So hard to decide

Seriously, how do people decide out of multiple pictures exactly which 2 or 3 to post? I clearly cannot. Here is Halloween, about a week overdue.

I mean, how could you resist seeing this sweet face?



or this crazy face?



Or this skeleton studying a pumpkin?



He would be so sad if you had...



He may not care too much if you miss this



Come on, boys don't wear wigs, do they?



But I'd say for a wig-wearing boy...



he pulled it off very well.


(Thanks to Aunt Crystal for making the amazing Thing 1 and Thing 2 costumes. They looked adorable.)

Looooong Overdue

I don't even know where to start. You know how when you let something go for a while then it starts to get overwhelming to pick it back up? Like cleaning out a closet or your car, doing laundry, or... ahem... blogging. Well I have lots to update and I can't think of a better way than with pictures of my adorable little Max!

But first...
He will be 17 months old on Monday. Wow, time sure is flying by. Here are a few of his new skills:
-Walks everywhere and occasionally tries to run, which is hilarious. He trips a lot and usually has bruises to show for it!
-Words. Mama, dada (also the form dadadadadada said in a very high pitched voice, one of my faves!), deeeee, tee (aka tree- which he loves to point out in the car or in our living room he'll run to the window pointing), deen (drink), nana (banana), chtshk (please- you really have to be listening for this one, or have asked him to "say please"), O (hello), and then the usual jabber that has no meaning at all!
-He knows what it means to go bye-bye, go night-night, and eat. When it is meal time he'll go to his chair and point up at it. When we say night-night to him he'll grab his blanket and come to us, or he'll run from us- depending on his mood! Bye-bye always results in huge, full arm waves and excitement.
-Throw balls. He'll take them over his head and let go, they either go behind or in front, but never too far! Sometimes he holds it straight in front of him and squeezes his hands together until the ball rolls out of his hands and flying into the air. He loves this!
-Fake laughing. If we are laughing at something he'll always join in, and if he is trying to get someone's attention he'll start chuckling. I'm pretty sure he learned that everyone likes a laughing baby. :) It does take a lot to get a real laugh- serious tickling, sneezing (fake or real-they are all funny), or chasing him are our usual tricks.
-Hugs and kisses. Few and far between, but occasionally he'll run up with his arms open for a hug. And even more rarely he'll lean in, open mouthed, for a big kiss!
-Mimicking. Everything. He'll lick his fingers when I do, wipe his hands together when Clark does, and make faces back at anyone. We should start being more careful...!!
-Dancing. Let's just say that at Quiznos yesterday I was holding him on my hip and he was shaking his head and trying to bounce in my arms to the music. He loves it and especially loves the attention he gets when he does it!
-Honking. Yeah, I'll explain. He thinks that everyone's nose honks when you squeeze it (please, no one ruin this for him... if he squeezes your nose, just let out a honking noise:)). He loves to run from person to person and honk our noses. Lately he has started honking his own. His honking sounds like "mok mok." Precious!
-"All done." He used to do this a lot, but not so much anymore. When he's done eating or ready to be done with something he'll hold his hands up, palms toward the sky and say "ah da."
I really think anyone who knows this kid is lucky!!

See, looooong overdue!

Now for some pics...

Time to eat! I got him to smile by fake laughing!



Fun Run!! Fun times with cousins... until the ride home (Becki, you know what I'm talking about!!)



Park days.










I had a birthday a couple weeks ago and we celebrated by heading to dallas! We went with my parents and Maddie (our niese). She is 7, almost 8, and is every bit a little girl!! We shopped, found a pumpkin festival at an arbetorum, went to the aquarium, ate yummy food, and dreamed of big houses in nice neighborhoods. We had a blast and Max did amazing. So adaptable! Clark got me a new camera for my b-day and I LOVE it! Thanks everyone for the birthday wishes, the cards and gifts and for being a part of my life! Enjoy the slideshow of our trip.

Pumpkin Patch

Yesterday was a beautiful 70 degrees, sort of cool, sunny and breezy fall day. It was a perfect day to visit the pumpkin patch. Max went last year with his cousins and grandparents but he rode in his car seat and probably slept the whole time! This year was much more fun. He walked around, looked at animals, ate apple donuts, drank apple slush, picked a pumpkin, and drove the horse drawn carriage we rode (well, the nice cowboys let him hold the reigns!). It was a blast, we can't wait to go back with his cousins!

Looking at chickens



Our ride to the pumpkin patch, very curious about the earth moving.



On daddy's shoulders, walking through mud to pick a pumpkin.



Max's first pumpkin!







Headed back, "driving the carriage"




Side note... while we didn't cheer much for the Chiefs today, we did cheer for Max. He decided that today he would stop crawling. He stands up when he falls and without grabbing on to anything! He was so proud of himself. We would say "yay, Max!" when he would stand up, then he would clap, squeal, giggle, and repeat! What a fun age. Well except for the fit throwing, short naps and throwing food on the floor. That part is not so fun. But, I know, "part of having a kid!"

Not quite as planned...

Scenario #1
Bikers for Babies was Sunday. I got home from work, changed clothes, got Max up and dressed, packed the diaper bag with cereal, milk and yogurt puffs. We headed out, excited for pancakes and lots of motorcycles. When we arrived we were a little taken back by the lack of signs. We found an area for cars to park and started walking toward the speedway entrance. We quickly found out there was only one way in... about a mile walk around or to drive. We walked back to the car and started following traffic. Only to find out that we had to register. We head back to the parking lot, I get out and go to register. I quickly find out there is a registration fee. Ok, I brought some cash for pancakes and maybe a t-shirt. "How much per person?" I ask the lady. "$40.00" she tells me. "Per car?" "No, per person" "WHAT??!!" I say, "that's $120, that's ridiculous- we're not even riding, I'm not paying that much." "Well that's your decision." Says the nice lady. "Yes it is."

Scenario #2
So, I decided I would work last night. I planned to take Max to PDO (parent's day out-basically a pay-by-the-day daycare at a local church) for the day. He has some separation/mommmy attachment issues anyway... I had hoped that Max would sleep until at least (his normal) 7-8 and would be ok skipping his morning nap. They follow a schedule at PDO and nap time is at 1pm. No biggie- sometimes Max's schedule is rearranged, he'll miss a nap, and it won't phase him. I was so sure of my plan that I decided to stay at work until 6:30 instead of my scheduled departure of 3am. Max got up at 6, instead of 7 and didn't sleep well according to Dee. Go figure.

Obviously I am all to familiar with things not going quite as planned. I work in an inner city ER for crying out loud. However, things that I plan and have "all worked out" in my head are supposed to go as planned! Sunday morning we came home Max and I slept, Clark mowed, we all watched the Chiefs lose, ate buffalo wings for lunch, loved on our beautiful baby boy, had ice cream for dinner and went to bed early. Turned out ok by my standards! Today, I decided to go ahead and stay home with Max. He needed a good morning nap and 2-3 hours of sleep would be enough for me to make it through the day. He ate breakfast, played a lot, pooped, drank milk. All criteria met for nap time. I put him down after a few sleepy minutes of snuggling with blankie and I immediately went to bed at 9am. 9:20am: Max is playing in his crib, talking and banging on the wall. I am furious with him. I had been up 25-26 hours at this point and I just want him to cooperate. Obviously I am not furious, but frustrated, tired, and wishing my little angel brat baby would just go to sleep!! Then it hits me! PDO opens at 9 and is first come first serve, BUT- you can check your child in until 10am. So I jump up and call them, "please tell me you have room left in the brat who's not following mommy's plan toddler room." I also tell them my sob story of the hours I have been awake and how he won't go to sleep. They nicely tell me they are happy to rearrange the kiddos so they will have room for him. I pack his lunch, get him dressed and race there. They were awesome!! When we picked him up they tell us that they put him in the nursery for a little while this morning but he still wouldn't nap (how nice of them to try!). He ate lunch really well, slept for almost 2 hours on a strange cot in a room with 8 other kids and played well! I am taking him there once a week. Decision made! They were so willing to make arrangements for him, they moved him around based on his needs, and best of all... I got 4 hours of sleep!

Sometimes plans don't go accordingly, but at least for me "not quite as planned" turned out better than planned!

Pics I took from the car at Bikers for Babies




Pics from tonight. Daddy felt that "Who you callin crabby" jammies were in order!

Waa-waaa

That is what I am listening to right now. Max has been fighting a nap for over an hour. Ugh. Quick post and I'll go rescue him!

Here is the winner of the last post. With a 3-1 victory photo #2 won out, but I did take a tip from "rock the boat" Crystal and edited the pic a little more. I think it turned out cute and it looks a little more like he's holding a sign. Thanks for the input!



Really quick... Max had his 15 month check up yesterday. He is exceeding the expectations of a "normal 15 month old." He says 5-6 words, walks, drinks from a cup, puts objects in and out of other objects, understands words, and throws fits!! YAY Max! And at 23lbs and 31 inches he is in the 25th percentile for height and weight. Wow! Just don't ask about his head... it was still WAAAAYYYY off the chart! haha! Off to rescue my screaming baby!

Viewer's Choice

On Sunday we will be attending the Biker's for Babies Event at the speedway. For anyone with a motorcylce -it is not too late, for all others -it is not too late! Man, that's luck... anyone can still attend!!! Now, Johnny Dare (a local radio DJ) is a very big supporter of March of Dimes and to say thank you the local March of Dimes group is making him a picture/story book of local families. We are sending an email with a little story but we are also supposed to send a picture of our kiddo holding a thank you sign. (these signs are computer generated... oh well)

So, calling on friends, family, regular blog viewers, complete strangers... give me an opinion and...
Help me decide!!!





I guess I should mention the pic will also be in a slideshow at the event. And Max may have had his picture taken on a Harley to be displayed on a poster! Thanks Dr. Holcomb!!!

And, yeah, I am getting better at the blog decor. Only took me 45 minutes this time... :)

Where have you been?

Ahem, I guess I mean where have I been?! Well I guess I have been busy chasing a one year old, cooking, cleaning, doing laundry, working, resting, NOT getting on the internet, and the ongoing remodeling that is happening in our house! Well I am happy to say that projects are coming to a close. My eager to keep going husband is working on a new list of things to do: paint the living room, paint our bedroom and re-tile our bathroom. AAHHH! It's never ending!! Those projects will not be started immediately but he is on a roll and is eager to keep going. I am definitely not complaining, I am loving all the upgrades, just getting tired of the messes! Thanks Clark for all your hard work :) The basement is pretty much finished, we need a vanity and would really like to find one less than the ones at Lowe's/Home Deopt. We are patiently looking, after all the room is only being used for toys at the moment. Clark also laid new tile at the bottom of our stairs (was linoleum) and it looks great! I promise to post pics but I really want it to be a wow moment... so I am waiting for the couch to come in... ordered it today. Gonna have to wait 6-8 weeks.

On to more important things... Max.



A couple weeks ago Max and I took a trip to Great Grandma and Grandad's. We left on a Monday and stayed through Thursday. We had SO much fun hanging out with them, Aunt Becki, Brice and Rider. Brice loved to play with "Paw-Paw," Rider loved to eat and sometimes sleep, and Max loved to get into EVERYTHING. He opened every cabinet, got out every toy, found sharp objects and cut himself, crawled into empty end tables that Grandma cleaned out for such purpose, stole Rider's binky, and ate like a pig. Brice hung outside a LOT, ate lots of fruit, slept well on a blow up mattress, always let Max have the "car," got stung by a bee, took a nap on grandad's lap, picked okra, pretended to eat cherry tomatoes, and was a very helpful "big boy." Rider ate cereal, took bottles/boobs, got his binky stolen, slept, laid around, cried, was the only one held by Grandma, and was a peaceful sweet, cute boy. All in all it was a blast. We ate great food (catfish and okra!), learned to can tomatoes, shopped a little, and enjoyed the company. As long as we are welcome we plan to make these trips at least every other month. Enjoy the slide show pics!

Saturday we went to the NICU reunion at OPR. We saw a lot of our favorite nurses and a lot of the families we met last year. It was so amazing to see all the babies so grown up. Really we didn't get much chance to meet the babies while we were in the hospital, we spent a lot of nights in the parent room with the other parents. It was fun to see everyone in a MUCH better element and to see all the healthy kiddos. We met up with our great friends Michelle and Billy with Hunter for lunch at Friday's (yum) before we went. We miss them since they moved out to the country! We will never miss our time in the NICU but we met some amazing people and it was a great day to reconnect. Sunday is Biker's for Babies and while we no longer have our beatiful Harley we plan to go out, eat some pancakes, look at some nice bikes, and support a very important cause that made our 2008 summer have a pretty darn good ending.

Headed in, If you look close you can see Hunter, he looks so cute!



Max on Daddy's shoulder



Walking to Miss Kelli. We loved her!



I love his face in this picture. Hmmm, I think I remember her...



Playing in the ambulance



Moms and their boys



Boys playing



(I didn't take many pics after walked in. I wish I had one of Cassie, another fave nurse, because she is adorably 29ish weeks pregnant!)

Now that Max is 15 months old (+5 days) here is what's happening:

He is walking VERY well. Our only hold up is when he falls down he doesn't get back up. He will walk and walk and walk though for pretty long distances.

He has his first pair of Nike's. First Chief's hat. And a growing fall wardrobe.

Drinks from any kind of sippy cup. All milk and water, I'm mean and never give him juice. Sometimes he gets diet dr. pepper and coke zero, though :)

Eats fairly well, sometimes throws a fit until he gets what he wants. Just when I say he is picky he'll eat something odd like okra (he loved it). Finally ate red meat the other day- porcupine meat balls. They were pretty delicious!

Says lots of things. Lots that I don't understand. Sometimes I think he says "thank you," he says "da-ee" instead of "da-da," "mama" is heard minute-ly, please sounds like "chsske" and he smiles huge when he says it, "aahhuughha" means one of two things: "no that's not what I want, figure it out or I'll make the noise again" or "you guys made me mad and are going to let me have my way or go crazy." He instantly waves when he hears hi, bye or night-night. He understands bye-bye, hungry, eat, cookie, and milk. I'm sure there is more...

Has a "blankie," a brown and white striped one that I got long before he was born. In fact it may have been one of the first baby things I bought. He never really cared about what he went to bed with, besides his binky, and one night I put the blanket over my shoulder on the way to bed and he laid his head down on my shoulder and closed his eyes. The snuggling continued every time I would hold the blanket and he did it with anyone holding the blanket. Now we fight over who holds it because we want the snuggles!

Well, sorry for the "time off" but I'm back and with good intentions of being a better blogger. Enjoy the pics, I'm off to bed!

busy busy

Well with the exception of me fighting off the cold/flu symptoms at the beginning of the week we have been one busy and productive family!

Tuesday Clark and I painted our almost completely rennovated basement... I will show pics when it is more complete and... ahem... a little cleaner :) I also managed to get Max's closet cleaned out and his clothes organized. I washed all of his new fall stuff, packed away spring/winter stuff (yeah, a few months late), and picked out a few things to share with cousin Rider.
Wednesday Clark finished some touch up on the paint and I got down and dirty in the kitchen. Truthfully I did no cleaning at all, but lots of rearranging and organizing. You see, a few weeks ago we ordered a hutch for our kitchen with the hopes of moving some dishes over and gaining some much needed space for food. Well we received said hutch last week and got it all in place and decorated over the weekend. It was such a mess rearranging contents of cabinets but I am SO happy with the results. I moved some tupperware, baby dishes and plastic cups into a lower cabinet for Max to be able to play with. We now have some very organized pantry space and one pretty new addition to our kitchen. Here are some pics:





Today we didn't do quite as much, Clark slept in since he has to work tonight, I hung out with Max and fed him a huge breakfast, played, and then Max begged for a was forced to take a nap. We went and ate Thai food for lunch, bought a toilet at Lowe's, easily put Max down fought for another nap, hung a light fixture, made zuchini apple bread, made dinner, hung things on the kitchen wall, played some more, then put Max to bed without a hitch and listened to him cry for 25 minutes. Did I mention today was not an easy sleep day?! The good thing is once he fell asleep his naps were good. In fact I woke him up from his 2nd one because it was dinner time, and probably I woke him too late which made bedtime more difficult. Oh well, he can't be perfect all the time...? ha.

Here are some of my favorite pics from the week:

"Don't mess with Texas" I love this shirt!! We bought it about 2 weeks before Max was born, we took a trip to San Antonio. Who knew he would be here so soon after that trip?! Anyway, he loves to sleep in it and I love his bare legs!


Toys all around him, basically baby heaven.


Clark hates this picture, they are women's sunglasses. I think it's hilarious.


Fun times with daddy



Last but NOT least, a video of little walking Max. It is very hard to catch a 14 month old walking, so please ignore the poor lighting and the fact he is standing still the first half. He does take some very sturdy steps!

one step, two steps, three steps, fall

The days of crawling are still here. I think sometimes Max is practicing for Baby Olympics, specifically the 'crawl sprint'. However, walking is in full force around these parts. He lets go of an object and, instead of sitting down, takes 3-4 steps at least. He still isn't standing up on his own, he uses a prop, but he is getting sturdier and sturdier. He sometimes even uses small toys to help him stand up... I think he just needs to realize he can do it on his own. Enjoy the pics!


Hey mom!!!


Aren't I cute?


I'm going to let go!


I did it!!! Here I come...


Yay for me! (making car noises...aka raspberries... is a type of celebration!)


Time to go enjoy a relaxing night of TV and slumber!

lightning

It was like lightning... all the hours I spent editing different banners and just thinking it was a glitch in the system. Nope, the dang picture had to be saved as a jpeg file. Duh. Oh well, now you will be able to enjoy all my wonderful creativity!!! Pretty cute I think!!

So, first of all... yes, I do have some VERY exciting updates to give you. However, all I can think about today is some VERY sad things. I know this economy flat out sucks, but to be totally honest no one in my immediate group of family/friends has been too affected. Both of our parents, our siblings and our friends all seem to have recession proof jobs. By the grace of God Clark and I have about the safest (yet most dangerous:)) jobs possible. Thankfully, and I guess not so thankfully, people will always need safe streets and emergency health care. We have been fortunate enough to be only minimally affected by this recession. So, just today we found out someone close to us (will remain anonymous) is struggling a LOT. He is a single father trying desperately to save his house. Tonight we talked with a guy working on our house (more on that later) that a couple years ago ran an extremely succesful, million dollar business, making over 200k a year. Now, he works 80+ work weeks on odd jobs, again, to just save his house. To top it off, his wife left him 3 weeks ago. Did I mention he has 3 young daughters? What a struggle. There isn't really any quick fix for these people but it does make me pray even harder for an economy turn around. Or maybe lighting could strike and all there problems could go away (it worked for my banner trouble:)).

More sad, yet not economy related, news. A very good friend of mine from nursing school, Tiffany, lost her grandmother this morning. It was a peaceful passing and they all know she is in a better place, but I know her family could use some thoughts and prayers. A girl named Katie, whom I've NEVER met... only read about... had her baby a couple days ago. While pregnant she had a very life threatening battle with a brain infection and was in the ICU for days. Luckily she fully recovered and with no suspected complications to the baby. Well, her baby was born not breathing and possibly with no brain activity. I cannot even imaging what they are going through.

Ok, let's lighten it up...

MAX IS WALKING!!!!!! Well, it's not really as exciting as it seems all typed out in caps lock and bold and stuff. It's exciting, yes, but it's only a start. He will take consistent steps, maybe 5-6 from person to person or table to chair, etc. He does not make any attempt if the destination is more than he is in the mood for. Trust me, his mood does matter. For the most part he is an extremely happy kid, but he wants his way when he wants it. And oh, does he tell you about it. Tonight we went to Grandad-E and Grandma Dee's house for dinner. Max was in his high chair eating when Dee got home. He fussed until she talked to him and then he finished dinner. Immediately after he was through eating I took him to the bath tub. He was fine at first but as soon as Dee walked in he started flat out crying. I thought it was because I wouldn't let him stand up (he tends to fall and get black eyes when he stands in the bath tub, so I try and stop him) but I soon realized he was just throwing a fit. A fit. Because he hadn't yet been held by his Dee. Quickly I washed him off and gave him to Dee. He snuggled right in and was done with his fit. You know, right after he got his way. Spoiled? Make up your own mind.

So... at 14 months Max is...

Walking 5-6 steps at a time.

Saying "mama" "dada" "uh-oh" and "mmmmmaaa" (I think his attempt at his name) he also babbles a ton and sometimes sounds like "nana" or "baba" but I can't tell.

He is a waving fool. We took him shopping today and he smiled and waved at anything resembling a person. He does the whole arm flap version of the wave, I love it. I especially love any attempt at an impression of his wave from adults. Let me tell you- when a grown person flaps there arm up and down- it's weird. Keep this in mind when you are waving back at a one year old. On second thought, don't, it's keeping me entertained :)

He is still eating 3 meals a day with 3 sippy cups of whole milk. He is getting better at holding his own cup (ahem... his aunts will be glad to hear this:)) and does it about 95% of the time. He is still quite the eater and expands his menu daily. Blueberries, peas, peaches, muffins, pb&j, chicken nuggets, mac and cheese, yogurt, green beans, cheerios, french fries, ice cream, teddy grahams. Not a fan of mexican, italian, or french toast. He'll be reformed soon enough, after all, he won't have a choice.

On haircut #2, which went far better than #1. He got the back and sides cut with clippers and it is shorter, which means less fuzzy, and so so so adorable. He got to watch a Baby Einstein and eat a sucker while he got his grooming. A really good plan because he sat perfectly still. He looks so grown up though:(

Napping and sleeping is unchanged, and for the record, amazing! He stays up until 7:30 or 8 and sleeps till 6:30 or 7. Sometimes 7-7 and sometimes 8-6. Morning naps and afternoon naps usually average 3 hours combined. I'm not going into any more detail to say what typically happens or how they normally work because I am superstitious. At least about sleeping schedules.

He still loves to play with cars, but has started expanding to other toys. He likes putting toys together and inside each other.

He can drink from a straw. Kind of a fluke, but he was playing with one of Clark's cups and was biting at the straw. Then all the sudden he got a taste of the yummy coke zero that was available. Now he is a straw drinking maniac, even has a straw sippy. What a big boy!!






And a few more of my fun "color splash" photos.





Hope the lightning bolt strikes you in a good way!! Good night!

fun with color

So, I am not a very creative person. I have a very big desire to be and sometimes I surprise myself. For example I like to blog and have been trying to revamp my blog for a while. I have thought about changing the title and even had a few good ideas. My problem is the stupid "banner." I am not exaggerating when I say I have likley spent 4+ hours working on it and everytime it looks ridiculous. Whenever the time comes that I figure out the glitch it will be a more generic name (so our family can grow... and no, I'm NOT pregnant). Ok, back on track... my creativity... Today I purchased on app on my iPod called "color splash." It lets you add those touches of color to a black and white picture. Anyone with an iPod touch or an iPhone should get this app. It is awesome. So easy to use and deceivingly makes me look talented and creative. Check it out:

Probably my favorite, I already really like the picture and the color splashes make it so fun.



Such a cute picture of Brice. At first I just had the shorts in color and then I realized he was eating a cheeto! The orange looks awesome!



I think this could be used as an advertisement for Discovery Toys... These cups have been in the top 10 toys for Max since the first day we opened them.



And a cute beach pic.




Max and I went to the pool with our friends Paige, Cooper and Carter today. The boys have so much fun in the water (well at least Paige's boys do!). Max enjoyed the picnic lunch of pb&j (one of his newest faves) and sitting with me on the chair while we sun-dried. Did I mention I forgot towels? I pride myself on being such a prepared mother.

Too much fun for one day.

PS: Dear Max, please sleep later than 5:30 tomorrow. While I did enjoy your 3 hour nap I would much prefer a later wake up call.

"Relax and Enjoy"

"Relax and Enjoy" was written on the chalkboard as you entered the house. We added a "...that's what she said" and really set the mood for the week!

After 2 long days in the car we arrived at "the ocean's house" as Taylor would call it. The house exceeded our expectations. It was a beautiful, modern, million dollar ocean house. And it was ours for a week. Now, 8 adults and 5 kids seems like a pretty good ratio. But when all but one of the kids is in diapers and only 2 are walking it made for a pretty exhausting week. The two big boys were always into something entertaining: climbing in laundry baskets, pushing empty strollers, hiding in closets and playing duck duck goose with anyone sitting on the floor. The two one year olds enjoyed playing with toys, "borrowing" sippy cups and binkies, sleeping and eating (well at least Josiah did this for sure!). They both were the easiest by far, with 2 naps a day and sleeping till 7 or 8 each morning they adjusted very well to "beach time" and owned up to there first vacation! Baby Rider was a typical 3 month old. He slept, ate, laid on the floor, sat in the shade, and cried a little. He made his momma happy with some good naps and a few good nights.

Overall we went to the pool the most: nearly every day. We went to the beach twice to swim (a few more times we walked but didn't get in). Max did NOT enjoy his first experience with his feet in the sand. He grew used to it by our last trip and sat playing with toys for quite a while. On day 2 of vacation we were headed to the pool when I noticed that Max was burning up. Clark and I got him out of the car and immediately decided to take him back to the house. Motrin, tylenol, and a nap later he was as good as new. Or not. His fever kept coming back for 3 long days. It must have been some virus because we started antibiotics hours after his first fever and it didn't budge. As long as we kept him drugged he was fine, and really he still slept well and when fever free didn't even act sick.

The adults had only one rule. Kids in bed NO later than 8. And it worked out every night. On a few occasions Taylor would come wandering down the hall dazed and confused. He had this look like "why are you all still up?!" After 8 we would cook dinner, eat in peace, play cards and games or just sit and relax. We played our own version of Chopped. Each day one couple would get a list of 4 secret ingredients and had to prepare a meal for everyone in around 2 hours. (The best catch was no clean up and no kid duties for that night!) Clark and I got lemon, garlic, sour cream, and spinach noodles. We made our take on Filet Oscar: Sirloin Oscar... the filet was &18 a pound (did I mention you also had to pay for the groceries?!). We made a delicious crab bearnaise sauce for the perfectly cooked sirloin and spinach noodles with a toasted garlic basil cream sauce. Fancy, huh? It was the winner by a hair, second to Shrimp Scampi with the best noodles and garlic lemon sauce. The other 2 runners up: Grouper with an avacado fruit salsa and smashed sweet potatoes & "Armadillo Eggs" (cream cheese stuffed jalapeno inside a chicken breast then wrapped in bacon) with a peanut butter adobo sauce (first place for creativity) and jalapeno spoonbread. We had no lack for delicious food or good company.

Here are some of my favorite pictures from the trip:

"the ocean's house"



Max's first trip to the beach. His face is too far away to see the screaming.



Toes in the sand.



Second trip to the beach. Still kind of under the weather, so sleeping soundly in the stroller.



Third trip to the beach... finally warming up to it!!





Dinner at Toucan's. Max learned to feed other people and thought maybe Monkey wanted a puff. Aaahh!



Clark and I with our ocean view



Day 2, hour 18 of the 19+ hour car ride home. Max had EVERY toy in his lab... including daddy's police badge. Hope Chief Corwin doesn't see this :)



As far as the car ride goes, Max did surprisingly well. We brought along Baby Einstein, snacks, plenty of toys and lots of patience. Turns out we didn't need the patience. He was SO good. We maybe had 30 minutes total in the 4 days in the car where he was unhappy. Clark and I are not much for car rides so we plan on using the airport for any upcoming trips. But it's good to know our little man can make it both ways... as long as it's to somewhere fun!!!

Click here, here or here to read more about our trip as the other's post!

little sleep... lots of fun!

I hate working weekends. I hate working nights. I do love being a nurse, especially in the ER. But mostly I love being home during the week with my crazy little man. Monday is the worst day of the week, I usually sleep 3-4 hours before Max gets home.

This Monday was a lot of fun, however. A friend Carie and I took her daughter, Cooper, and Max to this great water park near our houses. It was surprisingly cheap to get in and it was so fun!!! Cooper is so stinking cute with her sassy swim cover up and her high pony tail (I can't wait for a girl!!). She and Max enjoyed staring at each other and sharing lunch- but aren't much for playmates yet. Mostly it was fun for Carie and I!!!






I especially love that Max was so worn out from the water park that he slept 2.5 hours when we got home!!

Monday was also Max's cousin's birthday. Josiah turned one!!! You can check out Crystal's blog by clicking here. The party was full of fun party hats, cousins, good food, presents, and a birthday boy with a shirt to prove it!!!





With only 3 days left before leaving for vacation the rest of this week is consumed with laundry, packing, trips to the store, and getting some things done around the house. As soon as Max wakes up from his nap we are going to Babies 'R Us and Target... 2 places I LOVE!!! (Ever notice how Bed Bath and Beyond is the "dangerous store" for newlyweds and Babies 'R Us for new parents?!) Daddy is mowing the yard later today and I am getting a pedicure... YAY! Then the rest of the night... packing. I am working friday night and sunday night, we are leaving town at 4am sunday morning. Hoping to drive while Max is still supposed to be asleep and maybe get some peace out of the first half of the trip!

One more picture, because I think it's colorful and probably one of the few family photos we have!

favorite toy + 13 months

Ok, second post today. I didn't feel like the topics fit together, so I made 2. Besides, Max is 13 months old today!!!! Back on track... Max clearly loves cars. Specifically car sounds. But he especially loves his police cars. He has 4 of them in all different sizes: S, M, L, XXL; and I find them pretty much all over the house. The day Max had his surgery Clark and I brought the large version, it has a few buttons on top that make siren and engine noises. When we went with him to the recovery room he was extremely irritable, I guess from all the drugs. He had gotten plenty of pain meds and was just feeling a little disoriented. If it was just me and him in our little curtain room he was ok, but as soon as he saw one of the nurses he would start to fuss. Clark tried to cheer him up by getting the car out and playing. Max was so pitifully cute. Mid-fuss he let out the most pathetic tthhpthffthpthf. You get the idea. Then back to crying. It was like he was saying, "I know I'm supposed to make this sound and I really want to- but I don't feel like it." We laughed so hard!! Anyway, here he is using the coaster as a tow truck and the windowsill as a racetrack. He's pretty innovative for a 13 month old.





So many blogs update with monthly milestones. I haven't done this to date but no better time to start than the present...

We are working SO hard to get him to walk. Vacation is a week and a half away and the beach will be much more fun upright. He will stand by himself as long as he doesn't realize it. And the other day he actually made a forward motion with one foot. Completely by accident because when he realized he was independently standing/moving he fell to his knees and took off. He will walk while holding my hands and sometimes will do it just holding one hand. Almost there buddy!

Morning time kept creeping earlier and earlier. Max is an excellent sleeper and would usually get up around 7. Well lately it was 6:30, 6:15, 5:55, so on... Well, I enjoy sleep entirely too much for this. We got some window tint to darken the room and voila. He has slept until 7:15 or later!!! (yes, Becki, I will probably jinx myself too). Nap time is even getting better, yesterday he took TWO 2-hour naps!!! YAY!!!

Eating and drinking is something I write about a lot. However, I need to point out that a couple weeks ago we went to a sippy cup, encouraged MANY more table foods and increased reflux meds. Since then we have had NO (knock on wood) projectile puking episodes. Whew!

Well, nap time for the morning is ending, thus is blogging. Enjoy the double posting and Happy 13 months MadMax!

fun with cousins on the fourth

I realize this is a few days late but I figure these pictures are too cute to not post!!! We sure missed seeing Max's other cousins, Brice and Rider, (and their parents) but we had fun playing and eating hot dogs with Taylor and Josiah. Clark and I missed out on fireworks due to that oh-so-fun thing called work. We hear Max did not enjoy them AT ALL. He's such a baby.

Aren't they precious...



...?



or trouble?



Taylor



Hot dogs!!!

"I'm better... and hungry!"

Well yesterday Max was still only about 85% himself. He slept amazing the night after surgery, I'm sure a combo of anesthesia meds and the pain medicine we gave him helped, but he slept more soundly than ever before. He didn't crack a smile until the afternoon but he was playful, crawling, and HUNGRY!!! He was a bottomless pit. To put it nicely. Before breakfast he drank some pedialyte, I was so worried to jump right into "normal" food and then get sick. Anyway, he normally eats breakfast at 8, well he woke up at 6 to a soaking wet bed (and a 15lb diaper) and by 6:30 he could wait no longer. He had banana, cereal, yogurt puffs and milk. Took a very early morning nap. Ate biscuit, egg, bacon and more milk. Went to the store with mom. Came home and ate his weight in puffs. Took another nap. Drank more milk. Went with mom to pick up his one year pictures (which are awesome!). Then ate hot dog, mashed potatoes, banana, peaches and cookies. Then more milk. Today was not much different, a little picky at lunch and only one breakfast, but still a very hungty little boy! And his table food aversion is much better! Here he is eating strawberries this morning. With a smile I might add.




Here are some pics from the day of surgery. He looked so stinking cute in the gown. It was too long so when playing in the waiting room (during our 4 hour wait) we tied it in the back in very 80's fashion!





And, "if you aren't going to feed me or get this surgery over with... I guess I'll sleep."



And because I happen to love this face...



I will share it.

Two for one

Well today was long, exhausting and frustrating but very succesful. Dr. T was unable to be there for the ear tubes but an ENT, Dr. N, from children's stepped and got the job done! He had his hernia repaired first followed by new tubes in both ears, "normal sized" tubes by the way! As you can tell from the last post we waited around a long time in pre-op. Four hours to be exact. Max slept a little, played a little and fussed a little. He was actually very patient and super sweet and cuddly! At 3:30 he was taken in and at 4:30 his surgery was finished. He had his IV placed after 3 sticks and they drew his one year labs for us so we could avoid another poke at an outside lab. He was awake and pretty much ready to go by 5:30. In recovery he chugged water and sprite, came home to applesauce, bananas and yogurt puffs followed by a sponge bath and kisses. We didn't give him milk because, well, we didn't want puke. He fell right to sleep and despite some fussiness he did great! His pain meds are helping him sleep and we hope tomorrow he'll be a little perkier. I'll post pictures from today when I get them loaded.

In other BIG and EXCITING news... Max is totally off a bottle!!!! After a few weeks of bad reflux and increasing his meds we decided to start really encouraging table foods and less milk (oh yeah we switched to whole milk...shhh don't tell his ped:)). So I decided that we would give him bottles at night but during the day he could only have a cup. Now up until this point he has thought of sippy cups as play toys. Well he did great, so great we gave it to him the first night, too. And so on. And now... He's a pro!! Good job baby boy! You make me proud!

I'm so glad the day is over and hope it's the last time we have to give our baby to a stranger in a hallway nurse going to the OR.

We love you Max!

Waiting game

I hate that phrase because a game should be fun, and waiting is not. We arrived here at children's in the same day surgery area at 11:15 today after keeping our one year old away from milk, cheerios, bananas, and everything else he loves in the morning. It is now 1:10. Max is doing surprisingly well and in fact just fell asleep in his stroller, a seemingly impossible task any other day. So as we sit and wait - I blog. I will update when he is out.

fun in the sun

I haven't posted in a few days because Max and I have been having entirely too much fun!!! I don't even really remember what we did last week it was so busy. I do, however remember the news we got from the ENT. Max had a regular check up on Monday and we found one of his tubes was "clogged up." For 5 days we put peroxide drops in his ear to try and dissolve the blockage. Friday we found out that it was clear but there was tissue growing behind the tube in an attempt to "reject" it. Out came the tube. In the office. Max screamed. The good news is that his already scheduled surgery for next week will now be a dual surgery. Dr. T (the ENT) will sneak in the OR first, pop in some new tubes and then the general surgeon, Dr. S.P. will correct the hernia. More about that later...

This week Max and I have been to the pool almost every day. Monday and Tuesday we went to the YMCA:


















he enjoyed himself.

Yesterday Max's great grandparents were in town and wanted to spend some time with him. After a long morning, lunch with mom and dad:



and an appointment:



he was in for some fun napping. I think he did wake up in time to play and hang out with them for an hour or so. Thanks for the break guys! We love you and it was great to see you!!!

Today Max and I went to the park/pool with Max's cousins Cooper and Emma and Uncle George. It was great to see the kids and they love to see "baby Max." All of them had a blast at the pool. Max got a new floatie that allows him to sit more in the water, and with the shallow pool he could actually walk around. He loved it. He was so worn out today I couldn't keep him awake in the car much more than 5 minutes. He did take a nap when we got home but it only lasted a little over an hour. He was VERY cranky this evening.

Here is Max with his favorite new expressions (and his adorable new shoes)...





So, about his surgery. If all goes well (and no emergencies occur the morning of that would obviously take priority over our oh so non-emergent surgery) then both procedures will take place at the same time. When Max had his tubes placed in January he was taken in and basically just sedated for the quick procedure. In fact, we barely had time to get a drink, sit and get cozy when they called my name. This surgery will be minor, yes, but a little more invasive. This time he will have an IV, a breathing tube, and an incision. :( I am ready for it to be over. So, Wednesday July 1st: please pray for no emergent surgeries that will prevent both from being done, that Max does well with the IV, the breathing tube and the anesthesia meds, and that his recovery is fast with little pain and discomfort.

And now... Max finally said "dada!" In the car he acted like he had known how to say it for a while. He said it over and over and smiled and laughed. So precious!!!
Enjoy :)



By the way, we have been trying to get him to say this for a while, as he says "mamama" all the time. Every time we try to get him to say a new word he grins and says "mama." Well today after he learned dada he wouldn't say anything else... What a brat!

new look

Do you like the new look of the blog? The background was easy but I have spent over an hour working on a banner for the top... no luck... maybe another day. Maybe.

Max's birthday week ended with a birthday party at Chuck E Cheese's. I was skeptical about spending 2 hours there, but it was surprisingly fun. We actually didn't even leave until almost 8. Max had fun playing on the car...




And eating cupcakes...




Secretly he didn't eat any of the cupcake, Aunt Crystal helped him out by smashing it in his hair and on his face. He got cleaned up and changed into his pj's then proceeded to fall asleep on the way home. He smelled so good the next morning I could have eaten him!! Then he got a bath. In the morning. He smelled great, but was very sticky.

Max had a great weekend with daddy and I am glad to be home with him pretty much all week. We are looking forward to some sun and time outdoors!

Strawberries, avacado, banana. All 3 foods Max has started to eat in their raw, fresh form. He loves them! He put the banana in his mouth today, looked at me and laughed. Too stinking cute. Avacado gets a funny face, but he keeps eating and eating. And strawberries are hard to pick up so I put them on the spoon and have him get them off the spoon. Apparently this is hilarious. He laughed EVERY time.

Enjoy the new look.

birth'week'!

If you asked my dad he would tell you that when it comes to my birthday it is no less than a week long celebration. I mean, who needs to fit all the potential fun into one day?! Well, I plan on teaching Max all of my great ways, starting with birth'week'! Today we took Max to build a bear (see next post for our adventure!). We made him a dog that we named "Primo." It is pretty cute, and is currently sleeping well in Max's bed. He got to kiss slobber all over the heart and push the pedal to stuff the bear. Next we groomed and fluffed Primo before getting him dressed. We got him complete with a kennel (cardboard box) and a birth certificate. It was really fun and the pictures are adorable!

I don't know how I forget to mention some of the adorable things Max is doing these days... First things first, he says Mama. I am so proud! It's more like mommomm, but we all know what he means. He also says uh-oh, but only when we say it to him first, very cute! Next... ayayayayaya, kind of Indian like. It's my favorite because his face is hilarious. He shows his gums and crinkles his nose. Last, not really a word, but he can make car noises. Ok, well he is just sticking out his tongue and making raspberries, but he gets on the ground and pushes his cars around while making this noise. He has also been known to push other things around, ie: remotes, phones, tape measurers, etc while making this noise. Below is video proof:



And one last thing, Max has tooth #3. Finally. He is a slow teether. Forgive him.

And... because I hate pictureless posts:
Max in the morning, he probably thinks every morning is Christmas. I put all his toys away every night and EVERY morning he gets them out, laughing and smiling like he is seeing them all for the first time!

A whole day year older

This is where were one year ago today. Staring at this tiny baby and being so amazed that he had 10 fingers and 10 toes, hair, eyebrows, eyelashes, fingernails and healthy lungs. I still stand by the phrase "ignorance is bliss." If this weren't true I think I would have been very stressed and worried. However, we were not. We were mostly bummed that we would spend the summer in a hospital :). This year on this day we did things a lot different. For starters, I slept last night (Max tried to keep this streak going by being awake from 2-4 coughing), I didn't have to walk through a hospital to see him, he got to wear clothes (his 1st birthday shirt to be exact), and we got to snuggle and spend ALL day together!! It was great! He sort of slept in after his long night. We got up at 7, watched cartoons and then ate breakfast. After his morning nap we met Grandma Dee for a birthday lunch. We braved the pouring rain and went to the plaza. After a yummy lunch with a very well behaved little one year old we went and ordered Max's birthday cupcakes for his party on Friday. Recently (thanks to Nicole!) we learned about an amazing cupcake shop called Cupcake a la mode. We survived terrential downpour for this one, but it was oh so worth it! I ordered 24 cupcakes in flavors such as chocolate strawberry, pb&j, cookies and cream and chocovanilla. I might have definitely got some for Clark and I tonight. (yes, I planned on giving Max some but he decided to cough himself into yet another episode of "loosing his lunch" if you catch my drift). This cough I keep talking about is making me WAY more miserable than him. It sounds awful but he 1)doesn't have a fever 2)is playful and acting completely normal 3)is eating fine and 4)has not gotten an ear infection. So, he must be fine! It is almost as bad as the time we took him to the ER, though.

Some comparison from last year. This picture was taken about a week after we came home from the hospital, I estimate him to be about 7 1/2lbs here.



Here is Max with "monkey" now, at around 20lbs.



Max this morning when I told him it was his birthday!!



Lunch with Dee



After lunch and the cupcake store (and almost getting washed away in the flooding of downtown) I rushed home trying to keep Max awake. I wanted him to take a good nap in his bed. My hard work paid off, he slept for 2 hours!!! We ended up waking him up so we could run some errands. We got a baby gate and other household safety items. When we got home Max played with monkey on the floor while I got his dinner ready. He ate chicken sticks (basically baby hotdog, kinda gross really) and carrot chunks with a yogurt for dessert.







I love this kid!

Happy 1st Birthday Max!!!!!!

Pictures

Click here to get a sneak peek at Max's one year pictures. And to see the photographers blog. She did a great job and we had so much fun with Max!

Today was Uncle Darren's birthday so Becki planned a surprise dinner at Jack Stack BBQ. The food was delicious but Max was a brat. He was tired and that's pretty much all it takes. We thought we were keeping him occupied with goldfish until he choked a little and puked all over the floor. After that we tried very hard to entertain him without food, only to fail. He wanted to be playing or carried around. We ate in shifts and left promptly after. Sorry Darren we had to eat and run but Happy Birthday anyway. (and good job to grandad for actually keeping it a secret!)

A year ago today...

I can't believe that a year ago today at almost this exact time I was being admitted to the hospital for the first time. Who knew that in a mere 7 days I would be meeting this beautiful face?!


Well I will tell you that I plan on making this summer much better than last. Last year we spent countless days in a NICU room: washing our hands, reading charts, meeting nurses, waiting anxiously for the doctors to make their rounds, meeting other families, drinking the free mini cokes in the parent room :), getting excited over "good days" and bummed over "bad days," eating out every meal except breakfast (which I don't think I ate at all), enjoying moments of sunshine as we walked to and from the car, waiting on the slow elevator up to the 4th floor, watching all the "term" babies leave with their balloons and flowers, feeling like tripping the dad as he pushed the cart of flowers and balloons, making countless trips accross the city to see our beautiful and strong baby boy fighting so hard. As awful as it was, it passed, it is a memory, and it was SOO worth it!


Max is starting to stand on his own for 5-10 seconds. He will push his walker across the room, then get stuck under it...


I wish you could see his face, he was less than excited about being pinned.

Just a few more cute pics of playful Max...



One of Max's favorite people is his Grandad-E. He gets really excited to see him, flaps his arms, smiles and squeals. If he doesn't immediately get attention from him he's throw a fit, and believe me, he has mastered a "fit." Well, this summer while Grandad-E is out of school Max will get to spend a lot of time with him on Mondays when I am sleeping or thoughout the week when I am working. Today when I saw Max after 5 hours with Grandad, well... I had to laugh. Poor kid looked like such a mess and it was hilarious. I love him being a boy, he is supposed to get dirty, right?! He was covered in food from lunch and snot from his recent cold. I would never complain, he was fed and happy. However, I did clean his face and change his clothes :).




Max would like to wish his friend Hunter a happy 1st Birthday today!!!! Hunter was born at 27 weeks and we got to know his parent's well as the boys spent the first 2 months of life right next door to each other.


Enjoy the slideshow with pictures from the March of Dimes walk. Only a month late!

Going to Grandma's

Tomorrow Max is taking his first out of town trip without mommy and daddy. He will be flying out at 7am with Grandad-E to go see his great grandma and grandpa in Illinois. He is SO excited! I used to love taking trips to see them in the summertime, I would get to fly by myself and spend a week or more there. Then on Monday there will be a carload of people coming back to KC :) Grandma Dee and Grandad-E will drive home with Max, Aunt Beckie, and Cousins Brice and Rider. They will be staying for a little over a week! YAY!

Max has been doing much better with his eating phobia... He still won't feed himself the foods that are soft, cold or squishy but he'll eat them if you put them in his mouth. Since last week he has eaten chicken and veggies, green beans and rice, beef ravioli, lasagna, and turkey and rice. Also some not so baby foods... fruity cheerios, yogurt (I would venture to say that he loves this more than puffs...), pasta salad, black olives, pepperoni, oatmeal cream pies:), cheese and rice. He is way more accepting of new flavors and textures and I am sure that with a few more teeth he'll take off and we can STOP buying baby food!!

He is just as active as ever, we went to PT on Monday and he blew Michelle away. He was crawling everywhere (even off the playmat), standing up and dancing and just being plain cute! He has started to cruise around the furniture, mainly going after things he is not supposed to get: cell phones, iPods, computer, remotes, etc. But, hey! At least he is moving! He has also learned the word No! and heard it more than once a hundred times! Along with No! comes learning to throw fits. If he is getting something he isn't supposed to and I say no, he sits down, turns bright red, makes the most pittiful face and cries without taking his eyes off of me. Also, no tears. He has managed to make it work about 70% of the time. What can I say? He's got me and his daddy right where he wants us!

Standing fool.





Fried. Nope, no light sockets near by.



I love this picture, he will stand and look out the window instead of playing with toys. The other day Clark and I went outside and looked in at him... he was very amused by this!



**********SPECIAL***********

Mohawk Revisited!

getting around

Max is totally out of control! He can not only crawl anywhere he wants to go but he has now mastered standing up against just about any object. He can shimmy up the leg of the coffee table. Scale the front of the entertainment center. Squeeze up the leather of the chair. Stick his fingers into the holes of the laundry basket. Scale a rock wall. Ok, I made the last one up, but maybe he could if he tried! He has mastered it. And he has the bruises to prove it. I have always learned throughout nursing school and now working at a children's hospital that bruises in various stages of healing can be signs of child abuse. Luckily his are all in very bony places and if you ask me I think they are pretty stinking cute. He looks so tough!

The newest thing we have been working on is eating more solid foods and having Max feed himself. I mean you would think with the way he inhales the puffs that he would love feeding himself. Ha. I wish. He is doing a little better, but honestly 90% of the time he acts like I am either trying to poison him or give him rotten eggs (which kinda sounds like poison!). He makes this sour face and pulls back shaking his head vigorously. It sounds funny, and it was, for about the first 100 times. Now, it is just plain annoying. He will eat a lot of things if I force gently place them in his mouth. I have tried a lot of tricks with no luck. He only likes the baby foods that are sweet: Apples and Chicken, Sweet potatoes and Turkey, yellow and orange veggies, and EVERY fruit/dessert item available. I can't say I blame him, I do love dessert, but he is entirely too picky!!! We tried spaghetti with some success, he didn't care for the chunks when eating from a spoon. He occasionally eats mac and cheese. He gags on anything new and if it isn't one of the above mentioned he fussess the entire time he is eating. We made homemade food: mashed potato and peas... not having it. Melon puree... this one he loves, of course!! Jello... also loves. Ravioli... nope. Yesterday he ate bread, cheese and some roast beef with only a few fusses. The biggest problem - he finds it horribly repulsive to touch the food himself. He won't eat it unless I feed him. He'll grab it then let go like it is on fire or covered in slime. He's a mess. Anyone else's kids do this? Is it a phase? It is driving me nuts!!!!!!!!! Some of his faces are cute though.... :)

This is watermelon. He was feeding himself so well, but gagged a little on a bigger chunk. I cut it a little smaller and he wanted nothing to do with it... aggh!






Vegetable Beef Dinner. This is the face I get.


Feel sorry for me!!


He had about a 5 course meal tonight by the time I found something he would eat.

As for us? We had T-bone steaks, potatoes and salad for dinner. Nothing fancy, just put some steak seasoning on the steaks and grilled them. Potatoes any way, we love them roasted but tonight had a fussy baby so we pan-fried them quick. Then salad with toasted asain sesame dressing... yum-o! And after all the fussing I could sure use some Sheridans. They should deliver.

Good Night!!!

storms...

Well, I have had a long and boring day sitting in a trauma conference and I really had no intention of staring at the computer screen. But, I am unable to watch all of my favorite thursday night shows due to the annoying very important storm coverage. So... here I am.

Last week on Friday morning GG passed away. She peacefully rested in her hospital bed and took her last breath with no more pain. Her family is of course sad and will miss her, but the memorial service was very nice and we all know she was ready to go and be done with her struggling.

Max's last visit with GG:



This picture is of Max on his way to Taco Tuesday on Cinco de Mayo. He passed out on the way, then stayed up the whole way home! I wish I could put pics from my phone on here (well, guess I should say I wish I knew how!) because I have a very funny picture of Max livin it up. He got an array of party favors, a corona hat, a corona light-up necklace and a tecate tequila maraca. Yeah, we think we are teaching him some very good lessons early on... And in the picture he has the hat on backwards and the maraca in his hand. He was so entertained by the toys we might have definitely stole them for future playing!

I love how he has is hand on the monkey so gently... if he were awake that monkey would not be handled gently at all.



Yesterday Clark and I decided to take Max to a park and see if he liked swinging. He asked Grandma Dee for a playground for his back yard and we wanted to make sure he would have fun.

What do you think?




I say go for it!!!

This makes me sooo excited for summer: playing outside and swimming. We have a lot of making up to do in the fun department after last summer!

So, I know you all are wondering how the March of dimes walk went? AMAZING!!! We had over 50 people turn up to walk and we raised at least $700. (I don't know the exact total, but hopefully they will let me know.) The bbq was a lot of fun as well. We went through 50 hamburger patties, at least 50 hot dogs and I won't even tell you how much beer. (those of you who were here know...) BIG THANKS TO EVERYONE!!! We are very blessed to have such great friends and family to come out and show their support. And Grandma Dee had a birthday mixed in with the day so we all enjoyed some birthday cake as well! Again, we cannot thank you all enough!

Today Max spent the day with Miss Paige and her boys Cooper and Carter. She agreed to babysit last minute so Clark would be able to sleep (remember, I had a class ALL day!). Thanks Paige, you are a lifesaver!!! I have to tell you, too, Max came home looking like a true boy, dirty needing a bath! It was adorable, he is really tough and rugged now!

Growing up

Today was a big day for Max. I know I mentioned yesterday that I found him standing in his crib. Well, this morning there he was again- trying to crawl out of his bed. Now, chances are that he would have been fine, but the railing hit him at about his chest and with the right momentum and bounce he could have been on the floor. To make me rest easier (and allow him to "cry it out" at naptime) I lowered his bed all the way to the lowest setting. And, he got his mattress flipped over to the "toddler side." Yes, the toddler side. Sadly I no longer have a baby.
First thing in the morning (well, lately he has been getting up around 6 but I encourage him to play in his bed, or I don't know sleep, till 7 at the earliest. He does pretty well, this morning he woke at 6 and around 6:20 I re-binkied him and wrapped him up and he was quiet until 6:57), anyway... first thing after 7 we get in our bed and we watch cartoons. Anyone who has kids seen "special agent oso?" It is stupid, but Max will watch it off and on, this morning he laid still for 8 minutes! WOW!! Ok, so after cartoons we get up and Max eats breakfast, oatmeal and a bottle, then he plays on the floor. First thing he did on the floor... CRAWL! On hands and knees, not tummy and elbows! Sadly, again, I no longer have a baby. I have a toddler.

Max took a great nap this afternoon, which ended up being a huge blessing. Clark got up around 2:30 and called his dad only to find out some bad news. GG (Max's great grandma) has been sick for a while, in and out of the hospital with pneumonia and then complications with antibiotics. Well, she was scheduled to go home today with hospice. They had put a hospital bed in her house and set up the oxygen and other supplies. She basically has really bad lungs, diagnosed with COPD and CHF, and is just not strong enough to fight off these infections. Today she took a turn for the worst and started to have a lot of trouble breathing. She is confused and struggling. They called hospice to the hospital and are going to work on keeping her comfortable while she spends some time with her family. We took Max up to see her and it is so amazing what great medicine a baby can be. She asked us if we could just hang him up in the corner of her room! Oh, GG, your sense of humor is what we love and what we'll miss! And of course your cooking, your stubborness, your love of your grandkids, the way you over-buy all the kids Christmas presents, how much you love to talk on the phone and gossip about all the natives of Platte City:), but most of all your love for your family. Please say a prayer for all of her family. She is certainly a legacy to them and she will be missed greatly but will live with more comfort than she can probably remember.



Dinner tonight was pretty good, click here for the recipe I used.
I used a jar of spaghetti sauce instead of the butter sauce; and used wonton wrappers and not homemade pasta dough! And... I had alot of the meat mixture so I made a few fried ones as appetizers. They were SO good! I just pan fried them in olive oil. The other ones maybe cooked to long but the dough was kind of gummy. Still tasty, though, next time I will just fry them and make something else for a main course. They were fun to make!

Going to pick up our March of Dimes shirts tomorrow! YEAH!!!

I'm trying!

I know, I said I was going to try and post more often. I just keep finding something else that needs to be done. If only I had a nanny... :) I'm trying I promise!!
Well I am getting really excited about the March of Dimes walk, I just hope no one brings the swine flu with them! Ok, nothing to joke about, but really, it's getting more press than it needs. I am watching a "swine flu survivor" story about a man who had it over 30 years ago. AND, Mr. Obama wants to budget over a million dollars to help "fight the flu." COME ON! Wash your hands, use sanitizer and don't go to Mexico, you'll be fine! I'll take a million dollars to spread that piece of advice.

Back to business, I updated the Team Website... check it out to find out some exciting news about the t-shirt sales!

Max is totally on the move, he is all over the place in the living room. I no longer have to get out toys for him, he knows where they are and he gets them all out on his own! He had toys all over the living room today, my little boy is so big :( And, breaking news, I went in his room today after one of his naps and... are you ready for this?... he was STANDING. Yeah, pulled all the way up onto his feet and was holding on the side of the bed. He continues to be a puff monster. Clark was feeding him puffs tonight and gave him a handful on his tray. About 2 minutes later Max started fussing, I mean asking, for more. Clark was looking everywhere around him for the puffs, just assuming they had fallen. I had to convince him that he truly had eaten them all in that short amount of time! He loves to eat!

Cute pic from aunt Becki's :)



Dinner tonight: (yay me I finally cooked!)
Oven fried chicken (portions for 2)
2 boneless skinless chicken thighs (we love the thighs, but you could use breasts)
1 pint buttermilk
Place chicken and buttermilk in a bag for at least 1 hour

1 cup bread crumbs
1 T seasoned salt, I love "cookies" from HyVee
2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp salt

Mix together. Take chicken from buttermilk into bread crumb mixture and dredge completely. Place onto cookie sheet sprayed with pam, then spray the chicken with pam. Bake at 400 for 25-30 minutes, turning once halfway through cooking time.

I made buttermilk mashed potatoes (I just got a big thing... it's really affordable!) and corn. Very tasty, and of course Clark liked it!

Tomorrow night... homemade ravioli! Stay tuned!

Home Sweet Home

Max and I got home from Tennessee yesterday around 2. We had a very nice time visiting and meeting the new baby, Rider. However, it was by no means a vacation and I am sure ready for one of those! Max did very well while we were there, he slept all night, EVERY night (sleepy boot camp was a HUGE success!), played like crazy with cousin Brice and even took good naps. We wish they lived closer so we could hang out more often... but they just had to go and move...

Max has the 2 cutest bottom teeth and seems to be working on a mouthful more, or at least it seems that way with the buckets of drool he is producing. He is officially doing a military crawl, and not just short distances. The boy can move. If a toy is worth it - he will get there. He is really good about playing on the floor by himself, in fact he would even play with Brice and Aunt Becki. But as soon as he sees his momma he wants me to pick him up or give him 100% of my attention and be on the floor with him. What can I say, I am pretty fun (to Max at least). Max is also enjoying finger foods more and more, he can eat those gerber puffs for hours (ok hours would be a little long to sit in a high chair, but he LOVES them). We got a new "veggie dip" flavor and he seems to really enjoy putting as many as he can into his mouth at once and then later burping and shoving his stinky little "veggie puffed" hands in my face. The smell lingers a little. And it isn't very appetizing. Lately we have been working on cutting out a nap in our day. So far it works as long as the morning nap is longer than 30 minutes. As I type we are going on 35... SHH!! Don't wake the baby!

So, I have been a really bad poster lately and I am going to try and post during nap times. Night time I am very tired and usually trying to pick up the house, do laundry or just relax. I am making it a personal goal to get more blogging time in!

I have some really exciting news to share! Earlier this week I turned in our t-shirt orders for the March of Dimes walk and we sold an amazing 96 shirts! WOW! With the money Clark and I will donate per shirt sold this is almost a $500 profit we get to donate!!!! Amazing, and this is just our first year. Also, Hunter's mommy, Michelle, has a friend who is hosting a pancake breakfast at her house to raise even more money. I am really excited to go eat pancakes, too!

Spoke to soon, Max just woke up. I'll post a new slideshow later of some pics from our trip. Happy Friday!

Pray for Kayleigh

I know most of you have seen the link on the side of Max's blog and have visited this site. Today Kayleigh is recovering from her "final surgery" before going home after 10 long months in the NICU. However, this morning Kayleigh will not wake up and the doctors are saying she may be brain dead. Please help her family by praying, I cannot even imaging what they are going through. Click here to read more.

Happy Easter

Isn't this the cutest little face?! This morning we went to church with Grandpa E and Max had a great nap in the nursery to prepare him for lunch. We all went to Outback with Grandpa Jim and Grandma Cathy... yummy! Max was semi-well behaved. I fed him puffs for the first half then he ate his squash and his bottle like a champ! After lunch G-Jim and G-Cathy were nice enough to come over and watch Max so Clark could take a nap and I could go to the store and get some laundry done. Max was so good for them, in fact, he slept THE WHOLE time. 2.5 hours to be exact. What a good boy... He did get to play and show them how cute he is when he got up. He impressed them with his spin moves and his scooting. He is slowly getting there, he consistently pulls up to all fours and then plops back down!

I got a shot at the tooth the other day... only one is in, the other is SOO close. I love the added bonus of puffs stuck to his face, if he knew they were they he would attack! He likes to shove them in his mouth with both hands, it is hilarious. And he eats handfulls in seconds, I have to portion control already!









Here is Max playing with Charlie, I think he has gotten over being sick of the camera and now he cheeses it up! He will hold a pose and a smile till I take the picture, I love it!






Max has not been sleeping well at night lately, it's like we are going to get one or the other... good day naps or good night sleep. SO, this week is "sleeping boot camp." I am determined to cut this behavior out, even if it means I am up all night listening to him scream! Tuesday Max and I leave for Tennessee, we are both very excited to get there!! I am a little nervous for my little terror to be on a plane, I even downloaded a Sesame Street episode to my iPod to hopefully get a 5 minute distraction. I will of course bring lots of puffs, because if all else fails he is quiet when he eats!

I get yet another Sunday night off!!! I did only get about 2 hours of sleep this morning after work so I am headed to bed, yes at 8:15! Goodnight!