Such a big boy

Max continues to grow and gain confidence in his abilities to walk and get around. Millar says he has seen him take up to 7 steps. Personally, I've seen 2 or 3 at a time before he confidentally dives into my arms having allt he confidence in the world his mommy will catch him. He dives with a smile that is so precious and fullfilling!

He is enjoying his push toys alot too. He especially enjoys pushing the buttons and having a little dance to the tunes!

Here are a few other pictures I captured of my boy. I love his curls!

preparing Ellie for my week long business trip

I've been dreading telling Ellie I will be away for a week. I know it will be hard, becuase when I was away for just one night a couple months ago, there were tears at bedtime. I knew I needed to tell her a few nights in advance, and not just when I was leaving. So, when I was putting her to bed (about 4 nights before leaving) I told her. The conversation went something like this:

Mommy, "Ellie, remember when Mommy had to go away overnight and Daddy put to you to bed?"

Ellie, "Yes. I cried."

Mommy, "Well, Mommy needs to go away again for a few nights this time to work."

Ellie, "I will come with you."

Mommy, "I wish you could honey, but I have to work. Who would watch you while I work?"

Ellie, looks me straight in the eyes and very seriously says, "You will Mommy." (As if I was asking the dumbest question ever.)

Mommy, "I wish that I could honey, but that will not work."

I proceeded to explain to her that she will have Grannie and Millar here this time as well, which will make it special. I also told her that Gramma wants her to spend the night with her one night too. So that will be something else special to look forward too.

After listening to all this and processing, she responds with, " That will be fun. I will have lots of people here with me - Max, Daddy, Grannie, Millar, Gramma and G."

To this I laughed and explained they won't all be here, but she will have fun.

Father's Day

Today is father's day. We had our first Father's Day family picnic at the Holtzople's farm in Gettysburg today.

David got a nice outside fan and some chocolates and cards for Father's day. I also made him a nice big breakfast, which he had to share with Millar... and eat without his coffee (another story :-). )

The party was nice. Jerred and Vicki bought crabs. The immediate family was all present and accounted for, which was nice. The kids all really ahd a nice time. Only about 3 or 4 of them really need naps these days, so it'S getting a little easier to do these daytime things.

I'm not sure how much Max enjoyed the day, but Ellie sure did. SHe was in the pool swimming for a good 2-3 hours straight. I wouldn't be suprised if she was nearly a prune when she finally got out becuase she needed to use the potty! Good job to my girl for not considering the pool a potty!

Max did brave the pool. This was a great thing, since the first time I tried a few weeks ago resulted in pure screaming. I think it was becuase I was much more gentle this time around and slow about how we got in the water. I held him for a good 30 minutes while we splashed and bounced and played and just got used to the cold temperature. My boy definitely does not like the cold (unlike his sister).

He even eventually enjoyed being moved around in the little crabby floaty.

It was a great family weekend!

Cousins having fun! THey were like ping pong balls trying to get them together for a photo.

Ellie practiced her jumping and got very brave with Daddy's help. What a great daddy!

In his patriotic swim suit, compliments of Will, and ready to go!

Warmed up and having fun!

Proud Mommy Moment

We had the bright idea of letting the kids play in the new sandbox during the party. This resulted in a lot of sand getting drug into the house. ALthough I was having a hard time dealing with it, I was trying to look beyond it.

Apparently Grannie found Ellie is dispare looking down at the floor with disgust. When asked what was wrong, Ellie's reply, "I really hate the floor like this." (Referrencing the sand piles everywhere.)

Hazel said she looked just like me... ha ha.

Max's first birthday party

Saturday was a busy day. We had everyone over at 4pm for a cookout to celebrate Max's big day. It was a lot of work getting the outdoors ready for our first outdoors party here in New Market too. It was worth it though.

The guest list was just perfect - Mom &, Dad, Holtzople, Latimers, Perrottas, Great Grandpa, Great Uncle David, Grannie and Millar, our friends the Thompson's and us of course.

Me and my baby boy!

Max with Mommy and Daddy before his party!

Max with both Grannie and Gramma at his party!

Max didn't get all the sleep we would've hoped for, but he was a trooper even though he was yawning before dinner was served.

He enjoyed playing with his aunts and cousins before dinner.

Max and Aunt Vicki playing.

Dinner done, waiting for cake!

He enjoyed talking with Laura and Vince during Dinner.

After dinner I opened his presents, becuase he was NOT at all interested.

We then did the cake, which also wasn't near as interesting as it was for him on his real birthday. He did enjoy eating most of it though.

After that, he played for a few moments before Aunt Katie and Gramma took him upstairs for his birthday bath and to prepare for bed. Mommy went up with a bottle at 7:15 and he was asleep in his crib before most people left. He slept the whole night through. He sure was tired from all the excitement!

(Photos to come when I can collect them from people, as my camera battery was found dead during the party... slack mamma)

Ellie had a lot of fun at the party too. In fact, we think everyone did.

Fun on the deck with Max's new water table

Getting ready for Max's birthday party was a lot of fun for Max and Ellie. Once daddy and millar got everything set up on the deck for the kids to play with, they got to be the first to try it all out.

They had a blast!

And ended up filthy! They were so wet and dirty, we had their lunch outside for them before baths and a nap to get ready for the party.

Max's first birthday

Max woke me up a bit early today - 6:30 ish or so - ready to go for the day. True to form, I made him hang out in his crib until the magic 7am becuase I think getting up before that is just too early (sorry buddy).

I woke him up with his bottle and a happy birthday! He greeted me with a smile and his normal short but loving cuddles.

We sat down in the chair so he could enjoy his bottle. I sang him Happy Birthday! We had a nice time playing in his room, getting his bottle done and getting dressed. I ended up playing with him until his birth moment so that I could snap a few photos right at the 1 year mark. He wasn't really insterested in a photo session, but in what he could get into and play with in my room.

7:29am

I love this little profile shot of him concentrating. This profile was what I staired at in sonogram photos for about 5 months!

This is what Max looks like when I say no to him. It's something like, "Really? you think i'm going to stop. come make me then.."

He was greeted with Birthday welcomes from his sister, Grannie and Miller, then he had his normal breakfast of champions - banana and cereal.

While he slept, Ellie helped me make his birthday cake! She was a great helper and enjoyed making her brother's cake. She stirred it up and even volunteered to taste as we went along.

The goal of the morning was his one year checkup, which we accomplished. Dr. Clarence says she can not believe how well he's doing. She said she was really worried about him there for a while and is thrilled he is doing so great. He is a healthy, happy, cute, big (85%) little boy growing well. He charms them easily and makes his mommy smile. Even in the doctors office he was good company and kept me on my toes too. He did have to get two shots, which he wasn't pleased with. However, this is all said and done now.

Lunch went smoothly and although he was tired, he tried desperately to avoid the afternoon nap. He finally fell asleep for an hour.

We waited for Daddy to come home before officially starting the party. Max got a bunch of big presents, so we set the up in the basement and I wrapped some paper around them, with Ellie's help. When we finally went down to let Max open them, he wasn't at all interested in the presents, but instead playing with the big red ball and the slide. So, we gave up and just let him play for a while before eventually showing him each of his big presents in turn.

Mommy's little boy!

Grannie and Millar made it just in time for Max's birthday.

He got a very cool bike from Mommy, Daddy and Ellie that converts in stages. He had some rides in this and smiled. We think this will be a winner over the coming years.

He got a very fun and enticing water table from Grampa, which Ellie is also most interested in trying.

Finally, he got an awesome huge sandbox and toys from Grannie and Millar. This was fun to sit in even without the sand for both of them.

Ellie's going to get to enjoy most of Max's presents too.

For dinner we ordered some pizza in, becuase it's about Max's favorite big boy food. While we were waiting on the pizza he opened some fun presents from Uncle Tim and Aunt Julie. He finally got a toy that is meant for banging, which is was REALLY excited about, along with a few cute outfits!

At first Max rejected the pizza, but once he finally tried it, it was woofed down in minutes. We were quickly onto the cake, which was another adventure for Max. It only took him about a minute to figure out this was delicious and he should devour it, which he in turn did!

What a happy mess!

He even tried licking his fingers clean when it was all said and done. Obviously, that was impossible with this mess.

After an attempt to clean up, we wrapped the fun up with a little outside bike riding for the kids, which was cut short by an evening storm. It was still a nice time. I look forward to many more evenings of them getting to ride their new bikes together (ellie's being from this past Christmas)

Max was really tired at the end of the day. I tried to have a bubble bath with him, but there was really mild success in enjoying that. He was finally getting into it a little, when he tried eating the bubbles - which of course tasted horrible. That was the end. He was so tired and couldn't recover from it. From that point it was to bed as quick as possible.

I rocked him to sleep in my arms. I sang songs to my little one year old thinking about where we were this time last year. He's so big, so much fun, full of so many laughs! He has changed so much in 1 year. I'm so excited to watch him grow.

I ended up resting with Max in the chair for about half an hour, just enjoying some cuddles and love to end a lovely birthday. Happy Birthday big boy !

PS. At about 10 pm Max woke up and for about 15 minutes has been up in his crib trying to get someone to come play with him. THis has never happened before. I can only guess that the chocolate icing had too much caffeine and now he can not sleep. Opps! Night Night Maximillian!