Look at me go!

Max is getting more and more mobile these days as he gets braver and starts to let go and step out by himself. I don't know who is more excited by this, Max or his parents! Sometimes Max just gets so excited by being able to walk that he promptly forgets how to do it properly.

On the latest visit from the twin cousins, we tried to take some footage of Max taking some steps to show off on the blog, but it took him a few attempts to get it right. However, these attempts are easily as entertaining as the walking itself, so I thought I'd let you see some of this as well.

(sorry about the sideways video - I couldn't fit in his head and his feet at the same time without turning the camera, and then I don't know how to rotate it later on)

Eventually he did remember how to put one foot in front of the other and make some progress, so here's the proof!

He is improving daily in his walking so we're hoping he can get around a bit more confidently by his birthday, when he can show off this latest skill to (hopefully) many family and friends.

All gone!

It's always cute when little people start to mimic the things they see big people do.

One of the cute things Max has started to do lately is raise his hands and make appropriate noises to copy me when i say 'all gone, Max' and turn my palms upwards. He looks so adorable and the noises even sound like he is saying 'all gone'. Of course I can't help but laugh at him and then he thinks he is very clever and smiles and claps his hands, which makes it even cuter.

Max is enjoying his food a lot at the moment (we think he's having a growth spurt) and this is another reason to enjoy dinner time, so that we can delight in saying 'all gone' together at the end of the meal!

The twins turn 1!

On Saturday Max's twin cousins celebrated their first birthday. It really doesn't seem like a whole year ago since we were telling our peanut that his/her cousins were here! It also means that Max's birthday isn't too far away, another very exciting event.

The twins had their birthday party at a park near their house. Max and I drove up and left Cam here to have a sleep and try to get better from his cold, and Max was very good by deciding to have his afternoon nap in the car on the way there, which meant that he was happy and excited to be at the park for the party. He especially had fun playing with his uncle Cam, who spent ages teaching Max to throw various toys and had him smiling and laughing the whole time.

It was also a good chance for Max to see both his Grandma and his great-grandma. His great-grandma hasn't seen him since he was about 5 months old so she enjoyed watching him play with uncle Cam, show off his walking skills while holding my hands, and having a cuddle.

As you can see, he also enjoyed eating the party food! It was his first introduction to twisties, which he likes very much, and another chance to wolf down some cheerios (tiny sausages, not cereal).

The twins also enjoyed their party and being the centre of attention. I think one of their highlights would be the awesome birthday cakes lovingly made by their mother. They each got to tackle a cake-shaped number 1 while sitting in their high chairs.

Elke (on the left) decided the best way to eat hers was not to bother picking it up, but just planting her face straight into the icing. Gabbie was a bit neater but still evidently enjoyed the icing lots.


All the little ones had a fun party and now we are looking forward to having Max's! (remember to keep the 19th of July free!)

What Makes You Think You Can Do That!!

Last night while Jo was having a shower Max and I were in the lounge room spending some quality son & dad time together. This normally involves the reading of a story putting Max on the walker trolley thing and generally playing.

Last night Max was on the end of our Chaise lounge and was standing there and patting it and smiling when he turned and took a couple of steps towards the couch!! Just as he got to the couch he lost his balanced he face planted the couch. Ouch! But like the trooper he is he barely made a squeak.

When Jo was done we spent some time sitting opposite each other and Max taking a couple of steps between us. He then crawled over Jo and stood up on the walker trolley thing and then turned and took a couple of steps towards the coffee table when he decided to gently land.

Jo and I turned to each other and said do you think he knows he can't walk yet??

We are very excited and scared at the same time as the game has now completely changed that he can walk. We will attempt to catch some footage of this momentous occassion.

Max goes to Women's Retreat

Sorry for the lack of blogging recently! No real excuses except that Max has been a bit sick with a cough and hasn't been sleeping much during the day, which makes it tricky for me to find time to blog.

Anyway, a weekend or two ago Max and Nanny came along with me to our church Women's Retreat up at Coolum. The ladies who organised the sleeping arrangements really looked after us and gave us our own room with a bathroom, which was really handy since it meant Max could have some decent sleeps without disturbing the other ladies and babies (or being disturbed by them!).


All three of us had a great weekend - me because I got to hang out with friends and take a bit of a break from full-time Max-care, Nanny because she got to spend time with her newest grandson (and me I guess) and Max because he got to see his Nanny, have a change of scenery from home and beat up the younger babies who were there (Nathaniel and Zephaniah in the photo - also there were Jesse and Talaini).

Over the weekend we got to spend lots of time relaxing and chatting, listening to speakers, singing praise and worship songs, eating good food, dressing up in fancy clothes and enjoying or providing a bit of pampering. Max was very well behaved for the weekend, but I'm looking forward to next year even more because he will then be weaned and can stay with Daddy instead!

Thanks to the ladies from Logan Church for organising an excellent weekend away - you did an awesome job!

First Mothers Day!

The Batkins were out visiting Max's Grandma and Grandpa for the weekend of Mothers Day since Cam had a meeting in Toowoomba. Max had lots of fun playing out on the farm and getting to know his Pfeffer grandparents on the Saturday. One of his favourite activities was sliding down a piece of cardboard that Grandpa set up on top of a mound of crusher dust that he was using as a base for a new garden shed. Max got the idea of this really quickly and loved leaning forward with his arms out enough to give him some momentum to go sliding down into Grandpa's arms. He gave out lots of smiles and chuckles and everyone had a great time.



On Sunday morning for Mothers Day we all went into Grandma and Grandpa's room to open presents, in long-running Pfeffer tradition. After exchanging them (Max gave me a CD I've been wanting and some chocolates) Daddy and Grandpa took Max and went to make breakfast for us while Grandma and I stayed in bed and chatted. We had a nice time catching up and relaxing and then ate some delicious bacon and eggs in bed! That's definitely the latest I've stayed in bed since before Max came along.

In the afternoon before we headed back to Brisbane we went to visit Max's great-grandma, known to all as Ma. She has a couple of her daughters (Grandpa's sisters, my aunts) visiting her for Mothers Day so there were lots of my cousins for Max to play with, and although they were all quite a bit older than him he loved just watching them run around.

We then had a fairly uneventful trip back to Brisbane except for the last 20 mins or so, when Max was sick of driving and getting hungry. We managed to keep him happy by playing his favourite song ('Clap Your Hands' by They Might Be Giants) about 5 or 6 times in a row! A bit monotonous but it was worth it.

Mummy's Birthday

Today is Max's Mum's birthday. The day started well with Max sleeping in till around 6.20 or so. I know that doesn't seem like much of a sleep in but when he was a bit younger he was up everyday at 5am !!

Max got out of bed and had a feed because their are priorities in life you know. Max then handed Jo the present he had selected which is a DVD of the movie Love Actually. I told Max to hand it to Jo which he did and then took back to play with. When I told Max it was a very important day as it was Mummy's birthday he gave Jo a huge smile some cute noises and lots of clapping. he just kept clapping and clapping.

He seems to be able to pick up on the tone in my voice so well.

I shall update later with some pics.

Happy Birthday Jo!!!