Saturday, November 15, 2008

What a Character!

Here is Maxwell with some new friends he has made recently. He barely survived the death grip from Darth Vadar.




















This last one is a picture of 2 puppas sleeping. :-)
Good night all!

Friday, November 7, 2008

Halloween Photos

Sorry it took me a little while to add more photos!

David didn't like the idea of spending money on more dog costumes, so as you can see in these pictures, the tags are still on the puppas' outfits. I took them back to Target. :o( But not before getting a few shots!

Here is Skeletucker:

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And monstriffin (that one doesn't work as well):

OWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!
(insert monster dog-howling-at-moon sound here)

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It's tiring for a puppa to be all dressed up with nowhere to go:

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Either that or he just gives up. I think I have the same pose last year in his cop uniform!

And the photos you have all been waiting for, the little pumpkin!
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Unfortunately, a Grandma Pumpkin showed up to trick-or-treat at our door and completely showed up Maxwell's pumpkin outfit!

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Last but not least, hopefully by now you have all had a chance to watch the cutest video we have of Maxwell yet. Here are a couple stills of him playing in front of the mirror with his "twin" for over 45 minutes!

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Happy Belated Halloween!

Until I blog again,
Jen

Friday, October 31, 2008

Happy Halloween!

Luckily for Southern California kids, the weather has finally cooled off. I have had the windows in the house open for two days now, as it has been cooler, breezier, and even a little rainy. That's the way it has to be on Halloween. My memories of trick-or-treating as a kid all involve me having an elaborate costume on UNDER my winter coat! (And many times an umbrella had to be added to the ensemble!) On Wednesday afternoon as it was once again 90 degrees, I thought of how weird it would feel to have it that warm on Halloween. Luckily, today has turned out to be just the kind of day I like for this holiday, cool and a little dreary. Perfect!

Maxwell and I have had a busy week. Even though we didn't get to see "Aunt" Erynn since she was out of town, we stopped in for a beverage at Starbucks. This kid loves it there, and I am sure he will know the store and appreciate it more once he'll be able to have a treat when we go.
As for now, it's just fun to sit in the big chair!

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We also had our 7 month photo shoot. He hasn't grown at all since the 6th month photo, so this one doesn't look much different, but I think he does get cuter each time!

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His Mr. Bear scrapbook is now more than half way done! I can't believe how fast this time has gone by! If you look closely at the picture, though, you can see those two little teeth that are poking out! That's right; Maxwell had #2 break through two days ago. No fuss, just there it was! We are so lucky to have such an easy-going baby!

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Griffin and Tucker have been really great with the baby ever since we brought him home. They didn't necessarily welcome him with open...paws...but they tolerated him. Yet now as Maxwell gets bigger and can start to do things with them, I think they like him more. When Maxwell sits on the floor playing with his toys, Tucker will bring one of his toys over and drop it in his lap, wanting to play fetch! Mommy has to be quick to be the one to throw, though, otherwise that dog toy will end up right in Maxwell's mouth! And Griffin is very possessive. He barks like crazy at visitors if he doesn't know them well, and wherever Maxwell and I go, Griffin is never far behind. Even during our photo shoot, Griffin was sitting close by. This is one of my favorite shots from the day:

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Today we went to the pumpkin patch to get our pumpkins. I just got little ones because we can't carve one with Maxwell quite yet. He had a bit of an allergic reaction to the sugar pumpkin he ate a few weeks ago, so our pumpkins will have faces drawn on, instead of carved. Hopefully as he gets a little older he won't be allergic to them, but for now, everything goes straight into the mouth, and we'll have to hold off this year. He seems a little wary, don't you think?

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Maxwell didn't seem to happy to be in the center of an entire patch of pumpkins either, but I couldn't resist posting this photo:

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He definitely gets his chubby cheeks and that big lower pouty lip from me!

More photos later after we go trick-or-treating tonight and tomorrow!

Monday, October 20, 2008

Not only am I back in business...

but I am finally online!

Check out my personal business website at:

http://www.partylite.biz/sites/jenniferingham

Friday, October 17, 2008

I've got a tooth!

I'd post a picture, but you can't really see it yet. But Maxwell had his first tooth come in a couple days ago. I think it was just on the surface for a few days, and then yesterday it for sure broke the surface. He didn't really eat anything yesterday, he slept poorly, and he was breaking out in this painful sounding cries for no apparent reason. All while grabbing at his chin. Yeah, definitely getting a tooth!

It is very little and sharp and cute, and it will be fun to see his adorable gummy smile transform into a tooth-filled one!

Saturday, October 11, 2008

Watch out!

There is a fire advisory out for where David and I live today, actually for where Mom and Shelly and Steve live, too. I knew this before I even got out of bed today. How, you may ask? No, I am not developing psychic powers. But it is never fun to wake up, and after you lift your head from the pillow, your hair stays behind. I am now wishing that I hadn't cut my hair because I forgot that I wouldn't be able to put it in a ponytail on low humidity days such as this one. Static-y hair is one of the most annoying things I can think of. Blah!

But on to more important matters...

I think it was about five years ago that the wildfires were really, really bad by us. So bad that Simi Valley, where my mom lives (and I did at that time), was on the news every night, with tales of thousands and thousands of acres burned. The beautiful landscape heading into Simi Valley was replaced by charred hillsides with empty and vacant remains, showing only the dark remnants of what used to flower the land. It was there for months, a reminder of how scary it was on those days; Jeff and I sat on the rooftop of our house and watched the neighbors do the same, as we watched the hill across the street burn, wondering if it was going to take a turn and force us out of our homes. Our cars were packed for weeks with clothes, essentials, and photo albums in case we were forced to evacuate.

The weather this morning reminds me of that time. For weeks it has been so incredibly hot; ninety plus, heading somedays in the hundreds have made the last weeks of September and the first few days of October an incredibly uncomfortable fall. And then last night and today, it cooled off so much that we slept with our window open and pulled out the big, fluffy blanket to cuddle under. But that same thing happend in 2003. Luckily, David and I now live far enough away from any hills, that I am confident that we would be safe, but what about our Burbank friends and neighbors who aren't? What about Mom and Jeff, still in that same house in Simi Valley, that could potentially be at risk once again?

I hope, as the winds increase and the humidity stays so low, that we aren't faced with that fate once again. The fires that will inevitably start, as they do every fall, will no doubt cause acres and acres of damage once again. The fools that start these fires aren't going to be reading my little blog, so I guess my venting about it won't help anything.

Stay safe California!

Saturday, October 4, 2008

Even babies need alone time.

Apparently, Maxwell is at that stage where he does something new everyday and goes through new phases every week.

While the squealing and screaming phase is still around, it is a little less, thankfully. But the last two days, he has started something new: alone time. I guess sometimes even babies need to be alone and chill. He eats, he naps, we play...but sometimes he gets crabby and just wants me to go away.

Like now. He was in his exersaucer and I thought we were having fun, but what do I know? He got crabby, so I checked his diaper, checked to see if he was hungry, and tried putting him on the floor to roll around. Nothing worked. I put him back in his exersaucer so that I could use the little girls room, and he was fine the whole time I was gone. When I came back and sat in front of him, he whined. When I got up and walked away, he was fine again. So, it seems that my son is sick of me. Or at least that every once in a while he needs to just chill. So right now he is in there, playing with his toys and watching Tucker sleep in front of him on the couch. And I get to write this.

Now, don't get this phase confused with the absolute polar opposite phase where he starts crying the moment he can't see me or if I leave the room. That one is fun, too. It's a fun little game I get to play trying to figure out which mood he is actually in!

I love my little boy so much. I love that he loves me and wants to play with me, but I also love that sometimes he just wants to be alone. Because guess what? Mommy does, too.

:o)

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Back in Business

After taking a year off my consultant duties I am back in business. This October, I am starting up my partylite business again, and I need all the help I can get. Please let me know of anyone else who may be interested in earning a little extra cash every month, or who would like to earn some cool candles and accessories by hosting a show!

Thanks!

Jennifer Ingham
Independent Consultant
Partylite
jennifer.ingham@yahoo.com
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Monday, September 29, 2008

Six months old!

It is so hard for me to believe our son is six months old! It really does still feel like yesterday that I was running to the bathroom to be sick eight times a day...but that was now a year ago!

If I close my eyes I can imagine the anticipation I felt the night before David and I went to the hospital to have the baby: how we paced the living room, anxiously waiting for it to be time, walked around his room looking at all the things that we had prepared for him, knowing that all the classes and preparation we had done were going to be nothing compared to what we were about to experience. Maxwell was 9 pounds when he was born, but he still felt tiny in my arms the first time I held him. I don't want my memories of those first few weeks and months to slip away, but they already are. I see him as he is today, smiling and talking to me while playing by my feet in his exersaucer. Squealing at Griffin as he jumps off the couch and comes over to sniff the little baby nose. Sitting in his high chair eating real food that I have prepared for him knowingly, not just the wondrous breast milk that my body creates all on its own. Getting smiles just by looking at him, rather than searching for that "gas" smile that newborns unknowingly give us.

The changes in this little boy have been gradual and sudden at the same time. He is so different than he was a few months ago, a month ago, a week ago. But now, I feel like he is learning and doing new and different things every day. Today he can spin himself in his exersaucer to play with all the different toys, while yesterday he was still planted in one spot. I am amazed at everything he is learning to do, and while watching him learn and grow, I get excited about all the other milestone and changes we have yet to come. I also understand now how people can get that itch to have another baby.

My baby still is that, a baby. But look how fast he is growing into a little man.

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Friday, September 19, 2008

Sorry Skunk Fans...

So, Shelly and I were talking and we decided that the best part of a skunk costume is the tail. Agreed? Well, Maxwell doesn't walk yet, and though he will probably be crawling by Halloween, it isn't definite. So we'd hate to not be able to show off the best part of a costume, so I'm afraid we're going to wait with the skunk for another year. It's winning the poll, so we'll have to do it sometime or you'll all be mad!

I'd tell you to vote for another, but I think we have a winner....I guess you'll all just have to be surprised!

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

He's got banana in his hair.

Maxwell is eating solids. It sure is fun.

No, really...it is! I love seeing the look of his face when he takes the first bite of something. Even when it is a food that he has had before, he gets this "what did you just put in my mouth" look on his face.

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Then he realizes he likes it and smiles and opens up for more.

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Breakfast is the usually the cleanest meal of the day. I don't know why. He is much messier with his veggies at lunch and dinner. Except for this morning, hence the title of this blog. :o)

I am making all of his food myself. All homemade, organic fruits and veggies for this little guy! For now, anyway. I bought some jars, because the homemade goodies don't travel very well, so those guys get popped into the diaper bag from time to time. But most days, he gets a few cubes of mommies yummies! I spent quite a few hours over the weekend with the help of Grandma Paulette making all this stuff, but it should last us quite a while.

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It's amazing how different Maxwell is now than a few weeks ago. He is starting to sit up on his own without too much support, and can even last a few minutes before he starts to topple over. He is now able to sit up in a high chair at a restaurant or in the cart at the grocery store in his special seat...which is good for Mom and Dad because he is getting really heavy to cart around in the carseat!

Here he is at Buca for dinner in Irvine on Sunday:
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We had a good visit with Grandma and Grandpa Ingham the last two days. They got to see him twice this month, so that was definitely a treat! And he really is so much fun! He plays with his toys more, and he talks and laughs, make that squeals, a lot.

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It's even fun to watch him sleep!

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All in all, it's been a fun couple of weeks with my growing "little" (almost 18 lbs and 27+ in.) guy! It just keeps getting better!


By the way, here is our recent attempt to get a photo to match the title of the blog. I think Griffin and Tucker were freaked out, and Maxwell was too sleepy after bathtime to sit up on his own!

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Oh, yes. And as this blog has been all about Maxwell, and let's be honest, most of them probably will be and that's probably why you're reading it anyway, Mom and Dad and the rest of the gang are all doing well, too!

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

New Blog

It seems like it has been awhile since I have written anything. For a while there, I was writing random happenings in my life and then BAM! Enter, Maxwell. Everything is now about him, isn't it? Not that I am complaining in the least; he is the COOLEST!

In my efforts to phase out my myspace and blog over there, I have created a blogspot. My friend Jen Geib has one, and I want to be just like her!

Feel free to visit and comment. Who knows how often I'll update this; it all depends on how often Maxwell sleeps. Or does something interesting. :o)