with thankful hearts...

...good news! max's heart is healthy! he does not have a heart murmur, which is great news. he does have a small flap in between his upper and lower chambers of his heart but this will close on its own without any medical intervention. we have a check up at the cardiologist in 1 year just to make sure the flap closes. praise God for protecting our little man's heart...He truly is a great God!

blue eyed boy

this blue eyed boy loved having his daddy home today...

...but not as much as his mommy!

say cheese!

max has started to smile. he 1st smiled at me the week after christmas, then for joey a few days later, and the list keeps growing of who has been blessed to see this:

he's still a little inconsistent and we haven't found the trick to getting him to smile on cue, but i feel that it is very close bc he smiles more everyday.....

seeing this makes all the tough days (and nights) worthwhile!

2 months

max is 2 months old...

he weighs 9.6 lbs (10%)

he is 23 inches long (50%)

his head is 38 1/2 cm around (25%)

the good news: he is growing well and also has had his shots so we can get out of the house even more now!

the not-so good news: he is a little under the weight the dr would like him to be (so we are adding an extra bottle feeding); he has torticollis (which means we need to stretch/exercise his neck muscles so he will look to the left more); and we have to make a visit to a cardiologist for a possible heart murmur (which is a small hole in the heart that usually heals on its own)

the only news that was a little scary to hear was the possible heart murmur, but we know that God is in control and has blessed us with a healthy baby so hopefully it will check out and not be a big deal. our appt is on wed morning so say a little prayer for max's heart :)

max's dedication

on sunday was max's dedication. we decided to do the dedication at denton bible so that he and tysen (his cousin) could be dedicated at the same service. we celebrated before with lunch at fuddruckers with our families...my side of the family held a little inpromptu photo shoot in the foyer at church before the service started.

we dressed max up in corduroy pants and a button up shirt...he looked good!

from left to right: max, joey, me, kristin, tysen, ian, andy, and logan...the vanderveer clan!

for some reason, still unknown, max was fussy on the stage. he started crying during the prayer so neither joey nor i knew what was said when it was over...thank goodness for video cameras.

mom and max (joined by dad later) spent the rest of the service in the cry room having a good cry. max, i guess bc he is a baby and cries whenever he wants and me because i felt so overwhelmed. overwhelmed by being a mom and a wife and desiring to bring glory to God as joey and i raise this little man. thank goodness for friends and family to support us with prayer as we embark on this journey...

here's a pic of max after he (and i) had let the tears fall...just to think that those innocent eyes have no idea what a mighty God we serve. pray with us as we desire max to know our Lord and Saviour at a young age so that he can live his life pursuing God's glory.

brrrrr...it's cold outside!

i bundled max up today and went over to hang out with kristin and lilly...this kid was made to wear hoodies!

is it jacket weather?

i hope so because i look so stinkin' cute in my new jacket...my mom found it on clearance at old navy and just couldn't resist!

sweet home roanoke-y

today, we had a shower for max at joey's school. it was so much fun to have the shower after he was born so we could show him off!

one of the gifts was our video monitor, which i have really been wanting. i am a little nervous about moving max upstairs to his room, but now i can feel much more at ease!

the decorations were really cute and perfect for the art teacher's kid!

thanks for a great shower!

a happy new year!

each year we host a new years eve party and this year was no exception...long before max was born, we were determined to continue this tradition, having a baby was no excuse for us not to ring in the new year! if you've never experienced a vanderveer new years party then i wont spoil the surprise joey "drops" every year...just know it's worth staying until midnight.


the 1st family picture in 2009...can't even imagine how our little man will change this year!

max got all dressed up for the party...i love this look on his face!

after the party had ended and the cleanup complete...joey and i talked about the year. i remembered how last new years day, i woke up and prayed that we would be parents in 2008. God answered that prayer and continues to bless our lives in so many ways. As I write this, tears are swelling in my eyes at how much I am thankful for and how much we have to look forward to in 2009. We look forward to what God has in store and our family's goal is to bring more glory to Him!

on a lighter note, joey has made a new years resolution..."no cokes of any kind in 09!"...mine is just to lose this baby weight...hopefully we will both be successful.

a very merry christmas!

that's what the vanderveer's experienced this year. even though the holiday is very busy for us, we had so much fun with max on his 1st christmas. christmas eve morning, we opened our presents at home, then had lunch with scooter's family. after the christmas eve church service, we picked up my brother tyler from the airport and he met max for the 1st time. the next morning we opened presents at my mom's house, then off to my dad's house for more gifts and family time, and last but not least to joey's parents house...whew! good thing max is so flexible and such a good baby!

we got max his first football

max really loaded up on christmas morning...he had more presents then the rest of us!

santa (and mom and dad) are a little tired after a busy holiday!