Max-Man and Baby Will

9 Months Old

2012-01-21T14:27:00.006-06:00

Can my baby really be 3/4 of a year old already? I just don't see how that is possible! So what is new in Will's world? He has been battling a pretty nasty cold. I stayed home with him on Tuesday and took him to the doctor. Dr. Joe said it was just a cold and to let it run its course. Unfortunately Will seemed to be getting worse rather than better so we ended up seeing Dr. Joe again yesterday afternoon. Max is now on an antibiotic to help clear up his cold which has turned into an infection. Hopefully he is on the mend and his nose will stop running. He hates having it wiped and yells every time I try. So he often looks likes just like this picture - snot running down and all.

His two bottom teeth are just about all the way in. His top two are so close to cutting through. They look just awful - all bulged out and red. I really hope they cut through soon so my little man can get some relief.

Will is doing a great job at pulling up from a sitting position. He loves to stand whenever given a chance. It drives Max crazy that Will pulls up at the side of the train table. I have a feeling things are going to only get tougher in this area. Will is showing more and more interest in Max's things and Max isn't too wild about.

Will has been working hard to perfect his pincher grasp. I just gave him a few Gerber Puffs the other day and he loved trying to pick them up. I'm not sure how many actually end up in his mouth. While he is great at grabbing things with his thumb and forefinger, he hasn't quite gotten the idea of letting go of the treat once it reaches his mouth.

Probably my favorite Will 'trick' this month is his wiggles. He wiggles his little body on demand and shakes his head from side to side. He gets all excited and it is just the cutest thing ever.

It really does just amaze me how much children change this first year. It is a wonder to watch.

Visiting Uncle Mel

2012-01-14T19:15:00.004-06:00

In my Christmas post I shared pictures of Will with two of my great uncles, Sam and Joe. My grandma had a third brother, my Uncle Mel. As I was growing up I was probably closest to Uncle Mel. He took me to Tower Tee and signed me up for a kids golf session with Hale Irwin. He would pay me $1 for every shot I took that made it past 100 yards. In all the years we went I think I made about $3. Uncle Mel was always willing to drive me to sports activities in grade school or work in high school. Although I have to admit that driving with him was always a little scary - he never was a great driver. I'm so grateful for Uncle Mel and the role he played in my life.

Uncle Mel is in nursing home now. He suffers from dementia and some days are better for him than others. Last night was a wonderful night with Uncle Mel. Max, Will, Nonna, and I headed to the nursing home to visit last evening after dinner. Uncle Mel lit up when he saw me and boys. He reached out for Will and wanted to hold his hand. Will was pretty excited about it too. In addition to just a visit we had an extra treat for Uncle Mel last night. Nonna and Great Aunt Carmelina had Uncle Mel's old home movies put on dvd's with music. We brought in my laptop and showed Uncle Mel a little of the movie. It was pure magic. He held my hand and told us who every person in the movie was. Max was excited to see his Nonna as a baby and he thought the swimming pool scenes were pretty funny.

I'm so fortunate to have my family in my life. It means even more to be able to share my family with my boys.

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T19:17:00.009-06:00

We rang in the new year with a fun new activity - bowling! As you may know, Brian is an avid bowler or at least he was at one time. He even has a 300 game, or two, under his belt. After enjoying a yummy New Year's Day breakfast we headed to the bowling alley. I don't think I'm sure who was more excited - Max or Daddy. Although I have to say that Max was so excited he wasn't very interested in posing for pictures.

Max loved rolling his ball down the lane and waiting for it to emerge from the ball return. I guess for a three year old the ball return is a pretty amazing thing. He would also plop his little tush at the line and watch his ball bounce it's way down the lane - thank goodness for bumpers!

Max was all tuckered out about two thirds of the way through their second game, but he was still pretty proud to pose for a picture with his very first bowling score. Funny thing is he got a 55 both games.

All in all I think his first bowling experience was a huge success. In the car he told us he wants to go again.

We are very excited to begin a new year - I'm sure there will be many more wonderful firsts in 2012. Happy New Year to all!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T19:27:00.013-06:00

I don't even know where to begin - this has been such an amazing holiday! We started off the celebration with almost 50 people over last night. Wow, that was a lot of people. All went well thanks to the efforts of my Aunt Carm and Nonna Carlotta. I couldn't have done it without them.

Most of my pictures are of Will because Max just wouldn't stay still he was just too excited. Will is battling a bit of a cold and only napped for about 30 minutes yesterday so I have to admit I was REALLY worried about how he would deal with the celebration. He was actually a little trooper! He posed for pictures with two of my wonderful Great Uncles.

Max was all excited to put out the cookies he had baked for Santa, but I think he was even more excited to sprinkle the special reindeer food with Nonna.

By far the highlight of the evening, other than the great food and fabulous company of course, was a surprise visit my Santa. The kids were so excited! Max was nervous but thrilled to be standing next to Santa. Graham had no fear and was chatting up a storm. Paisley wasn't so sure. Santa's visit was short, you know he has lots of boys and girls to see so he had to get on his way, but I think it is something the kids will remember for quite a while.

This morning Max couldn't wait to come downstairs to see if Santa did indeed bring his car garage. He was so excited when he saw the garage with Santa's note. Will was just excited by all of the pretty paper and bows. Although he did take a break from the paper to check out his toy from Santa. We had an amazing relaxing morning playing with the boys new toys and enjoying breakfast together - not to mention lots of coffee, hosting a holiday is exhausting!

Once we were rejuvenated we headed over to Grandma and Grandpa's house for a little low key brunch. It was so nice to relax and chat. Max is always super excited to see his cousins.

Mommy got a new camera lens for Christmas. I think I need to figure out how to get both kids in focus in the same shot . . . I guess I'll just have to practice and take more pictures of my beautiful little boys. Darn. Merry Christmas everyone!

Preparing for Santa

2011-12-24T12:08:00.004-06:00

Last night we began our Santa preparations. Max worked with his Great Aunt Carm to make cookies for Santa. He loved every minute of the attention as she showed him how to place the cookies on the pan.

Once the cookies were made Max wanted to write a letter to Santa telling him what he wants for Christmas. I know we are a tad bit late, but I think Santa will get the message.
"Dear Santa, I want a garage for my cars please, thank you. Merry Christmas. Max" I helped him with the writing, but he came up with the words all on his own.

Today we caught him looking up the chimney. He told us that Santa is going to hold on to the flue to help come into the house. I can't wait to see how excited he is tomorrow morning when he realizes that Santa has visited. So much fun!

8 Months + 1 Day

2011-12-22T19:53:00.004-06:00

I sit here looking at the Christmas tree. Both boys are asleep and my list of things to do is a million items long. How am I spending this precious time? Blogging. I love reflecting each month on Will and the changes I see with him. I feel like I need to keep in mind Ferris Bueller's famous quote "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while you could miss it."

Will changes so much from day to day. He still just has two teeth although the drool hasn't slowed down at all, so more must be coming. Just in the last week or so he has begun pulling up to his knees. He wants so badly to be able to stand. While he is an expert roller, he hasn't shown too much interest in trying to crawl. I need to work on giving him opportunities to practice while I'm home over winter break. After a little tough love from mommy he is sleeping thought the night - from 7pm until about 6am. Thank goodness - three nursing sessions a night was getting very, very old.

Brian and I are constantly amazed by the amount of babble we hear from him. We joke that he is more verbal now than Max was at 18 months. He loves to hear himself 'talk' in the car. Will has also gotten the hang of eating something other than milk - which I appreciate. He loves fruits, except for bananas. This is rather funny to me because I swear Max would be happy to live off of nothing other than bananas. Will tolerates green beans and carrots, but makes the most awful face for peas, squash, and sweet potatoes.

Probably my favorite thing about Will right now is his love for his big brother. He lights up when Max walks into a room and calms down whenever Max talks to him. What makes it even more adorable is that the feeling is mutual. Max loves Will more than anything. Max hates to see Will upset and he does anything in his power to make it better. The other night in the car Will was upset. We pulled up to a stop light and Max leaned over to him and said "It's okay Baby Will, it's only a red light." Too sweet.

I guess I took my moment to slow down and reflect, now it is time to get back to that to do list. It seems to be pretty long when you are preparing to host Christmas Eve for 40+ people. Remind me again what I was thinking when I volunteered for this? Oh yeah, that's right. I love my family very much and I wanted to give my sweet Aunt Carm a break.

Christmas with the Klippels

2011-12-15T20:12:00.007-06:00

Uncle Will and Aunt Sue were in town from New York so we had an early Christmas celebration with the Klippels this past weekend. The boys were all excited - or at least Max was. Will was actually a bit cranky due to a shorter than necessary afternoon nap. He did perk up a bit to play with his Uncle Mason.

The boys posed for a few pictures in front of the tree. I have to say they look pretty cute! After a fabulous dinner we gathered around the tree to open presents. Will was pretty excited just to hold on to his gift - and try to chew on it. Max was more than willing to show his little brother how it should be done.

A good time was had by all. We are just so incredibly fortunate to have such wonderful people in our lives! We look forward to a few more Christmas celebrations to come over the next few weeks.

Oh, Christmas Tree

2011-12-15T19:52:00.004-06:00

Trying to get the Christmas tree up with all the other craziness going on was a bit tough. In fact for the first year ever I didn't pick out my own tree. Brian headed to Costco, paid $30 at the checkout and picked up a wrapped tree from the truck on the parking lot. I have to say I was very pessimistic - how could this tree possibly be up to my standards? I'm happy to say that I was pleasantly surprised. Max helped us get the tree in it's stand on Saturday night. Baby Will was all excited about helping with the lights. He kept putting them in his mouth - just like everything else. He was also pretty excited about this crazy green thing in his living room. Something new for him to explore.

The tree is now all decorated and Max gets all excited everything he sees it. Baby Will seems to love it too. I just love Christmas!

Breakfast with Santa

2011-12-04T13:43:00.006-06:00

We were fortunate enough to meet my Aunt and Uncle for mass this morning before heading to breakfast with Santa. Max was all excited to see Santa - and eat pancakes. Will was just excited to have lots of people to watch, a teether to chew on, and some pears to eat. Now that his tummy is better, he is finally getting the hang of eating something other than milk.

Max waited in line with daddy and couldn't wait to get to the big guy. He walked right up to Santa and stood near him without any fear. I think he was more concerned with what Santa might do with his sweet Baby Will. They love each other so much already - it melts my heart. Baby Will was okay for a bit, but then he decided he wasn't too sure about the jolly old guy.

I have to admit that I'm disappointed with my pictures today. I really need to get the hang of my camera. For some reason a bunch of them turned out blurry.

Christmas Lights

2011-12-03T20:08:00.000-06:00

The stockings may not be hung with care quite yet, but the lights are! Brian and I started the lights while both boys were napping and after Max woke up he joined in on the fun. Daddy even let him climb a step or two on the ladder - Max has been very excited about the ladder. Last Christmas we had been in the house for less than a month, so I was just happy to get a tree up. This year Max is all excited and we are hosting Christmas Eve, so I feel like we need to step it up a notch or two.

Will woke up just in time to see the finished product and pose for a picture. I love that Will is wearing a little Truman State jacket. This was the first piece of baby gear I bought when I was pregnant with Max. It has special meaning since Truman is where Brian and I met. It is hard to believe that we met so long ago. I swear I can't imagine my life without any of these three very special boys.

Tomorrow morning should be lots of fun. We are meeting my Aunt and Uncle at St. Ambrose for 9am mass and then we will head to the gym for breakfast with Santa. I'm curious to see how the boys react to the big man in the red suit. So far I think Max is just excited that we will get to have pancakes - it's his favorite.

Wild Man

2011-12-02T20:29:00.000-06:00

After bath tonight Max was modeling some wild man hair. He is just too darn cute. He was pretty proud of his crazy hair. I think he needs a haircut.

Max is really into the idea of Christmas this year. Max knows that Christmas is coming and he knows that it is Jesus' birthday. He also knows that Santa comes into play in some way, but doesn't quite get what he has to do with gifts. I think his favorite part of the holiday season so far is looking for Christmas lights as we drive around. He now chants 'Christmas lights, Christmas lights, ho ho ho' whenever he sees lights. This is exactly what my mom and I did when I was little so it brings a huge smile to my face. Tomorrow's goal is to get our own Christmas lights on the house.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T21:08:00.001-06:00

Wow, we have so much to be thankful for today, and everyday. Brian had to work some crazy data center conversion this morning, so I had took the kids over to Grandma and Grandpa's. Max didn't sit still at all. He had the best time running around with his cousins, Paisley and Graham. In fact he was so worn out that this is how he spent his first two hours at my parents house. He had his first taste of Thanksgiving turkey and it did him in.

Will was in pretty good spirits as long as mama was in view - I think separation anxiety is beginning to set in. He loved the gobble gobble sounds Mario the turkey made. He just giggled every time I squeezed Mario's waddle.

After a second fabulous meal Max changed into his PJ's and posed with this 'pine cone turkeys'. Nonna Carlotta found the craft idea on line and she and Max made a whole family of turkeys last week. He even named the turkeys according to the size of their pine cone. Baby Will was the tiniest. He was so proud of his creations!

It is amazing how different my life is than four years ago. I thank God each and every day that he saw fit to put these two amazing little boys in my life. I guess daddy isn't half bad either. I just feel so incredibly, unbelievably lucky. Life is good, very good!

Gardenland Express

2011-11-23T21:20:00.000-06:00

We took a little bit of time out from Thanksgiving preparations to visit the Gardenland Express at the Missouri Botanical Gardens. I don't think I was able to get a single picture of Max looking at the camera because he refused to take his eyes of the trains. The decorations and flowers were beautiful and the trains were adorable. They also had a little seek and find for the kids to complete. Here Nonna and Max are taking a look at what they needed to find.

One train had a very special engineer - Santa Claus himself! Max was so excited when this train stopped and he was able to see the man in the red suit guiding the engine.

Baby Will also joined us for our visit to the trains. He still doesn't seem to be 100%. I thought he was doing better but then tonight he started vomiting again. Poor little guy. Yesterday morning he got sick as well and I already had an appointment to get his ears checked out. His ears looked good, but the doctor did think it was odd that he is still having some stomach issues. Dr. Goldenberg prescribed Prilosec with the hopes that it would help settle his stomach. I'm really hoping Will seems better tomorrow - we have big plans with our families!

Seven Months Old

2011-11-21T19:46:00.000-06:00

My poor Baby Will has celebrated seven months of being with an awful stomach bug. Last Monday the sitter called to let us know that Will wasn't keeping much of anything down. In fact we ended up in the ER on Monday night. They went back and forth on putting an IV in and ended up just giving him an oral anti-nausea med. It seemed to take the edge off, but I still didn't give him his antibiotic for his ear infection for a couple days because he seemed to make his stomach issue worse. On Friday he ended up sick at the sitters again - this time Brian picked him up. He seemed to be better Saturday night, but then was super cranky at the sitter's today. We have a follow up for his ear infection tomorrow afternoon and I have a sinking suspicion that his ear infection has not cleared up since he hasn't gotten in all of his antibiotics.

Will has taken time out from being sick to perfect a few other tricks. He loves to sit up and can do so for quite a bit of time all by himself. He has also become very interested in books - he even looks at them for a bit before starting to chew on them. I remember when Max perfected sitting up, it felt like such a huge milestone - like he was a real little person now, rather than just an adorable blob. I feel the same way about Will. While I do enjoy some aspects of the newborn stage, I love that Will is growing up and becoming so much more engaged with what is going on around him. It is just so much fun!

On top of all his sicknesses, Will has also cut two teeth. In looking back at the blog I realize that Max has eight teeth at this point - crazy! Will's bottom two are just through the gum and they look adorable. If you look close enough you might be able to catch a glimpse of them in the picture - I'll have to post another pictures once they are more visible.

The Things Max Says

2011-11-21T19:33:00.000-06:00

I swear that Max's speech therapists are miracle workers. A year ago I first spoke to the director of our early childhood program about beginning the process for SSD services. At the time I remember telling her I was all excited that Max said 'ma oh' for more Cheerio's. Here we are a year later and Max is saying all kinds of things.

The other day we were in the car and this is the conversation that took place:

Max: Mommy, I need sharp knife.
Me: What?
Max: Pretend, Mommy
Me passing back a pretend sharp knife: Here Max
Max: Thank you Mommy. I cut asiago cheese with sharp knife.

He then passed a slice of his pretend asiago cheese forward for me to eat. It cracks me up that my three year old can't get enough asiago cheese. He often asks if we can go to the asiago cheese store - AKA Viviano's. I guess we can thank Nonna for his fine taste in cheese.

Pitiful Will

2011-11-11T21:22:00.000-06:00

My poor baby boy. He was a bit cranky on Wednesday and then I got the dreaded 'fever' call from the sitter at work yesterday. I picked him up after school and my poor little guy was just plain pitiful! He just cried and cried for most of the night.

Momma stayed home with Will so that I could take him to the doctor this morning - which is a good thing because he also woke up with a pink, swollen right eye. Sure enough my poor little guy has an ear infection (luckily the eye is just a clogged duct and some icky drainage). After heading to Target to fill his prescription Will and I spent the rest of the day at home. After a dose of medicine he seemed to perk up a bit. We had lots of snuggle time and in between we played on the floor with one of his new favorite toys the rocking rings.

I think after just two doses of medicine and lots of love from momma, Will isn't quite as pitiful.

Daddy's Little Helper

2011-11-11T21:11:00.000-06:00

We took Brian's car in for some work and they recommended that we get a new battery. Brian, being his always frugal self, figured he would just change it himself. The job was made all the better by his little helper. Max helped get out tools and watched every move daddy made. I'm sure there will be many more times Max will help out in the years to come.

Gross

2011-11-06T14:56:00.000-06:00

Sometimes having little boys is gross. Max's allergies have been acting up - his nose runs like crazy. Yesterday I sent him to the bathroom to get a tissue and this is how he came out. When I asked what was going on he said he needed a big tissue for a "really, really, really big booger". Gross. I guess it could be worse - at least he used something other than his sleeve to take care of the issue.

Six Month Check Up

2011-11-06T09:57:00.000-06:00

I had the day off on Friday, so we headed to the pediatrician for Will's six month check up. We were just a tad bit late, but hey it's tough to get to the doctor when you work full time! I was glad to hear that Will is growing just as should be expected. He weighed in at 17 lb 8 oz - 55th percentile - and measured 26 3/4 inches long - 70th percentile. His growth has slowed down a bit, but that is to be expected at this point, especially for a breastfed baby.

Will's spending lots of time focusing on his fine motor skills. He passes toys from one had to another - often stopping at his mouth in between. I'm also loving the amount of babble we are hearing from our littlest bit. He just jibber jabbers like crazy and it makes us so incredibly happy! He rolls like crazy to his tummy, but still won't roll back. I asked the doctor about it and he isn't the least bit concerned since Will obviously has the core strength that he wants to see in a six month old. Every day he gets better and better at sitting up. He can now sit and play with a toy at the same time - although he doesn't last too long.

By far the highlight of the check up was getting the green light to start solids. We are going to start out slowly so we did just a little bit of rice cereal yesterday. He loved it! He opened his cute little mouth of his. He even seemed to swallow some of what was offered - although a big majority of it ended up on his face and clothing - I guess this is to be expected. I'm sure he will improve with practice. In a few days we will add squash to Will's new diet. I'm pretty proud to say that I actually baked the squash and made him a batch of baby food yesterday. I felt so domestic! We'll see if it lasts. . .

Happy Halloween!!

2011-10-31T19:44:00.000-05:00

Don't you just love that pumpkin? Brian stole the idea from someone else on Facebook and he was pretty proud of how it turned out.
Grandpa and Uncle Tim came by to see the kids in their costumes - and to pose for a couple pictures. I swear every time time I see the kids in their costumes they look cuter and cuter. Max celebrated the holiday at preschool with not one, but two, parties. I guess that is a perk of being a five day a week kiddo. After all the celebrating his yellow pants weren't looking quite as yellow.

This was the first year that Max went trick or treating and he loved it! He and daddy headed out while Will and I hung out and passed out candy to the few trick or treaters that came our way. I have to say that our first Halloween in the new house was a little sad. In our last house we would get 100 + visitors, tonight I think we got 20. I guess we will have to keep that in mind for next year.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Halloween!

Pre-Halloween Festivities

2011-10-30T20:03:00.000-05:00

My aunt and uncle were kind enough to host a pre-Halloween celebration last night. Max and Will were able to show off their costumes to our family and they were a hit! Who would love to see The Man in the Yellow Hat and Curious George?
Aunt Carm had pumpkins for the kids to decorate as well as sidewalk chalk. Max had a great time decorating his pumpkin and he loved drawing on the sidewalk with the chalk.

Will was passed around from person to person and everyone commented on how easy going he was. I swear he looked too darn cute with his little monkey ears - and I can't get enough of those big blue eyes.

Max also had a great time roasting marshmallows in the fireplace, but he didn't want anything to do with turning his marshmallow into a smore. I don't get it :) The boys did pose for a pictures with the other little ones at the party. Four adorable little boys running around - crazy!

The holiday celebration will continue for Max tomorrow as he has his second Halloween party at preschool. I'm also excited to celebrate our first Halloween in the new house - I wonder how many kiddos will visit. . .

Fun Famiy Pictures

2011-10-29T13:02:00.001-05:00

Last Saturday a friend of ours from college was in town. LeeAnn has started a photography business and was kind enough to take the time to come capture some incredible pictures of our boys. I can't wait to see the rest of the pictures when we receive our cd! Take a peek at the pictures on her blog:

http://lmcphotos.wordpress.com/2011/10/27/d-family-session-preview-overland-park-family-child-portrait-photographer/

We are heading to my aunt's tonight for a fun little Halloween get together. I will be sure to post lots of pictures tomorrow of The Man in the Yellow Hat and his buddy Curious George!

Happy Half Birthday to Will!

2011-10-21T20:29:00.000-05:00

Has it really been six months since our newest little miracle graced us with his presence? How is it possible that time has gone this quickly? Will continues to grow and astound us every day.

So what has Will been up to as he hits this big six month milestone? Well he has been working hard to balance himself and sit up. He still doesn't quite have it down, but he seems to get better and better at it everyday. He uses his hands to help balance himself, but as soon as he reaches for anything he is down for the count. I think Will needs to really concentrate to sit up, so he wasn't too willing to give me smiles while he sat.

He continues to teeth like crazy. Sophie and his Nuby teething ring have become his new best friends. Max had at least two teeth at this point - thank you past blog post for helping me to remember - but Will's don't seem to be in too much of a hurry to make an appearance. He does LOVE to put everything into his mouth now, and since he is crazy flexible this also includes his feet. I have also noticed that his hand eye coordination has greatly improved over the past month or so. He can grab anything and get it right where he wants it, which usually happens to be in his mouth. He sometimes passes toys between hands.

Will has his six month check up on the third of November, so I will talk to his pediatrician about how I should go about starting solids. Can you tell I'm not too terribly excited about this milestone? To tell the truth Will hasn't really even seemed interested at all until the last week or two, so I don't feel too badly about it. I guess I need to bring up the highchair!

In honor of Will's half birthday we have a friend coming over to take pictures of the boys tomorrow - and maybe a few of Brian and I too. We went to college with LeeAnn and she is just starting a photography business. Her pictures are gorgeous and I can't wait to see her work her magic tomorrow morning. Stay tuned for pictures soon!

Pumpkin Picking

2011-10-10T19:57:00.000-05:00

We could not have asked for a more beautiful day to hit the pumpkin patch with Aunt Kathy and the cousins. I was excited that we were actually able to take the kids out into the field to see how the pumpkins grew. I tried explaining that pumpkins grow from the flowers on the vine, but the kids were more interested in climbing on the giant pumpkins than in listening to my science lesson.

We did get Baby Will out of the Ergo long enough to pose for a picture with his big brother and cousins. Paisley cracked us up when she complained that Will was making her tummy hurt. I guess that is a five year old way of saying get this baby off of me.

The kids played at the playground for a while and we posed for a family shot. It is scary how few family pictures we have - most of them are just of the boys. We did leave with one small pumpkin. I tried to convince Max to pick out a better one, but he was pretty insistent. Today he realized he didn't make the best pick. He looked at his pumpkin on the counter when we got home, told me it was 'icky' and tried to throw it away. He cracks me up!

As we enjoyed the pumpkin patch yesterday I couldn't help but think of where we were a year ago. We had an offer to buy our house, I was about four months pregnant, and we were preparing to move in with my parents. We didn't even make it to the pumpkin patch last year. This year is a whole different ball game. We have not one, but two beautiful little boys to enjoy the fall. We are well settled in our new house and still can't believe we actually sold the old one. I have even started working on the boys Halloween costumes - or maybe I should say I started on Will's and Nonna has started on Max's. What a difference a year makes!

Weekend Fun

2011-09-25T13:29:00.000-05:00

As I type both boys are upstairs sleeping. I wonder how long this will last? I guess they are both worn out after a fun filled weekend. Yesterday morning Max and daddy headed to Lowe's to build a fire engine - with a working siren even. Max got an apron and safety goggles and he loves his little fire engine. I will get him to pose with it after nap. In the afternoon we had several tree stumps ground out in the back yard. Afterwards Brian and Max went to work. They threw out the bigger pieces, raked, and seeded. Max thought it was so fun to throw the grass seed out just like daddy. Don't you just love the Schnuck's stickers all over Max's shirt?

This morning while they were finishing the job by spreading fertilizer, I took Will and headed out to visit a friend and her new baby. Will and Blake looked so darn cute together! Will has a few months on Blake, so he looked huge in comparison. Will is all about teething right now and he almost used poor Blake's little hand. We explained to Will that he couldn't chew on Blake's hand, so instead he decided to hold it. Too cute!

All in all, another wonderful weekend. I know I say this often, but I just can't get over how lucky we are. Life is good, very good!

Five Months Old

2011-09-21T19:56:00.000-05:00

We celebrated five months of Will by bringing the exersaucer up from the basement. The exersaucer was one of Max's favorite things. Tonight we had dinner on the porch and Will hung out in the exersaucer while we ate. He loved it! Will's little hands couldn't move fast enough. He just loved making sounds and couldn't get enough. His favorite part was that big brother, Max was right there showing him how it works.

There are times when I feel like I'm not giving Will all that I was able to give Max. Life as a working mom of two little kids is crazy to say the least. I feel like I'm constantly trying to catch up things; catch up on lesson plans, catch up on grading, catch up on housework, catch up on laundry, catch up on time with my boys, catch up on my blogging. . . the list goes on and on. I don't remember feeling quite this stressed going back to work after Max was born. I don't know how it is possible but twice the kids means about ten times the work. The good thing is that the flip side is also true. Our house is full of ten times the fun and ten times the love. While Will does have to share mommy and daddy more than Max did at this age he has something Max didn't have - a big brother. From the way Will is looking up, totally enamored, at Max I think the trade off is worth it.

"I love you Mommy, too"

2011-09-21T19:48:00.000-05:00

Okay so this may not be the most grammatically correct sentence in the world but it is the most beautiful thing I could ever hear. This is what Max told me as I tucked him in tonight. It just doesn't get any better than this. How did I get so lucky?

Magic House

2011-09-13T20:28:00.000-05:00

On Sunday evening Grandma and Grandpa Dull's church rented out the Magic House. Max was beyond thrilled. While I have to say it is not my favorite place he LOVES it! He explored the Alice in Wonderland exhibit with Uncle Tim. He thought it was pretty neat to look through the peepholes in the door.

He didn't want to stand still for anything and that included pictures. . . you would think we were torturing the poor boy.

Baby Will hung our the Ergo which is still the best baby gadget ever! He had lots of fun looking at people and drooling all over every thing. He has been a crazy drooler lately. In fact, I think he went through three bibs yesterday. Hopefully this tooth will make it's appearance soon so that he can get a bit of a break from the constant drool.

The perfect end to a wonderful evening came in the form of 'white' ice cream. Max was in heaven, as were the rest of us!

Four Month Check Up

2011-09-05T14:47:00.000-05:00

Will visited Dr. Goldenberg a couple weeks ago to celebrate turning four months old - and to get some shots. Will did pretty well. He weighed in at 15 lb 7 oz and measured 26 in long. His growth has slowed down a bit, but he is still pretty high in the percentile ranks - 80 and 85th respectively. He is meeting all of his milestones just as an adorable little four month old should. He has even begun to roll over. He had been rolling on to his side for a while, but on Saturday morning he finally made it all the way over from his back to his tummy. He was pretty excited until he remembered that he really doesn't like being on his tummy all that much. He hasn't quite figured out how to get back on his back without help. I'm sure that will come in just another week or so.

Happy Labor Day

2011-09-05T14:12:00.001-05:00

What a wonderful weekend we have had. Yesterday we headed to a nearby park to give Max some running around time. Will hung out in his seat trying to chew on his o-ball. This is one of his new favorite toys. I think he just loves how easy it is to grip.

After an hour or so of playground fun we headed home to make pizza for dinner. Max LOVES making pizza. Helped roll out the dough and spread his sauce all over - he didn't even make too much of a mess. That is until the cheese came out. I think more cheese ended up in his mouth than on his pizza. Good thing he ate while making his pizza - he wasn't too interested once it was cooked.

Today we met up with Max's Aunt Kathy and his cousins for some fun time picking apples. While the pickings were pretty slim - and I mean that literally - the kids had a great time. Will hung out in the carrier ( I think we may need to get him a bigger hat) and seemed to enjoy the beautiful weather.

Max loved running through the trees and he was so excited that Nonna Carlotta joined us. Max was more interested in eating an apple than in finding more to pick. I think this is a common theme for him when it comes to picking fruit. He did take time out from apple eating to pose for a pose for a picture or two with his cousins.

Four Months Old

2011-08-21T20:35:00.000-05:00

We celebrated Will's four month birthday with dinner at my parents - actually we were celebrating my step brothers birthday but it was still fun. Will is slowly but surely adjusting to life at Mrs. Cheryl's. He takes a little more mild from the bottle each day. I can't wait until he gets up to speed on his bottle milk because he has been waking up at night to make up for it.

He does have a few new tricks that have recently appeared. He is beginning to giggle. If I help him sit up he just giggles and giggles. I swear there is no better sound than my boys laughing.

Will has also discovered his feet. He grabs them any chance he gets. I'm sure it is just a matter of time before his toes end up in his mouth - like everything else.

Little by little Will is getting better at tummy time. He doesn't start crying right away so that is an improvement. He also scoots on his tummy. His little legs just push all that they can and he moves himself more than I would think possible. He does the same thing on his back. I'm worried I may have my hands full in a few months!

Max had lots fun at dinner as well. Nonno Mason was teaching him some wresting moves and Max just loved it!

Ever since our trip to Wisconsin Max thinks it is funny to yell "cheese curds' whenever someone takes a picture. It makes for some pretty funny faces.

We head to the doctor for Will's four month check up tomorrow. I wonder how much my little guy has grown?

First Day of Preschool

2011-08-16T20:31:00.000-05:00

Today was a big day in Max's world - it was his first day of pre-school! Max was up bright and early so he had a yummy Cheerio breakfast with mommy. As we sat eating our breakfasts I asked Max if he was excited about school (I love this picture because this is a face he makes all the time wen we ask him questions). We have been talking about school all summer - in fact he and I even spent a morning over there a few weeks ago. Max knew it was coming and every time we would talk to him about it he seemed excited. This morning he was not excited - he just kept saying over and over - no school mommy! All I could think was this is not a good way to start the day.

Since before care doesn't start early enough for me to take Max Brian had to drop him off. I was sure Max would cry and I told Brian he wasn't call me to say that Max was sobbing. I just didn't think I could handle it. As I worked at school my phone rang. . . it was Brian. He was calling to tell me that Max did great! He ran off as soon as Brian dropped him off and didn't even bat an eye as daddy told him goodbye.

I picked Max up after school and he was having a great time. I tried to get him to pose for a picture with his teachers, but he was too busy playing with his new friends. He didn't want to leave, in fact he cried because he didn't want to leave! I'm glad that Max's first day went so well. He is all excited about going to school tomorrow.

So Long Summer

2011-08-12T12:37:00.000-05:00

Well, today is our last real day of summer vacation. I spent three days at school this week and I'm back completely on Monday - even scarier than that is the fact that Max begins pre-school on Tuesday! I can't believe my little man is growing up so quickly.

We celebrated our last weekday at home - not to mention the beautiful weather - with a trip to the playground before therapy. Max ran around the equipment like a crazy man! He was also super excited because the 'mower men' were at the park. He was enthralled watching them maneuver their equipment this way and that. He watched them pack up and he was so excited when they waved and honked their horns as they drove away. I guess a honk and a wave from a 'mower man' is pretty exciting when you are three.

The weather was so beautiful that I didn't even have to worry about Will getting too hot. I swear it couldn't be a more beautiful day!

Max fell asleep in the car on the way home, so Will and I had some play time on our own. We tried tummy time, but I think it was more just 'lay there and chew on your hands' time. Will did take a hand chewing break long enough to give me a cute little look.

While I'm sad to see our summer come to an end, I'm excited about starting a new school year. I know that Max is going to love pre-school. We had pre-school parent orientation on Wednesday night, but I think it really hit me when Max's backpack arrived in the mail from LL Bean yesterday. Maybe after nap I'll get him to model it. Will is adjusting well to life at Ms. Cheryl's. He isn't doing great with the bottle, but he gets more and more milk down each day. At least he isn't totally boycotting the bottle like Max did!

Will's Baptism

2011-08-08T08:11:00.000-05:00

How did we get so lucky? There are so many people in our lives that love our little boys it is unbelievable. This was evident yesterday as we celebrated Will's Baptism into the Catholic Church. As I looked out into the pews I was in awe. There were so many faces and so much love! It is amazing, and wonderful!

In my family every baby has been Baptized at St. Ambrose and everyone has been married at St. Ambrose. Needless to say my wonderful Italian family was slightly concerned about us having Will Baptized at our new parish, St. Joseph's. Is it bad for me to admit I was a little worried too? Father B did such an amazing job with Max's Baptism - we were the only family there and he invited everyone up to the alter to participate. I thought there was no way that Will's Baptism could possibly be as special - but it was!

Deacon Dan was incredible. He made us feel welcome and comfortable and even though there was another little boy being Baptized it still felt like Will's special day. The Deacon explained the symbolism of the ceremony beautifully and even made me tear up a time or two - especially when he made mention of how loved Will must be to have so many people there to celebrate with him. He even invited all of the children up to help bless the water in the Baptismal fount.

Will's godparents, Kathy and Phil, stood beside us as our little boy was anointed with oil and blessed with water. It really was beautiful and I love that we were able to bring our baby into the Catholic Church.

After the Baptism it was time to celebrate. We had a reception for Will at our house and things went pretty well. It was quickly obvious that I wasn't the only on that was impressed with Deacon Dan - several people commented on how great the ceremony was. Max had a fabulous time playing with his FOUR cousins. We usually only see two of his cousins regularly since they live closest, but two other cousins ( not to mention Aunt Maxi and Uncle Andy ) came in from Virginia to help us celebrate. Having four cousins to play with was super exciting to Max. Overall lots of fun was had and lots of food was eaten. Another amazing day in our very blessed lives. Again I can't help but ask, how did we get so lucky?

Sleeping Like a Baby

2011-08-04T14:54:00.000-05:00

Little by little Will's daytime sleep is taking on a bit of a routine. He usually takes a relatively short morning nap. I'm ashamed to say that this nap is often in his car seat as I drag him wherever it is we need to go each morning. I was so much better about making sure that I had Max home when it was time for a nap. Poor Will just has to nap on the go.

He has been taking a decent afternoon nap more recently too. I can usually get him down for a good two hour nap in his crib around 1ish. If I'm really lucky this corresponds to when Max is down for his nap. I can get so much done if they are both asleep!

I do have to admit that I'm dreading the day he outgrows being swaddled. Right now he still loves it. If I don't swaddle him he flails around and wakes himself up, but I see the swaddle days being numbered. I will have to dig out the sleepsacks soon. Hopefully the transition won't be too awful!

I'm still having fun with my new camera. I think I need to figure out my lighting a bit better. I didn't want to use the flash and wash him out, but they turned out a little gray. I sure have a lot to learn!

New Toys

2011-08-02T13:21:00.001-05:00

Both mommy and Baby Will have new toys to show off. Will had fun hanging out in the Bumbo this morning. I think he liked his new view of the world. Big brother Max had to get in on the action as well. I explained to him that a long time ago he sat in this special little chair - he squeezed his tush into it just to prove that he could. He also did everything in his power to get Will to smile. I don't think Will was in a smiling mood - but he did give Max a bit of a roar.

Baby Will has also begun a new stage of his babyhood - the drool has arrived. I think he is in the very beginning stages of teething. I know it will be a while until anything pops through his cute little gums, but in the meantime he is doing lots of drooling to get ready!

And maybe you can tell by my pictures, but mommy and daddy got a new camera! We splurged on a Nikon d3100. We went to a class to learn a little more about how to use it last night - there is so much to learn! But I sure had fun playing with it this morning. Baby feet are just the cutest thing ever and Max cracks me up with his syrup covered chin. I swear we wipe his face and then 10 minutes later the syrup is back!

Wisconsin

2011-07-28T12:18:00.000-05:00

What a week we have had! Somehow I let Brian talk me into driving with the boys up to Madison, WI. I was pretty much dreading the drive. Will eats often and Max is a three year old (I think that says it all). I was very pleasantly surprised by how well things went. Our boys were little angels in the car on the way there an the way back. We packed a lot into the three days we were there. . .

On Sunday we explored Madison. We visited the beautiful Olbrich Botanical Garden - it was amazing! Max loved running around and seeing all the water and ducks. He wouldn't stay still for a picture as you can see from this 'action' shot. He kept pretending to take pictures with his little play phone.

We also visited Olbrich Beach. The water was a bit chilly but Max loved playing in the sand on the beach. He dug in the sand like a pro!

On Monday we headed up to the Wisconsin Dells. We road the ducks around the town. Max thought the car/boat was pretty cool. Will was content because he was snuggled up close to mommy.

After the duck ride we raced to board a real life steam engine. Max was so excited to ride a train. He thought it was pretty great to watch the steam engine turn around to pull the train back to the station. Will thought the ride was pretty fun too.

We had lunch at Buffalo Phil's - Max LOVED the hat - I guess when you are three it is the small things in life. On the drive back to Madison we thought it would be worth it to drive out of our way to see cheese being made. Max fell asleep two minutes before we reached our destination and we woke him up to go see the cheese being made - only to find out that they quit making cheese an hour before. Not the highlight we were hoping for.

Tuesday was our last full day in Madison and we headed to a dairy farm. Max is proud of the fact that he milked a cow three times. The tour started late because the farmer was waiting for a summer camp group, so Max had a minor meltdown because he was ready for lunch and a nap and we had to end our tour early, which made Will very happy because he was ready for lunch as well.

We also spent time with friends that live in Madison. Max had fun playing with Vinney and as soon as we got home said 'goodbye mommy, goodbye, daddy'. When we asked where he was going he told us 'to Vinney house'. Too cute.

All in all, it was a great trip. In fact we are thinking of where we can drive next summer. . .

Three Months Old

2011-07-21T14:14:00.000-05:00

I can't believe that Will has been part of our family for three months already! Wait, I think I said the same thing in my two month post. . . It is just that time seems to be going so quickly. I don't know if it is because I'm so crazy busy taking care of both boys all day or what, but the summer is going by more quickly than I could have possibly imagined. In fact I have a meeting for work tomorrow - the new school year will be here before I know it.

So what have we been so busy doing? Well we had our first Parents as Teachers visit last week. The teacher was very sweet and said that Will was doing everything just as he should. She did stress the improtance of tummy time - which I am horrible about doing. Will doesn't care of it and I feel like I have a limited window of opportunity between feedings to squeeze in tummy time. If I do it too soon he spits up and if I wait to long he is hungry and gets really fussy if I even attmept it. The wonderful big brother that he is, Max always tries to help Will out - here helping meant laying down next to Will during tummy time. I know I may be partial, but I swear I have the world's cutest little boys! Max is still a little mini Brian, but I think I'm seeing more and more of myself in Will - it makes me smile.

Last Friday we had friends over. They have a little boy that was born just one week before Will. It was so funny to see these two little guys together. They were so cute! At one point James grabbed onto Will's little hand and it was just so precious. Good thing they seemed to like each other since I think they will see a lot of each other as they grow up.

Have I mentioned that I have fallen in love with onsies this time around? I swear that is just about all I put Will in. I don't know why I didn't realize how easy they were last go around.

Talkative

2011-07-07T13:52:00.000-05:00

This is how the employee at CVS described Max today. All we have been through - almost two years of speech therapy, driving to Clayton four days a week, working with Max on his words - is all worth it for the progress that we have seen. To have a complete stranger describe Max as 'talkative' is the biggest compliment anyone could ever possibly give to my little boy. I always hear that he is so cute, has such beautiful blues eyes, is so tall, is so sweet to his baby brother, and on and on, but hearing he is 'talkative' almost made me cry.

Too Cute

2011-07-06T21:24:00.000-05:00

Okay, so this is my third blog post of the day. What can I say, I post in spurts. I'm working on an invitation for Will's baptism and I caught a cute little smile on camera. I just had to share. I love my little guy and his toothless little grin.

Sleep, Glourious Sleep

2011-07-06T13:24:00.000-05:00

At first I thought it was a fluke (now watch, now that I am making it official with a blog post it will end) but Will has become the super sleeper. Or at least what I consider a super sleeper for an eleven week old. He goes down between 9:30 and 10pm and for the past two weeks he has been sleeping until 5am or so. That is almost eight hours of sleep! Wow! There have been a few blips on the screen when he wakes up at around 3:30 but he has made so much progress. I'm so proud of my little sleeper. He is also giving away more and more smiles (just not for the camera). He tolerates the bouncer and has really begun to love the swing - which is such a switch for us, Max hated the swing but loved his bouncer. In fact he is swinging away while I type. He is just such an amazingly, easy going little guy. We are so lucky! I hope I'm not jinxing myself with this post . . .

Field Trip Wednesday

2011-07-06T13:09:00.000-05:00

I have mentioned before that since Wednesday is our only non-therapy day of the week I have been attempting to plan outings with the boys. I was thinking of hitting the Magic House today - by myself with both kids - and then my sanity returned so I thought we could head to Laumeier Sculpture Park. Their website said they had a children's area so I packed up the boys and off we went. I'm sad to say that it was quite a disappointment. I'm not the biggest art aficionado and it wasn't as nearly kid friendly as I was hoping. As we wandered about the park, Max kept asking 'where is the park?'. He did think it was fun to count the giant metal buoys of one sculpture. He told me there were fifty two after walking down the line and counting them. I read the sign and learned there were actually fifty five, so he wasn't too far off. I swear Will was with us, but I had him in my new favorite toy - my ergo carrier - so it was a little tough to get his picture.

I think Max had more fun playing with his cars before we left. It cracks me up the way he lines up his cars and moves them throughout the house.

Happy 4th of July!

2011-07-04T20:07:00.000-05:00

What a wonderful holiday it has been! We packed up this morning and headed in to Webster Groves for their annual 4th of July parade. A little rain didn't keep us away! It was the first time Max has been to a parade and it was a huge success! He loved it. He looked so cute on the edge of the sidewalk in his chair waving as the cars drove by and the people walked past. Will slept through most of the festivities, but perked up a bit for the bands. Maybe he is musically inclined . . .

I think Max's favorite part was the horses - the world famous clydesdales even made an appearance! He thought the cars were pretty cool too. Daddy liked the Tootsie Rolls. We shared a little Tootsie Roll with Max too - I think this is actually the first candy he has had and he loved it (as I knew he would, hence why I have tried to delay giving him candy in the first place).

Growing up I would go to parades with my neighbors every holiday and I loved it. I have great memories of sitting in lawn chairs on the side of the road watching everything pass by. I hope to share this with my boys. Hopefully they will grow up to have fun parade memories too.

Two Month Check Up

2011-06-29T13:29:00.001-05:00

So it was actually his two month, seven day check up but who is keeping track? We headed to Dr. Goldenberg's office yesterday morning to see how our baby Will is growing. Dr said everything was on track perfectly and that Will is taking his job of gaining weight very seriously. In fact Will tipped the scales at 13 lb 9 oz - a full SEVEN pounds over his birth weight. He also measured 23 in long - three and a half inches over his birth height. He really is growing like crazy!

The doctor said Will looked great, he is meeting all his milestones appropriately and we just need to come in again at four months. I'm almost scared to see what he will weigh at that point! Then came the tough stuff. Will got three shots in his chubby little thighs - I keep telling myself that all that chub made them hurt less, but based on his screams I don't really think that is the case. Will was pretty fussy last night, but seems to be doing much better today.

Grant's Farm

2011-06-29T13:17:00.000-05:00

I just love Grant's Farm! We boarded the tram and Max could hardly contain his excitement. The animals didn't pay too much attention to us as we drove through the deer park and I have to say that the most common animal was the MO white tail deer - which we see daily in our back yard. We exited the tram and headed into the goats! Max and I had a great time feeding these greedy little creatures while Daddy and Will stood outside the fence watching. The goats did get the better of Max once and knocked him down, but I'm happy to report that he didn't end up in tears like last year.

As we explored the rest of the animals Max just kept asking to ride the train again. It was a little early to sample the beer so we took a look at the horses and headed back on the tram.

It was a beautiful day and another great field trip Wednesday!

Smiles and Hands

2011-06-24T13:14:00.000-05:00

Will is still being a little stingy with his smiles but I was able to catch a couple 'almost smiles' on camera. As soon as the red-eye reduction light flashes he stops smiling, so it is really tough to get a good picture of it.

He has also discovered his hands. They are always in his mouth now! Doesn't he look cute in his little monkey overalls? I'm loving pulling out Max's old six month clothes. I swear Max only wore this size for about a month, so they didn't get enough wear. We are going to make up for that this time around.

Two Months Old

2011-06-22T13:18:00.000-05:00

What is it about a sleeping baby that is so darn cute? Is it the innocence? Is it the idea that this little person has their whole life ahead of them to do great things? Or is it just the fact that those chubby cheeks look even cuter when babies are asleep?

Two months in and Will continues to be his sweet little self. He is in fact so sweet that I often find myself looking at him and thinking 'I could do three kids. . . ' He is more and more aware of what is going on around him. He lights up when he hears mommy, daddy, or big brother speak. Nonna noticed that Will turned his head as soon as Max walked into the room the other day. I'll take that to mean that Will just loves his big brother. Will is content most of the time and we hear lots of cute little coos coming from him. His hands are open more often now, as opposed to balled up in little fists. I can tell that he wants to bat at things, but he doesn't quite have the coordination to get it done. He is also a huge fan of the binky. Sometimes I think this is great because it is an easy way to soothe him. Other times I worry about weaning him off of the binky down the line. Max wasn't much of a binky guy so I never really had to worry about this. We have Will's two month check up next Tuesday and I'm curious to see how he has grown.

Since Max has therapy on four days a week we are trying to make his day off special. The goal is to go on 'field trips' every Wednesday. Today we began with a trip to our favorite place, the Museum of Transportaion. I'm sure by the number of posts I write about this place you can tell we like it. It isn't too crowded, it is fairly close to home, there are indoor and outdoor activities and best of all we have a membership so every visit is free. Max was more excited about the visit than Will. Max even made the little animal in a train car craft they had set up - he was all excited that he could use tape. Will just hung out in his stroller and in my arms. He loves being outside and it was an absolutely beautiful morning to be outdoors.

Brian is off next Wednesday so I'm trying to think of our next field trip location. Maybe Grants Farm or Purina Farms. . .

8 Weeks Old

2011-06-16T12:52:00.000-05:00

Wow, time is flying by. It has just been me and the boys for almost two weeks now and we are slowly but surly establishing a routine. It helps us that Max has speech four days a week so we have that to look forward to. Today the boys looked too cute in their little matching shirts. I bought Max's back when I was pregnant and a family friend gave us Will's onsie as a gift. They just look too cute. I still have a hard time believing that I have not one, but two little boys to love.

Will continues to grow and thrive. He still eats often during the day, but he is spacing things out at night a bit. We usually get at least four hours between feedings and a few nights we got six. I'm looking forward to the time when six hours between feedings is the norm since that means about five hours of uninterupted sleep for mommy. That is if the storms stay away - Max gets pretty scared of storms, so the last few nights when it wasn't Will waking me up it was Max. . . sigh.

Will is also giving out smiles more often, but I have to say he is still a little stingy with them. He loves to look around and has recently developed quite a fondness for the bouncy seat. He has not however developed a fondness for tummy time. It just isn't pretty. I tell him it is good for him, but I don't think he cares what is good for him quite yet.

Our Little Tigers

2011-06-04T20:44:00.000-05:00

Thanks to Aunt Anna our little boys are well dressed little MU fans. Max picks this shirt out when ever it is hanging in his closet. Will is too young to have preferences yet but he didn't fuss when I dressed him so I will take that as a sign that he likes it.

Ms. Cheryl

2011-06-04T13:48:00.000-05:00

For the past three years we have been lucky enough to have an amazing woman take care of Max. I actually taught Cheryl's son in third grade the year I had Max then she began watching Max the following August when I went back to work. He loves her more than you can imagine. Sometimes at home he says "Goodbye, Mommy." When I ask where he is going he tells me "see Cheryl."

She does an amazing job watching these four kiddos. There is structured song, table, and outside time. She sets limits and Max always knows what he can, and cannot get away with. I think most in home care givers just make the kids go along with what they need to accomplish each day. This isn't the case with Cheryl. The kids are her day, she just happens to do her job out of her home.

I'm sad to think that yesterday was officially Max's last day with Ms. Cheryl. She had ice cream to celebrate and I even took a few pictures. I know that Max is going to miss seeing Ms. Cheryl and his little buddies each day. Maybe we will have to visit every once in a while. My little Max Man is just growing up so quickly. I can't believe he will be moving on to preschool in the fall.

One Month Check Up

2011-05-25T13:11:00.000-05:00

Will and I headed to the doctor on Monday. I always have such anticipation as they wheel in the scale. Is my little guy growing the way he should? Is nursing working out for us? Am I giving him what he needs? The sad thing is that I'm much more laid back about things this time around, so you can only imagine my stress every time Max was weighed in. . .

It turns out I had no need to be worried. Will has surpassed all hopes for his growth. Considering he was born on the small side, 6lb 9oz - 20th percentile, he has more than made up for it. He now tips the scale at 9lb 12oz and has already moved up to the 50th percentile. I guess things are going well! The doctor was very happy with this gain and so was I! He has also grown two inches and is now 21 1/2 inches long. I thought he seemed bigger, but when I see him every day it is always tough to judge. Now I'm happy I have a little reassurance that things are going well.

Max is at day care for this week and next. Then after that the three of us will be spending the rest of our summer together. I have to admit I'm slightly worried about being home by myself with a three year old and a six week old all day. As hard as it is to be a working mom, I really don 't know how all of the stay at home moms do it! I think I need to find some fun outings to plan to keep our days from dragging on. Hopefully mother nature is getting all the rain out of her system now so that when I have Max we can spend time outside.

One Month Old

2011-05-21T10:02:00.000-05:00

Wow, I can't believe Will has been a part of our lives for a whole month already. Time is going so quickly. He is getting so big - I'm shocked at how different he looks now! I think I forgot how quickly babies change, it is incredible. Will had a bit of a rash at three weeks so I had to take him to the doctor. He weighed in at 8 lb 7 oz! I was shocked, that is almost two pounds more than his birth weight. We head to the doctor for his one month check up on Monday, so I'm excited to see how much he weighs now.

Will is smiling a few times a day now. I swear God purpusly give babies the ability to smile just when their sleep deprived mommies don't think they can do any more. I can be utterly exhausted and just able to function and all it takes is a smile from Will and I feel like I can do anything.

I remember when we first had to send Max to daycare. He refused the bottle for days! It was so stressful - he was only eating an ounce or two the entire day! In order to not face this same problem we are going to try to give Will bottles on a fairly regular basis. Daddy gave Will his first bottle just the other night. It was too cute to watch. Now we just need to stick to the plan of giving a bottle - I swear nursing is just so much easier!

I also have to put in this pictures of Max on his new bike - Daddy is so proud, he found it at a garage sale for $5. Nonna took Max to Children's Hospital to get a helmet so Max is all ready for the road! He doesn't quite have the hang of it yet. He keeps wanting to pedal backwards, which is actually the brake so that doesn't work out too well. He will get the hang of it, and in the meantime he looks pretty darn cute practicing!

PInk Eye?!?

2011-05-07T08:36:00.000-05:00

How does this perfect little two week old - that hasn't been out in public - get pink eye!? I feel like an awful mommy! We have been getting a bit stir crazy so we have made trips in the car - the drive through bank, the carpet store where Nonna ran inside, Carter's where mommy ran inside. . . The only time he has gotten out of the car was at Nonna's house and at Max's therapy - we were the only ones there! Again, how does this happen? Hopefully the eye drops the doctor prescribed will do the trick and our little man will back to 100% soon, and daddy can quit singing Sleep With One Eye Open. Luckily it doesn't seem to be bothering Will too much, so I guess that makes me feel a little bit better.

On a side note, I just have to throw in this picture of Max. He is such a little comedian! Max and Brian went to Trader Joe's and Max thought he would be funny and put the bag on his head. It was all fun and games until he bumped his head on the counter.

Our Boys

2011-05-01T12:40:00.000-05:00

Does it get any cuter than this? Max was all excited. He said "Baby Will open eyes, see Max!" We are so lucky!

One Week and Growing!

2011-04-30T13:26:00.000-05:00

Will is one week old. . . plus two days. I 'm a little late posting. Will was all ready to go on Thursday morning as we headed to the pediatrician his one week checkup. Fortunately, we were the only ones in the waiting room so I didn't have to worry too much about Will catching any crazy diseases. The doctor said that he looks great! He weighed in at 6 lb 8 oz - that's only one ounce less than his birth weight! I was thrilled with this. Max took a full two weeks to get back to birth weight and it was rather stressful. I'm glad that Will is packing on the pounds, or rather ounces.

We are settling into a routine at home. Will does pretty well at night so far, he wakes up every three hours to eat, but he does go back to sleep pretty easily. We have been trying to do some fun things with Max to help him with the transition. Thank goodness for Nonna Carlotta! She took Max on his first bus ride on Thursday, this may sound silly but he loves buses. He loved it! He was enthralled with the bus driver and can't wait to go on another bus ride soon. Nonna also came over and helped us bake some cookies yesterday. Will even woke up to see what all the excitement was about!

Will Meets Leo

2011-04-27T17:05:00.000-05:00

I have blogged in the past about Monkey Man - Max's favorite little stuffed animal that Nonna Carlotta bought for him. He snuggles with Monkey Man every night and brings him to day care every day. Well today Will got to meet his little future lovey - Leo the Lion. Leo is almost as big as Will at this point and Will can't really snuggle with him yet, but it was too cute to see Leo and Will laying on the pillow together.

Max continues to be a big helper. He brings Leo to Will whenever he sees that the two are not together. Max doesn't like to be without his Monkey Max so he wants to make sure that Will isn't without Leo. Too cute!

Home Sweet Home

2011-04-26T10:16:00.000-05:00

We have been home for almost 24 hours as a family o four. I have to say I'm glad to be home. It was tough having our family split up for the past four days. Max has been giving Brian a run for his money and I missed my little Max Man!

Brian and I brought Will home yesterday with a clean bill of health. He had even gained an ounce our last day in the hospital! Who-hoo! We came home and got all set up before Brian went to pick Max up from daycare. When Max came home he was so excited to see mommy and baby Will. He couldn't wait for mommy to play trains and he was more than willing to help baby will with his pacifier.

Today Max is at day care again to give us a little time to relax and, drumroll please, get the yard tractor delivered from Sears! Brian is all excited about his riding lawn mower. He was telling Will all about it when I got out of the shower this morning. I think part of him is glad to have another boy to some day help with all the yard work.

Brothers

2011-04-23T18:39:00.000-05:00

It is so strange to think that I am now momma to not one, but two, amazing little boys. Little by little Max is willing to get closer and closer to Will. Today the photographer came to take Will's newborn pictures and Max was actually very willing to participate. He helped hold in Will's pacifier while daddy held him. We actually got some really cute shots.

Will is adjusting well to life in the outside world. He is nursing like a champ and doing everything a two day old should. He has dropped a few ounces, but not too much. We are hoping he begins to gain a little sooner than his big brother did when he was a newborn. He doesn't cry too often and when he does he is pretty easy to console. I have a feeling he is saving up the really big cries for when we get home. We have had lots of fun visitors over the past few days. Here Will poses with his Nonno Mason, Great-Uncle Mike, and cousin Tony. I think my family is becoming very male dominated.

I just had to throw another pic of our handsome new little man. I think Will looks just like Max did when he was a newborn. . . although Will does have more hair!

And it is a boy!

2011-04-21T14:01:00.000-05:00

Finally, the journey is over. After 38.5 weeks of growing the little guy he made his appearance today. The water broke early this morning and after hustling to the hospital, they decided to section Sarah. They moved pretty quick and just 15 mins after the surgery started baby Will was pulled out. William Isaac was born 6 lbs 9 oz and ~19 inches (haven't gotten the official length yet).

Given that we knew the chances section were very high, it seemed to go much smoother this time. There wasn't the urgency and rush of when Max was born.

Baby Will and momma are doing well.

Bedrest - Day 17

2011-04-12T11:56:00.000-05:00

At 38 weeks I'm feeling pretty done cooking this baby. Today is also day 17 of bedrest, with the increase in my blood pressure the doctor thinks it is better safe than sorry. So no cooking, cleaning, or chasing Max for me! I basically sit on the couch all day switching sides when my hip begins to ache. . . sounds like fun doesn't it? It will all be worth it in the end when Baby #2 makes his/her arrival! I think Max has seen mommy laying around a little too much because this is how I found him when I went to the restroom yesterday. He wanted to be just like mommy.

All in all we are more than ready for Baby #2 to arrive. Brian and I spent last night putting together the swing, bouncer, and pack n play - or more accuratly, Brian put everything together while I sat and supervised. Just getting these few things together makes me feel better. I swear I lay on the couch all day thinking of all the things I can do - then I write them on a list for Brian to take care of later.

I saw the doctor last Tuesday and will head in again this Wednesday. We have a c-section scheduled for Monday, April 25th at 9am. Sounds like a good day for a birthday, right? Now if only my blood pressure will hold steady until then. . . I really don't want to make another trek to the Women's Evaluation Unit at the hospital. I've been there three times over the past two weeks and it isn't too fun.

Butterfly House

2011-03-26T16:29:00.001-05:00

We have friends in town from Kansas City so we decided to head to the Butterfly House this morning. Before heading in to the exhibit we wandered around and looked at all the crazy bugs. Max thought the roaches were 'icky' and he didn't want to get to close - I told him I didn't blame him.

I had never been before and I have to admit I was impressed. I expected to need to search to find the butterflies, but they were everywhere! Max loved walking through and looking at the flowers and butterflies. We will have to keep this in mind for next time we need something fun to do with Max.

I also have to say that as I type it is snowing like crazy outside. I think we already have about five inches on the ground. On Monday Max was wearing shorts and cutting the grass with his new mower. . . today he had to be all bundled up to take a picture.

Three Year Check Up

2011-03-21T19:57:00.000-05:00

What a gorgeous day! We were able to spend time outside playing with some of Max's new toys. I think he 'mowed' just about the whole yard.

Max had his three year old check up today. I was slightly stressed about it - it was our first appointment with the new pediatrician. We loved our old one, but wanted someone closer to the new house. Things went well - except that they have signs everywhere saying no food or drink allowed. The waiting area and exam room weren't quite as toddler friendly as our old doctor, so I will need to bring more in my bag of tricks to keep Max entertained next time. He is officially 39 3/4 inches tall - 95th percentile and 35 lb 8 oz - 90th percentile. He also got two shots. He was a trooper for the first, but the second must have really hurt. I have to admit I may have broken the no food or drink rule and gave him some cool juice to help calm him down.

Tomorrows adventure? His first trip to the dentist. . .

Party Day

2011-03-20T20:19:00.000-05:00

Wow! What a great day we have had. Today we had friends and family over to celebrate Max's third birthday. It was so fun to watch Max running around after the other kids and it was wonderful to have a house to be able to host such a gathering - I feel like such a grown up!

The kids all loved the pinata. Daddy thought it would be more fun to have the kids wack it with the bat rather than use the strings. We did eventually resort to the strings - Buzz Lightyear makes one tough pinata! Of course there was cake and singing. I was so impressed that Max was able to blow out the candle all by himself this year. He enjoyed eating his piece of cake - he was extra excited that he got the piece with Woody's face. After cake we moved on to presents. Max was all excited and couldn't wait to dig into some of his new goodies. We are so lucky to have so many people in our lives that care about our little man. What a wonderful day!

Happy Birthday to Max!

2011-03-18T20:03:00.000-05:00

It is so hard to believe that Max has been part of our lives for three years today. Every day we spend with him is a blessing and an adventure. Today was the perfect birthday for Max. I was off school for spring break so we were able to celebrate all day long. This morning Brian set up Max's present. Max lit up when he came down to see his 'b-ball' set in the living room. After a yummy pancake breakfast, we were off to the museum of transportation for some fun on the trains. He loved his hour in the Creation Station. He loves 'reading' and he was so excited to read the stop sign in the community worker corner. We wrapped up his birthday with his favorite dinner - chicken tacos with a side of beans from Chipolte. He cracks us up, but he just can't get enough!

Celebrating Max's birthday makes me think of all the changes we have been through over the past year and just how much I have learned from our little man . . .

routines are key - even at three
while routines are great, flexibility is too
everyone can benefit from an afternoon nap
moving takes a lot of adjusting
baby gates are helpful with the transition to the big boy bed
potty training is not fun. . . at all
early intervention is so important!
an informed parent is their child's best advocate
being a mom has made me a more empathetic teacher
early morning wake ups are a hard habit to break
the older he gets, the bigger the toys
mommy's purse is no longer her own
we can't leave the house without meow-meow kitty, monkey man, and more recently baby
a sippy cup of milk and a baggie of O's make for a happy drive to the sitters in the morning
giving up a pediatrician you love is really tough
finding a pediatrician you love is really tough
the older he gets the more entertaining he is
he can make me smile, no matter how awful I may be feeling
he wants to be just like daddy - and it is adorable
I'm the luckiest lady alive!

Mr. Potato Head

2011-03-08T19:41:00.000-06:00

Max came across Mr. Potato Head tonight and he was all excited. He just needed a little help with the mustache - other than that he did it all by himself. Mr. Potato Head even helped him feed the pets.

We had a meeting today to talk about our plans for Max and preschool next year. It is hard to believe that he will be in school all day, every day next year - he is just growing so quickly!

Speaking of growing quickly. . . baby #2 is growing like crazy. So far, so good - only another 7-8 weeks to go before we meet this little one that has been kicking me like crazy!

Is it spring yet?

2011-02-12T19:40:00.000-06:00

After an awful winter full of tons of snow and horrible, cold temperatures we got a little bit of a break today. I think we even hit the 50 degree mark!

Max gets all excited when he sees him tricycle in the garage. Today was our first opportunity. Max was thrilled that mama actually got out the bike and for the first time he was able to figure out how to pedal to make the bike move by himself. All last summer he just enjoyed the ride while daddy and I pushed him around the neighborhood. Today he got angry when I tried to push. We spent and hour riding up and down the street, running into the occasional pile of snow. I can't wait for spring to really arrive!

Sesame Street Live

2011-01-30T20:23:00.000-06:00

Today was a big day for Max. He got to see a life size Elmo! I took some work to convince Brian that it was worth it but all in all it was great. Nonna Carlotta joined us for the fun and Max was thrilled to have her there. The theme of the show was Elmo's Heathly Heros and it was all about staying healthy - getting lots of sleep, eating well, and excercising. I don't think Max quite got the message, but he did enjoy the show. Personally I think it ran a little long. After an hour and a half we snuck out - he was getting super fidgety and he told us 'all done Elmo'. We took that as our que to make a quick getaway. He is just so fun!

We are gearing up for another round with Mother Nature - I think there may be a snow day or two in our future!

Snow Day

2011-01-20T19:51:00.000-06:00

In fact this is the second snow day we have had in as many weeks. Last Tuesday Max was wide awake and ready to start his day at 5:30am. Today he slept until a wonderful 7:40am - a real blessing for mommy.

We started our day with a yummy pancake breakfast - Max just loves his pancakes! I love his crazy hair. I can't get it to lay down for anything. I think it may be time for another haircut.

After breakfast we were off to play trains. He loves loading up his roundhouse with anything with wheels.

Max was all about eating cheese today. I think part of the fun of the cheese eating was just trying to keep it away from Sierra.

Max kept opening the cabinet where we house the Kitchen Aid mixer and saying 'cookie'? I scoured the cabinets and all I could pull together was the ingredients for pumpkin bread. Max still insisted we were making cookies. I think I enjoyed this snow day even more knowing that I will be on maternity leave when everyone else at school has to make it up. For once I'm willing to accept any snow day they throw at me!

Happy New Year!

2011-01-02T20:08:00.000-06:00

Wow, is it really 2011 already? It's hard to believe that I will be back to work tomorrow. I'm a bit annoyed that Brian has one more day off than I do. What is wrong with this picture? We made the most of the remainder of our winter break with Max this past week.

We visited Nonna and Max had his first experience with a board game. He played Candyland and loved it. He took turns well and only moved his little man. We will have to play again soon.

We also braved the crowds at The Magic House and took Max to have fun with his cousins. He wasn't too sure about things at first. But before we knew it we couldn't keep our eyes on him - literally. I'm just glad there were two of us and one of him! I think his favorite was the touch tunnels, which I find rather ironic because I have a very traumatic memory of getting terrified halfway through and never thinking I would see light again. He just kept going in one end and popping out the other, over and over again. We will have to head back to the Magic House again in the middle of the week sometime. I was done after about and hour but I'm sure Max could have kept on going and goin.

Merry Christmas

2010-12-26T07:08:00.000-06:00

Life just doesn't get any better than this. . . we enjoyed the holidays with our wonderful family and Max just had the best time ever! The festivities began on Christmas Eve with my family. It was great to see everyone. Being the only kiddo under 13 in the family, Max was the star of the show. We don't have too many pictures because he wouldn't sit still long enough. He was too busy running around the house exploring.

Max was so excited Christmas morning to see that Santa had indeed arrived. He didn't know what to play with first! The easel won out until he had every magnetic letter on the board and then he moved on to his new kitchen. He was so excited about the kitchen that we couldn't get him to open anything else! Once he finally opened his play food he was in heaven. I love the way he is storing his Spanish rice in the microwave. The rest of Christmas morning was spent in our new home enjoying the beautiful snow and each others company.

At lunch time we were off to the Dull's for more celebrating, and of course presents! Max always loves seeing his cousins and yesterday was no different. Max got tons of fun stuff. Including a baby that we are hoping will help him to prepare for the arrival of baby number two, although is anyone ever really prepared?

The festivities are still far from over. We have three more events planned for today and tomorrow. Unfortunatly all three of us are a bit under the weather, so we may have to play it by ear. We hope everyone had a wonderful holiday with friends and family!

Sugar Cookies

2010-12-23T19:34:00.000-06:00

Max had such a fun night. We made sugar cookies - thanks to the Trader Joe's Decorate It Yourself kit. Max mixed everything together, or at least he turned on the Kitchen Aid. He cut the dough out. He loved using the little cookie cutters, I think his favorite was the snowman.

Even more fun than the cutting was the decorating! Max worked hard with Daddy to sprinkle each and every cookie perfectly. The holidays are just so much fun, especially when we get to share them with Max.

Big Brother To Be

2010-12-19T13:26:00.001-06:00

Our big boy will be a big brother this spring. Baby #2 is due on May first and we are thrilled that our family is growing. Max is well aware that there is a baby in mommy's tummy. He kisses my belly button and says he loves the baby. Although when we ask if he is going to be a big brother he is quick to say no. We will have to work on that.

Things are going well with the pregnancy. We had the big ultrasound last week and everything looks great. We didn't find out the gender - we loved the surprise with Max and are looking forward to the surprise again.

As preparation for baby's arrival we had Max's big boy furniture delivered yesterday. He is so excited, he could have climbed up and down the ladder of his bunk bed all day long. We had to drag him out of his new room. I only hope that he will be this excited when it is time to sleep in his new bed.

Tis the Season

2010-12-12T20:45:00.000-06:00

Nothing says Christmas like a nativity and a Christmas tree. With the chaos of moving that is about all we are putting out this year. Max has been so excited about the Christmas trees he is seeing all over the place. On Friday morning I explained that we would be getting our tree that day. Max was all excited. We hit the local tree stand and found a pretty cute tree if I do say so myself. Max was so proud to help daddy hold up our tree.

Once we got home it was off to bed for Max while I fought with the lights on the tree. He lit up in the morning when he came downstairs to see his very own 'tee'. Today we spent decorating the tree with some very special ornaments. The only ones Max cared about were the three choo-choo cars, I guess I shouldn't be surprised!

Here Comes Santa Claus

2010-11-26T12:58:00.001-06:00

What a fun morning. We met up with Brian's siblings and four of our nieces and nephews at the Museum of Transportation. We started out in the Creation Station - Max had only one thing on his mind - the train table. I'm sure he will be thrilled when we set up his train table again at the new house. He played with the trains the entire time. A cute little girl came up and he even shared his trains. He handed two trains over to her without prompting - maybe he can learn to share. We tried to get him to wear a Santa hat and he wasn't to wild about it.

The Creation Station wasn't the only attraction. The big guy himself made an appearance - by trolley rather than sled but it was still pretty cute. We waited on the trolley to see Santa up close and Max was so excited. Then it was time for him to sit with Santa and of course he wasn't nearly as excited. He did pose for one picture with Santa - and mom of course.

Now we are gearing up for the big move tomorrow. Hard to believe, but after five years of talking about moving tomorrow is the day!

So Thankful!

2010-11-25T20:34:00.000-06:00

We have so much to be thankful for - today and every day. Top on our list is our amazing little man and our wonderful families. We are lucky enough to have all of Brian's siblings in town so Max is getting lots of fun cousin time. In fact he took cousin's Andrew's crazy glasses and wouldn't take them off.

After a wonderful lunch with the Dull's we were off to my parent's house for a second dinner. Max enjoyed dinner but I think he enjoyed sitting on the couch watching TV with Nonna and Nonna. Notice how he is rubbing his chin - this is the new thing he does when he is thinking about something. He cracks us up with his little thinking chin rub move.

Yet another wonderful holiday with our wonderful family. We also closed on our new house yesterday. How did we get so lucky!?

Life with Nonna and Nonno

2010-11-20T13:28:00.001-06:00

Our house is officially sold. We have been living with my parents for about three weeks and things couldn't be going any better - although we did have to outsource the cat to a neighbor after a pretty ugly cat fight our first night.

Max just loves all of the extra attention, and Brian and I must admit it is nice to have Nonna take care of baths and dressing Max in the mornings. I think Max is going to be in for a rude awakening when we move into the new house he no longer has four people devoted solely to him. He loves Nonna's little train, although he spends most of his time trying to make it derail.

He also loves snuggling on the couch and giving Piglet kisses. Today Max and I spent time making cookies for Nonno Mason's birthday. He loved pouring in all the ingredients - I think the eggs were his favorite.

All in all, things are going very well. We close on the new house the day before Thanksgiving and we plan on moving in that Saturday - Brian was willing to move on Friday, he might miss all the black Friday deals!

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-31T20:14:00.000-05:00

I'm feeling a bit guilty this year. Last year I slaved over Max's costume for a month and he was the cutest little scarecrow ever. This year I didn't have time to make anything but luckily my sister in law came to the rescue with a cute little train engineers apron. Unfortunately Max wasn't too into wearing it. We visited a few friends and while Max wasn't too excited about wearing his costume he loved carrying around his pumpkin. This is a little funny because he still has no idea what candy is. His favorite prize was a purple straw with green Frankenstein heads.

Things have been crazy busy for us. We close on the sale of our house on the 9th - woo hoo! Then we close on the new house the 24th. Fingers crossed that all continues to go smoothly! I can't wait to celebrate the holidays in our new house.

Firehouse

2010-10-17T19:36:00.000-05:00

I feel so behind on my blogging. Trying to sell one house and buy another is not easy work! We have been able to squeeze in a little bit of fun time along the way.

After Gymboree a couple weeks ago the Webster Groves fire department had an open house. Max, Brian and I headed over for some fun the trucks and some snacks. They had a little wooden fire that the kids could spray. Max was so excited standing in line and waiting for his turn. He just couldn't wait to get to the front. Once it was his turn he picked up the hose like a pro. As soon as the water turned on he wasn't so sure about it anymore.

He climbed on the fire truck and gave the gas mask a dirty look. He wasn't too sure about being in the big truck without mom and dad. He also wasn't so sure about posing for a picture with dad. Even though he looks a little reluctant, he really had a great time.

Bath Time

2010-09-30T19:54:00.000-05:00

Max and I were playing outside tonight. It was time for bath so I told Max we had to go in. He was immediately a little man with a plan! He ran under the deck, where he knows momma can't get him. I would go around to the other side and he would run away. It took 15 minutes, and lots of laughing, before I finally caught him. He just gets more and more fun every day.

Monkey Man - Post Op

2010-09-07T19:35:00.000-05:00

Today was a tough day. We are dog sitting for Max's Grandma and Grandpa. Somehow Monkey Man ended up in the crate with Callie today. Needless to say he wasn't a pretty sight when we got home this afternoon. Max cried about Monkey Man's boo-boos. He kissed each rip with tender loving care.

When daddy got home he worked his magic. He is quite a surgeon - maybe he missed his calling. Monkey Man is now, more or less, back together. You might notice that his right arm is now shorter than his left and he looks as if he had lipo on his inner thigh. There wasn't too much daddy could do with the ear situation. Max was happy that Monkey Man was available for his usual night time snuggles.

On a side note, Monkey Man II has been ordered and should be shipped shortly.

Apple Picking

2010-09-06T20:10:00.000-05:00

We met up with Brian's sister and her family today for some apple picking fun. Before we headed out on the tractor ride to the orchard we met up with a few hungry goats. Max loved feeding the goats. He didn't quite get the idea that he needed to open his hand, but he had fun none the less.

He also loved trying out the big slide with daddy. Max wouldn't have loved to slide again and again, but daddy didn't like how hot the slide was.

Then it was time to pick some apples! We boarded the tractor and headed out to the orchard. Max was so cute walking around with his apple picking bag.

It did get a bit hot as you can see by Max's flushed little pink cheeks. Now I just need to figure out what I'm going to do with all of these apples!

Back to School

2010-08-22T20:07:00.000-05:00

I guess it is obvious by my lack of posts that I am back at school. With almost two weeks under our belts, things are going smoothly. We are all back into our routine and things seem to be going well. Max and I did celebrate our last day of freedom with a trek to the zoo. So fun!

Max has started with his new therapist. Ms. Lori seems to be working out really well. So well, in fact that we have given up our weekly time with Ms. Gina. I actually teared up at the end of our last session. She was such a help to our family and she did such a great job with Max. Unfortunately, First Steps wouldn't make the needed changes to our therapy sessions so we had to switch. In the long run it will be great. Max seems to be thriving in the clinic setting.

Things have also been pretty crazy at home. The house will officially be on the market a week from today. We have filled out all the disclosures and signed all the necessary paperwork. It has been a long road getting things ready, but now that we are all set is was worth it. The dining room is once again a dining room, so Max's train table has been stashed in his room. Today he actually moved it away from the wall himself because he couldn't walk all the way around it. Hopefully soon his train table - as well as everything else - will have lots of space to spread out! Keep your fingers crossed for us!

Never Leave Home Without

2010-07-23T12:41:00.000-05:00

a sippy cup, a snack cup, a rubber duck, the lighthouse book, and of course a rubber snake. Max cracks us up carrying all of his favorite things around the house. He just gets cuter every day!

Peaches,Yum!

2010-07-18T20:41:00.000-05:00

We headed to Eckert's on Saturday morning to pick peaches. Max had a great time. From the tractor ride out he was in heaven. While he did like picking a few, he loved eating them! He had three before we got back from the field! He is a little peach eating machine!

We are already thinking of apple picking this fall - at least then it will be cooler!

Our Little Picasso

2010-07-16T20:05:00.000-05:00

Gymboree has a summer special where you can add an extra class for just $10 a month, so Max has been going to art class in addition to his play class. I wasn't too sure how it would go since Max often likes to do his own thing, but he really loves it! Today we made teapots. He loves to use the paints and does a pretty good job.

At the end of class they read a story about the topic. Max gets out his little cushion and joins the group to hear Ms. Emily read the story. My only complaint about art class is that they want the kids to put glitter on everything! My minivan sparkles like you couldn't imagine.

Museum of Transportation

2010-07-15T19:27:00.000-05:00

Since Brian worked all last weekend he took the day off today. This morning we headed off to the Museum of Transportation. I don't know which of my boys liked it more! We began at the Creation Station. Max thought that the magnetic trucks were pretty neat.

He also liked the cardboard ice cream truck. He found a key on another table and before he climbed into the truck he ran over and picked up the little blue key he found. he was a bit upset that he couldn't find a key hole to put it in.

The highlight for Max were the trains. He enjoyed the train ride - although mom and dad thought it was a bit weak. He also loved wandering around the train yard. Too bad it was so hot! Overall we had a great time and I'm sure we will return!

Grant's Farm

2010-07-10T20:24:00.000-05:00

What a wonderful morning! We met another couple and their two kids to explore Grant's Farm today. We were there when they opened, so we didn't have to wait in line for the tram - which of course Max loved. There were tons of animals out today too, the tram came within a foot of a buffalo.

Of course of one of the highlights of the farm is always the goats. We tried the goats last year and it went okay. We didn't want to take Max inside, so we jsut fed through the fence. Last year Max also thought that the bottle was for him and not the goats. This year we went into the fenced area and at first Max thought it was pretty fun. With a little help from mom he was happy as could be feeding a cute little goat.

Then Max wanted to be a big boy and feed the goats by himself. This probably wasn't the best idea. These goats were aggressive. Before we knew it about 10 goats were attacking Max demading his milk. Poor guy got a bit overwhelemd and this is how our trek to the goat pen ended.

Max recovered pretty quickly from the trauma of the goat pen and we enjoyed the rest of our mornign at the farm. While he wasn't too wild about sitting in the stands for the elephant show, he did enjoy watching 'Bud' do his tricks from the sidelines. Overall it was a wonderful morning spent with great company. It really doesn't get any better than this.

Clear the Roads

2010-07-05T19:42:00.000-05:00

Max is a man on the move! Last year one of Brian's coworkers passed on a motorized Jeep for Max. We finally think he is big enough, so we took the Jeep out for a spin tonight. At first he wasn't doing too well. He just wanted to press all of the buttons - he really liked putting the Jeep in reverse. Then he realized that by pressing the gas peddle he could make it go. Once he had that figured out, he kept trying to press it with his hands. After 20 mintues or so he finally figured out how to use his feet to work the gas and he was off! We chased him up and down the alley for almost an hour. It was too cute! I think his favorite part was trying to run down dad. I have a feeling the Jeep will be coming out again soon.

Library

2010-06-27T16:45:00.000-05:00

Max and I have been making treks to the library every week this summer. While he isn't a fan of story hour - I swear there are like 25 kids there - he loves to play with the puzzles, color pictures, and pick out books.

He will sit in the rocker in his room and read and read and read. I think his favorite author is Donald Crews - what little boy wouldn't love someone that writes about trucks and trains? Uncle Tim came over for dinner tonight and Max wanted him to read all of his library books. I think Max takes after Momma on this one.

We also had a big appointment for Max this past week. On Tuesday we went to a neurologist to discuss Max's speech delay. I have been thinking for a while that it is something a bit more than just a typical speech delay and the doctor confirmed. He believes that Max has something called Apraxia of Speech. Basically he knows what he wants to say, but the message just isn't getting from his brain to his oral muscles the way that it should. It makes if very difficult for him to produce sounds and put sounds together. The doctor we met with was wonderful! He really took his time to get to know Max and help us piece together what is going on with him. He reassured us that we are doing everything right, but that Apraxia is not something that can be fixed over night. We are looking into changing some of Max's speech services - in fact we have an evaluation at the Center for Hearing and Speech on July 15th. We have no doubt that Max will get there - he will speak. It just might take a little extra help.

Summer Fun

2010-06-23T19:58:00.000-05:00

I haven't posted in forever! Things have been really crazy around here. I'm taking 12 hours worth of credit this summer, we are looking into some changes on Max's therapy, and we are preparing to put the house on the market Sept 1st. Lots of changes in the Dull household.

Max continues to be his fun little self. He is loving all the time we are able to spend outside. He loves going for walks around the block, either on his bike or with his golf clubs. He usually makes it all the way around, but the other night he got a little too hot and made me carry him the rest of the way. We haven't ventured any farther than one block because he gets really, really heavy!

Since it has been getting really hot, we have also been spending some family time inside. We had 'doh' time at the kitchen table tonight. He had lots of fun making bananas with Daddy. He even pretended to feed the bananas to the pets. Sierra and Chewy weren't too sure. So fun. We really are lucky!

Flips

2010-05-16T20:29:00.001-05:00

We made another road trip to Columbia this weekend. This time to celebrate our nieces fourth birthday. We headed to the town gymnastics center. We weren't too sure what to expect. Max had a great time! He loved jumping into the foam blocks. I was terrified he would end up head first and not be able to breath, but he did just fine.

He also practice climbing over and crawling under the balance beam. Max's favorite part was hanging from the bars. He was able to hang for a few seconds before falling to the mats while laughing like crazy. He kept standing up and asking us to list him for more and more. I think he just liked falling to the mats. It was too cute.

Max's New Hat

2010-04-16T20:30:00.000-05:00

We have had a potty in the bathroom for Max for about a month now. At first he wouldn't look at it. Then he would take a peek. Now we are at the point where he will sit on it with his clothes on. Progress.

Tonight he was feeling like quite the ham. He took the potty part out of his chair and decided to sit down. Then the bowl became a hat. We cracked up and he just thought he was the funniest thing ever, which he was!

Mom's Deli

2010-04-11T13:42:00.000-05:00

Mom's Deli is one of our favorites, and now it is one of Max's favorites too! We bought him a kid sandwich and he couldn't get enough of it. He loved it!

We also had Max's two year check up last Thursday. Max checked out well. He is 36 3/4 inches tall and 30 lbs 2oz. He is still in the 90th percentile for height and 75th for weight. He just keeps on growing! I swear sometimes I look at him and wonder when this little boy replaced my baby! He is just so much fun!

Happy Easter!

2010-04-04T20:07:00.000-05:00

What a wonderful day we have had! We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day to celebrate. We headed out to Grandma and Grandpa's house for a delicious Easter lunch. Before lunch the kids had lots of fun hunting for eggs in the back yard. Max quickly got the hang of it - after all hide and seek is one of his favorite games. He marched through the grass and used his eagle eyes - and daddy's help - to find all eight of his eggs pretty quickly.

The best part of the holiday is seeing our family - and it doesn't get any cuter than watching Max with his cousins. Graham wasn't too into the picture taking, but Paisley and Max posed for a few. The kids had so much fun together. In fact, Max had so much fun that there was no way he was going to nap. After the festivities we ended up taking him home where he was out for two hours. Hunting for eggs and playing with cousins is tough work!

Road Trip

2010-03-23T20:14:00.000-05:00

Doesn't Max look super cute in his little Mizzou shirt? Today Max, my mom and I took a short little road trip to Columbia. We visited my cousin Anna at Mizzou. Max was a trooper in the car, in fact he slept nearly the whole way there. However when we got there he wasn't being much of a trooper - he was cranky!! We walked around campus and Anna told us all about her home away from home. Towards the end of our visit Max finally perked up a bit and he was an angle on the drive home.

Party Day

2010-03-20T20:48:00.000-05:00

We were lucky enough to celebrate Max's birthday this afternoon. The festivities began with the presentation of a pretzel in the shape of giant two. Since we love Gus' it seemed very fitting. The pretzel was hit with everyone, especially with a melted cheese dip to go with it.

Max had a great time playing with his cousins. One of his favorite games is hide and seek. I am always 'it' while Max hides around the house. I make a huge production of searching for him, although he always hides in the same places. Today I got a break from being 'it' while Max's cousins took over searching for him. His favorite hiding place today was in between the storm door and the real door.

Since the cupcake-cake went so well last year we decided to go for another one this year. Max wasn't too sure about the singing, but he sure loved digging into his cupcake.

After cake Max opened his presents, or more accurately we opened his presents while he played with other things - like Nonna's camera. He did wear his cool new Mizzou shirt and Cardinals hat for a few minutes - he looked like such a big boy!

Every time I look at our little man I am reminded of how much he is growing up. Before we know it he will be in pre-school and then kindergarten. I just want to enjoy every moment that we have together - he is such a little miracle!

Happy Birthday To Max!

2010-03-18T19:48:00.000-05:00

I can't believe that our baby is two. Where has the last two years gone? As I rocked him tonight, I couldn't help but think of where we were two years ago. Time has flown by and I can't believe how much joy and laughter Max has brought to our lives. Every moment with him is a blessing and we feel so fortunate that we get to watch him grow and learn. Each day I learn much more from him than I ever thought possible. Here are just a few random thoughts I have had this year. . .

Ear tubes are a good thing - no more ear infections!

Learning to walk is a process. . . so is learning to talk.

I can make some really great choo-choo sounds.

Raffi and fridge dj make the car a fun place to be, at least for Max.

You can find great deals on Craig's List - we love our train table!

Lego's are really, really loud!Adjustable waist pants are one of the best inventions of all time - too bad they don't come in adult sizes.

Gymboree Play and Music is worth the money, even if Brian thinks it is fluff.

Being a working mom is really, really hard - but then again, so is staying at home.

Every toddler (or at least every parent) needs a steerable tricycle.

Footy PJ's are a bad thing - at least for a boy with sweaty feet.

Seasame Street is like toddler crack.

Sticking to a sleep schedule is easier on everyone.

As Max gets older it is tougher, and tougher to get a good picture.

Emptying silverware from the dishwasher is fun, if you are two.

Every family should have a minivan - power sliding doors are up there with adjustable waist pants.

Little kid playgrounds are not nearly as appealing as the big kid part.

Kids feet can grow crazy fast - Max's poor toes were smushed for a long time before I realized it.

Overnight diapers save on a lot of laundry - and a lot of cranky mornings.

Sam's has the words best wipes - and they are cheap!

Brian can make a great horse.

We have the world's most laid back pets.

Being a mom has made me a better teacher.

I am still the luckiest girl alive!

Sick Day

2010-02-21T12:25:00.000-06:00

It has been a while since I have posted. We have been a busy little family. Nature slowed us down a bit last week because Max had a cold. He and I stayed home on Thursday for a nice quite day of snuggling on the couch, playing with lots of puzzles, and coloring some pictures. He wasn't nearly as sick as he was over Thanksgiving, thank goodness, but he just wasn't himself. After a quiet day home with mom he was all set to go back to day care on Friday. He is just about all better now. . . just in time to go out for dinner with his cousins last night and celebrate daddy's birthday with my family tonight.

Hard to believe that in just under a month we will be celebrating Max's second birthday. Where have the last two years gone!?

Like Father, Like Son

2010-01-11T20:38:00.000-06:00

Okay, I am going to begin by saying that this picture was totally unprovoked. Brian got his Money Magazine in the mail the other day and after he read it he left it on the table. Max found it and was enthralled. He sat in his little chair and 'read' it from cover to cover. Brian tried to explain the graphs to him, but he wasn't too interested :) I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree!

Happy New Year!

2010-01-03T19:09:00.000-06:00

Our 2010 is off to a great start. Brian and I have both greatly enjoyed our holidays and the time off work. We are both back to work tomorrow, so Max will be back to day care. The past few days of our break have been pretty uneventful. Max spent quality time with daddy playing Wii. Max would swing and get all excited when the character on tv swung too. He didn't realize that only daddy was actually affecting the game.

He also spent some quality time with Chewy, the cat. Every day after nap Max would have a bit of milk along with a snack. One day he decided to sit on the cat to enjoy his snack. The funny thing is that the cat didn't seem too fazed by this.

Last, but not least, Max spent time in his new playroom (AKA our dining room). We have officially given in and turned the dining room into a playroom. We moved all the furniture downstairs and now the room is home to all of Max's toys including his new train table! We were able to find one on Criagslist a week or so ago and Max has loved playing with it. He does get a bit frustrated with it sometimes, but he is getting the hang of it. He really seems to be enjoying it.