Florida Vacation

Ok all,

Sorry for the long blog hiatus.  Max and I have been soaking up the sunshine in Florida! That's right, we took a 4 day vacation together to visit my grandparents. We had a wonderful time! 

I have to admit, I am not sure what I enjoyed more. Watching Max swim in the pool everyday and have his first-ever beach experience. Or, watching my grandmother interact with her precious great-grandson. She showed him off to everyone, including strangers at the beach and restaurants. She was in an ongoing state of bliss and could barely stand to part with us after the 4 days.

One of our best memories was at the beach. Let me explain by giving you a picture-by-picture explanation:

Max meets Sand.

Max likes Sand.

Max eats Sand.

Mmmmmm...Yummy Sand.

Here are just a few more of my favorite snapshots from our trip:

Hey guys, 

will you put The Beach in the nav system for me?

Max did not dig the pool while in his life jacket.

Ahhh...much better.

Free at last!

Max and his proud great-grandmothers.

[Did I mention my red-haired Nana drove more than two hours to see her Max? 

Now, that is love!]

Max, you are a great little companion! You better believe we have more Mama and Max trips in our future. 

What A Little Ham

Sorry if I am cheating here and not actually writing this blog entry myself. 

But, my sis-in-law, Rebecca, featured Max on her blog today and I don't want you to miss it! [I realize some of you frequent both blogs so I apologize for the double duty!]

Click here and enjoy the fun!

P.S. While on Rebecca's blog, you can see all the ADORABLE pics of my newphew, Shayden.

What. A. Cutie.

Book Worm

Have I told you how much Mister Max loves to read? Check it out!

The boy Loves. To. Read. Books. Forget the toys, the balls, the musical instruments. Max will crawl at rapid speed past all of his toys to get to his big basket of books. He will joyfully yank the basket off the shelf and begin to read. He has spent up to 30 minutes at a time reading books by himself [I have timed it!]. He looks at pictures and reads out loud in baby talk: "lalalalalalalala" or "bababababababababa" or "dadadadadadadadada." 

He will also sit on my lap for a great length of time while I read books to him. In fact, he kind of grunts and bobs his head when the book is over as if to say, "Another one please!!"

Now, I am no expert at ten month olds, however this seems quite unusual to me. I mean, I can barely get him to lay still long enough to change his diaper. BUT, he will sit still and read books? I love it!

And I love that he is a little reader. Keep it up, Max!

Meet Max's Newest Cousin!

Meet Claire Emmanuel

[Luke and Bethany's baby girl!]

Born 5 weeks early, this little peanut is in perfect health!

4 lbs 6 oz

17 in long

Thank you Jesus for this little miracle!

Would You Like to Buy a Cookie?

Ahhhhhhh...Girl Scout Cookie season is finally upon us. 

I don't know about you, but Sam and I are hopelessly addicted to these tiny little cookies. We did our annual Girl Scout Cookie Happy Dance when the doorbell rang and we realized it was our much-anticipated order of Thin Mints, Tagalongs and Samoas.

We decided that Max's first cookie should definitely be a Girl Scout Cookie. So we picked our favorite - the Thin Mint - and handed it over with our full permission to eat the entire cookie. 

What is this deliciousness they just handed me? 

I'm going back for more. Don't even try to stop me!

This is the best thing EVER!

I just can't get enough! 

All done! 

Max has officially been initiated into the Girl Scout Cookie world. And LOVES em'! But, what's not to love? They are the most delicious little cookies EVER!

Chew on This

We hit another Max Milestone yesterday. I put him down, as usual, for his afternoon nap. However, he was not tired at all. I heard him for 45 minutes babbling in his crib. Not upset one bit, just talking and talking and talking. After awhile, I started wondering, "what is he actually doing in there?" He often talks himself to sleep, but not for this long. We were certainly past the window of him actually falling asleep for an afternoon nap.  

So I creep into his room, peek around the corner and discover...

Max. Standing. In. His. Crib. 

A Milestone.

One we have been prepared for. We lowered the mattress weeks ago in anticipation for this next step. However, it is still one of those AHA! moments when you realize your child has discovered how to do something new.

The story doesn't end here. I realize [very quickly!] that as he is standing, he is also teething on the side of his crib [Can I pause briefly to  mention that this is brand new furniture that converts to a toddler bed and then a full size bed? In other words, this furniture is an investment that we are going to use for years and years and years to come! Why doesn't he understand this?].  

I pulled him out of his crib lickity-split. [Sam did ask my later if I used it as a teaching moment. You know in a quiet and loving voice, "Max, no thank-you, we don't chew on furniture..." Uh no, I did not use it as a teaching moment. I yanked him out of the crib.]

So I am sure you are all desperate to know what we decided to do to ensure our furniture does not get chewed up by our almost ten-month-old. 

Option 1: Sleep in pack-n-play until further notice.

Option 2: Purchase Kid Kusion - a safe, non-toxic, bpa-free rail cover that will provide a chewy soft surface for teething [Yes, I just read this directly from the pacakge].

So here is where we stand [haha, pun intended] as of today. Max slept soundly in his pack-n-play last night and will remain in his cozy portable crib until Mommy and Daddy apply the gummi crib rail cover.

You sure are keeping us on our toes, Mister!

The Mister's Closet

For the third time since Max's birth, I found it necessary to organize his closet and make sure it only includes clothes that fit. First, he graduated from 0-3 to 3-6. Then, the little guy could barely squeeze into his 3-6 wardrobe so I moved him to 6-12. Now, at not even 10 months of age, I am already weeding out onesies that won't button and pants that are way too short, and replacing his 6-12 clothes with a 12-18 wardrobe.

As much as I like to shop [the boy always looks dapper, doesn't he?], I find days like today a bit bittersweet. I will admit it, tears have rolled down my cheeks every time I put clothes away in a bin for storage.  

Max is growing up so fast. He is the most precious and sweetest thing I have ever known, and he is growing up. I know this is a good thing, but it is a bit of a tearjerker to tuck those sweet baby boy clothes in a bin.

I am already praying that I get to pull them out again, one day soon. Seriously. The clothes are stinkin' cute. And they do not belong in bins tossed to the side and forgotten. And for that reason, and many, many, many more of course, we need another precious boy so I have an excuse to pull the clothes back out and "ooohhhh and awwww" over our adorable baby boy wardrobe.

Let it be Lord, let it be!

Max in one of his new, too cute, big boy outfits!

His very first Puma track suit.