Teething

Max, while still and easy toddler, is now cutting 5 teeth (three molars and 2 canines). He has to bite all the time. It is usually Paul's or my upper body, although legs are sometimes all he can get. We tell him "Don't bite!" and he will look us straight in the eye and say "Don't, Don't." Sometimes we even get the finger shaking at us. I just wonder when it will ever sink in that biting is not tolerated. We try everything from "baby time out" (15 sec of no touching and not looking) to putting him in his room or bed and still he bites. I am hoping that as soon as the teeth are in (just 12 more months) that the biting will stop.

We went to a friends house on Friday who has a vineyard and picked grapes. We barrowed a juicer from another friend and spent the rest of the weekend canning juice. We ran out of lids so now have 2 gallons to juice to finish up tonight. We had a lot of fun picking grapes. Judie was a wonderful hostess. Max loved Mack (the dog) and had a great time chasing him. I don't think the dog enjoyed it as much as Max. Judie's house is up on one of the only hills around. We could actually see out a ways. She has 20 acres and has created some beautiful walking trails through it.

Paul had his first reading of his play in his class. The play isn't finished only about 30 pages of script so far, but his class and instructor really liked it. His instructor said that he hasn't seen that kind of elegance in writing for a long time. That really made Paul feel good and validated our being here.

Max still isn't talking. Better said he isn't saying words that I recognize. He babbles non-stop but I don't understand very much of it. I just know one of these days he is going to break out in full sentences. I can see the intelligence in his eyes and know that he is just dying to tell me everything that he knows.

That is all from Michigan for Now!

Getting into a routine

Max enjoying his lunch and his new haircut.
Max is really getting into feeding himself. I once told Paul's sister Adrianne that I didn't know if I could let my child get this messy. Well...

We are getting into our routine. Max still loves going to Day Care. He never wants to leave. I don't know if that is good or bad :) They do a great job of letting him do as much as he can. They have sent home pictures that he has painted and keep us posted on what books he is having read to him, song sung, what he is eating, how long he is sleeping, and what activities he did. It really is a good program. I think most of all he really enjoys playing with other kids his own age.

Paul is really getting into the groove of teaching. I think that he is finding what works and what doesn't. He is also realizing how time consuming Max is when they are home together. Paul loves to teach Max new things and is always showing me what they are doing together.

Max has discovered the computer and there are some online "games" that he really likes. One is the alphabet and another is shapes. Max only has to press a button and the next letter or shape appears. He claps for himself all the time.

I decided that Max needed a better hair cut. I have been just trimming up the edges, but this time I got out the clippers. Oops, a little more that i wanted but it looks cute spiked.

Max has also learned how to blow kisses, show his muscles, gives high five and gives kisses to mommy and daddy. There is nothing sweeter than when putting him to bed, he blows us kisses. Great ending to a sometimes very hectic day.

I am getting into my job. I heard from my old job that they are still looking for a part timer to help replace me. They are so busy and I wish I could be there for them. I really miss them and miss knowing the patients by name. That is something that I am struggling with here, but I will get it.

My new Dentist is really nice and very patient. Most of the team is new. The Hygienist Sarah and I started about the same time, the front office has been there 2 1/2 years and the Business manager has been there 16 years. It makes is both challenging and exciting. Sarah and I are able to make changes without much of a problem. We are getting along really well.

This week the weather has been really dreary. It has been cloudy and rainy almost all week. I have really treasured any sunshine that I have seen this week. Dr. Holtgrieve said that it is pretty typical of Michigan this time of year.

Paul, Max and I finally when camping together for the first time. We when to Warren Dunes state park that is on Lake Michigan. It is really beautiful. The only bad thing was that it was right by the interstate and the mosquitoes where everywhere. Our camp was in the trees. We hiked a ways and then we hit the dunes. Neither Paul nor I really knew what to expect so se put Max in the backpack on Paul's back and off we went for a 3 mile hike. The first mile was flat easy and beautiful. Then we started up and over the hill and on the other side was the dunes. The foliage changed from trees to sand grass in one step is was almost as if someone had drawn a line. As soon as we were over the hill we had a breathtaking view of Lake Michigan. It was so beautiful. It was early enough in the morning that there was mist on the horizon.

The next 1/2 mile or so got us both worried. Paul was really starting to feel the weight of Max in the backpack and we wondered what the trail was going to be like to get back to the car. The sand was soft and the dunes were steep. We finally made it to the beach. WOW. I never knew that lake beaches could be so beautiful. Better than any ocean that I've been on (which isn't saying a lot).

We spent so time letting Max run around and picking up rocks for Paul to fling into the lake. Then we got to the end where the trail was suppose to pick up and go back to camp, and we couldn't find the next trail head. We finally had to ask. After trudging through the sand, hot, hungry and tired, Paul was sure that this was another "Gerke death March". We found the trail head and it was Paul's worst dream come true. It was steep right away, lots of loose sand and full sun. By this time Max really wants down and is also hungry. So we marched on. I felt like we were climbing the sand hill outside of Moab. We finally made it to the top and the other side was so steep that I couldn't even see the slop looking down. We started down and realize this was the pay off. It was a lot of fun. The sand was so loose from everyone else going up and down that we were mid-calf in the sand. We reached that bottom and right there was our car.

Over all a successful trip. We came home with lots of sand everywhere and mosquito bites everywhere else.

Kirtland

Before I started my new job and Paul started his orientaion for teaching, we decided that we needed to take a little trip somewhere. We decided that we would really like to visit Kirtland. So we called up Camille and Steve and asked if they would like some overnight guest. They were excited and so we set off on Wednesday morning to drive to Kirland which is just east of Cleveland Ohio.

We started our grand adventure on the wrong road and end up taking a "short cut" that added about 20 minutes to our drive. We finally got on the right road and made it with out incedent to Toledo before more driving folly happened. We were trying to avoid the toll road that is the major road going east to west and the ramp was closed to the road that we wanted to be on. We wondered around for about 1/2 hour in Toledo before giving up and just getting on the @#%^ road.

Since it was our first time on the toll road we were not sure how much the toll would be and how we would have to pay the toll nor which class of vehicle we were in 1st 2nd or 3rd class. We thought that we had $3 cash so we decided to go for as far as that would take us assuming that we were the most expensive class of vehicle. When we decided to exit the toll road, Paul realized that we had spent $2 earlier in the week and the toll ended up being $1.55. We only had $1.50 and the lady taking the money gave us the dirtiest look and made us feel like we were ripping of the state of Ohio.

The rest of the drive was uneventful and we reached Kirland at around 1 pm. It is a beautiful place. The LDS Church has spent a lot of money restoring the NK Whitney store, the sawmill, ashery and other surrounding buildings. The give tours and we really enjoyed to 2 hours that we spent there. We then headed over to the Kirtland Temple and took a tour of that as well. It has also been reacently restored and it is amazing to think of all the time and energy that it took for the pioneers to build such a beautiful building. Many of Paul's ancestors helped and that made it very special for Paul.

We then headed back to Toledo to spend the rest of the evening and following day with Steve and Camille. This time we knew we didn't have any cash so we decided to take other road to get there besides the toll road. All went well until we reached Toledo. It seems as if all the roads are under construction and closed. We finally found our way to the Oler's home at around 7:30pm.

There is a place in Toledo that Paul has been talking about since Camille and Steve moved there....Tony Packo's. If you know MASH then you know that Tony Packo's is Clinger's favorite place to eat. They are known for there fried pickles and hotdogs. So off we went to Tony Packo's for dinner. The fried pickles were really quite good. Paul was in heaven and even got a new hat there. I am not dying to go back, but it sure made Paul's day.

The next day we went with Camille and Steve to a Farm there that have wonderful Red Haven Peaches and we decided to buy a half bushel and freeze them.

We ate lunch then said goodby to Camille and Steve. Thankfully we were able to find Kalamazoo without any further incidents. I am dreaming of the day that I will no longer feel lost every day but maybe only once a month. I don't see that in the near future.

When we got home. Max decided that he really needed to join in the fun. He was sticky and wet from head to toe, but he sure had fun.

We decided this week that we would go and pick blueberries. There are lots of blueberry farms and we had heard that you could find some that let you pick the berries yourself. We started out for South Haven which is a little resort town west of us and just before getting there we found this farm. Paul and I picked about 10 lbs of blueberries and Max had a blast on Daddy's
back and ate as many berries as we would give him.

We then headed on to South Haven. The Doctor that I interview with on Wedensday told us about this great beach on Lake Michigan called north beach. So we found it and sat on the beach eating our picnic lunch. I thought Max would love to play in the water and splash, like he does in the bath, but after feeling how cold that water was he wasn't all that interested. Instead he decided to chase the seagulls and play in the sand. It is amazing all the places sand can get in (not on) a little boy. He sure had fun.

After the beach we went to a great ice cream parlor that we heard about called Sherman's. The serve a baby cone that is really a double scoop anywhere else. The ice cream is wonderful and if anyone wants to come and see us I am sure that we can make a special trip just for you. It is hard to believe that the "beach" that we played in the sand on will actually be covered in snow and that people will ice fish there.

Then for the trip home. Lets just say that the ice cream must have gone to my head and we were not exactly lost, but lost for the next hour until we found the main road and made it home. Lucky for us, Max decided to take a very long nap while we taking the senic route home.

Max 11 months

Hey, I thought this might be a fun way to keep in touch and keep everyone up to date on what is happenin' to us. We are having tons of fun packing right now and thinking of all the last that we are doing. Max of course is clueless on what is about to transpire. More to come later