Max goes he likes to show off his new talent. So far he has received rave reviews. Turn up your volume and enjoy. The video is a little fuzzy because it was taken on a digital camera, but you can hear Max loud and clear.

Grandma and Grandpa took Max to the Frontier Bank children's party last night. Here he is meeting Santa for the first time.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Max enjoyed his first Thanksgiving dinner, consisting of yams and pears, we were going to give him a tiny bit of turkey, but that will just have to wait. Here is Max at the dinner table ready to chow down!

Latest Max news

Max has been up to a lot lately, however, we've been a little behind with the blog, so here is an update for everyone.
1). Max's third tooth came in yesterday. The front right on the top.
2). Max made his first cell phone call on Thanksgiving. While playing in his saucer with mom's cell phone, he started to get fussy. This fussiness led to crying so mom picked him up and took him upstairs. When they came back down mom had a missed call from grandma. Apparently, Max had called grandma and left a message crying for help. Max is already learning that when he doesn't get his way with mom and dad, call grandma!
3). Max officially loves prunes. See below.

Fort Schroder

Daddy introduced Max to a childhood favorite a couple weeks ago. Using all of the cushins from both couches and the bar stools, we created quite the fort. Dad has always loved building forts, so he can't wait for the next one.

Time to bubble wrap the house!

Max is now officially mobile, making his way from room to room, he has become quite the efficient crawler! Last Wednesday he also pulled himself up to a stand on the hearth, and since then he has been making this a favorite activity, leading me to seriously consider the bubble wrap. As if that weren't enough, today he has stood up all by himself three times, without even a wobble!

Max the Mover!

Max crawled for the first time today! He made it a short distance this afternoon with grandma, and then this evening he was so motivated to get to Dad's laptop that he made it almost 5 feet! Now we have to safety-proof the house!

Happy Halloween!

Max had a busy first Halloween! First, on Thursday Max went with dad to the company potluck at Allyis where he and dad (monkey and banana respectively) won first place for best costume for kids! Then, on Halloween day mom and Max went and met Sarah and Jacob, and Tiffany and Gavin up at Sarah's house to play. Then we waited until dad got home from work and we visited grandpa Jim, then Jaja, Bob, and Adam, then autie Jennie and uncle Derek and cousins Taylor and Jackson, then finally wrapped the night up seeing grandma Candice and Grandpa Nick. Max actually went out Trick-or-Treating in Jaja's neighborhood where he was quite a hit. All in all a very fun day, now Max is wiped out!

Max waved good-bye!!!

Max spent the day with Jaja and Bob and we have some exciting news. Bob waved good-bye to him and Max waved back all on his own. Good job Max!

Greetings from Max

Family doesn't let family vote for McCain/Palin.

My name is Maxwell Taylor Schroder and I approve this message. Please double click my pic to see my button.

Max at the pumpkin patch

Max joined dad for a lazy Saturday at the pumpkin patch in Snohomish. Here is picture of Max and his buddy Gavin playing with a gourd. As you can see, they were really amused. Max was sporting his new pumpkin hat for the special occasion. Next year Max will be big enough to help dad pick out a pumpkin.

Max trying to catch water

Jaja and Bob took Max for a 3 mile walk by the Snohomish River this past week. It was an unusually hot day so Max needed a bath when we got home. Here is Max in Jaja's kitchen sink trying to catch water.

Piano Man

Jaja has been busy teaching Max to play The Farmer In The Dell. Here is Max singing along.

Meeting the Great-Grandparents!

Max was finally able to meet his great-grandma and great-grandpa Taylor. They are visiting from Utah for two weeks and Max is excited to get to know them. He first met them two days ago when they arrived. Today, we all took a road trip over to Whidbey Island to see the house they used to live in and to meet an old friend for lunch. We then took the ferry home. It was a nice day. To finish it up, Grandma and I made homemade sweet potatoes and sweet squash for Max. He tried the potatoes but I think he's still on the fence about them. We'll get there.

First attempt at camping

Over the weekend Dad had a BBQ competition at Alki Beach. We all left for Alki early Saturday morning, pitched our tent, and started cooking. Max did great, but we think it was all just a bit too much excitement, because we would not sleep at all. At 10pm, after two 20 minute naps all day, he was still wide-eyed and playing. We finally decided to go home for the night when everyone started up their smokers, there was a nice BBQ haze up and down the shoreline. Probably not the best for Max to breathe. Mom and Max packed up and by the time we drove a half block Max was sound asleep. Dad later reported that it was freezing at night, so Mom and Max were happy to wake up in a nice warm house. We then headed down the next morning for some more fun BBQing. Later that day Grandma and Grandpa Nick came down and picked Max up and then auntie Jennie babysat while Mom and Dad went to the Seahawks game (boo). Overall a great weekend, we will just probably have to wait until next summer to get a full night of camping in!

Max at Book Club

Max had a good time visiting
with the ladies at Grandma's
Book Club last night. His recommendation for a good
read was Baby Beluga, his new
book from our trip to the aquarium.

Time to Grub!

Max had his first taste of rice cereal this morning. At first he didn't quite know what to think of it, but after the first bite we think he enjoyed it...at least the part that stayed in his mouth:-) He also will have a little bit more help with eating from now on, his second tooth came through today!

First Trip to the Aquarium

Max, Mom, and Grandma took a trip to Seattle yesterday to visit the Aquarium! Max slept on the drive down and he took a couple of exhibits to wake up, but once he did he really enjoyed looking at all of the brightly colored fishes! He especially liked the green ones, the yellow ones, and the jelly fish. We also saw otters, seals, and sea lions. We had a great time!

Max's First Tooth!

Daddy got a very exciting phone call from Jaja today while she was watching Max- his first tooth just broke through! We thought he'd been drooling alot lately!

Max's First Mariners Game

Last Friday Max enjoyed his first trip to Safeco Field to watch the Mariners play. We took a walk around the ballpark, then went to the Hit-It-Here Cafe where we ended up watching the Seahawks game on TV. Max liked looking at the ballfield, but he liked watching his favorite Seattle team on TV better!

Max celebrates his four month birthday in Canada

On Friday Max headed out with mom, dad, and friend Sarah up to Whistler for the Canadian National BBQ championships. Friday was his four month birthday. There was a rock slide on the Sea to Sky highway so we had to take a little detour... the "scenic" route ended up taking 7 hours, but Max was such a good boy and didn't cry once on the long trip. Once there Max rooted on team beerbque and got to meet lots of new bbq'ers. He was a little out of sorts being so far from home, but overall he had lots of fun. We just got back from the long trip and pictures will be coming soon.

P.S. major milestone - Max sat up for the first time by himself on Sunday, August 3. Good job Max!

Peek-a-boo!

Max decided to play peek-a-boo with mommy after a bath one night, he's a playfull little guy! Also, last night he rolled over from his back to his tummy, such a strong boy!

Max rolled over for the first time today!

Max was having tummy time today, put his rear in the air and rolled right over. He was pretty happy! Here he is practicing again.

It's bright out here!

Max went on his first ferry ride last week. We took the boat from Steilacoom to Anderson Island. Max got some sun in his eyes so he borrowed daddy's shades - what a cool dude!

Dads Just Wanna Have Fun

Mom is not the only one having fun these days. Max, his dad, and his grandpa spent the Father's Day weekend together. Grandpa Schroder was in Washington to meet Max for the first time. They seemed to hit it off! Here is a picture of us playing.

Max's First Time Volunteering!

Today Max helped grandma and her friends serve lunch to the workers building houses for Habitat for Humanity. He liked volunteering and meeting all the nice people. He was full of smiles but after all the hard work he fell asleep in his Baby Bourne. After that we went and visited Aunt Jenny, Uncle Derek and cousins Jackson and Taylor. What a fun day! To top of a great day, Mom, Dad and Max get to spend the night at Jaja's!

Max at the BBQ Competition

Max enjoyed a nice afternoon at daddy's BBQ competition at Central Market last weekend. Here he is watching dad in action, while sitting in grandma's lap. He proved to be dad's good luck charm, he won first place!

Max's Furry Friend

Here is Max with his furry friend Nigel. Nigel is mom and dad's anniversary bear from Cannon Beach. Max likes to lay on dad's pillow with the blankets pulled up, it puts an instant smile on his face. Max is waving "hi" to the camera.

Another fun play date!

Max enjoyed a fun afternoon over at Gavin's house last week. Sophie and Jacob Shafer also came over to play. The kids had lots of fun and the mom's had a great time catching up!

Happy 2 Month Birthday Max!

Max is 2 months old today, my how time flies! He spent the first part of the morning playing with mom and dad (he really likes to lay in our bed on dad's side with his head on the pillow, instant smiles!), and then he got a bath and now he is taking a little nap to recover from all the fun.

Here is a picture of Max with Jaja from yesterday, he is in the sweater and hat that Deb made for him.

Rub-a-dub-dub in the tub!

Here is Max covered in suds. He really loves his bath time. Mom has started spoiling him by warming up his towel in the dryer before he gets out of the bath...I sure wish I had that treatment.

Trip to Snoqualmie Falls

With all of our recent sunshine the snow is melting in the mountains so we decided to take a trip to see the falls. They were absolutely beautiful. Max slept through most of the trip, and he stayed comfy in his carrier that he is finally big enough to use...he is up to ten pounds!

A posting from Maxwell

Mother's Day 2008

Mother's Day

Max gave me the best Mother's Day present...a big smile!

A posting from Maxwell

I stayed at Jaja's house last night and here I am, snug as a bug with Jaja. She lets me use my dad's blue baby blanket that Grandma Violet made when I visit her. When I get fussy, Jaja takes me to the kitchen sink and runs warm water all over my feet for several minutes and I forget all about crying.

Play date with Gavin!

Max had his first play date today with Gavin Gash. Gavin's mom, Tiffany, brought him over and the boys mostly slept and ate the whole time, while mom and Tiffany caught up, very enjoyable for all!

Happy 1 month birthday Max!

Max is one month old today! Time sure flies. We went to his well-child visit today and everything looks great. Max went from the 10th percentile to the 25th percentile in weight, he is up to 8lbs, 14.5oz, keep it up Max!

Sleep-over with Grandma

Grandma and Max had a sleep-over last night. They got to stay in the guest room. They both slept pretty well and only got up 3 times to sneak some snacks!

Grandma brought over a couple of really cute outfits that her friends Lisa and Jane bought for Max in Paris, France! Max really liked them. They have French writing on the front so Dad emailed his French friend to find out what they say.

NFL Draft 2008

Max woke up this morning wondering if the Seahawks were looking at a tight end or a defensive tackle, but they shocked us and took Lawrence Jackson from USC, a defensive end. At least he's from USC. Max and Pat didn't agree with the selection. Dad cooked up some good food, Max can't wait until he has teeth and can enjoy some good BBQ. The draft is over and now Max is falling asleep in dad's arms.

A walk with mom and dad

It was a beautiful day out so we took Max on a walk to Bothell High School and back home. We met some neighbors who got to see Max for the first time along the way. Max really enjoyed getting some fresh air!

A posting from Maxwell ( with help from Jaja)

Dad went back to work at Allyis on Tuesday, April 22nd. He was tired after his first week of work but Jaja thought mom and dad should take a little break so she came over to babysit with Bob. Jaja likes to wrap me up in a big blanket and cuddle. She also likes to sing little songs to me that she sang to my dad when he was little. I didn't even have to cry once while mom and dad were gone. Jaja hasn't taken care of a new baby in almost 29 years, but she did a good job.

When my mom got home she panicked at first because she didn't see me. To her surprise, I was just hanging out with Bob.

P.S. For those of you who don't know, Jaja is my dad's mom. I call her Jaja because it means grandmother in Luganda, which is the language spoken in Uganda.

Max's First Walk with Mom and Grandma

Max took Mom and Grandma for a walk this afternoon. We went on the Mill Creek trail by Grandma's house. We were going to do a little shopping on the way back but Max got pretty hungry so we went back to Grandma's house for dinner.

Uncle Adam Visits

Uncle Adam came by yesterday for his first visit with Max outside of the hospital. Adam brought Max a new baseball outfit from his recent trip to San Francisco. As you can see from the picture, Max really enjoyed getting to know Adam.

First Shopping Experience

We braved the snow and cold weather and headed out to Alderwood Mall to find Max some new threads. I didn't realize there were elevators in the mall until today. We found Max some cute new outfits. At first everything went great, but then Max decided to cry in the middle of Macy's. Now I understand what it feels like to have everyone looking at you and questioning your parenting skills. I must say, it's rather uncomfortable. It was a short-lived cry and Max recovered as soon as we hit the elevators down.

Max is two weeks old today!

Max is officially two weeks old today. He is really starting to look like dad, especially the nose and mouth. In fact, during our pediatrition visit today, two elderly women commented on how much he looked like me. Here is his latest photo.

2 week check-up

Max went in for his 2 week check-up today and he is up to 7lbs 3oz, what a big boy!

Car Ride with Grandma

Max had his first car ride with Grandma driving yesterday. We did ok. Grandma was very nervous but Max didn't cry and remained calm. Grandma had very white knuckles.

Bath Time

Max took his second bath since being home. He was a little squirmy, probably because he was cold. Opposite from his first bath, this time he didn't mind getting his body washed, but he wasn't really a fan of getting his hair washed. I can't wait until he fits into his frog bath towel.