Quite the Journey

I got Erik tickets to see Journey for Father's Day. After a few months of waiting, we got to go last week. Heart and Cheap Trick opened for them so it was total 80's rock! All bands did great and the crowd was good too. (Arnel Pineda sounded AMAZING! And, I just learned that he joined the group on Max's due date). We had seats in the grass so we got to relax and Max was able to crawl around. People loved that there was a baby there. He was great. He fell asleep right before Journey came on and slept almost through the end. Go figure. It was a fun night and we look forward to taking him to more concerts as he grows up. Getting ready for the show!
While the baby sleeps...
I love this picture. Max woke up and Erik sang to him. It was so cute, Max giggled while Erik did his guitar solo.

This picture was taken before he fell asleep and he was so interested in his collapsed stroller. He kept making funny faces at it and singing to it. (When he hears music he "sings" along).

Let our Journey continue...

Changes

Time for some updates. Max had his 9 month appointment last week. He weighs 21.2 lbs and is 31 inches long. That means he has grown 10 inches! He hasn't even gained 10 lbs yet, but we will forgive him for that since he came out obese. He's recovering from a cold (we all are). He's feeling fine-nothing stops this little man- but I'm getting tired of being used as a tissue. Ew. His latest favorites are opening the cabinets which forced us into the horrible life of child-locks. Ugh. I hated these while I babysat growing up and I hate them now. We only put them on the "danger" cabinets and he can go crazy with the rest of 'em. He's getting three more teeth (which will make 7) and he looks so goofy with them. He likes to smile though and show them off.
He also LOVES cars and balls. Anything with wheels will make him smile. The red tractor above was Erik's when he was little and Max loves to push it around. It's metal so we've had a few "marks" from it but, again, nothing stops this little boy. Actually, every day he gets at least three bumps on his head from crawling around. He's always taking the "hard route" and then tries to squirm his way through. He likes getting chased by us and giggles so hard that he gives in and throws his arms up (it actually only lasts about two or three feet, but that probably feels like a mile to him) He likes emptying containers or bags and dropping things from his high chair (my least favorite). He's getting more confident with standing (holding on) and reaching for things. He sort of pounces when he thinks he's close enough to his target. We think he'll walk before he's one. I'm in no hurry for it though.
We hung out in the front yard for a little bit today. Max likes to "show" things now. Here, it's a leaf. The final days of our garden are slowly approaching. Above is the only watermelon. All the other buds disappeared. This one is about the size of a ping-pong ball. We are still getting tomatoes, cucumbers and maybe some zucchini. We've had some good meals with our veggies. So tasty! We will try and have a garden every year now.
What else....

Erik is still enjoying school. He has a really good group of students with him so that helps. He said it's starting to get harder now, as expected. It's nice that it's only two days a week. He studies every night so he doesn't get to see us (meaning Max) as much as he'd like. We keep thinking in only a year and a half and our lives will change so much when it's done.

We are still in the process of house-hunting. It's been nice for us to watch the home prices drop because we never thought we'd be able to afford anything in California. Now we just might. We are in no hurry so for now we are just checking out some homes and watching how things change.

I have really enjoyed the last week or so with the cooler weather headed our way. I love fall. The colors are so pretty. Our droppings from our pecan trees are horrible this time of year (well, in about a month or so) but I thank them for the shade they provide in the hot months. I found the domestic side of me..it took a while, and she might disappear soon ...but for now she's fun. I made bread from scratch (my first ever!). It's really good and I made 4 loaves. What are we going to do with 4 loaves? I have no idea. They are in the freezer until Miss Domestic tells me what to do. There have been a lot of good meals and treats produced lately. Miss Domestic will have to lay off the sweets soon though...chub, chub.

Here is a video of Max and his tractor. Enjoy!

Beach Day!

We decided to take advantage of the hot weather and get out of town! (That and Mommy needed to get out of the house!!!) So we picked up Grandma and headed to the city to go to Baker Beach. So did about 2000 other beach bums. It was a beautiful day, the breeze was mild and the sand was warm. We take him to the beach and what does he want? Car keys.
It took a little bit but Max liked the chilly water. There were a lot of dogs and other kids for him to watch.
He did get a little scared and held on tight.
Playing in the sand.
Playing and singing with Grandma Gail.
After a long afternoon of playing hard, he crashed. He crawled up into Erik's lap, sang a little, chewed his toes and within minutes he was out. His toes are squishing his nose here. We had a great, relaxing day!

Music to my ears

Max learned two things this week. To wave good-bye and to play the flute. Sort of. He is such a musical boy. He loves any type of music and dances around to the tune. Recently, he started "singing" along too. He finally got his hands on the turtle flute (seen below) this afternoon and knew exactly what to do with it. The video is after he had dinner tonight. I love his puffy cheeks as he blows.

Happy What?

Happy 2nd Anniversary! This is part of our honeymoon trip in southern Utah at Bryce Canyon. It was cold and rainy that day (see picture to the right with raincoats) but it was still amazingly beautiful. We drove to each viewing site and hopped out to take a peek and a picture and jump back in the heated car. We'd like to go back someday and actually hike through it. If you ever have a chance to visit the park, don't pass it up!! It's well worth it!