Max - 1 Year Stats

Weight: 22lbs 10 oz (50%)

Height: 30 in (50%)
Head: 18 7/8 in (90%)

A little bit more about Max . . .

• He walks & runs
• Can go up and down entire flights of stairs
• Waves bye-bye
• Walks backwards
• Loves to dance/bounce and sway
• Has 4 teeth
• Is always smiling with his mouth wide open
• Super feisty but quiet unless provoked
• Will not sit on my lap or be still ever
• Hates to have his diaper changed, be dressed or restrained in any way except for his car seat which he has never protested
• Loves taking a bath or shower
• Still up once at night for a bottle but sleeps a total of 12-13 hrs
• Takes 1 long nap during the day but probably needs 2 (busy schedule dictates 1)
• Off of formula. Drinks whole milk.
• Loves to crawl in the dishwasher and steal the silverware and then escape to the living room with it (his favorite is the tongs)
• Is a total climber (up on chairs, on top of coffee table, into the gater . . .)
• Mimics Bo and Sam when they scream or put their hands on their ears
• Is busy busy busy
• Very independent
  
• Loves yogurt, mandarin oranges, any kind of pasta, oatmeal, pears, strawberries, toast, crackers, graham crackers, & vegie soup
• Hates eggs, tuna, cheese, sausage
• Loves to give wet, slobbery open mouth kisses
• Lays his head down on Wes' shoulder every time he picks him up
• Says "mah mah mah" all the time.
• Loves to play in the kitchen cabinets and drawers, especially with the pots and Tupperware
• Drools like crazy, always has to wear a bib
• Comes over with arms stretched above his head and rests his face in between your knees when you enter a room. His way of saying he wants up.
• Has mastered the full-body-throw-back thrash when mad and the shoot-the-arms-straight-up maneuver when you try to pick him up when he doesn't want to be as to insure droppage
• Is always stealing and chugging Bo & Sam's sippy cups of juice
• Uses a binky in bed and in the car
  
• Has only ever let me read a whole book to him once
• Sticks his bottom lip out to pout
• And last but not least .. . is so damn cute!
  

House Remodel For Grandma & Grandpa

It's been a painstakingly long drawn out process but things are finally starting to happen . . .

1. Cutting down trees

New 30x30 addition will be off to the left and a detached 30x30 garage will be behind the old dilapidated shed (which will be torn down next Summer)

Brigitte even volunteered to helpBreak time - Bo, Sam & GrandpaBack to work

2. Dirt Work & Skirting Removal

Pad for house

All of the original skirting was rotten so it had to be ripped off, thus exposing the crawl space

Wes & the boys are loving all the equipment

3. Concrete

Garage slab prepped for radiant heat

Footings for the house

Bo and more big trucks

Best seats in the house

Summer Recap 5 - Bees!!

A few weeks ago Bo came running into the house squealing and crying. It was one of those shrills that as a mom you know something is REALLY wrong. He was tugging at his shirt and pointing to his back and screeching and screaming and squirming. . . .BEES!. . . . He had stepped on an in ground bee hive while playing in our front yard with his friend Devon and the little bastards flew up his shorts and tshirt and were stinging the living bajesus out of him.


I immediately started to strip him down but there were still bees hovering around him and a few clinging to the top of this sock so it soon became a battle of many fronts. Not only did I need to take care of Bo, but also protect Sam and Max, and get the freakin bees out of the house. It was chaos. Thank God Devon's mom, Becky, was here. I'm not sure what I would have done without her.

Being severely allergic herself, Becky took Bo into the bathroom and shut the door. This way she could help Bo and quarantine herself from the bees. She threw him in a hot shower to help reduce the sting. "TWELVE! THIRTEEN! FOURTEEN!" She tried to count the number of stings but lost track. There were too many. "WHERE'S THE BENADRYL?!"

All the while, I was bouncing around the kitchen like a crazy woman, swinging a turkey fryer lid in the air with one hand and a pot in the other. Quite the site, I'm sure. Especially when one of the bees bounced off the big ass lid and landed on my cheek. I honestly didn't know I could juke that fast or squeal that loud but boy let me tell you, it was not pretty.

It sucked!!!

But thankfully by the time my frantic kitchen dance was successful, Becky had already given Bo a hefty dose of Benadryl and had him almost entirely dressed. We both decided I needed to get him to the ER pronto because we had no idea how his body was going to react and we live 25 minutes away. I was freaked of anaphalaxis and out the door we flew.

(Becky stayed with Sam & Max until Marcia (Grandma) could get here.)

Luckily Bo never experienced any breathing issues but did receive an Epi shot, an oral steroid (prednisone) and another dose of Benadryl during the 4 hours we were at the ER for observation. They finally discharged him and sent us home with a 4 day prescription of prednisone and more Benadryl but told me to bring him back if the welts ever spread to areas other than the sting sites.

The sting sites started out as light red welts with his shoulder and calf hurting the most

Then turned into dark bright red patches locally around the stingsWhen I picked him up from school the next morning he had welts all over his abdomen, bum, forearms, and hamstrings. Needless to say, we went back to the doctor that afternoon and got prescribed an Epi pen for next time, just in case his reaction is worse. . .

. . .hopefully we will never have to find out.

It Doesn't Get Much Better Than This

Sam holding a lady bug

Summer Recap 4 - Misc Happenings

Some other things from the past month that I don't want to forget . . .

- Bo had his first cavities and got 3 fillings. 2 on one side, 1 on the other. All on the bottom. He did fantastic at the dentist. It only took 3 prior visits a couple weeks apart to get him to that point but he did great and I am so proud of him.

- Sam is always so concerned about everyone else. Where they are, how they are doing, etc. He always asks, "Where's Grandpa?", "Where's Daddy?", "You OK?", "Kiss? Kiss make it better?" (if I bump my arm or stub my toe or something). He also always has to bring you something if he knows it's yours, like Wes' coffee mug or my DDP and won't give it to anyone but that particular person.

- Bo asked Grandma why she was so fat while pinching her love handles.

-Max has seen 2 eye doctors about his clogged tear duct and is scheduled to have surgery in a few weeks to fix it.

- Bo asked me, "How do cars steer if only their front wheels turn?" Seriously? What 4 year old notices that?!

- Max HATES, and I mean HA-ATES! to get dressed, especially his shoes. I thought Bo and Sam were tough but they were a cinch compared to Max. He will fight and wiggle and squirm and roll and toss and screech and do anything he can do get away. He does not like to be held down or restrained in any way. He always wants to be on the go and being held to get dressed is torture for all involved. It is a wrestling match every time.

-Bo had his first sleep over a few weeks ago. He spent the night with Grandma and had a fabulous time. They played hard all day, stayed up late, and then slept on the floor together. Grandma was sore the next day but Bo was so happy.

- Sam is in a big-boy bed now. It has been and is still a struggle to get him to stay in bed but we are getting there slowly but surely.

-I have always sung Sam songs before bed such as, You Are My Sunshine, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Jingle Bells, Silent Night (my repertoire of songs is limited so Christmas songs are a staple). But recently he has started to ask for songs about Daddy, Daddy's Truck, Bulldozers, his dresser, Grandma's House, 4-wheelers, Nana, Bo, Choo-choos, Tom & Jerry . . . you name it, I've sung about it and believe you me, they are not pretty. And since my musical ability is retarded at best, every new song is to the tune of an existing song. Here are some of his favorites:

Daddy Loves You - is to the Barney song
I love you
You love me
Daddy loves our family
and he works really hard all through the day
so you and I can run and play

Daddy loves Sam
Daddy loves Bo
Daddy loves Max and Mama, so
Let's all run up and give him a hug
And say thank you for being loved

Daddy's Truck - is to Frara Jaca
Daddy's tru-uck
Daddy's tru-uck
Is really loud
Is really loud
We can hear it comin
Up and down the street
Vroom Vroom Vroom
Vroom Vroom Vroom

Bulldozers - is to America the Beautiful
Oh beautiful for bulldozers and yellow back-hoes too
For brown dirt mountains majesty, above the green birch trees
O big diggers, O big diggers, come move this dirt for me
And crown thy good a neighborhood, from street to shining street

Tom & Jerry - is to The Farmer and the Dell
Tom chases Jerry, Tom chases Jerry, hi ho the dairy o, Tom chases Jerry
Jerry gets away, Jerry gets away, hi ho the dairy o, Jerry gets away
Tom gets squished, Tom gets squished, hi ho the dairy o, Tom gets squished

Sam And His Little Booger

One thing great about having kids so close in age is watching them become buddies. Sam and Max are 15 months apart and really starting to interact, and play together and inevitably fight together. Bo is the "big kid" now and these two have really begun to bond.
Sam always refers to Max as "Maxy" or "Booger" and is so stinkin adorable when he does.
"No, No Booger"
"Maxy wake up"
"Maxy, Nooooo!"
"Mornin Maxy"

But they are both super determined (ahem . . .stubborn) and brutally strong, so fights over toys rarely end well. Max may only be 11 months old but he can hold his own. If it weren't for Sam always sitting on him or body slamming him to the ground, which happens pretty much every time, Max might win a few. I can't begin to count the number of times I have found Sam laying on top of Max, pinning him face down to the ground, riding him like a donkey.

But Sam better watch out because Wes and I think that Max is going to out-size them all. Let's just say he won't be the "little brother" for long.
They usually take baths together every night, too. They both LOVE the water and could spend hours in the tub if I'd let them. Plus, I think Sam loves the fact that he gets the front finally. When he takes a bath with Bo, he always gets shoved to the back of the tub. With Max, he's the big boy and gets to hog all the water for a change.
They are both so much fun to be around and I look forward to watching them grow as brothers as well as friends. Should be an interesting ride.

Summer Recap 3 - A Rare Moment

One evening I found this . . .and then quickly grabbed my camera and Max. I couldn't believe it; they all actually cooperated. I absolutely LOVE this series of pics. Moments like these are few and far between.

And this one cracks me up. Looks totally like a 2-headed monster.