Taking a Break

Max totally LOVES to play Angry Birds on our Kindle Fire. I think it is my Kindle. He thinks it is his. We seems to be doing ok with sharing. He cracked me up yesterday when he took the Kindle and sat in his little chair with his feet up on the lion walker toy thing. He was taking a little break!

Max loves dessert

After eating his dinner last night, Max got a donut hole, a ramekin of whipped cream, and his beloved cupcake from Wes and Laurie's party. All three were round. And he lined them up before starting to eat.

World of Wonder Toys

Max is playing with Max the Motorcycle and the policeman and police dog from the police car set. Happy Max. He said I was the Mommy with the baby in the sling. :)

Max and "his Baby"

Saturday evening Max said he wanted to go with Daddy when Daddy went to Home Depot. I stayed home with Meggie and Grandma. They were gone for about 2 hours. We heard the car door and Meggie was off the couch and running to the front door yelling "Max! Max!" When Max came in, he ran to the top of the stairs and yelled "Baby, I need to hug you!" and then they gave each other the biggest hug ever. It was so amazingly sweet! I still get a little teary-eyed just thinking about it. I'm so glad they love each other.

Don't worry, but Sunday morning they were back to fighting over scarce resources (who was going to have the best view of Elmo on the portable DVD player).

Max may not like Movement at school

But take him to a wedding reception and there is no stopping him!

This was September 26, 2009, Michael and Sheena's wedding. Reposted to share with Max's school. :)

Blocks!

NannyJo took this picture of Max with the "house" he built, and then knocked down. As you can see, he has had QUITE the haircut since school started. :)

Max's First Day as a WWP 3-day 3!

Tie Dye Shirt. Cars backpack. Teal chucks. Fruit snack. And Harry Potter glasses. He was ready!

Skinny Jeans Max

Here's Max in his special outfit today. He's got on skinny jeans with quite a slim fit. And 2 (count them! 2!) shirts. He was very excited about everything he got to wear today. The jeans. The shirt. The jacket. And then a rain coat too.

Playdoh!

Max and Meggie with playdoh. Max can't look up. That playdoh isn't going to form itself into ice cream on its own!

Business Meeting Max

Here's a photo of Max, wearing a short sleeved dress shirt and khaki shorts (summer business casual for babies), holding his baby Starbucks mug (full of water!), looking like he is wondering if he is late for a meeting. :)

Max Loves Trains

Even after a week at Granny and Papa's, Max didn't get enough time with trains. He has been playing with trains every day. Sadly he was too busy designing the track to pose for a picture for me. But he has made a large number of tracks using all the pieces, and making each track into a complete circuit. And then he happily drives the trains around and around and around. I'm glad he's having to much fun!

Pirate Max

Max is very excited about his new pajamas. And is very excited that his Alpha Oops book also has a pirate ship that looks like the one on his pajamas.

Fun on the slide!

Mr Cool

Max wanted to wear sunglasses today instead of his regular glasses. And yes, that is a tiny little Winnie the Pooh in the corner!

Happy Max!

But Margaret is not so happy! She did not want to be in the stroller. She's a big girl now!

Too Bad Max is So Sad...

This is Max and Margaret, watching Elmo's World for the first time. Too bad Max clearly hates it, eh? Margaret was also totally excited about her new Hello Kitty shirt! I cannot explain why Max is wearing both an apron and a bib to watch tv. The way his mind works is often a mystery to me...

Max on the Big Boy Swing!

No baby swing for Max now! He's a big boy!

Happy Birthday Mommy!

Max is being a little silly, but he's making a birthday card for Mommy. He told me all about it last night. It's going to have a heart and say Max which is spelled Up Down Up Down Circle Cross Cross. Super thanks to Joanna for the photos and for making card-making-time happen!

Max the Problem Solver

When I went to England in March, I got Max a bowl with his name on it. The bowl was lost. And then found. I told him it was dirty. But I was busy, so he needed to put it on the counter and I'd wash it for him. Next thing we see is this:
He got the chair and pulled it up to the sink, turned on the water, and started washing the bowl himself!

My little poser

Max agreed to let me take his picture. :)

Double Baby Tacos with Extra Cheese!

Max loves it when I make him into a taco with his towel after his bath or shower. Last night Margaret had to use a different towel (she usually has a blue cookie monster towel) so she was in a white towel too. So Max was very excited that we had TWO tacos! And I think Margaret liked it too!

Max Calling Mommy

Max had an apple phone before me! Too bad it gets such poor reception...

Mr. Funny!

Today Max wore his Mr. Funny shirt. I love the Mr. Men! And this one even almost has Max's actual name on it. Woo hoo! Super thanks to Uncle Michael and Auntie Sheena!

Sheep and Wool

Max had a really good time at the Sheep and Wool Festival. He liked looking at the animals. He got to pet an angora bunny, which he really liked. He wanted to get one, but I didn't think Mark was really going to be ok with that plan! We were able to mix it up so that we looked at yarn/knitting/patterns/silk/needles/etc and then animals. So there wasn't a long "boring" bit for Max. He was a little afraid of some of the animals, but was excited to see them. He very much enjoyed watching the sheep dog demos (for a little bit), especially the part where the dogs were running around and around and then the sheep were running around and around. At one point one of the dogs ran right past where we were standing. And those dogs can run FAST! He was surprized but delighted. He's pictured above with Wendy, and with his new toy! I've named her Aggie after one of the dogs we've seen each year at the demo.

duh...

Max had been out in the sandbox. When he came in I saw a dark spot on the bottom of his foot. So I said to him, "Max, what's on your foot?" and he looked at me and said "Toes!"

Max makes his shirt true

Looking at Max last night, I just had to laugh. He was wearing his think geek shirt again. And it was filthy! He can't even keep his "I am why we can't have nice things" shirt nice!!!!

Max tells jokes and fixes things

Max told me a joke over the weekend.

Knock, Knock!
Who's there?
Open the door!

He also managed to figure out how to fix the cushions on the couch. My beloved brown cordoroy couch died (when Max jumped on it). So we moved the little blue loveseat down to the living room. The cushions are rectangular, not square. So they have to be aligned properly. We let Max and Nik try. And then I told Max to turn it. And he figured it out. And was so proud of himself! He's a great little problem solver.

He's also been doing very well with his potty training and is wearing underwear all the time other than when he is sleeping. Yay Max!

Max has a fun weekend...

Max holding Margaret in his lap to watch his "movies" as he calls the OK GO videos.

Max after our walk to Giant to do the grocery shopping! He was facinated by the idea of walking to the store instead of driving. We FILLED the basket with tomato sauce and yogurt. My arms are definitely sore today! 30+ pounds of Max plus the groceries adds up!

Max Builds Mommy a House

Max and I have been playing with stickle bricks. I showed him how to make a house, with a window. He was pretty excited about the idea. So yesterday he was playing with his duplo. He worked on making me a hosue. But then he realized the house did not have a door. This was distressing. Mommy's house has to have a door. So he was working away on the house. Adding towers/turrets and wheels. But still no door. He was very busy. And could barely take a moment to pose for me. But in the end he did say Cheese!

Thanks to Duncan for the great shirt!

Margaret is visible in the background, with Max's backpack from Great Granny and Grandad. Busy babies!

Max watching OK GO

Max watches the OK GO videos every day. He loves them. LOVES them! When I play the CD, he can identify the songs by their videos. Sometimes within three or four notes. Apparently when he saw one of their videos on a tv when he was out with NannyJo he got all kinds of excited too. He's their biggest tiny fan!

Little poser...

Here Max hugs Margaret in front of my white tulips.

Max in his new outfit from Wes and Laurie!

Playground Time!

Max really loves being a big brother! He loves to hold Margaret's hand and walk around with her. Yesterday Joanna got some pictures of them at the playground...

Max is why we can't have nice things

Yesterday Max wore his new birthday shirt. And he was very excited about posing for a picture for me. :)

Max's Hokie Pirate Sweater

I finally finished it. Hurrah! Not sure why Max has his hands in his pockets. Or why he is making such an awful face. This is an example of "cheese" going all wrong. But he liked the sweater and I liked him in it. Yay!

Max is a delight to me always

But especially when he wears brown and orange!

Max's Birthday

More photos to follow, but this lets you know how old he is!

If only every day could be a sandbox day...

Max wants to be in the sandbox every day. So if it is remotely possible, we let him go out and play in the sandbox. He can take the lid off by himself and will happily just play with the sand and a spade. He likes it even better when "baby" will come out and play with him. And if Nik will play with him too then life just doesn't get any better than that....

Vision Thing

Max had his checkup today. The doctor said that the glasses are working and that Max's eyes are working as they should while he is wearing the glasses. Since Max wears the glasses whenenver he is awake and dry (to quote the doctor) then we need to just continue doing what we have doing. And we go back in 6 months to check his progress. So good news! And this also means the glasses we got him a week ago will last him at least until the next check up. And if we find the lost pair, we'll be in even better shape!

Playing on the floor is fun

Joanna gave us a couple of floor mats, but we had big baby toys on the floor and didn't get a chance to get this out. Until today. Max was initally confused but then very excited about the town on the floor. He initally had out the train tracks, but then decided to put the train pieces away in order to play with trucks and cars and fire trucks.

Max just wallaby reading

Today Max wore the wallaby I knit for him to wear last winter. I'm very happy it still fits him! Max and Margaret are both big fans of their books. Max often asks to read 5 books. But today he was happy to sit on the bed (right next to his sister -- as close as possible) and read just a couple of books.

Max's Purple Glasses

Max lost his first set of glasses somewhere in the house. So I got him a second set. Let's not talk about that...

Instead lets focus on how cute his new glasses are, and how cute he is in them. :) He will be going for his check up on Monday to see if he still needs to wear glasses, and if so, if they need to be the same strength.

You might also think that his glasses are blue instead of purple. Max loves purple. Even if he isn't really sure what color purple actually is. He said he wanted purple glasses. We got these ones. So they must, therefore, be purple. :)

Max's Temp Glasses

While Max's glasses are lost and while we are awaiting the arrival of the new ones, I got him a pair of cheap reading glasses of the same prescription. Max wore them for the first time yesterday. I actually really like them! He's got quite the Harry Potter look going on. And they have actually stayed on quite well. And with the plastic frame, he hasn't been able to bend them.

His new real glasses should arrive today or tomorrow. But at least he's got these to wear to school today.

Max in Jammies!

I have been slow to update the blogs. I am sorry. So here is a photo of Max, wearing his Thomas pajamas. Max is very excited about putting on his own pajamas, and is doing a great job. Joanna taught him to put his coat on by putting it on the ground and flipping it over his head. For his footed pajamas he puts them on the floor, and then sits on them and puts his feet in. And then he zips it up and celebrates.

You may also have noticed that Max is not wearing glasses in the photo above. This is because his glasses are lost. In the house. His new glasses should be ready today. At which point perhaps his other glasses will be found. The new glasses are more obviously purple, which seems to make him very happy.

While I was gone Max picked up a lot of words, and seems to have picked up a love of talking. Mark suspects that the new found love of talking is a reaction to Margaret's increase in talking. Max is competing with her now! Whatever it takes!

Moon...

Last night as we were walking into MyGym, I pointed out the almost full moon to Max. He looked at me. And said "Not moon. Ball." And from his point of view, I can see how Hello Kitty Hello Shapes has lead us to this point! The crescent is the moon. The circle is a ball. A white shining round thing in the sky is not a cresent and therefore cannot be the moon.

Happy Max is Social

Margaret and Max playing in the kitchen.

Max, Mommy, and Margaret!

Happy Max is Happy

Thanks to Krista and Duncan for the sweater and Joanna for the picture!

Adenoid-Free!

Max is recovering well from having his adenoids removed. He bounced back within 4 hours of the end of his surgery, although the nights are not yet going smoothly. He's in Action Max mode in the day time, but he has a stuffy nose which seems to be tormenting him at night. He has been having some fevers which drag him down, but after a dose of tylenol he is back on track again during the day. Last night was the first night we did not give him medicine before bed and he lasted until 3am. And then he seemed to feel that kicking Mark in the ribs was going to be the solution to all of his problems. Mark did not agree and Max was exiled back to his own bed. Hopefully tonight he will be able to sleep through the night in his bed without getting up. Because I need to sleep through the night in my bed without getting up!!!!!

We are already seeing improvements in the quality and quantity of his speech. Hurrah!

First Day of Preschool Photos

Ready for school in his tiny baby jeans and Beatles t-shirt.

Nik gets a fruit snack to put in his backpack, so Max has to have one too. Even tho Max eats his fruit snack in the car and not at snack time. So he put the fruit snack into his backpack and zipped it up, and then we had to unzip it to remove the fruit snack as soon as we got to the car. But it's a process thing...

Cheese!

In his coat and getting excited!

Traditional First Day of School pose!

At the doors of the preschool. Thanks to our Photographer, NannyJo. Also I am holding the poster for Max to share with his classmates. They hang the posters in the classroom so the kids can look at the pictures whenever they are feeling homesick. Max's poster included pictures of him doing things he enjoys (lego, bubbles, playdoh, playgrounds), people he loves (mommy, daddy, baby, Nik, Julian, Grandad, Grandpa, Uncle Russ, Wesley), and his favorite color -- purple!

Hanging up his coat

Getting ready to serve up some deep dish pizza!

Making some coffee

Time to eat!