Blogging...

So we're going to mix things up around here. I want to blog more frequently. I have felt like I HAVE to post pictures all the time, and have great stories about Max to match... I just can't always do that! So, like the title says, this blog will be more about the FAMILY. We're even going to open it up for grandparents to post. Maybe they'll be better at the photo thing than I have been!

I also want to post about cool things that Ron and I are doing. Books we're reading, places we're going. And hopefully I will be able to keep up with the blog more regularly.

That said, I do have some recent pics!

Ice cream with Gracie at the Zoo. A yummy treat!
Big prize if you know who the dude on Max's shirt is...

Some pictures from Easter... a parade, of course!

Many of the eggs were stuffed with temporary tatoos. Max helped the whole family get "inked". Even Great has some tats! Think Max has found his calling?

Taking a ride on the rocking horse that Ron made for him. Seriously- I love this picture!

Happy Birthday little man!

Happy Birthday, Maximus!

You turned 2 on Monday! Time flies so quickly. You are so much fun. Everyday you do or say something that brightens up our day. You love to be silly, read, dance, jump, climb, play "Hide Seek", be chased, and anything having to do with vehicles- especially airplanes and firetrucks! You also love babies and Care Bears. Oh and chocolate milk. You wake up from your naps and say, "Deedee doooo-ing?" and we have to go see what Daddy is doing. You LOVE your family and friends and often ask for "Mama Sue", "Pa Bob", "Mama Cidi", "Pa Sam", and "Mimi". Uncle Larry and his girlfriend Yvette came up to share birthdays and it didn't take long before you were greeting them just as enthusiastically. If we tell you we are going to the park, you say "Friends!" because you know we'll probably be meeting up with some of your friends. You call all kids your age "friend" even if you have never met them before which is very cute! It's like anyone your size is a potential playmate. Oh, and you are so BIG! You've grown about 6 inches in the last 9 months. You are now 37 inches tall and weigh just over 35 pounds. You are very sensitive and don't like to see other people sad- if another child is crying you run up to us with a distressed look on your face and bury your face in my chest saying, "sad!" "No sad!". It has been incredible watching you grow up and become a little person. Every week we wish we could freeze time and keep you at the age you are now- you are so entertaining and full of love and cuddles and kisses.
Welcome to the "TERRIFIC Two's"!

Love,
Mommy and Daddy

Photo Catch-up

Chicken Max Hangin' out with my buddy Kaden

And tackling his brother Kiran

First Driving Lessons!

First Haircut!

Max had his first haircut at 19 months. I was so nervous... I love his cute little curls! However his bangs were in his eyes and bugging him. We wanted a trim... but didn't want a mullet! We took him to a great kids haircut place where they have a huge play area and little cars to ride in. Max had a great time and barely noticed that he was getting his hair cut. It looks perfect, too! You wouldn't know he even had a haircut if you hadn't seen him recently. His curls stayed, they're just shorter. Uncle Larry visited with his girlfriend Yvette. We had a nice visit and it was so hard to have them leave. Here's a sneak peek for Halloween!

Welcome Fall!

Happiest baby in the world! Can I still call him a baby??? He's soooo big! I did a trade with a couple of Etsy moms last month. These shirts he's wearing in all these pictures are from N is for Nate and Sycamore Baby. We love them!!!

Grandma Ammi came for a visit. He put his boots on all by himself.

We went on a few trips to the pumpkin patch. Good times! Max LOVED the hayride. He kept signing "more" and saying, "coooool." He's hangin' with his homeys, Madden, Jake, and Ruby.

Another day, another P-patch. there are a million funny caption possabilities for this picture! Post one in the comments. :-) P-patch with a boat. Max wasn't too sure about the boat part.

Next time... First haircut!

Crackers in Bed

Last night Max woke in the middle of the night and wouldn't be consoled with water or a binkie. I'm working hard to night-wean, so I was trying to think of other alternatives to nursing at 2am. Usually when I tell him "Mamas milk is sleeping." He gives a quick whine, takes a drink of water, and is back to sleep right away. Not last night.

Then I remembered our lactation consultants advice- Maybe he really is hungry. Try a high protein snack... maybe a hunk of cheese in the middle of the night will help him sleep. Hmmm... no cheese, but we have peanut butter cracker sandwiches that he loves. So, at 2am...Max is sobbing... signing "milk"

Mommy: I know you want milk, mamas milk is sleeping. You want some water? Or a binkie?
Max: nooooo no no no ... milk
Mommy: Are you hungry? You want a snack?
Max (still sobbing) : Yeeeeaaaaaahhhhh.
Mommy: You want some peanut butter crackers?
Max (sniff sniff): yeah. yeah... (sniffing subsides)

Dutiful Daddy goes downstairs to get crackers, meanwhile Max is pointing at the door asking for crackers. When daddy comes back and puts a cracker in his hand, Max stops sniffling altogether and lays back down to cuddle with mommy. Binkie in one hand, cracker in the other. He ate 4 peanut butter crackers, and drank a bunch of water. It was so cute to hear him chomping away at the crackers, half asleep. At one point he stopped eating and said, "Mommy!" I said, "Yep, mommy's here!" then he points at himself, "YOU!!!" I say, "Yep, you're here, too!" then he lifts his head and looks at Ron, "Daddy!" "Yep, that's daddy!" Max finally says, "Yeah..." and puts his head back down to finish his cracker. He signed "more" when he was done with one and wanted another. I thought he would fall asleep with a bite in his mouth, but sure enough he finished up, put his binkie in his mouth, and fell right to sleep. He slept for a good chunk of time, I think the snack definitely helped.

We have a bed full of crumbs, and we'll probably go out and get some cheese tonight, or other high protein snack... but last nights midnight half-asleep cracker crunching is something I want to remember!

Summertime Catch-Up

I've been so bad at blogging this summer. We've had a terrible time with our computer, and I haven't had much access to it. So here is a summary of our summer.

Max has a patch of exzema that will not go away. He is sensitive to a lot of foods, so we have been trying to determine which one is the cause of the eczema. The testing we did gave us a long list: dairy, wheat, sugar (any cane sugar), tomatoes, melon, apples, red pepper, and perfume. We eliminated all that for 6 weeks, then gradually added things back in. It's now narrowed down to dairy or wheat. Sooooo, we were planning a camping trip and wanted to bring a treat that Max could share. We made brownies- wheat free, gluten free, dairy free, nut free, egg free... and actually they were really good! I didn't make them from scratch... they were a bag mix from Whole Foods-The brand is The Cravings Place and they also have really good pancake mix. Max had his first "lick the bowl" experience. You can tell he liked it!

Then we went up to Mt.St.Helens to meet Dave, Chaos, and Fiona. Dave was biking in a race up there on Saturday. We had a great campground, Eco Park Resort. When we got there, it looked like rain, so we opted to stay in a yurt. It was perfect! Space for the kids to run around, a wood burning stove to keep us warm, and a propane lamp built in. We decided to pitch the tent anyhow so the kids could have a place to play. Fiona and Max helped.

Matching mama-knit ponchos. Soooo cute!

We spent a lot of time this summer at the Wilsonville Memorial Park-

We went to the Oregon Country Fair again. It was fun! Grandma Ammi flew up and came with us. We had planned on camping for 3 nights, and going to the fair 2 days. As it happened, Max got sick just a few days before we'd planned on going. We missed the first few days, and ended up driving down Saturday to camp, and only went to the fair Sunday. We camped with the Breana and Rich and the "K Crew", and Naked Jen and Dave. They had some friends drive up and join us, too. It was fun, but too quick! We didn't get to visit as much as we had wanted. Next year we'll try again for the full camping/multi day fair thing.

Heading off to the fair!

A nap in the midst of all the revelry...

Tree dude...One of my favorite pictures ever...
Crow Guy...
Then there was the LaLecheLeague Family Disco Dance Party. It took awhile for Max to warm up, he danced in my arms for awhile...then he joined right in and boogied! I knew I should've brought the video camera!

Grandma and Grandpa Brooks babysit a couple days a week while I work. Max loves it. They have started taking him out more often. They think of all kinds of fun adventures! They take him to the little airport nearby to watch the planes take off and land, they take him to the water park, last week they took him to a go-kart racing place and a farm. He also loves visiting with Great-Grandma. What a lucky boy! We are very lucky parents, too. They babysit on weekends so Ron and I can have a night out once in awhile. We went and saw our first movie in a looooong time- Harry Potter in 3D on IMAX screen. Fun!
Max has been going to swimming classes once a week at this tiny private pool called Children of the Sea. He LOVES it! He goes under water, has learned to kick, and loves to go down the slide.

Last weekend we went to Big Truck Day which is put on by a local Parks and Rec. It was AWESOME! Every truck you can imagine was there. From street sweepers, to cranes, to ambulances and school busses. The kids could climb inside the trucks, honk the horns, etc. Max was a little unnerved by the height of the big rig he went in, but he loved the school bus and the old fire truck. What a great idea this is! I can only imagine how much more he'll love it next year.

Lest you think we are gender stereotyping with all these big trucks and all, Max has a baby that he loves. I gave it to him in the store and he wouldn't let it go. He hugs it and says "Baby!" so of course we had to buy it.

And he's had his first painting experience. He was more interested in putting the brushes in the paint than the actual painting, but that's ok. Speaking of painting, he LOVES the artwork we have in our home. Max's Great-Grandpa, Fred E.Brooks was an artist and we have many of his paintings in our house. Max will stand by one, point at it and say "Tete" which means "painting" and gesture for you to pick him up. Then he just stares and points at the paintings. Then you put him sown and he goes around the house pointing at all of Great-Grandpas paintings wanting you to pick him up so he can get a close look. Pretty cool.
Whew! We're caught up! Next time I'll have some videos. And more about what he's doing, like talking and stuff. He's a pretty cool kid!