Brownies...mmmmmmm!!!!!!!

I just had to tell you all how wonderful my boys are! I came home from work on Tuesday night to the smell of brownies. Is there anything better?

Terry had the presences of mind to take these awesome pictures.

Here is Max doing some mixing. Terry had to put the bowl on the floor because Max wanted to do the stirring.

Terry said he was really doing a good job of stirring and didn't want any help.

And with a little encouragement...

I think these brownies are the sweetest things I have ever tasted!

Happy Easter

I realize that we are a day late on the Easter salutations but there were so many great pictures I didn't know where to begin! We are not slaves to the calender anyway so we had 2 days of Easter Madness. On Saturday we went to the City of Snoqualmie sponsored egg hunt and it was a perfect day for it.

The sun was shining and it was a beautiful day. We got to the park early because we knew it would be really crowded. Boy, were we right. There were so many kids of all ages, easily over 500. Everybody played until just before the Easter Bunny came to start the hunt officially. I am so glad that the areas were divided by age. Max was in the 0-3 area and his friend Ava came with her little brother to join us. She was great at showing Max what to do.

His first impression was kind of funny.

"You want me to do what? I don't get it! Why?"

"Oh, I get it!"

 "Find the egg."

 "Pick it up."

"Put it in the basket."

"And why are we doing this again?"

The day was so much fun. Watching Max figure things out was the coolest part about it. He is growing up so fast and I am so glad that I get to be a part of it now.

It was also fun to watch Ava helping Max. She always wants to show him where, when and how.

 Watching Mason, Ava's little brother and Max hanging out and exploring the world together really was sweet. Mason is only 10 months old and already walking. When we have play dates he really gives Max a run for his money.

So that was Saturday. The day before Easter. This is a picture from the actual day of Easter.

What a difference a day makes! We hunted for eggs with more friends and than explored a new park. Max was doing really well in the beginning, walking that is, and then suddenly he started falling a lot. Three times in total and each time he scuffed up his face a little more. The final fall he got a really nice goose egg in the center of his forehead. My little unicorn!

Anyway, both days were lots of fun.

Rainy Day Sunny Day

A friend of mine recently posted some great pictures of her kids during a recent trip to the Snoqualmie Falls. I often forget about the Falls being in our "backyard" so to speak. It was actually one of Terry's and my first dates. Strange that we should now be living here.

Last week Max and I went out for a walk to the falls. It was horrible weather so Max had his duck suit on and we proceeded to splash in puddles and enjoy the spray from the falls.

The falls were amazing! Always a sight to behold.

Max of course was super cute.

He really enjoys being able to explore and splash around and I love that he isn't getting soaked to the skin.

We decided to walk back to the falls today because it was such a beautiful day. Washington really shines when it is sunny out. She is resplendent!! So we walked over to the falls, they are only 1 mile away. Once we got there we took Max out of the wagon and let him walk around, you know to tire him out. It is the perfect spot for it. as you will see in a minute.

There are a lot of stairs!

Terry helped him down and actually carried him a little to.

And what you can't see here, to my right is a very steep, inclined, concrete pathway that leads up to the upper lookout. Max loves the incline because he can walk up about 10 or 15 steps turn around and run down. Here is where I have some of those visions I mentioned in the previous posting. I love to watch him laugh his hinder off while he runs down. Clearly he is enjoying himself and why should I stop him from doing something that causes him so much joy?

A Booboo

So I just have to say how hard it is sometimes to be a parent. Terry and I try really hard to let Max have a little independence. Especially while we are out and about. I struggle with letting him walk around and discover things on his own. I give him some space, usually about 5 or 10 feet. Sometimes more if I think he is walking well, cause he still wobbles.

So the other day we were out for our morning walk and I gave him a pretty large berth. He was doing really well walking on grass and concrete. It was the asphalt that gave him such a hard time. I was about 15 feet away and he was doing fine until he mistepped and fell. First to his kness, then onto his hands, then sure enough, he tasted pavement.

It really isn't that bad of a booboo. I think he was more shocked then anything else. There was even some superficial scratches on his upper lip. They have already gone away. He started crying right away and my heart just broke.

Was I a horrible mother for letting it happen?

Should I have been right on top of him and caught him before he even teetered over?

How is he ever going to gain a sense of independence if I am always right there to help him?

I am sure that every mother asks themselves these questions and suffers through the results, good or bad. Why do these things have to be so difficult? I have visions all of the time about him falling down the stairs, on the sidewalk, off of his cars while playing and far worse. It is hard sometimes to sleep at night with the way my mind hurtles these horrible images at me.

His nose is looking better everyday. My heart breaks thinking that I can not be there to protect him from everything that will ever happen to him. Deep down I know I am doing the right thing and nobody ever said it was going to be easy. In fact many people have told me how hard it would be. I am only now understanding to what degree they were talking about.

What a great journey this is going to be!

Grandpa visit

I just wanted to thank my Grandpa Tom for coming to visit. I had a great time while he was here. We played cars and he makes car sounds just like daddy. He even know the words to Itsy Bitsy Spider and Old MacDonald had a Farm. Here is a really great picture of us hanging out together.

He even had these really cool whiskers when he first got to our house, then all of a sudden they were gone. We really had a good time together. Even though he lives here in Washington we really do not see each other very much cause he doesn't get around very well anymore.  It sure was nice of him to visit. He even called to tell daddy thanks, twice, and tell daddy how much he misses being with me and how much he loves me. 

Escape attempt

So we found Max attempting to escape from his crib one night and thought you would find the pictures funny. I honestly do not know or understand how something like this could have happened.

How does he not wake himself up?

We also took a weekend trip to Friday Harbor earlier this month, a much needed vacation from reality after a very rough month. I was a very bad mommy and took only 3 pictures with the camera. Only one of which is usable. We stopped at the British Camp and American Camp, from the "Pig War" during the 1880's, to check it out. It is a Washington State history thing. I didn't really get it but the area was absolutely beautiful. Here is a picture of Max and daddy peering through the remnants of an outdoor oven.

Here is a picture of Max and I in the British garden. Leave it to the British to create a knot garden for their herbs and vegetables in the middle of a combat zone.

It was very, very windy that day. This picture is from Terry's phone.

Just a few tidbits from this past month.

Almost forgot...

I almost forgot about this past weekend! We occasionally get the opportunity to spend some time housesitting for some great friends in Enumclaw. This past weekend was so much fun. The house and gardens are beautiful and there are 3 horses, 2 kitties and 1 River dog to look after as well. It is a wonderful little vacation from the monotony of life at home and Maxwell really loves all the space and freedom to explore and hang out and "talk" to the animals. Each morning we went out and mucked the stalls. Max was in my carrier on my back and talked to the horses the whole time. He would laugh his hinder off whenever Doc would sneeze or snarfle. The horses are really good with him and keep there distance for the most part. If he puts out his little hand they will wander closer to smell him and nuzzle his head. Super cute!

The kitties are a little bit scared, having never really seen a little person before and generally run away.

River dog on the other hand, loves the attention. Especially since he is pining for his daddy. Max is very gentle and snuggles up to him while River is sleeping in front of the fireplace. River just lifts up his head like, "oh, it's you, okay" then lays his head back down. 

There are all kinds of fun farm vehicles around. Max really, really likes the duelly whopper. A four wheel ATVish thing with a hauler for lugging wood and hay around. He would sit in our laps and drive around waving at River or the cats. Always with a big smile. Then there is the tractor! I am not sure if I have mentioned this before but Max likes anything with wheels on it. The bigger the better. Here is a cute picture, the only one from this weekend, of Max ready to plow the north field.

We all had a great time this weekend, even if Max did come down with another cold, preceeded by 2 sleepless nights of a very feverish little man. You would never tell it by looking at him. He was all smiles the whole time. We are truly blessed to have such a good, easy baby! Does that mean it will get harder later? I don't even want to think about it!!

Thanks Aunty Lucy and Uncle Richard for letting us have so much fun at your house! Can we come back and play again soon??