The Two Month Mark!

Can you believe today (10/6/09) marks two months since Max's arrival? I sure can't! I can't even begin to tell you how much joy little Max has showered us with in the past two months. He has been an enormous blessing.

A lot has happened since our last post. Most importantly, he's smiling (he is sleeping in the picture above, but it still resembles a smile - that pic was taken at the Dr). It is the greatest. We visited the pediatrician a couple of weeks ago and everything looked good. He weight 9 lbs 1 oz (15th percentile) and was 22 3/4 inches long (75th percentile). We had a visit from Lizzie Shepherd and she taught us some of the tricks of the trade that she acquired from her experience with her girls. I am a little afraid to type it for fear of jinxing things, but Max is sleeping at least one 5 hour stretch in the night. It is amazing. I am finally feeling a little rested.

I am done supervising student teachers for this semester, so my only obligation is teaching part-time for Insight Schools and hanging out with my boy! Zak and I feel very blessed that I am able to stay at home with Max and earn some extra money working for KU and for Insight Schools. It really is a great set-up.

Things to come: HALLOWEEN. Would it surprise you if I said that I currently have three Halloween costumes in the running for Max? It is a little ridiculous, but my am I having a blast with it!

Little Jayhawk fan AND little big boy shoes

Already a hawk fan, and proudly sporting his first pair of tennis shoes from my dad and step-mom.

Big Visit from Grandpa Rozzelle AND First trip to the pool!

Well, we have been blessed this week with another special visitor - my dad! He spent the week with Zak, Max and I, and we have been doing all kinds of fun things. Grandpa generously stepped in and watched Max while I taught a class at KU and observed one of my student teachers. I don't know if I'll ever know what kind of trouble the got into ;)

We also made time for a visit to the holidome pool. Max must take after mom and dad because he loved the water (well he didn't seem to mind it, which, I figure means he loved it). We'll have him signed up for swim lessons and on the swim team before you know it. It's been a fun week with grandpa!

Stay tuned for more Bolick excitement. After the past few weeks of visitors, we'll be settling into a routine of balancing rest, play time, and a little bit of working for me.

Four weeks today!

It has been really busy here at the Bolick household for the last four weeks, but we are really enjoying watching Max change before our eyes. He is begining to be able to hold his head up, and may be getting on a bit of a schedule. Aside from a couple of near sleepless nights, things have been going pretty smoothly.

My parents were able to come into town this past week, so Max got to meet Grandma & Grandpa Bolick for the first time. They were just smitten to be able to meet Max, and cherished every moment with Jo Marie, Max, and myself.

As always, stay tuned for more to come from our ever changing lives with our pride and joy, Max.

A Week of Firsts!

Welcome home Max, welcome home.

Zak and I have been having a blast caring for Max this past week. Today (Saturday, August 15th) marks one week of being home with him and it has been AMAZING!!!!!! Perhaps I am prejudice because I'm his mamma, but I swear he is the perfect baby. He is eating about every three hours during the day and four to five hours at night (he did have one crazy night of nursing every two hours, but I keep telling myself that was a fluke). He hasn't really cried at all unless he is hungry, and is making this whole parenting thing look easy! Zak has been so blessed to have the first week off. He goes back to work on Monday, so I might be singing a different tune next week.
Since he was a little guy at birth we have already been to the doctor a couple of times to check his weight, and he is gaining well. We were very relieved to hear this. His belly button cord fell off on Thursday, so we were able to give him his first bath. It was so fun. He didn't love it, but he didn't hate it either, so overall I would call it a success!

We will try to keep you updated with the new and exciting happenings in the Bolick household. Right now we are trying to savor every moment with our little boy, because if things go they way people say they do, he'll grow up before we know it.

Introducing Max Christopher Bolick

Well, Max surprised us with his early entry into the world. In the middle of the night on Wednesday night Jo Marie leaked some fluid, so we decided to call the doctor first thing in the morning. The doctor wanted us to head to labor and delivery to check and see if Jo's water had broken. Looking back, it is quite funny to think about our conversation on the way to the hospital. We kept calling the trip our 'practice run.' We were singing along to the radio and having a blast. When we got to the hospital, we kept saying things like "when we do this for real..." So, you can imagine our surprise when the rest of Jo's water broke while being examined and we were officially having a baby. The labor went very smoothly, after an amazing epidural and less than an hour of pushing we welcomed the most beautiful baby boy into the world at 2:32 pm.

He weighed 6 lbs and 14 oz and is 19.5 inches long. He is simply the most beautiful baby in the entire world, and Jo Marie and I are overcome with so much love for such a tiny little guy. Jo Marie keeps saying he is her dream come true, and we couldn't be happier for him to be carrying on the name of such a special woman - Maxine.

Thank you all for you love and support and we can't wait for each and every one of you to meet him. He is simply amazing!


Please stay tuned to our blog to track the life happenings of the new Bolick family!

We're full-term and all stocked up!

It was hard for Jo Marie and I to believe that last Thursday, the pregnancy became full-term! In other words, Max's lungs are ready to go and he could potentially come at any time. With that said, Jo Marie doesn't think he will be making his debut for at least another couple weeks. We are now going to the Doctor every Monday for a check-up, and so far everything is looking great. In the past few weeks, we have been blessed with two showers, one from my friends at Douglas County Bank and one given by Jo's friends and family.

Here is a shot from the Douglas County Bank shower:

And another...

Here is a shot from Jo Marie's family & friends shower:

And another...

We are overwhelmed with every one's love, support, and excitement for Max's arrival. And, yes, that is a rubber duckie floating in the blue punch. Jo Marie finished grad school and helping with Nan & Pops garage sale this past week, so her entire focus now is on getting ready for baby Max! This week, she plans have the car seat installed (thanks Tracey & Alicia for pestering her) and take care of some final preparations in the nursery. Stay tuned for final pictures of the nursery! I think she may be nesting at last! We are both so excited, and we cannot believe it is almost time to meet our son.