Catsup

This has become one of Max's favorite foods. He has it with chicken, hot dogs, and dinner tonight it was all over his fish sticks. He loves it! You can guess from the picture that I don't love it quite as much - it makes a huge mess for me to clean up!

MO Botanical Garden

Since I am always on the lookout for the deals we headed to the garden this morning. It is free on Wednesday's and Saturday's before noon. Once again I recruited Aunt Anna to join us. Since nonna has been off work this week she joined us too. Max enjoyed looking at the flowers. He really liked touching them.

He also liked feeding the fish. All morning I had been talking to Max about feeding the fish. I think he was a bit disappointed. He was excited to throw a few pieces of food out, but then he climbed back into his stroller and tried to strap himself in. Safety first!

On our way home from Chicago this weekend, Brian and I stopped at Ikea. We picked up a few things including a book case to hide all of Max's toys and the cutest little child size chair. Max loves sitting in his little chair (so does the cat).

Grant's Farm

Today was a big day in our family - it was Brian's last day at AT&T! He will begin his new position at Centene in Clayton on Monday. To celebrate the big day we went out to Grant's Farm. It was a beautiful afternoon and since we didn't get there until after 2pm, it wasn't too crowded and we didn't have to wait at all for our tram.


Max wasn't too sure about feeding to goats. We went into the pen and were immediately attacked by several goats. They sure are aggressive! In order to give Max a chance to feed them we thought we would be better to feed the goats through the fence. It took Max a moment to warm up to the idea - and a couple reminders from mom that the bottles were for the goats and not him - but he eventually found those crazy goats pretty funny.
They were a bit too strong for him to feed - they pulled the bottle right out of his hands. Luckily dad was there to lend a hand.

Brian and I are going to continue celebrating his new job in Chicago this weekend. We are driving up after we drop Max off with the sitter tomorrow morning. We will miss our little man, but I'm sure he will have tons of fun with his Nonna and Nonno!

16 Months Old

I never thought 16 months could possibly go by so quickly! Max has been a very busy boy. He is walking all over the place, and he even tries to run. Unfortunately, he isn't quite coordinated enough for that yet. We haven't had too many falls, although we did have a minor skinned knee and elbow.

The weather has been beautiful the past week. You would never guess that it was July in St. Louis. We have been enjoying the weather with lots of trips to the park. I think our favorite playground is at Francis park. No small rocks or mulch, just the foamy type ground. The playground is also nicely shaded. Max and I get there early, walk around the park a while and then hit the playground. Max loves climbing the steps and going down the slide. He can even do it all by himself. When he gets to the top of the slide he puts his feet out and slides down on his tummy. It is the cutest thing!

This morning my mom and I met a friend and her little boy at the zoo. Once again I took advantage of the free hour. Now that Max is walking, the zoo was a much more enjoyable experience for all. He was wandering around and checking out the animals. He loved the fish, as you can see!

First Swimming Lesson

We signed Max up for swimming lessons and the YMCA and tonight was his first class. He loved it! As the teacher was going over the rules, Max was splashing all around. He had a great time. We did a bit of kicking and worked on pushing off the wall. He also had to throw a toy and 'swim' to it. He enjoyed the slide that they brought out at the end too.

As much fun as he had swimming, I think Max's favorite part was the acoustics of the pool. He has become quite the screamer ever since he got his tubes put in. He just loves the sound of his own voice - especially in public places. The other night at Schnucks he screamed right at this little old lady. I think her hearing aids were cranked up a bit to high, because she almost had a heart attack! Does anyone have any suggestions for how we can put an end to 'hawk boy'?

We Have a Walker!

It is official, Max is a walker! Here is a video that we took this afternoon of Max walking along the sidewalk. It isn't the best video, we will try to get a better clip another day. He just started walking this week. We have been practicing. Brian and I would sit on the carpet and have Max practice walking between us. I feel really silly that I didn't think to do this sooner (thanks for the pointer, Emily!). Max did a great job and little by little he has been building up his confidence. I think he looks like a drunken sailor, but I guess his walk will get more smooth as he continues to practice. I am so glad that he is now walking - I was really beginning to get worried!

On a side note, Max had his follwo up appointment with he ENT yesterday. Dr. Hardeman said Max's ears looked great! This is the longetst that Max has gone without an infection since December! I also think the tubes have greatly helped his balance.