4th of July

We just had a total blast walking in the 4th of July parade in downtown Sandpoint. Coldwater Creek had a group walking and it was fun to join in. We got to hang out with Uncle Brian and even saw Max's best friend, Chloe! It was super fun ... So much fun for Max, that he slept through most of it.

It really could have gone either way ... 90 degrees? ... nap time? I figured he'd have a melt down or crash. I much preferred the nap! We had Daddy on back up patrol with emergency diaper bag. He was prepared to rescue Max if he flipped and decided he was over being in the parade.

Christmas in June

Miss Linda went through her darling son, Julian’s things and sent THREE boxes of stuff for Max! The boxes were filled with awesome clothes and all kinds of fun toys! Max was having a blast going through the boxes, flinging clothes around, trying on hats and playing with his new toys. It was like Christmas all over again. Thank you Linda, David and Julian for blessing Max in such a great way!! He will get tons of enjoyment out of all his new loot! Love you!

He's a shredder!

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Max has these moments where he's totally into shredding the phone book. We generally like it because he's quiet and in one place so we can get something done for 5 minutes. He'll sit in the corner, pull out the phone book and rip out a page. Then he'll start tearing the page lengthwise into long strips that he just makes skinnier with ever tear. He can spend up to 20 minutes in his confetti manufacturing process! We always pounce on the opportunity to have free hands and clean up the mess later. Just nobody ask me for a phone number, we probably don't have it anymore! :-)

Happy Father's Day

So you're probably wondering, "where is the father in father's day pictures?" ... Well, our gift to daddy was Max time with mamma so he could work on the vegetable garden.

Max and mamma had fun: a trip to CDA, running around in the yard, playing outside, and of coarse ... a photo session.

Happy Father's Day, Tommy! You're an outstanding father and the unconditional love and patience you show in taking care of Max every day is the biggest blessing to our family! We love you more than words could ever express!

2 great new things … Dancing and Praying!

Max has discovered DANCING! What fun! He just starts busting a move when he hears music, sometimes from the radio, sometimes from his toys. He gets even more enjoyment out of it if we dance with him!

Every time I think, he’s just as cute and as fun as he could possibly ever be …. He does something like this that just makes him even more of a joy!




Max dancing to Tobymac




Max and his prayer partner

Our friend Daphne gave Max this great prayer doll that he has just now discovered. Max LOVES him! He goes around pressing his belly and smiling while the doll recites the prayer. He’s learning to say, “Amen”. The other night, I put him to bed with his prayer partner. Needless to say, that wasn’t the smartest thing. I heard this prayer over the baby monitor for about an hour. Just when you would think he was sleeping, you’d hear the prayer start up again. It started to get a little creepy. LOL. But it sure is precious to see him get so happy when he hears the prayer and his version of “Amen”.

Come Sail Away

Ok - not a sail boat ... but a boat none the less ...

We had all kinds of fun this weekend, including taking Max on his maiden voyage on a boat! Jennifer and Chloe invited us to take a cruise on Lake Pend Oreille. Pretty adventurous for two moms and no boys to help hold the babies!

Jennifer is a boat master and I was super impressed with her skills. It was a beautiful day and really cool to be out on the lake. Come to think of it, it was my maiden voyage on Lake Pend Oreille too.Max was a little over heated with the cheap life jacket that mama bought him. We need to exchange it for one that breathes better; Max was a little inferno! Once we got cruising, the breeze helped mellow him out. You can tell from this pic that he looks a little flush.

Jennifer was very well prepared with snacks and some beer and wine. But because we were juggling babies, we didn’t get to partake in cocktails. I guess boys come in handy sometimes. Next cruise, we’ll have to bring the Dads!

Thank you soooo much Jennifer! It was great fun and we can’t wait for our next adventure!

and the winner is? Max with a head butt!

There is nothing Max loves more than wrestling on the floor with Daddy! Sometimes, Max even wins …. even if it’s a low blow head butt at the end of the game.

Art from cousin Kendyll

Cousin Kendyll made this great picture for Max! He LOVES it!! We hung it on his bedroom door. Thank you, Kendyll! We love and miss you. Can't wait to see you at Christmas!

North Idaho for "pool"

I think we might start playing the wash board and spoons over here soon!

Memorial Day 2009

What a perfect weekend! The weather was warm and sunny and all was beautiful in Sandpoint! We got a lot of stuff done around the house and did some relaxing and playing too.

Max got the chance to try out the cool bike trailer that a friend loaned to us. He was a little hesitant about the helmet, but seemed to enjoy the ride, even on our bumpy dirt road. I think he'd really dig a cruise along a nice smooth bike path. We're gonna need to invest in a bike trailer for ourselves.

The helmet is black with flames...very cool! And, because Max has the biggest head in the world, it's a helmet that is for a 5 year old! We tried on 3+ and it was too small for his melon! So, the next size was 5+! He's gonna be so smart!

Bookworm

Max is at such a great age. He makes us laugh all the time. He’s always got some new thing that he’s fascinated with. His latest is how much he loves books. He’s got two that are his favorites: “Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You?” and “Where is Baby’s Belly Button?”. He will come running up to you with one of these books in his hands and make you read it over and over again. He knows it well enough that he knows when it’s time to turn the page. He also has a part that he’s not so fond of that he tries to skip every time. It’s so cute; I can’t stand it. Our marvelous Max!!

Thank you Auntie Cindy and Shannon and Diana for the great books!! :-)

Springtime in Sandpoint!

Spring time has finally hit Sandpoint! The grass is green, the flowers have their buds starting and all the natives have pink skin because of sunburn and being exposed after the winter hibernation!

Max is so enjoying running around in his yard. Late yesterday afternoon, he was running around, no pants and barefoot. He loved the cool grass on his feet! I think we just need to let him run even more so that he crashes hard and bedtime is easier! LOL.

The Stair Master

Max is the Stair Master!!! He just LOVES to turn the light on and off …over and over and over again!!! That is generally followed by him scooting up the stairs with extra squeals of delight if you’re chasing him. Then, he lays flat like a board and slides all the way down. He could do this for hours if we let him!

How did he get so big?

WOW! I just look at Max and wonder how he became so BIG! It seems like he’s growing every day; I just can’t stand it! He’s grown so much and has more energy than I have ever witnessed in my life. I have a hard time keeping up with him sometimes.



We’ve been watching Fergus for Uncle Brian. Max has become very comfortable around him. We’re trying to teach him that “patting” the dog is different than taking your hand and slamming it on him over and over. Luckily, Fergus is very sweet and tolerant. Max also has a hard time resisting pulling on Fergus’ beard. But the funniest thing is how Max watches Fergus’ nub (tail) wag back and forth. He’s fascinated with it! He stares at is and starts shaking his head in time with the wags … just before he reaches out to grab it! I think Fergus will be very happy when his daddy gets home!

Making new friends

We had fun making new friends yesterday. Val came over with Dallen and we had a great time playing and getting to know each other. Dallen is 1 year old today; happy birthday Dallen! So, Max and he are very close in age.

At first, Max was a little hesitant and was a bit clingy to mama. But he warmed up pretty quickly as he saw Dallen diving into the toys and have fun! Dallen knows how to party, where Max has to overcome a bit of shyness. It’s really good for Max to branch out and start hanging with other little kids. It’s good for me to make friends with other Moms too. So, I think we’ll all end up being very good friends!

Max videos

Some fun videos.

Peanut butter!

Max has finally experienced the finer things in food ... PEANUT BUTTER! Yes, Mommy's favorite has been passed down to the next generation. I'm really happy he likes it, because it's probably one of the better things I can make to eat! LOL! The menu is slowly growing! Yay!

Signs of spring

There are finally signs of spring! The snow is all gone in our yard and the grass is green, at least where Tommy has de-thatched. It’s warm enough to hang out in the back yard and play after work. And Max has found two new, very interesting activities: Playing with the grass and opening and closing the sliding screen door! That one is a HUGE hit! But then again, anything that opens/closes, opens/closes, opens/closes …. Over and over again is always a big delight for Max. He’s got this new loud fake laugh that he’s busting out too. Makes it all even funnier! It’s going to be a super fun spring!

Easter Egg Hunt

Max had his first Easter Egg hunt today at Memorial Park. He was more interested in watching all the other little kids that picking up eggs. He picked up one egg, and wanted to give it away to a little girl. Such a flirt! It was small town fun at its finest, even though it was all over in about 10 minutes.

Saturday ... in the Park ... I think it was the 4th of July ...

Ok, not the 4th of July ... the 4th of April ... and I'll stop singing now.

Spring is finally in the air! Finally! We went to the park today to enjoy some of the sunshine. It was a beautiful day and it was fun to get outside and play. Max got some swing action going and really enjoyed himself. He's got such a great giggle! (video to come) I can tell we're going to have a blast on all kinds of adventures this Spring/Summer.

Max also had his maiden voyage on the slide! The milestones are everywhere. :-) He wasn't sure what to make of the slide at first, but after a couple of times going down, he was totally diggin' it!

Max and Daddy ... BFF! :-)

*click on pictures to enlarge