Pirate Max

The other day Max was eating breakfast and turned to me and said "I'm a pirate."

I found this hat and stickers at Michael's and since we had a rainy/snowy/cold day, we had some sticker fun.

Snowday

We had a snowy day a few weeks ago while we were watching our nieces for a week while their parents were on a cruise.

Max was exhausted even before going outside in the snow.

Max, Cambree and Sabrina  having fun.

Sabrina just chillin'

Max ended the fun the same way he started.

Addison

Addison is growing so fast.  He started to get up on his knees and toes the first part of February.  

You can't see it very well, but he is up on his toes here.

He is also getting very good at tripod sitting.

Here he is about one month later.  He still isn't crawling, but he is definitely mobile and never where you left him.  He is starting to lunge forward.  He is getting very talkative and loves to say dadadadada.  He is so mild mannered and easy going.  We had his 6 month check up and he is only 14 lbs.  Such a little guy.

He is always smiling even when he is hungry, he just gets a little louder.  

Tutu

I don't have any girls, but while I was in Kalamazoo some of my friends and I got together to make tutus.  I finished mine up to give to all my cute nieces.  They were a lot of fun and I have to get my girly out somehow.

Tagged

Katie tagged me to post the 6th picture on my computer so here it is.

We has family pictures with all of Paul's siblings and got a quick family photo of us too.  

I guess I will tag, Daphne, Zita, Amanda, Melanie, Paul (will he play) and Sonya.  

This and That

I just Downloaded pictures from my camera and thought that I would share them with everyone.  There really is no rhyme or reason to them, just some that I thought were worth posting.

I don't know how Addison did it, but he is very proud that he can get both the binky and his fingers in his mouth all at once.

Max got this storm trooper mask for Christmas from Addison.  He thought that Addison should wear it.

Addison is getting so strong (not to mention how cute he is).  He can stand with little assistance for 15 minutes or so.  

Max got this necklace light in his stocking from Santa and the other day I came out into the livingroom to see this.  Paul was tolerating it and Max was having a blast.  It almost looked like Paul had a side pony light tail.  Maybe I thought that since there is a lack of hair altogether on his head.

Max was so proud of himself for putting on his own pj's.  If you look close you will see the neck of his shirt is at chest level not to mentions backwards and he is missing the all important underwear.  No, we don't let him go to bed commando.  He is doing great at using the potty and has only had one real accident in the last month or so (totally my fault), but I must draw the line somewhere.

Packed in like sardines

We were very tightly packed (thank you Derek) into our car for the duration of our trip.  There were the boys' bags separating them.  The cat traveled very well and has really adjusted well to his new home.  

You can see our cat in the back.  He rode in this spot for almost the entire trip.

Addison really got the raw end of the deal.  Not only were there bags beside him, but under him and if the cat and Max had anything to say it would have been on top of him as well.


We really had great roads, but I was amazed at how dirty a car can get after traveling half way across the country in the middle of winter.

Friends

During “The Move” Derek and Alecia invited us over to decorate cookies with The Laughead’s.  We had a ton of fun.

Max loved decorating and then eating the cookies

Isn't Pen so cute?

Even the Dads got in on the action!!

Well, we finally got our Internet up and running.  As promised, I am going to update my blog.

December 13^th, Paul graduated from Western Michigan University with his Masters degree.  I am so proud of him.  It was a lot of work, but we are one step closer to getting through school. 

If you look close you can see Paul on the big screen with the bow tie

That same night we had a surprise party for Paul and also a going away for the rest of the family.  We really feel fortunate to have made such wonderful friends while we were in Kalamazoo.

Not a catchup just a POSTING

 

Well, I have been getting a lot of flack about not posting anything for over a year. So since you all have asked for it.....

Max and Mom and a Dandelion

We decided that before my belly gets too big, that we should do a camping trip. This is not "Gerke" style camping, but going to a KOA with running water, electricity, hot showers and flushing toilets. So last weekend over Mother's Day we went to southern Kentucky. We really just relaxed a lot, let Max run and chase the birds and enjoy being outside with a little freedom to roam, which we don't give him here since we are afraid of him getting run over in out Apartment Complex.

The highlight of our trip was a visit to Mammoth Caves National Park. It was a beautiful day and we went on a tour of "The New Entrance" which was really one of the first entrances into the cave. We went down 250+ feet below the surface and that was the part that Max really disliked. I ended up carrying him the whole way. Once down, there was more room for Max to feel comfortable and he hiked like a champ.

The tour was very informative on the caves, how they were discovered and also how they are formed. I really learned a lot even though I did know quite a bit since I grew up with caves in my back yard and my Dad knowing so much about them.

The highlight of the tour was the very end, where all the formations are. Lots of flows, stalactites and stalagmites, etc. It really reminded us of Timpanogas Caves (which have a lot more formations than the part we saw).

Max and Mom in Mammoth Caves

By the time that we where out of the cave, the temperature was close to 80. There was a nice picnic area where Max could run some more and we could eat. Then we went back to camp and took a much needed nap (Well, Max and I did).

Max and Daddy gathering sticks for a campfire

The low light of our trip was the very next day, Mother's Day. We had 50 mph wind gusts, and lots of rain. We were all cold and hadn't planned very well on what to do in all the weather. We tried the Mall, but Max could only handle so much wandering aimlessly, so we ended up back at camp trying to get Max to go to sleep. The wind finally stopped about 4 am and the next day we were able to pack up in the sunshine.

Max Learning to drive a bit early

Overall, a great trip and as my step mom said "A Mother's Day to remember"

Max-speak

Max is really starting to talk a lot. Most people have no idea what he is talking about. He will say "Hello" to a complete stranger and they think that he is really something. Little do they know that there is a telephone close by and that is truly what he "wants". He could care less about the stranger. So I thought that it might be fun and helpful for me to list some of Max-speak so that I will be able to remember it later on and also, hopefully, to amuse you.

Mama--you would think that I would love to hear this, but it is actually banana. I am mommy

Hello--Telephone

Hot--Well, we have taught him well, the flame of the candle is hot, but it doesn't need to be lite for him to call it a hot.

La La--could be one of two things, his favorite book, Moo, Baa, La La La, or Water.

Butt—No, he is not referring to his derriere, but a button. No matter how hard I try, I can't get him to put an on on the end.

Bubble-o--Could be bubbles, but today I was wearing my Twin Pine Ranch shirt and we learned Buffalo

Bat--No we don't have bats thank goodness, but his bath, which he loves

Awful--He is talking about his daddy's cooking. Mostly the waffles. Sometimes he gets confused and calls all breads awfuls.

He does say other words and more everyday. Here are just a few:

Daddy Mommy cat doggie milk

fish mine more NO poop

juice bear duck

Here are our most recent pictures that we had taken. Max has always been an excellent boy at picture time, until this day. He cried the whole time unless I was holding him, and I really didn't want my picture taken, but as usuall....MAX IS THE BOSS!!!! You can tell he is crying in some of the pictures. He also decided to show his muscles and the lady caught that if you know what to look for. I still like them.

Christmas Adventure

Christmas starts every year for us on December 2nd. This is the day that Paul's family always put up there Christmas Tree. So this year we found a Christmas tree farm in town and made a trip out there to cut down our own Christmas tree. It was a beautiful sunny and very cold day. I didn't think about how cold the wind was and Paul and I only wore coats and Max a snowsuit but no gloves (mostly because he hates them and takes them off as soon as he can.

Once we had arrived, they gave us a saw and out we when in the snow looking for a very small tree. Since Max is in to everything I knew that once we put up the tree it would be a battle every waking hour. We found a 5 ft tree and since Paul had Max on his shoulders, I the mighty heroine of the day cut the tree down. Paul thought that it would take me forever, but since the trunk of the tree was only 3 inches in diameter, I was done and carried it to the car. I had a lot of fun and it will be a tree to remember (not to mention it stayed green the entire time).