Max 4 Months...

We just wanted to blog some images from Max's 4 month session. This is the 5th of the series that Kelly is doing for Max. If you haven't seen the 4 previous ones just log back to the earlier blogs. We have said it before but we think this just might be our favorite. Kelly was able to capture some great shots even though Max was due for his morning nap. But as you can see, Max was able to fit in a little snooze during the shoot!





In making our Christmas card we realized that we didn't get a chance to photograph Max while we had some family shots done in October so we grabbed a few more of him during this session. We just can't get over how much Max has changed in the last month! He is definitely bigger and is starting to grow a little more hair on top. We think he is going to keep those blue eyes, at least he got one thing from mom, because the rest of him looks like all dad! He is a little man full of many expressions and mom just loves capturing all of them.

November...Come and Gone!

Yes, we know its been far too long since we have last posted! The title of this blog says it all...November was a "whirl-wind" of a month for us. Max got his first cold, which he was such a trooper. He had his 4-month check up, the pediatrician was thrilled with his progress(height, weight, blood work and motor skills). So happy with his progress that he gave us the go on trying solid foods with Max. We were so excited with the news! Much to our surprise Max did great with his first course of solids. He are a couple of images of Max trying cereal...

We have been just having so much fun with Max now that he loves to play and interact. He has found his toes and loves chewing on them along with anything else he can get into his mouth! He is definitely a mover and loves to bounce around.

We did unfortunately had a rough couple of weeks as well. Not only did Max get his first cold he also came down with a bacterial infection during the month of November. When we really think about it, Max was healthy for only one week in November, poor little guy! We were told that the bacterial infection is something we may have to deal with due to his kidney condition. So we will continue to keep Max on a preventative antibiotics to help. We are so thankful that he is so good at taking his medicine.

We headed down to Milwaukee at the end of November and met with Max's renal doctors. They updated us with Max' kidney progress, the news was bittersweet as they have not gotten worse but that they are still dilated and are only functioning at 50%. We may never see a 100% functionality but we are praying for a higher % than 50. Time will only tell. Overall though the Doctors are happy with Max's progress and just tell us to keep up with what we are doing. We will go back at the end of January to see them again, which will be a nice little break from doctor offices!

Despite not feeling the greatest Max did seem to enjoy his first Thanksgiving. He had sweet potatoes for the first time and loved them. Here he is modeling his Thanksgiving bib, thanks to the Bankes Family.

Travis kept himself quite busy with kicking off Winter Sports fundraising with his schools. Thanks to him we have been enjoying many samples of cookies, pastries, pies and popcorn. These are just a few of the products that is working with. He is looking forward to Christmas break so that he can enjoy some time off as well. Kelly has been keeping herself busy with her photography business as well. Just check out her photo blog (http://www.photographybykellyjean.blogspot.com/) that says it all!

Well, after a very long blog we just wanted to end with a few more shots of the little guy. We hope you enjoy...

Daddy and Max sporting the 80's flipped collar polo shirts, too funny

Playing and eating solids can be quite tiring,LOL!

Family Photos

We totally forgot to blog the beautiful family photos that we had taken back in October. Just looking at these images makes us long for warmer weather! Yes, the backgrounds are real, we were on-location and the colors were awesome!
A fellow photographer friend of Kelly's captured these wonderful images for us. We will have to admit Jersey definitely shines in front of the camera, she is just so darn photogenic!
Thanks once again Tricia for your time and talent, the images are priceless!

Halloween Fun

We celebrated Halloween this year with a very special treat, Max our cute little lion! Although he was a little too young for trick or treating we made sure he was able to still participate in a few fun Halloween activities. As you can tell he had a good time in his costume.

We also carved pumpkins and Max sat in on all the fun. Max is enjoying his "Bumbo Chair"and loves being upright.

Daddy thought it would be cute to see if Max fit into his pumpkin, no luck. And you can tell Max wasn't so thrilled with the idea. Thanks to Aunt Dee Dee & Uncle Bob for Max's cute shirt, it fit perfectly!

Here are the Master Pieces all lit up for display

From left to right: Kyle's, Travis', Kelly's & Max's carved pumpkins (thanks to Uncle Kyle for making Max's first pumpkin so cute)

Halloween can be so exhausting!

We also enjoyed an evening out. As always we dress up for Halloween and this year the theme was the Flintstones. We, along with Kyle met up with some friends and had some Halloween fun.

The Gusts & Mengerts or Fred, Wilma, Pebbles & Bam Bam

The whole gang

Travis sporting the bare feet.

We look forward to next year when Max can go trick or treating, that will definitely be a treat for us!

Time...where does it go??

This is the question we keep asking ourselves week after week, especially since Max has been born! Its as if we just can't get enough of it!!

October was definitly a busy month for us. Travis wrapped his fall sports fundraising and has been prepping for winter sports. He is doing well and is enjoying being his own boss. Kelly, well where do we start? She is loving spending her days at home and being a mom. She has been also gotten back into her photography and has really been working hard on her business. She photographed almost every weekend in October and enjoyed every moment of it. She also got a new computer, FINALLY no "hand-me-downs" and it is making life so much easier for her! We would love to invite you to view her blog: http://www.photographybykellyjean.blogspot.com/ You can see for yourself what she has been up to. Also while you are there, you can view Max's 3 month images. Here is a sneak peek of few...

Here is 3rd image of the 12 month series that Kelly is doing for Max. It has been fun looking back at the last two months and seeing all of Max's changes. He is definitly a lot bigger and full of so many expressions.

We were also able to do a little traveling and made a road trip to Antigo to visit Travis's god-parents Eddy and Nana. It was wonderful to introduce Max to them for the first time. Here are a few images from the day.

Kelly was also able to sneak away for a day for a trip to Chicago with her mom, Aunt and cousin. It was dad's official first full day and night with the little guy without mom. I think it was tougher for mom than dad and Max! It was a great trip despite those crazy Chicago drivers!

We also celebrated Jersey's 5th Birthday in the beginning of October. Here is our Birthday Princess enjoying her frosty paw birthday treat!

We will be posting images from Halloween in our next post, so be sure to check back.

A Few of our Favorite Things

Well Fall is here or should we say has come and gone...Burrr! Lately our choice song to sing has been "Rain, Rain Go Away come Back Another Day"! The growing season outdoors has ended but Max's season is never ending! He is growing like a little weed, but one that is cute and we definitely don't want to get rid of!

We thought we would share a few of our favorites that we are currently enjoying...

The joys of Fall: Pumpkins and the Fall Colors


Max's Favorites...

Loves his new Swing (yes he is asleep in this pic but he really does love it)

Bath time, loves to splish and splash

Tummy time on his activity mat

Mom and Dads favorite...Max's smile!!

FYI: Max's doctors appointment at Children's Hospital in Milwaukee went well. He weighed in at 12.5 lbs and is 24 inches long. Blood work for his kidney levels are moving down in the right direction however they are still not at where they need to be. Good news is that his bladder and tissue surrounding his bladder looks great which means his surgery was a success. Not so good news is that the kidney function is still a 50%, they are still dilated and there is some retention. The doctors continue to be hopeful that in time the kidneys could correct themselves, if not then we will need to look at other options. He are praying that we don't need to look at the other options! Max will need to continue to have labs done which now that he is little more mobile tends to be trying. He really is a good sport though and loves to flirt with those nurses! We head back to Children's at the end of November, we will continue to keep you all posted.

Sunday Morning

We thought we would share a few images of how we enjoy our Sunday mornings or at least how

Jersey, Travis and Max do. While mom makes breakfast the rest of the family hangs out in the four seasons room. This rooms tends to be a family favorite. Max loves looking out all the windows while the pets love looking at any creature that scurries along the yard. Here are a few shots mom was able to sneak...