Erik's Birthday

Erik is another year older. Whihoo!

His work schedule recently changed (again!) so we had about three hours to celebrate with him.  (He's working 12 hour pm's/nights right now. When he works back-to-back shifts it leaves him with just a few hours of sleep/family time). We went out to breakfast, came home for gifts and a bit of cake to celebrate. Then sent him off to work with a very full belly (and two pieces of cake for he and his partner to eat later).

Erik prefers fruity over chocolate (gasp!). So he picks out a cake every year and, somehow, I manage to put it all together. This year we went a little easier (bought the cake part) and made THIS (Strawberry-Lime Shortcakes with Coconut Cream). It was absolutely FANTASTIC!

 My boys. I honestly couldn't be more in love with my family. And  I think you can see the actual glow around Erik in this photo. He loves being a Daddy so much. These are two lucky little guys.

Max picked out a few gifts for Erik. One being green army guys. See how far they got with their cake before they started playing?

Alex enjoyed that moment too. (Don't worry, Grandma's, no stabbing was involved).

Happy Birthday to Erik!

We love you so much it hurts!

Have a wonderful 34th year.

Make it a good one!


P.S. The day before Erik's actual birthday, Erik's Mom came over and we made THIS (Ham and Egg cups) for breakfast. Another delicious recipe from a great blog. We had fruit salad and chicken apple sausage along with it. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. YUM!

chat with max

*posting from phone*

TV: Showing birthdays of the day, on Sprout, wishes an Addy a happy 2nd birthday and shows her photo..
Max: (big squeal with smile) ADDY???? WE HAVE AN ADDY!!!!
Me: Yes, we do.
Max: But, she doesn't wook wike dat, Mom.
Me: No, she doesn't. Something exciting just happened at Addy's house. Do you remember what happened?
Max: Uh....what?
Me: Addy got a new baby brother.
Max: Awww. How. Cah-yute. (How cute, with pause)
Max: What did dey call him?
Me: His name is Cohen.
Max: Oh. Yeah. Das right. Cohen. Cohen Bryan.
Me: Close, it's Cohen John.
Max: (Looks at me and looks away) Mom, I don't want to talk about dat anymore. Did you hear dat? Dat woud (loud) truck? I don't reah-wy wike dat truck sound, it's too woud. (Continues on about trucks)

Congrats to my baby brother, Ryan, and his wife, Melissa (who was probably the most beautiful pregnant lady I've ever seen)! Sweet baby Cohen is adorable! We can't wait to squeeze his cheeks!

If you can't beat 'em...

...join 'em!

Monster Jam 2011

Well, I guess the time has come. The mother of boys attended her first Monster Jam.

Max is completely obsessed with Monster Trucks and I have done some studying of the things too (gotta keep up!). So, with a group of friends, we went to see them live. We had a great time. It was freezing cold and late and loud and the kids were recovering from colds, but nothing would have stopped Max from seeing these guys in action.

We got "Pit Passes" so we were able to view the trucks beforehand. It was so cute to see the excitement on Max's face when he saw the trucks. Alex liked them but just wanted to run away from me and giggle wander around and point. Hard to chase him when there are thousands of people to hide under.

Once the show started Max yelled and cheered them on. I think we heard "That was awesome!" close to 500 times. Alex stayed still until he fell asleep at the end. And peed on me. Eh, whatever.

I'm pretty sure this was a dream come true for Erik too. Taking his boys to Monster Jam, just like his Dad took him when he was small.

 I love the way Max is staring at the details of the lift. When I say obsessed, I mean it. We have a show recorded called "How to build a Monster Truck"...we've learned how to build a frame, the history of Monster Trucks, all about Bigfoot, etc. He. Loves. Them.

It's been three days since the show and he's still talking about everything he saw.

Happiest kid in the world.

Can't wait to take him again!

My baby can read

Okay, I think we've all seen those commercials about how important it is to get

your six month old to read. Gag. To me, I'm way more

concerned about what he's eating, if he's sleeping enough, if he's crawling, etc. Him reading is the last thing I'd think about before they are ONE! Gosh, but these parents swear by it, so it must

be necessary, right? Spend a gazillion dollars so your baby can one-up the rest

of the babies. What's the rush? Oh well. To each his own.

Here's our "reader". We borrowed the book from the library a few days ago and we had only read it once or twice before he decided to "read" (maybe "recite" is a better term) it to Alex. It was really cute. So I got it on tape this morning. Enjoy.

Seriously, how stinkin' sweet is that?

 

Oh wait, let's not forget a little clip of Alex.

First post (of the year)

I didn't realize it had been so long since I posted. I also realize I haven't been taking many pictures. We had a great holiday packed full of family and fun. What a fun time of year! Then the New Year sneaks up on ya, and bam! it's been nearly two months since I've blogged.

I usually have my phone available vs. the camera so these are from my phone. Just a little bit about what has been going on around here.

Alex. Adorable, sweet, sort of loving, sort of a cuddler, smiles a lot, charming at a distance, TOTAL Mama's boy (I secretly kind of like that), and total chaotic mess maker. He's come up with things Max never did, so I am always (trying to be) one step ahead of him. I have literally crawled around on my knees to see what would be appealing at his level, then moved it. He surprises me every day at what he is capable of. Mostly, CLIMBING!!

I know, I know, kids climb. But he's different. I find him up on the most unusual things ans in the most unusual places, gripping on to things with his little hands with all his might, grunting to reach the next level, using his heavy head for balance and swinging his skinny legs to reach the top. And determined, that little man. Phew! He exhausts me. And he's fast.

 So this little monster does have a sweet smile. Don't trust it! He will take advantage of you. That's all a part of his sneaky plan. (ha!) He was thrilled to see the art he could make with his chocolate. It was too cute for me to take from him. Every night at dinner he starts a game of peek-a-boo, which turns into this blinking game. He thinks he's pretty funny.

 Maxwell. Oh, such a softy. Sensitive, total chicken, cuddle man. Playing with play-doh here, his most recent favorite. After turning three the attitude showed its ugly face. Talking back and potty talk in full force. We take it one day at a time. Because he NEVER wants to hurt your feelings and if I udder the words, "but Max, that makes me really sad" he nearly loses it and apologizes. He sure is one for manners. Please's and thank-you's and bless you's and excuse me's coming out the wazoo. Very sweet boy.

His Grandma Gail got him  little baseball "T" for Christmas and we've had some fantastic weather to get outside and use it! He's a natural. (Seriously, he really is)

 And...he's POTTY TRAINED! We've sort of been working on it off and on over the last few months. Well, his cousin, Carter, stayed the night one night and that's all it took. Something just clicked this time. The next morning he wanted to be just like Carter and BAM! Done. Granted, it's only been a few days, and had a few accidents. But only ONE kid in diapers! Wahoo! the best thing about big boy underwear....the built in pocket! Yup, there's a car shoved in there. Again, Wahoo!!!!

They both got haircuts too. Alex's first time and he HATED it. Screamed his head off he whole time.

Erik has been working a TON. Like, one day off since Christmas. We sure miss him, but he needs to be doing this right now. Tonight he heads to a meeting to be on the list for a volunteer fire fighter in our town. It's just informative for now, so we hope it will all work out. I know, another thing in addition to working two jobs, but this is how this industry works. Taking opportunities and get your name/face out there as they come up. You never know if it's a "foot in the door" thing. He is doing great and loving being a paramedic. We are so proud of him and lucky he works so hard for us...(insert cheesy love song...teehee).

There...see you in two months...!
(I'll work on it)

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!