Another park day...

I wanted to add I just made the BEST banana bread. Get the recipe here!

Park before Kick Off!

We decided to take Max to the park this morning before he was stuck inside the rest of the day watching football. Here are a few shots...

He loves going down the slide alone. He even scoots off the top by himself. I added this in because it shows one of his many goofball faces. He just does them. this kid is a crack up.

He loves the swings. When Max sees garbage cans he has to stop what he is doing to wave his hands and say "ugkhhh" over and over and over again. Until you say "Yes, Max, that's a garbage can." I'm guessing he learned that from me, trying to get him away from them. But, it doesn't necessarily keep him away. He can see them from a mile away too. It was cute the first few times. It's getting old now. He also saw a bunch of dogs, he does a similar move when he sees dogs too. He waves his hand, says "Dog", then pants like a pup. Every single time. Do you know how many dogs live in Vacaville? The only other animal noise he knows is a monkey. Now that is cute. Anyway, he can see a garbage can in the picture below.

Bad hair day? ha. I love the way he looks in the little swings.

Now we're at home getting ready for the Superbowl. Our friends, Jeff and Nicolle, are coming over. We have tons of crappy food to eat and are looking forward to a good time! And no, I could care less about the game or who wins. It's all about the commercials and the food!

My patient patient.

Erik had his surgery this morning and is doing great! Not much to say and no pictures. He is recovering nicely and is enjoying his pain meds. :) No cast, just a big bandage. Hopefully this will cure his issue, time will tell. We rented a bunch of movies and love that it's raining so we can all relax. Thanks Grandma Mills for playing with Max this morning while were were out!

Control your temper!

Here is Max reading us our mail...

And here is Max riding his "bike". Usually the bucket covers his whole head. This morning he walked to his toy buckets with his arms out feeling his way around, head completely covered.
He's getting a little more comfortable with walking. He can take about 6 steps now, and again, expects you to cheer afterwards.

I was talking to my Mom this morning and we decided he was a one year old stuck in a two year old body. With two year old mannerisms. And two year old tempers. I wish I could get one of his many temper tantrums on video. It can consist of banging his head against the floor, smacking himself (or you, depending on who is near) in the head, throwing his toys (including his big trucks), chasing after the toys he threw to throw them again...then coming to you for a cuddle.

When I was a little kid, my Dad said to me one day, "Juli, control your temper." Having 4 siblings hear that too meant I never heard the end of it. Ever. Now my kid has it. I was hoping he'd have Erik's (lack of a) temper. Nope. He's all me. Poor kid. Poor me. And waaaay Poor Erik.

Big A, little a, what begins with A...

Artichokes and Artwork! A...A...A!

It's been a while since we've updated the blog. It's also been a while since we've had the camera out too. But Max hasn't forgotten his modeling skills. We had artichokes for dinner a few nights ago and Max was eating them like a pro....until I got the camera out. It was really hard for him to see a camera and not smile, and just eat. So the eating was put on hold for a little bit so he could show off his monster teeth. (Notice the mayo on his cheek, he loved them!)


Last Friday night we took a trip to Napa and watched Kirra's basketball game. During the game Max was sitting on Kelly's lap and coloring with a pen. So that encouraged us to try it out at home with crayons. He thought it was pretty cool. This masterpiece took him about 20 minutes but he did use a variety of colors. He was really into putting he crayons back into the box, and dumping them out, and putting them back into the box, and dumping them out...you get the "picture".

As for everything else....

Erik is starting school again tomorrow. He had a nice winter break catching up on sleep and enjoying more than one day off a week. We found out on Tuesday he will be having surgery on his wrist. It's a worker's comp thing and has been receiving treatment for about a year or so, with little to no relief. So it's surgery time. It should be a quick outpatient procedure. But, will most likely involve a cast up to his elbow. And 6 weeks off work. (Help me!)

I have been working at my parents office for a couple months, part time. Just helping them out on a project. It makes me appreciate even more that I can stay home with Max. Working Mom's need way more credit then they get. The days that I am at the office are so much more difficult. It involves so much more planning; getting me and a baby ready to leave by 8, sometimes (like last night) not getting home until after 6pm. I'm glad it's just part time, and the extra cash flow is great. I don't know how Mom's do it 5 days a week. A big pat on the back for you! (Don't get me wrong though, staying home can be really sucky sometimes too. But I figure if you can do it in your pajamas, it can't be that bad, right?)

And Max. Where do I start. He's had a rough few weeks. He had a double ear infection and a bronchial infection. Which we think was causing all the throwing up and restless nights. He's much better now and the last three nights he has slept all night. Unfortunately those night's he has woken up SOAKED from his chin to his knees. There is always something, right? He is such a funny kid. He loves loves loves dogs and playing outside. The Kapele's got him a "bike" for his birthday and he scoots around on that thing like he was born to do it. I have pictures, but on my phone and I don't know how to transfer them yet. He has 4 molars now and I think two more are coming. OUCH!

We are still house hunting and looking at a few places. It's really odd to walk into a house and think, 'Could I make this my home?'. We had to ditch our first agent who turned out to be a total bonehead. We like our new lady and she seems really motivated to find us what we are looking for.

I think that's it for now. We hope you are all enjoying 2009...more to come...

Christmas 2008

Once again we had a really great Christmas. Last year we didn't do much because Max was just a few weeks old. This year (and from here on out) was totally different.

On Christmas Eve we went to Lubor and Ariane's house and had a great celebration. The kids all had fun and it was exciting to see them open their gifts. Lot's of good food, including a nice surprise. Lubor recently visited his family in the Czech Republic and was able to bring back some of his mother's famous cookies. Mmmmm...they were delicious!

Christmas morning came early and Erik and I woke up first, jumping around the living room asking each other when we should wake the kid up. Soon after, Max woke up on his own and walked out with smiles. He had fun opening gifts and playing with his new things. He enjoys ripping the paper off of the packages, with a little assistance. He helped us open things too.

Then he took a break. A short break. Max is the type of kid that does NOT want to miss things. He paused for a moment before returning to his busy schedule. Not letting go of his new favorite trucks.

After Christmas morning at home, we went to Napa to celebrate with the Mills. Ryan, Melissa and Addy were up visiting from San Diego. Here are Max and Addy getting a box ride from Kirra.


After presents and games, including decorating plates that my cousin Jennifer sent up for the kids to design, we ate! And ate. And ate.

The day after Christmas we went back to Napa and enjoyed a great hike at Skyline Park. It was really cold, but it felt great. Here is the crew eating lunch.

And us after lunch looking at Lake Marie. Thanks Kelly for taking all the pictures!

We spent New Year's Eve at the Kapele's house, with the Kaai family too. We had fun playing the Wii, playing Bingo, eating and laughing. Thanks for having us over. we left just before midnight and made it home to watch the ball drop. Max is a little night owl and fell asleep shortly after...then we could finally go to bed. New Year's sure has changed for us!!!

Happy 2009!

We're ready for you, Santa!

I found this sign hanging on our office door.
While Erik was finishing up, Max and I set out milk and cookies for Santa. I know Max won't know any different now, but it's fun to start traditions. We don't have a fireplace in our house so we set it near our Santa display. I hope he can still find a way to make it into our home!

We wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas and best wishes for a Happy New Year! I have a feeling 2009 will be a good one!

Santa Lucia...take 2

Gail sent me a picture of Vivian as Lucia. My camera (phone) didn't work out so well that night. this was during her entrance to the music. Thanks for the picture, Gail!

Santa Lucia

On December 13th we were able to celebrate Santa Lucia with Grandma Gail and the Boer's. I was introduced to this holiday a few years ago and was finally able to see it in action this year. Vivian dressed as Lucia and Ethan was a star boy. Vivian was thrilled to wear the Lucia dress and it was fun for us to watch, she did great!

We had a great meal afterwards and rice pudding for dessert. We opened presents and just had a really nice evening. It was a great kick-off to our holiday season.

Max opened his birthday present from The Boer's and he got his very own pair of big boy jammies! They are a little big but are so cozy. He's standing very well on his own now and has taken a few steps. No more than two at a time for now. He seems to think it's more of a fun "falling" game. Max had his one year check-up and here are the stats:

Height: 32 inches

Weight: 23 lbs 4 oz

Head: 18 1/2 inches

He's growing all over and doing great! He's not loving the change to regular milk...but I am! Formula is pricey!!!!!! He'll adjust. Since turning one he's changed into a sneaky and mischievous little man. He already throws tantrums (and objects), he's clobbered me several times (and his hands are huge so it hurts!), he drops his head to the floor when he hears no and does a fake cry with a droopy lip and all. Excellent performance! He sure is a charmer though.

Man, I love that kid.

Happy FIRST Birthday Max!

Today Max celebrates his first birthday! I can't believe he is already one, it really does fly by. I can't imagine life without this little boy and feel so lucky that he is a part of our family. He has the funniest personality and makes us laugh every day. He is very 'boy' and loves to explore. He loves cars, wheels, his dog, his cousins, babies, wind chimes, learning new things (and expects you to clap when he does), balloons, slides and so much more. He makes everything fun! I took this of Max this morning after he woke up. We had balloons leftover from his party yesterday and this boy LOVES balloons. He got tangled up in them and crawled around trying to get them off of him. He's officially ONE in this picture!
Since our computer crashed I had to steal some pictures off old blog posts. Here is is at just a couple weeks old as I tried to take a cute Christmas photo. Then, I couldn't capture the right shot. Now, I think it's adorable.

Max at about 20 minutes old. He's so chubby, but what do you expect at 12 lbs 3oz? He had rolls everywhere, even on his face.

Yesterday we had a great party for him at Andrew's Park. It was pretty cold but I think everyone had a good time. Max's family and friends all came and Erik and I were so thrilled with the turnout. Thank-you to everyone for all your help and time to come to Max's party. He was exhausted and it took about 30 seconds for him to fall asleep last night.

We've been practicing blowing for the big moment, which he can do, but wouldn't perform. He wasn't happy until he saw me doing it. Luckily, his cousin Teagan was able to blow out the candle for him. He hadn't taken a nap yet and we were pushing 3pm. He fell asleep, snuggled in his grandma's arm, shortly after.

Happy Birthday Max! We love you very very much!