Sweet Story

{image found HERE}

Alex received this book recently and I have really enjoyed it.

It's so sweet and the pictures remind me of the simple things in life. I would describe it as Dick and Jane meets Little House on the Prairie.

It's written by Tasha Tudor.

Learn more about her HERE.

He does smile!

We're all sick. All 4 of us. You can't really tell in these photos I took today. But it's been a long day and and even longer night. These are just to remind myself to see the good from a bad day. See, Alex really does drop the serious and concerned look to smile. It's rare, but it happens!
I think Max is ready for Alex to be bigger. He's ready to play! Then after being reminded (again!) by Mom to be gentle, he gives loves too.

Laying around on a sick day....

I think we were both done hearing crying. Max just goes straight to the source to find a solution.

And another smile. Man, he's cute.

Pumpkin Patch

Just a few minutes away from us there is the BEST pumpkin patch. It's called Cool Patch Pumpkins and they also have a World Record Corn Maze. We went a couple years ago when I was pregnant with Max, remember THIS picture? We decided to take the boys this year too. We loved it!

It started with tractors. I love this picture because Max is so in love with tractors, cars, trucks, etc. that he doesn't know where to start. It has been very hard to capture a picture pf Max holding still lately. Erik did a great job here, he's still AND smiling!
After checking out the pumpkin displays we grabbed a wagon and went to hunt for a pumpkin to take home.

Our hunt was cut short because we ran into a big fat corn bath. It was SO fun! We all jumped and played and dug and ran and buried. Even Alex got a relaxing little nap out of it.

So focused.

Max thought it was great to cover Mama with the corn.

Then he kissed me to make it better. If you click on the picture you can see how Max kisses. He sticks his tongue out and smacks it to make the kissing noise. You are left with a blob of spit. Poor Alex is always covered with it.

The best picture ever. He probably jumped off the side 20 times.

The two "big boys" climbed a hay tower while I talked with a nice lady and fed Alex..

Max had his own pumpkin picked out at this point and was ready to go. It was getting warm.

One last stop on the wooden horses.

Then he was ready...see his pumpkin? It's perfect. It has a nice long stem and is light enough for him to carry...but too small to carve. ( I think carving is fun, but am glad we have another year before he wants to do it himself). See Alex taking a ride (striped pants) too?

One last stop to see if he could fit on the tricycles. Nope, maybe next year.

We really had a great day and will definitely go every year. The corn bath was the best and are still finding corn all over the house. Totally worth it.

Cuh-tees.

Yep, these are my countertops. They came with the house. I hate them.

Last year I found THIS recipe for these "Puh-bee Cuh-tees" (pumpkin cookies). It became a favorite and I made them again this morning. Max is addicted, as you can see below...he really knows how to "PICK" them...haha...

Ah Dah-dee go? (Where'd Daddy Go?)

Erik started his clinicals yesterday! I took pictures of him before he left because he looked so handsome in his uniform. But, he told me I wasn't allowed to post them. Whatever. I snuck one in of him saying bye to Max and here it is. Don't they look so sad to leave each other? He came home happy and excited about his shift. He gets to do a lot more here than he can at his regular ER job. He is working in Napa at the Queen (and is NOT wearing the uniform above- he was given hospital scrubs upon arrival at the hospital. The uniform will be worn more for his field internship). It will be a busy month with long hours. I'll report back as he goes along!

Meeting MorMor

We took the boys to see MorMor on Saturday. She lives about an hour and a half away and we met Gail, Nicole, Vivian and Ethan there too. She didn't know we were coming so it was fun to surprise her with meeting Alex for the first time.

We took lots of pictures, including the fun the kids had running through the sprinklers. But this one is my favorite. MorMor with her 4 great grand kids!

She is such a wonderful woman and we are so lucky to have her as our Grandma!

What can happen in 30 minutes with a Toddler?

A LOT!

Max is very proud of his artwork. It's hard to see but he is actually eating the crayon here. Shortly after this he colored the living room walls. Again. I was standing two inches from him while he did this. Lovely.

He found a metal kitchen mixer/spoon thing in one of the drawers and started hitting an empty milk container around the kitchen. He was giggly and yelling "Bun!!" (fun) over and over. What's the harm in that?

Here's the harm.


Metal kitchen mixer/spoon thing vs. 46inch TV.
Metal kitchen mixer/spoon thing wins.

The devil is asleep now. Early nap today. I may need one too.

Goodies

We had a little morning photo shoot with the boys. Nothing to brag about but I wanted to get some photos of Alex smiling. I didn't get very far, but found out tonight he will smile at me at any time of the day now. I think he's going to be a Mamma's Boy. Here's the closest I got with him smiling...

And this one is here to see if you guys will laugh as much as we did. It looks like we cut and pasted Alex's big head onto some tiny body. You'll see it, just look at his face for a second. Luckily he is smiling in it but it's hard not to focus on the Jay Leno look-a-like.

Well maybe there IS something to brag about. I made this tonight and it is HEAVENLY! Get it HERE. It's my new favorite blog. YUM!

Go A's!

We decided last minute to take the boys to the A's game on Friday.

Sorry, it was the only clear one with both of the boys...just happened to be during a diaper change. Oh well.
Dirty toes? Leave it to Max to find the dirt in the parking lot. He had a blast in it. But the moment we sat down he insisted we take his shoes off...this was why. Ouch!

Max learned to say "Go A's!" and shoot his arm up in the air. He was really excited to yell that over and over (and over) again.

These two had a lot of fun together. Alex pretty much slept through the whole game. I pretty much stared at the boys during the whole game. In fact, I don't even know who they played. Oops! We met a big group of Erik's co-worker's there. Max enjoyed playing with the all the kids, Erik got to show off his new baby boy and I got to catch up with some old friends.

We enjoyed the fireworks after the game (well, not really. I never realized how LOUD they are until I brought a newborn around them. And yes, Grandma's we had their ears covered tightly.) They were fast asleep by the time we reached the exit of the parking lot.

It was a fun night! Go A's!

One Month!

I am one month old today and I gave my Mom the gift.

I've been smiling at her all morning.