I have been remiss in my blogging lately, I apologize to my readers. If you're dedicated enough to still be checking the blog, thank you, and I promise to try to do better! Max is 5 and a half months old already. How did that happen? He is so much fun. Thankfully he seems to have kept his easy going personality, hopefully that will stick with him for the long haul. He still hasn't mastered rolling over, but he's come really close to rolling from back to tummy a few times. That darn arm gets in the way and keeps him from going all the way over. He can sit up if he has a bit of support, and will stand briefly also (of course, not without us holding him up!). The other day we inadvertently discovered his new favorite game. Here's how it's played: I hold Max and walk up or down the stairs. Jeff walks behind us and Max looks over my shoulder at him. And it's just that easy! We did it last night and Max was laughing. We're not sure exactly what the appeal is, but we're happy to indulge him, that laugh is the sweetest sound.

We've enjoyed some company lately. A few weeks ago we had Jeff's brother Greg, our niece Elizabeth, Leah (Greg's awesome girlfriend) and Leah's daughter Emma come for the weekend. The girls really enjoy talking to Max now that he is a bit more interactive than when he was in that newborn "potted plant" stage. They are coming back tomorrow for the Labor Day weekend and we are looking forward to more time with them. Last weekend our friends Matt and Mandy came from Minnesota for a long weekend. It was great to have some time with them and to show them around Seattle a bit. Visitors are always welcome if any of you want to head our way!

Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers next Wednesday, September 9. I'll be having oral surgery that day. I can't remember if I've posted about it here, but I had a crown fall out, leaving a hole where one of my top teeth should be. To make a long story short, they can't just put another crown in. So the oral surgeon has to take what's left of the old tooth out and put an implant in. Sometimes this is a two-step process with a four month wait in between, but he is hopeful that he'll be able to do both of these things on Wednesday. Then I wait about four months for the bone to grow around the implant, and then my dentist can put in a new crown. Whew! In the meantime my dentist made me a "flipper," which is a fake tooth on a retainer-type thing that I can snap in and out for cosmetic purposes, but I'm not supposed to eat with it and it makes me talk with a bit of a lisp, so I don't wear it all the time. At any rate, dental work of any kind is no picnic, and I'm really not looking forward to this. I'll be very glad when it's over!

Pictures, pictures, I've got pictures! Let's start off with a couple of Maxwell's five month shots:







Here's Max with his Uncle Greg:




With Mama:




Taking a rest from the hard work of tummy time:




Max"s Grandma Helen got him this cute outfit when they were visiting, and now it fits!