Summer Vacation - Take 2!

Tommy's sister, Cindy and the rest of the Govett family came to Sandpoint to visit for a few days. Max so loved having his cousins, Abbey and Chase, here to play with. Max instantly looked up to Chase when he realized he can ride the skateboard. They took turns, Chase on the skateboard, Max running his truck, up and down the walk way.

Chase was so sweet with Max; he went out of his way to get down to the little guy's level. Max just loved having a dude to look up to.

Chase and Abbey got Max in the lake! They did a great job of collecting rocks for Max to throw in the water. I don't think Max really cared what they were doing, as long as they were together.

Abbey helping Max navigate the lake.

Max and Abbey had a fun time playing with blocks in his room. They also had some mad tent/tunnel time and of coarse, snack time.

Grapes, strawberries and cheese .... Max likes to feed Abbey. Awe....

Max's adoration for Abbey is very apparent. He watched this video of the two of them about 50 times in a row!

photography by Abbey!

Two hot mama's ... that's why we hit the shade. :)

It was GREAT to see everyone! Max is still asking for , "Aaaace?" and "Abbeeeey?" Soooo darling, I just wish we all were closer together so we could enjoy the company more often.

Summer vacation ... take one!

Just finished a great week's stacation! It was wonderful to have time off and not be traveling anywhere. We live in such a beautiful place, why leave? Especially during the brief summer.
Grandpops Bobby came to visit us for a few days; we were thrilled to have him join us. Max was a little shy at first. The great thing about Max is, if he closes his eyes, the situation just doesn't exist and he hides in his little "Max world" until it's safe to comeout. Needless to say, it didn't take Max long to warm up to Grandpops.



Grandpops spoiled Max with a huge bag filled with terrific books! There was so much loot that we couldn't give it to him all at one time. He also got some cool planes, a back pack, a jack in the box (which was a little scary for a few days) and a retro top! That was a huge hit! Max loves to watch things spin so tha was an instant winner. It was hard to tell who got more enjoyment out of the presents, Max or Grandpops. They both were tickled pink, very darling to watch them together.



Mostly we bored Grandpops with our small town family fun stuff: running trucks up and down the walk way, goig to little kids birthday parties, swim classes, etc. We did some local sight seeing, like the Kootanea Wild Animal Refuge ... we saw a squirrell. That kind of stuff. But the weather was perfect, Tommy made us food that was outstanding, and the company could not have been any better.



All in all, it was awesome to have Grandpops visit and a few extra days off. I can't believe the week is over so quickly! Next on the vacation agenda: A visit from Grandpa from Corpus and the Govette family. Then, off to Seattle to see the Ranallis! Let summer begin ... finally!

Independence Day!

Independence day came a day early in Sandpoint. We signed up to walk the parade with a bunch of other Creekers. Great fun for sure, but went by very quickly! I think it lasted, maybe 15 minutes. Just about the time Max was starting to get excited about it, it was over. We realized after that it was the kiddie parade the not the "big" parade.

Ollie (the dog), Ami, Hadli, Mama, Max, Val, Matt, Dallen & Chase, Necole, Chandra and Casey.

Uncle Brian got roped in for another parade! :)

We were excited to see Jennifer and Chloe back from vacation; Max missed his buddy. They were running just a few minutes late and missed the big hurrah!

Max and his VBFF, Chloe! It's so much fun to watch these two play and grow up together. They've been friends since they were about 6 months old. Nothing makes Max happier than being with Chloe.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles

PLANES .....


Max is 100% boy and loves planes, trains and automobiles. This past weekend, our friend Robert, took us to check out his plane. It was super cool; Max dug it a lot. He got a little freaked out when Robert went to put him in the plane … I think it was because Mama was out of sight for 4 seconds. We didn’t go up flying… this time. But did have great fun putting our arms out and pretending we were airplanes and “flying” around Robert’s hanger.



TRAINS....



Yesterday, we took our first train ride. Our little town did a free train ride promoting train safety, etc. We went with some friends and really had a blast. Max was sooo excited about the train. He kept making Uncle Brian go look down the tracks with him as we waited for the train to come. He loved looking out the window, pointing out trees and cows while making his “wooo-hooo” train sounds. It was really lots of fun!







Automobiles .... see post below on playing in Mama's car. :)

Another boring story

I love when Max does something new that tickles my fancy and makes me smile ... then I realize that every other kid on the planet did the same thing and the silly stories are lame to everyone I tell them to. They're just smiling at me to be friendly.

Here is one of those stories: Max is suddenly facinated with playing in the car. The adventure of being in the car but not restricted to the car seat must be very liberating; he just loves it! He's in the driver's seat and is the navigator of our jouney. Pushing buttons, lifting leavors, putting cD's in and out of the arm rest, hazzard lights on/off/on/off/.... all make for all kinds of fun. We were in there for almost an hour the other day. I finally had to pry him out because he was sporting a poopy diaper. OK ... probably a little too much info in that story. heee heee heee.



And look at this kid ... how old is he anyway? I decided to save this picture so when he get's his license, I can whip this out and tell him that I still see him like this age! 2 1/2! Poor kid ... he's stuck with a crazy mama!

Aunt Becky's awesome giraffe

Auntie Becky sent Max this killer giraffe that she made for him. She's so talented; it's awesome. Max pulled him out of the package and instantly started hugging and kissing him. He's been dragging the giraffe around the house... hugging him and kissing him constantly. He also wants mama and daddy to give affections too. Pretty dang cute!

Growing

It's spring time and everything is growing like a weed, including Max. I can't believe how big he's gotten! He loves being outside and exploring the yard. No detail is too small and watching bugs is now a favorite past time. He gets excited to show you his discoveries ... a dead leaf, a rock from the drive way, an ant making his way across the walk. It's a lot of fun to see it all through his eyes.

And at the end of the day ... some dino slippers, a cold frosty milk and some Baby Einstein to wind down a great day of adventure.

Spring has Sprung

It's a beautiful day! The sun is shining and the breeze is warm. We're excited to be able to play in our back yard and enjoy such a lovely day. Max is happy as long as he can run around... and extra happy if he can push his trucks all over the place. And for Mommy and Daddy ... we just need to see our Marvelous Max smiling and laughing and we're filled with joy. Isn't it great! The best things in life are certainly free.

Healthy and Strong

Max had a great check up at the doctor yesterday. He's in the 90+ percentile in all his measurements. 36 inches tall. 32 1/2 pounds. 20 inch noggin. That is the 95th percentile. What can I say ... big brain.





Great weekend with time to play in the yard. Max love to run around his yard and push trucks or search for tennis balls to throw for the dogs. Another great past time is to stop and check out the train as it goes by. It makes no difference what activity is going on; it stops when the train goes by. We must investigate and give a shout out "whoo hooo!"

He's such a big, healthy boy! He is just more and more fun to be with all the time. We're so blessed.

Mom's a slacker

My dad actually accused me of slacking on my mommy duties and that I haven't been posting pictures of Max. This is the same man that told me that Max is the most documented baby on the planet! Well, things in Max land are great! What's not to love if you're Max? Days are filled with lots of play, walking dogs with Daddy, and every whim catered to. It's not a bad gig if you can get it.


getting ready to go outside and play.



Max LOVES to run his truck up and down the cement walk way in the back yard.

This is the look on Max's face as he charges after mama to jump on me and attack with tickles.

Look at that awesome smile! Max also has the best giggles I've ever heard!

Max’s 2nd Birthday – Part 2

Well, if you turn two, you should have two parties, right? We had a fun cupcake party with a couple of friends. Super mellow, but super fun just the same. Sure was hoping we’d get Max to dive into the cupcakes, but not so much. He absolutely loves the singing “Happy Birthday” part, and blowing out the candles. That’s great stuff that we can do over and over again if we indulge him; which we did. The cupcakes were interesting to him, and I thought he might go for it … but once he got frosting on his fingers, he was over it. Oh well, maybe next year!

Max 2nd Birthday - part 1

We had a great time for Max’s 2nd birthday. We went to Pan Handler Pies with Uncle Brian and went home for cake and his birthday present. The cake wasn’t that much of a success; the boy isn’t really into sweets. I guess that’s a good thing.

We got him a little drum like the one he uses in his Little Mozart music class. He knew exactly what it was when he opened it and was thrilled to death! Every other parent I know tells us we’re crazy for giving him the drum … but he just has a blast with it. Soon it will be spring time and he can play with it outside!