Baby's First Birthday

Little Maxwell had his first birthday yesterday! The kids were super pumped about it. Max really could care less. :) We had lots of family and friends over for cake and ice cream after dinner. It was low-key and fun. Max was pretty sober and thoughtful the whole evening. I don't think we got one picture of him smiling. I think he thought we were all crazy for paying so much attention to him! He did LOVE his cake, though. First time he had cake and he had a grand old time devouring it and smushing it everywhere. It was pretty fun to watch! My grandma was the first to arrive at the party and wanted to hold Max. This was Max's reaction. I think it's so funny!

Here's what you've all been waiting for.....the cake pictures! Isn't he so funny? I love that he opted to shove his face down into the cake instead of pick it up. So cute.

Luke asked to hold Sarah's sweet baby, Alyssa, and then Rachel had to have a turn too. So cute!

I made this cute timeline of pictures of Max's first year.  Thank you, Pinterest!  It was so fun to see the progression. He's changed so much, especially in the past 3-4 months.

We have this funny cake hat and of course, we HAD to put it on Max on his birthday. Luke did the honors!

It was an awesome day! Max got some of the most darling clothes and cutest toys. Thanks for sharing your love with us, everyone! The kids were so funny (i.e. annoying) with the present-opening. Rachel and Luke decided they would take turns "helping" Max open the gifts. It started off great and then quickly derailed as Luke and Rachel frantically tried to beat each other in opening the next gift. Oh well. That's what you get with siblings, right? And it's all recorded for them to laugh at when they're older. :)

Here's what's up with Max these days:

• He knows how to boogie!  Whenever we turn on music or ask him to dance, he can shake it and it's pretty darn adorable!
• He has a very small appetite (except for in the above cake pictures!) and doesn't eat too much at meals.  He's also begun to be a bit finicky in his eating.  
• He loves the vacuum!  Isn't that strange for a baby?  He chases it around and laughs whenever I vacuum.
• He loves to just roam around the house and explore.  As long as we close the right doors (like the bathroom) he's totally fine going up the stairs, going down the stairs, in and out of rooms checking stuff out.  He rarely sits and plays, unless someone sits and plays with him--and even then, it's only for a few minutes before he's off again!
• He's got four teeth--two on top, two on bottom.
• Can pull up and cruise around, and has even stood alone for a few seconds, but hasn't taken any steps yet.  
• He's quite small, especially for my babies.  He still easily fits into 9-12 month clothes.
• He loves to climb!  Stairs, chairs, stools, ladders, people.  :)  
• He loves to roll balls back and forth.
• He can wave and clap his hands now!  Although his claps are more like little fist bumps.  So cute!
• Loves the game peek-a-boo and loves to be chased around.
• Likes to play with his siblings and be around them. 
• Can say "uh oh", "ma ma", "da da", and "Emma"  (Emma is thrilled!)
• Is a quiet, thoughtful baby.  Don't get me wrong--he can shriek and scream like the best of them, but generally, he's pretty quiet and doesn't smile a ton around other people.   

We love our little Maxi so much!  He is so sweet and loving and an absolute joy in our family.  We are all a bit sad that he's growing up, but at the same time, we are loving his cute little personality that develops more and more every day!  Happy birthday little buddy!