Max's 1st birthday party

We had a wonderful time celebrating Max's first birthday yesterday! We had great friends over to join in on the fun. As always, we are so blessed with so much love! Thank you so much for joining in on our joy for our Marvelous Max!



I was so excited to give Max his first taste of cake. Max, on the other hand, wasn't very interested. Once his hands got covered in frosting, he was upset. So, we cleaned him up and gave him his favorite ... graham crackers!

There is a ton of food left over, so come on by and have some lunch!

Another fine creation from Auntie Candy

Auntie Candy made Max this awesome birdie mobile for Christmas. (yes, we're just getting around to hanging it!) Max LOVES his birdies! He stares at them and tries to reach them. It's such a bright, fun addition to his room ... and matches the killer family tree quilt that Auntie Candy made for him.

Thank you so much, Auntie Candy! We love you!

getting closer

We're getting closer. Today, Max actually chewed and swallowed his graham cracker! It's the little things we celebrate! It's a step above biting and drooling it out all over the place. LOL ... Oh well, it's progress. Soon he'll be gobbling up the big people food.... we hope! Too cute though, eh?

Broccoli Power!! - the video

For your viewing pleasure! He's great until the broccoli breaks in his mouth! LOL

Broccoli Power!!

We’re trying to get Max to eat more “people” food. He seems to really enjoy biting into things, but isn’t quite sure what to do when the food is actually in his mouth and he should be chewing and swallowing. He generally ends up chewing and drooling the food right out of his mouth.

So far, it seems his favorite food is broccoli! Another way he is just like his daddy! Max will quiver with excitement and hoot and holler over his broccoli. It’s quite funny to watch. He starts by sucking it, then biting it. But once a piece breaks off into his mouth, he gets a little concerned and isn’t quite sure how to handle it. (I’m working on getting a video up on youtube; it will make you laugh for sure!)

Max and Ava

Max had his first play date with Ava! She is so beautiful! Angie, Ava's mom, and I worked with each other at Coldwater and were also in the same birthing class together. Max is about 10 days older than Ava, although she is already walking! They had fun together ... and once again, "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish" was a big hit!Thanks so much for our playdate, Ava. We can't wait to hang out again!!

This is just random cuteness of Max and his tubbies. He is such a giver and wants to share his rubber duckie!

as Grandpa Dave says, "Old proverb, To share one's rubber ducky, is the mark of a great human being. "

It doesn't suck to be Max!

Max got this great stool in the mail from The Barrett family. He loves it!! He can stand up while leaning on it and he likes to take the letters out and bang them around. It's funny how much he digs it. He's having a blast!




Trekking

We took Max's new snow suit that he got from Grandpa out for a spin yesterday. Little Mister was toasty warm and loves being out in the fresh air.

Ready ... Set .... GO!

Well, the game is officially ON! Max is pulling himself up on furniture and crawling all over the place. He’s so fast too! I can only imagine how much harder it’s going to be to keep up with him once he’s walking. I guess the bright side is, I’ll never sit down again and maybe I’ll finally lose that baby weight … seeing that he’s gonna be a year old soon! *sigh*

The child locks and the gates are going up. One of the good things with all the new found exercise is that Max is sleeping through the night and later in the morning. All that working out takes it toll … or … it could be the cold he’s fighting. We’re hoping the sleeping through the night thing is his new pattern.

Max and Kendyll

Here is Max playing with his new found friend, cousin Kendyll.







Max's Indian Call -- Playing with Grandpops Bob

Christmas 2008

What a fantastic Christmas! We went to Massachusetts to visit family and had a blast! Tommy’s dad came in from Corpus Christi to spend the holiday with us. It was wonderful for Max to have all his grandparents with him. He also got to meet Grandpops Bob, various Aunts and Uncles and a truck load of cousins. His favorite was Kendyll who he took a shine to.
Travel there was tough. Our flight out of Spokane was delayed quite a bit and we missed our connection in Vegas. So, we did the next best thing … flew into Manchester, NH and had Mema and Grandpa pick us up at 2:00am Christmas morning. Max was an angel baby and didn’t melt down until we got to NH and after 18+ hours of travel, he was entitled.

Max had a good time meeting all the new people, although he was a little overwhelmed with 30+ people wanting to hold him and being in a totally new environment. He’s also got 4 top teeth coming in and fighting a cold. So, he was a little clingy to Mom and Dad. So, the only part of the trip that wasn’t perfect, was pawning Max off on grandparents so we could sleep. He wasn’t having that. But, that’s OK. Although Mema might not agree. She wanted some more Max snuggle time.

We had a FANTASTIC day with Grandpops in Boston. We took Tommy’s dad out for some sight seeing and great food at Quincy Market. We also had a great worship service at Grandpops church. Max had a great time leafing through the hymnal with Grandpops. That was a very special day. It was also great to see Great Granny Rose and Ryan!

We also got to see some friends that we’ve been missing – The Ranalli family! Boy, it sure was great to see you guys and to finally meet beautiful Nicholas! Carol and Vinnie, The Silvernails (I can’t believe how big the boys are!), The Barrett family, Julian is a stud! … and too many more to mention! We are so blessed with wonderful friends and family!

I just wish we had more time to visit with everyone. It went by way to quickly! We love you and thank you for making Max’s first Christmas so special!

Max and Mommy

I've gotten comments that there a lots of pictures of Max and Daddy ... where's Mom? Well, Mom is the crazy lady behind the camera taking 90 million pictures! As my dad says, Max will be the most well documented baby on the planet!

So here we are ... me and the joy of my life! I can't even remember how I thought I was happy before he came along. Between my angel boy and my terrific husband, I am the luckiest lady in the world! What an amazing family!! When God answers prayers, He does it in a B I G way!

9 months!

Max is already 9 months old! Hard to believe! He went and had his check up on Friday and he grew 3 inches in a matter of a couple of months! I thought for sure he would weigh about 97 pounds because he feels like that a lot of the time ... but alas, he is 30 1/4" tall (95%) and 22 pounds (70%) . The noggin is still above the 95% at 19 inches! He's got a very big brain!

We did some trekking in the neighborhood this weekend and Max just loves being in his backpack riding around with Daddy! He was bundled up in his patagucci from Auntie Becky; so he was toasty warm and enjoyed being outside.

SANTA!!

Max met Santa and it was pretty successful. He cried a little bit, but we managed to get a half smile out of him. Then we made the rounds and said, "hello" to all our Creeker friends. It was a good afternoon and left Max pretty tired.

Thank you Coldwater Creek for having this great party for the Creeker kids and letting us meet Santa!

Commando Crawl

Max has been doing the "commando crawl" for a couple of weeks now. I thought for sure he'd be into a "real" crawl by now. Anyway, his new trick is that he can pull himself up to the sitting postition from the crawl. Everyday, it's something new!

Max and Chloe

Well, I finally got Max a play date and it was a big step up from B.O.B (boy on box). Chloe is the most beautiful little girl and I think Max has his first crush. She's only 6 days older than Max so they have a lot of fun playing together. I think Max was just thrilled to see another baby and know that there are more of "his kind" out there in the world. It was a lot of fun to watch the two of them interact and engage with each other. I could tell Max was really enjoying himself.

Jennifer, thanks so much for having us over. It really was a wonderful time; we look forward to seeing you when Santa comes to visit the kids!

Happy Thanksgiving

Max, before he ate his sweet potatoes ... then we needed a costume change because he was a mess! I also had to change my clothes because he decided to blow raspberries while having his mouth full. Very nice... LOL

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving! The food was amazing and I'm about to pop! Turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, green bean casserole, potato casserole, squash, cranberry sauce, rolls, peanut butter pie, and pumpkin pie! I'm sure I'm forgetting something!

It's always fun to see Max being dressed in "big boy" clothes and not in his jammies. He looks like such a little man. I can't stand it! He got all gussied up for his first Thanksgiving; he knew he was having guests and wanted to look his best. We had Misti, Virginia and Loren join us for dinner; Gina make a guest appearance and brought the wine (which we all really appreciated!) Brian even came to give us good cheer early afternoon!

Luckily there were a lot of hands making this meal happen because I don't know how someone could do it and watch a baby too. Thanks, Misti, for coming over and helping me stuff the bird and watch Max so I could take a shower. And to Tommy, who was up until 5 am chopping and preparing the ingredients. And Virginia who brought the horse devours. It really does take a village. ha ha ha

We have blessings beyond belief and have an incredible amount to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.. the best family... fantastic friends.... taking a moment to recognize that felt wonderful.

Max was super social and had a great time hanging out with all the friends. He's such a happy guy; he just makes everything more fun.

After all the friends and playtime; Max crashed hard. We're hoping it's all the way through the night. *fingers crossed*

Snugglin' with Uncle Brian

Max had a big date with Uncle Brian this afternoon. Tommy and I went out to celebrate our 1st wedding anniversary. It's hard to believe a year has gone by already! It's a blur; that's for sure! Anyway, Uncle Brian was cool enough to come play with Max so we could have a "date". It sounded like they had a great time together ... until Max got tired and a bit fussy. Brian had to walk him around the house to keep him mellow. By the time we got home, Max was crashed on Brian's chest, looking very content, snuggling with his favorite buddy!

Thanks again, Brian! We luv ya!

Gifts from Aunties

This is the car that Auntie Cindy and family sent Max for Christmas. He thought B.O.B. was fun, the car is even more fun! Truth be told, we still have the box because Max still loves B.O.B. ... but I 'm working on a play date for him so he can hang with a real baby!


Auntie Amy sent these super cozy jammies to Max! I LOVE the feet! Just had to give her a shout out and say thanks for the cozy PJ's ... Max loves them and they make it even greater to snuggle with him.

Jax Creations ... she's done it again!

Ok, Jackie is officially my favorite photographer! She took some photos so we can use one as a Christmas card. It was a tough session for Max, as it was his nap time. So he wasn't his normal happy go lucky little guy. But, we only need one good one for our Christmas card!

Again, if you are in the Sandpoint area and need a photographer for family photos, weddings, etc ... you MUST see Jackie!

http://www.jax-creations.com/ax-creations.com/

The boy that lives on the box ...

Auntie Cindy sent Max an early Christmas present. It's this great rider toy that converts to grow with him. I'm sure Max will get many hours of fun logged on this bad boy. He's already having a blast with his new friend ... the boy that lives on the box. He keeps doing his commando crawl over to his new friend ... yelling all kinds of things at him ... and then touching his face and talking more to him! Max's first imaginary friend ... the boy that lives on the box! We shall name him, BOB (boy on box)

Maybe he does need some more play dates with other little babies! LOL!