March for Babies

After our amazing turnout at the March of Dimes walk last year- I am even more excited about the walk this year!! Last year Team Max and Hunter raised over $500 and sold approximately 70 shirts. We had a team of walkers of almost 30 people. We were impressed with the generosity of family and friends. This year I have been blown out of the water. I have sold 130 shirts so far, there are online donations of almost $400, and... we still have time left!! All I can say is WOW. I expect to write a check for over $1000!! WOW. Thank you is not enough. This cause is clearly important to us...

Click here to visit our team website and feel free to come walk with us!!

A little more balance...

That's what I'm hoping this new addition does... adds some balance. I am outnumbered 3:1 in this house and a baby girl will only play to my advantage. Baby Girl Tatum will join our lives in early August. Because of Max being born so early I am taking a few extra precautions. I would love to say that I am being pampered and having all of the household chores done for me by my wonderful, loving hubby. But, come on girls... we know that is just in our dreams. Being pregnant is exhausting and truthfully all I want to do is sleep and eat. However, an almost 2 year old does not fit into that plan. Life goes on as normal as before- work, cleaning, cooking and laundry... with the exception of frequent ultrasounds and weekly shots of progesterone. However, that wonderful hubby of mine doesn't complain when my answer to what's for dinner is "I have no idea" or when the laundry sits folded in baskets for days. We are so truly excited to have another baby, boy or girl. We have two nieces on Clark's side of the family, but on my side... 5 boys. Five crazy, full of energy, always hungry, loud, and not-so cuddly boys. Needless to say my family will be VERY disappointed if the doctor is wrong!! Sure they say "we'll just be happy with a healthy baby" but we know the truth. I do have to admit that decorating this baby's nursery and now actually getting to browse through "the other side of the baby store" has been pretty fun!!



Max has turned into a little man. He eats all the time but the best part is hearing his request. "Snack" is the most amusing thing to hear, he crinkles his nose and very nasal-y says "naak." Eat just sounds like a very long "eee" sound, cookie: "ccccookkkkkie" and drink: "deek." He knows who people are and loves to point out in public that I am his "mama" and Clark is his "dada." He also knows dee and dad-dad and hates to see them leave. He runs everywhere and is so busy all the time. He loves cars, balls, reading books, saying animal sounds and pointing out his body parts: eyes, nose, ears, toes, fingers, teeth and belly. He mastered fit throwing and attempts it in public any chance he gets. I have to admit that more than once I have felt like "that mom who needs to control her child." In record time Max can get out every toy he owns, scatter and mix them amongst the floor then proceed to play with them. They are not as much fun individually.



One of our favorite things... kisses!

Splash Zone

He is turning into a goofball... the second one cracks me up, it looks like he is trying to cover himself for the camera.

Cheese!

Max learned this week how to do two things: throw a massive fit- a kicking, screaming, red faced fit and say cheese for the camera. Clearly one of those is more appealing! Here he is in action, cheesing it up.





Recognize Max's sweater, Becki?!

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... :)