Max is 3!

Our little Max-i-poo turned three this week. It feels like all of a sudden he really is three. If I had a nickel for every time I hear "No! I can to it by myself!", I'd be a wealthy woman. It literally happened overnight. Aside from that, he is a complete charmer. He has many people wrapped around his little finger. He'll gladly "clothesline" his brother, say hello to strangers (which might I add, people really like hearing a little guy say hi and wave at them), hug you good-bye, yell "FART" when it's quiet, snuggle as if it's his last wish and tell you every single type of construction vehicle/tool you never even knew existed.

Erik and I talked about the day he was born. I was in labor for about 24 hours, finally pushed for about an hour and a half, then when we decided the best thing would to have a c-section and I delivered the largest baby ever known to man (well, close). So, I was heavily medicated and we remember it a little differently.

In honor of "Maxwe-oh Lubow-ee Marah-kez"'s birthday I'll share some things I've written in my kid-isms journal in the last year

**Max leaning over to Alex in the grocery cart, pats his head, runs his hand down the side of his face and says "Oh hi sweetie".

**Alex spilled his cup of goldfish crackers all over the floor. I looked at him and told him to clean it up. Max watched, looked at Alex, looked at the mess, then at me and said "Mom? Why you not say 'Oh Crap'?".

**In the car, I let our a frustrated "Grrrrrr!" After about a minute, Max said  "Mom. My say "Oooh Maaan! You say  "Oh dammit!"

**Shopping with Nini (Aunt Kristen) at Target, we cut through the little girls section. Max spotted the training bras, giggled, and said "Boobs" So I asked him if he knew what that was and he said, " Oh... yeah, baby boobs."

**I see Max squatting in the corner of the kitchen so I ask him what he is doing. "Oh, dust pooping" So I ask him if he would like to go in the toilet instead. He says, "Um no, I'm good right here."

We sure love him. Happy 3rd year, Max!

We've got a bleeder!

Soooooooo....remember that graceful kid I told you about in the last post?

Well, that same kid landed himself in the ER last week. I think we need to review the "falling" part of all that climbing. We got to see Erik at work (hospital work this time, not in the ambulance) and many of his co-workers said, "Oh, Alex, we've heard about you. It was just a matter of time before we'd see you here."

And I'm sure we'll be back for more!

Stitches....another check off my Mommy List.

 

The first is two and the second is one.

And with that title, it explains a lot. These two are teaming up, making most days pretty interesting. So here is just a tiny little taste at what I can capture with my cell phone.

Alex is starting a lot of the playing, wrestling, fighting, teasing.

 

Do you know how funny a cup can be? He had it resting on the top of his head for about a minute, looking up with only his eyes, and cracking up. He placed it here and giggled for a good five minutes over it.

Another blind attack. Max is mostly a good sport about it, but I do have to remind him that Alex is still small and to be gentle.

Yeah, I didn't start this. And it didn't last long.

Max is found often shaking his head at Alex and saying, "Woah. Wook at him. He is a maniac, Mom. What a disastuh."

Hard to take a nap when your brother climbs over you. At least he's a cute alarm clock.

Every chance he gets...

"Mom, we are putting on our packpacks so we can go to school now."

 Erik says Alex is a future rock climber. I agree. I honestly can't get this kid to stop. Moving furniture to the garage (we have a couch out there now because he was nearly out a window last week) doesn't really help because he is very determined. If it goes up, he figures out how to climb it. And he's FAST! He's been trying to "climb" the recliner for a long time. After multiple falls, he made it. I walked in to him standing on the back/top cushion. The chair rocks. Looked like he was surfing and he wore the biggest smile. Kid has incredible balance. He even learned to fall the right way.

"Mom I have a pwesent for you. I wapped it up." I hear this at least once a day from Max and it might be the cutest thing I've heard in my life. Earlier today I got a paper wrapped cheerio. A few days ago it was a car in a stuffed animal. Below it was all he tupperware/plastic cups, etc. in a reusable bag. He was SO excited for this big gift.

 Max has only fallen out of bed once since we took of the barrier a couple months ago. Erik found him like this a week or so ago. I usually grab the camera when he says, "You gotta go check out your son." He never fell off this night. Looks like it was close.

 And lastly, we made a hand wreath from Max's  little handprints. I figure I won't post again until after Thanksgiving. We have so much to be thankful for this year.  I feel so incredibly lucky for so many things.  

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

There once was a Monkey and a Fireman.

And they were so cute.

 These were the best I could do for photos of them. Max is learning how to hold still and hold a smile for photos. But there is just no way for Alex. Especially when there is a fire in a pumpkin nearby. How exciting!

You know how funny it is to hear a two-year-old say "Mom? Mom? Mom? Do you wike my dirty ash? Mom? I have dirty ash on my face. Do you wike it?"

 After the trick-or-treating. Tried to do another photo shoot with the candy to bribe them. No such luck.

 The boys had a great time. Max was really into trick-or-treating this year so it made it really fun for all of us. Alex sort of understood what was going on. Except the few houses we let him walk up to on his own, he sort of thought they were inviting him in. It's a good thing he's cute. And to top it off, he made monkey noises almost the whole time. I know, awwww. Max was very brave this year and even went to the the "skeeeeeeerrry" houses. Things change when you know they'll give you treats.

Happy Halloween everyone!

A few nights ago Alex decided to wake up SCREAMING at about 11pm and decided he was done with bedtime and ready to play. He made it out to the family room and opened up his favorite book (for now), pointed and talked out the pictures he saw. It's really an uneventful video but I wanted to capture a "still" moment from him.  Earlier today he cleared his own breakfast dish. Gasp! I kept thinking 'remember the sweet moments...remember the sweet moments...remember the sweet moments'. He's usually a skinny, blond, curious, climbing, walking terror.

 

I made them pose. They are like BFF's.

This is what they like in the morning. After the whining for milk stops ( I honestly can't get it to them fast enough), they cuddle, watch cartoons, and sip away. Well, Max drinks his and Alex fills up his mouth and spits it out. He's way grosser than Max ever was. I love their sleepy faces.

Pumpkin Patch

We took the boys on our annual trip to Cool Patch Pumpkins. Once again we had a great time. It was a warm day with lots of things to explore. We have our decorations up and Max says "It's Halloween Day at our house" all the time. He is very excited to wear his costume and go trick-or-treating this year. I love this time of year. 

I'm trying to figure out how to blog from my phone...with pictures. Please be patient. (That goes for me too!)

Trying again...

Just testing...

Our New Pool

One of the perks of having an unfinished

back yard is giving the boys their dream come true. There is no hesitation for play in a mess like this. I had to bribe them with popsicles to finally come inside.

Photoverload

I'm pretty sure I saw the title somewhere else. I'm not that clever. (Is that even clever?) My creative energy is being put in other directions, not in the blog titles. I get bored with my usual "Update" or even better "More Updates". Although, the BEST blog title I've ever seen was "I have Blogstipation" on a friends blog who hadn't blogged in a while. I loved it. (I'd add their link but they haven't blogged in a really long time; blogstipation gone bad? And if they still read this blog, hello???? It's not snowing in Jersey anymore!!!! Blog some, huh? Although I am very thankful you live in California again and we get to see you more often. :)).

Okay, back to Photoverload.

We've been a little busy around here. We've welcomed the one day of fall we got and are now back in shorts. The one day brought illness too. It's making our way through our house. Unfortunately, it got the best of this one:
This was the end of it and we figured out he had roseola (click on name if you are interested) and he's totally fine. He had the rash from head to groin. Poor Alex. He's just going to be one of this sick kids through life. Started with a fever, then throwing up...um wait...that went like this:

Mom hears Alex crying in bed...coughing...crying....silent...coughing...go get Alex. Brings him out to the living room to rock and catch his poor coughing breath. Max is on the couch, takes one look at him and this started:

Max: Hi Owlex! Mom, Owlex is gonna bawrf.

Me: Ok, thanks Max

Alex: (Coughing)

I sit in the recliner with Alex as Max watched from the couch and repeats.

Max: Mom, Owlex is gonna bawrf on you.

Alex: (Sits up from Mommy's chest and pukes on it).

Max: AHHHHH (grinning like he just won the lottery)....hahaha...Yehhehhes!!!!! (then he air punches, straight up)

Mom: (Look at the ceiling, eyes closed, laughs) Groooooosssss!!!! Max will you get Mommy a towel please?

Max: (jumping and still giggling) He's gonna do it again, Mom.

Alex: Pukes in Mommy's lap.

My kid air punched for barf.

So that's it. Max thought it was wonderful and was thrilled to see his prediction take place. And I didn't care so much, I laughed and gave myself a pat on the back. Why? Oh, I caught it all. I didn't have to clean one piece of furniture or the rug or wipe any floor or throw away any toy. Yep, I'm getting good. I can handle being the target if I don't have to use Resolve afterwards.

Hm, I guess you had to be there. Erik thought it was funny when I told him. Okay, we're all better now. Fever, barf, better, rash, gone. What else...

Forts! Erik has been waiting for this day to come. In fact, after I did a quick repair, I was told I built it wrong. Um, they used one blanket. Ha! But it was beautiful and Max loved it. Max is serving "lunch" below.

First day of fall? Pumpkin cookies. Remember this funny video from last year? Same cookies, bigger kid. Best cookies ever. And wow, Max had REALLY bad hair.
Fall colored Marigolds from our garden.
Here's where some of the crafting energy has gone. I stayed up late watching American Pickers one night and make this. Yup, I like it. I made Erik tell me how cute it was like a hundred times the next day.

I cleaned out my purse. Then I realized it smelled like old milk. Hm, I wonder why. Cause all this stuff could never make a purse smell, right? (The stuff on the left is all garbage). On a regular day, just take all this and add a bottle and a sippy cup.

We have welcomed a new family into our home. Please join us in welcoming the "Tay-doh Fam-we". They have been a great addition. Although their bad manners are rubbing off on a certain 2 year old.I had to take a picture of Max reading the newspaper. Actually, he talked the newspaper. He talks everything. Always. His mouth is always moving. But oh man, is he funny.
Feeding the birds. Most people throw old bread. We cook them carrots and make sure they eat them all. Later that night Max ripped off the poor birds legs and called him a duck.
Now, brace yourselves....THE BEST SALAD EVER!!!!! So, I know I've talked about this website before: Our Best Bites. In fact, I may have even posted about this salad before: Thai peanut noodle salad. Our favorite. Go make it. It's easy. Go have fun on their website. It's adorable.
Cutting his fingers off? Nah, just practicing with scissors.
Erik and I celebrated our 4 year anniversary. I sure love him. He is doing really well with his new job. He's still at the hospital and is picking up shifts on the ambulance as they become available. Meaning, he's not home very often. He's working hard and doing what he loves. You know when you see the ambulance go by and you sort of peek into the cab looking for a cute boy? Yeah, when he leaves in his uniform I get that feeling. He's my cute boy! (Don't laugh at the cake. I made it last minute and it's mostly frosting since I screwed it up so bad).
We went to the Oakland Zoo with two of our favorite people. Here is Max with Nicholas. And this photo explains it all. They are so funny together. They even got "a-talkin'-to" by one of the workers because of their noise level around the animals.
So that pretty much sums it up. That's not true, there is so much more, like an awesome camping trip with my family. But, I think I winded myself with the long story about barf. I hope to post again soon so the first picture you see on my blog isn't of a rashy kid. But don't count on it. I may get Blogstipation.

Chit Chat

We thought we got rid of all of our old cell phones, but two have shown up recently. Perfect for two little imitators. I can't get them off the phone! Ugh. Thank goodness their little fingers can't text yet...or I'd be in trouble..like THIS (click there to be completely blown away by the amount of texts a teenager...our nephew...can send in a month)! I wonder what technological confusion will be around when they are teenagers.

(Gross pj's, I know. They just had breakfast.)

Translation for Max: What are you doing today, Alex? Oh? Really? Good-bye Alex. See you soon Alex.

Translation for Alex: Well, I'm too far away from my Mom so I need to get closer. How am I going to get this phone in my mouth? Oh yeah, I'm on the phone. Mom, change me, I stink. Oh, you can't smell me...let me bring it closer to you...

Camping at Lake Alpine

We decided VERY last minute we needed to get away. We took the boys for a two night camping trip at Lake Alpine. It was so beautiful. The boys had a blast.

The air matress was a great toy!

Could these two be any more alike? I love it!

Getting ready to celebrate...

...the big day! We got to celebrate Alex's first birthday while camping! We sang to him and he destroyed his cupcake. Just as it should be!

This is what happens when a glow stick explodes.

Hanging out at the campfire.

Day two, we hung ut at the lake. It was incredibly beautiful. the boys were in complete heaven.

Max was so busy the entire trip. He talked non-stop. He loved every little thing he did.

He was so busy and oops...oh well. Stuff like this doesn't matter when you camp, right?

It was a great trip. The boys did great (except for the freezing morning, that wasn't so fun). On our drive up, we saw a mama bear and her two cubs running across the highway. I've never seen that, it was amazing! We had bats flying around our campground the second night. Great camping neighbors, kissing chipmunks, fun walks, feeding ducks, lots of dirt to dig in and eat, lots of giggling and funny chats, Obi had fun jumping in the water for sticks, easy cooking and clean-up, and so much more. We can't wait to go again!