Snow Day!!!

So I did not see the outcome of Groundhog Day. I can only assume that cute little guy did not see his shadow and we are currently in the grip of a Winter Wonderland. We have taken advantage of the snowy weather and gone out to play several times.

This new waterproof suit is great for rainy days and snowy weather and it keeps him snuggly warm. Though when he walks he looks like a big waddling duck. Super cute!

Play date with Jake

We had a play date with Jake "The Snake" this week. Bridgette and I always laugh that we never get to talk to each other whenever we get together. The boys each have their own agenda. This time I got proof that they were actually within a 2 feet of each other. Though they really didn't even know that the other was even there. Both boys are really, do it yourself kind of kids. They don't wait to see what anyone else is doing they just go for it.

We started out looking at a huge train track and played a little until Max spotted something far more interesting.

A rabbit hutch, at just his level. I swear I did not put him in there. Bridgette can vouch for me. She saw him climb in. He climbed in all by himself. And once inside he took out all the stuffed bunnies and other stuff that was taking up the space. You can even see the debris on the bottom left of the picture.

We spent the majority of our time in the toddler area, until the boys separately discovered the door out to the big kids area.

There was also a huge big rig truck with a sleeper cab for the kids to climb in and check out from the inside. Max obviously can not wait to drive.

I think the best part was a huge Lite Brite board. Bridgette and I agreed that we both loved them as kids. The boys seemed to like them also. That was when I got some shots of the two of them standing right next to each other, paying no attention to the other.

I think the boys had a good time and Bridgette and I want to get them together more often so they can play together and we can actually talk and catch up on stuff. It sure was fun though. Thanks for treating us, Bridgette. We will have to go back there soon.

Max goes shopping

Max has begun to use words. He doesn't know very many but once he figures out they get a reaction he says them all the time. Lately his new favorite is "see ya!" Which has only narrowly replaced his old favorite of "Hi!" He says hi to everybody and everything, 2 or 4 legged. He is ever so happy when people respond and say hi back.

Now if you couple this behavior with his favorite thing, doors, it can become quite comical. At the library for storytime he is like the hall monitor letting people in and out saying "hi" the whole time. Anywhere we go he says hi.

So Max and daddy baked a cake yesterday while I was at work. They had almost everything they needed except frosting so they went to the grocery store. Daddy carried him into the store and put him down to get out some energy and he promptly turned around and headed back to the door. He stood there saying "hi" to the people coming in and giggling when they said hi back. Finally Terry was able to coax him away from the door by giving him a job to do. Carrying the basket!

Okay so maybe he is draging the basket, but isn't he cute??

Terry says that he walked all over the store checking things out like a little shopper.

Terry tried putting in something light weight but Max kept tripping over the basket. So Terry walked around with his arms full of stuff, taking pictures with his camera phone and trying to stay ahead of Max.

That is my little man! He is getting so big and strong. He now clmbs and plays alot by himself at the indoor play park. He only sometimes puts out his hands for help. He always keeps an eye out for either Terry or myself, just making sure that we are still there. Every day he gets better at stuff, more sure footed and independent.

New Year's Resolutions

Well, I made it through a full year as a mother. I look at Maxwell everyday and think, WOW! I made that. The motherhood thing has gotten a little more difficult has Max has gotten older. He has begun to test the limits and we are trying to stand up to those tests. Terry and I have formed a united front and have decided that when we say no, it means no!! Even if he cries, and swings his arms around looking for something or someone to hit! It is often hard not to laugh when he gets frustrated at us. We don't laugh in front of him though. One of these days I will get a picture of Max's "mean mug." It is angry face with a scrunched up nose and wrinkled brow. Super cute!

Santa brought Max an early Christmas present this year. A really wicked sinus infection! When Max was done with it he passed it on to me and I lovingly gave it to Terry. We like to share in this house. Max is much better now, I am almost back to my normal self and Terry is suffering through with only a little bit of complaining. Santa also brought Max his other bottom front tooth. After 4 months of waiting and an $80 trip to the dentist, it showed up the day before Christmas. I should have known it was coming based on the quantity of drool.

But the best gift Santa brought was a new Radio Flyer Tricycle for the little man. We have had it in the box since my baby shower and we thought Max would appreciate it now that he is a little bigger and LOVES anything with wheels.

Sure enough, he loved it!! He only had eyes for the tricycle. We had to distract him to put it outside so we could open the rest of his presents. Between Gramma and I, Max now has a nice library of books and has really begun to enjoy reading them. He regularly pulls them out and brings them to daddy or myself to read. Thanks to Gramma and Grandpa for all the great Mathew Van Fleet books. Max loves them!!  Here is a little video of Max. Daddy snuck up on him unnoticed, at first!

Ever the camera hog, as soon as Max realizes that someone is filming he stops what he is doing and tries to grab the camera. By the way, another big thank you to Gramma and Grandpa for the video camera. It took us about a week to figure everything out, but the videos are finally clear enough to post.

I have decided for my New Year's Resolution that I would stop stressing out about feeding Max solid foods. It has been a difficult transition and he regularly spits out what he doesn't care for, which is quite a bit. He has a few foods he will feed himself, and we are sticking to those. I occasionally throw in something new and sometimes he suprises me and actually eats it. Here is a picture of my little rabbit trying a spinach leaf.

He was watching daddy eat his salad and pointed and whined until Terry gave him a leaf. We were both so totally suprised when he actually ate it! He did great taking little bites until he tried to swallow it. It was flat and stringy and it gagged him going down. After that he was done with the leaf. I think that is how we are going to get him to try new stuff from now on. Hopefully he won't gag on everything.

After almost 17 months, Max finally decided to try cat food. It has been sitting on the floor, outside the kitchen, his entire life. It remains one of the only things we can't baby proof because the cat can't jump up cause she is so old. So tonight after dinner, we thought he was full, he just walked right up and tried some. I don't usually watch him around the food because he hasn't really showed an interest in months. I thought he was over it. Apparently he wasn't over it and he wasn't full after dinner. I gave him a graham cracker and some water to wash it down and now I will have to start watching him around the cat food again.

There is one more video clip I want to share. It is just Max cuteness in the bath playing with one of his new Christmas presents. Pay close attention to when Terry pans to the side and look at the toilet paper roll. Before his bath, Terry lets Max walk around to "air out" his parts. During that time he causes all kinds of trouble. Just like a bad puppy, he goes after the toilet paper.

Okay, I lied! One more video of Max making himself laugh silly!

So that is all for now. Stay tuned for more video fun!

I hope everyone had a great Holiday.

Merry Christmas!!

We wish you all a very Merry Christmas.

Terry, Lara and Maxwell

Christmas Tree Hunting

Hi Everybody!!

Mommy is letting me tell you all about our hunt for the perfect Christmas Tree! She meant to tell you all about it the day after but she has been very busy. Anyway, we drove out to Enumclaw and up into Greenwater. It was a loooooong drive. I was ready for it to be over when daddy finally stopped at this big hill side. There was snow everywhere, but it was raining. They bundled me up and off we went. Daddy says I was laughing the entire time. Throwing my head back and catching rain on my tongue. They went back and forth all over the hillside until finally daddy shouted about finding the perfect tree. By then we were all soaked and it was starting to get cold, but it was lots of fun!

I know you can't really tell by the picture but it is a great tree. I am doing an okay job of not touching and grabbing at all the ornaments and lights.

After we were done on the mountain we drove into Greenwater and stopped at one of Daddys favorite places. The Naches Tavern. We had a late lunch and the waitress let me play on the piano. I had so much fun walking around and checking things out. What a great place! Mommy and daddy say that we will go back there every year when we get our tree.

So that is all for now. Mommy will post some pictures after some one named Santa comes to visit. I can't wait to meet him!

Love to everybody,

Maxer

Zoomazium day with Jake

We finally got to meet up with Bridger and "Jake the Snake!" We had a great time at Zoomazium at the Woodland Park Zoo. They have an area for toddlers to climb and explore, separate from the bigger kids. We really, actually went to hear the storytime story. They bring out a live animal for the kids to pet. On the day we went the story was about an armadillo. "Edward the armadillo," was interesting looking and Max and I got to pet him. Weird creature! Max showed absolutely no fear. I am so proud. After the story we stayed and played until the boys hit the proverbial wall. We are going to try to get together more often. Eventually the boys will actually notice and play with one another.

I think the boys had a good time. Max was asleep before we even left the parking lot. We are going back there for sure. Terry really wants to check out the animal storytime.

I thought I would post another picture of Max helping me in the kitchen. He really just makes a great big mess and I spend the time carefully stepping around him until dinners ready.

I also end up having to wash everything before and after I cook. I can't stop him though, he obviously is enjoying himself.

Here are some great pictures of how we spend our day. The first is Max playing with his legos. Mostly I just build stuff and he destroys it. It is great for my ego!

His new favorite game is a cross between between peek a boo and hide and seek. He walks behind me and pats my back. Then he sneaks around to one side until I peak around and say boo. He laughs his tale off. We do this for about 10 minutes until he is laughing so hard he is breathless and crawling around me.

This week we went to Molbak's for our Christmas picture with Santa. We didn't get to see everybody that we wanted to but we will go back after the holidays and make sure to say hello to all of my peeps. I do miss each and everyone of you.  Anyway, here are some pictures of Max checking things out. I won't post our Christmas picture until afterwards. I want it to be a suprise.

Christmas this year should be great. I am so excited to see what Max thinks of it all. We are going to go get our tree on Sunday. We like to hike in the mountains and find the perfect one. I am hoping that we won't have to bolt it down in order to keep Max from climbing up! So far he is doing really well with the word, "NO!" Let's hope the decorated tree isn't to much for him.