HA-PY

I seem to have a lot of pictures of Max eating and making a mess... Here he is with a nice bowl of chili and cornbread. It was ALL over the floor too. What a mess. You'll also notice the little stickers on his face. He loves stickers.


He loved his first taste of oreo cookie (or the Trader Joe's version at least). Yep, we often do lunch in the buff except for a diaper and a bib. Makes the laundry easier.

I also have a lot of pictures of Max "making soup" in his little kitchen. At least it mostly keeps him out of my hair when I am trying to actually make dinner. His favorite soup to make these days is the delicious Block Soup.

He also climbs up on the kitchen and tries to give me a heart attack.

We had a very cold trip to the zoo recently to get our Christmas tree, and Max asked to go back the very next day. Of course we took him. He had fun riding on daddy's shoulders.

We took Max to see Santa again this year. At first this is the closest he would get.

But after we bribed him with a candy cane, which he insisted was a sucker. One of his favorite things. Then he sat on Santa's lap nicely. When we asked him what he wanted Santa to bring him he said "presents". When we asked him what kind he said "orange". He is starting to understand a little bit at least. He also is pointing to the fireplace and saying "down!". Mike was telling him the other night that Santa will come down the chimney, and he seems fascinated by that.

And he checked out the geese with his friends at the window. He hugged and hugged and hugged his girlfriend Maddie - she seemed unimpressed.

Max is learning what we say during the holidays, and when prompted (and sometimes unprompted) he'll say HA-PY for Happy Holidays. So, HA-PY to all of you!

Fall

What a beautiful fall we have had. We took a trip to the Arboretum where mama bought a huge bag of Kettle Corn. Poor Max wanted in... BAD... but didn't get to sample any. (Still a choking hazard, little guy.)

We explored the caboose at the Cosley Zoo in Wheaton.

Spun the ball at the Arboretum.

Grandma and Grandpa Purdy came to visit and we went to a pumpkin patch and had a hayride.

And bought a pumpkin that weighed exactly the same as Max.

Max tried to pick up the huge pumpkins at the zoo.

And danced on daddy's car.

Captain Spatula went trick-or-treating (though he never got the hang of saying "trick or treat" and would just say "CANDY!" when we went to the houses) with his friends donut and owl.

Captain Spatula would not hang onto his special spatula that one of our wonderful neighbors gave him, but didn't let go of that Snickers bar!

And I chopped off all my hair too!

Happy fall!

At Long Last

My apologies go out to those of you who have been checking back on our little blog to find nothing new here. I think my New Year's Resolution of posting once a week was a little overly ambitious, especially given the go-go-go nature of our lives of late. So, here is a little recap of the rest of our summer.

First we spent many, many hours in the car. Max was pretty good considering.

All in the name of a week's vacation on Mackinac Island! We had one luxurious night at The Grand Hotel at the end of our stay.

During the week we sought out all the best playgrounds that Mackinac Island has to offer.

We biked around the island, went hiking, and visited the Butterfly Conservatory.

We played and ran on the lawn of the resort we stayed at the rest of the week. It was a super-relaxing, fabulous family week.

Then, on our 5th anniversary we got to attend a wedding! Bill and Erin got married just a mile or two from where we did. It was a fabulous time.

In September we had some visitors from British Columbia. It was so great to catch up with Hank and Carolyn and meet their incredibly personable daughter Leah. Max chased her around asking for "hug-a"s. He is very affectionate.

While our visitors were here we took Max to his first baseball game at US Cellular Field - the White Sox vs. the Tigers. He was enthralled (at least for the second it took to take this photo).

Max always wants to stir things that are on the stove and generally makes a nuisance of himself while I am trying to make dinner. I suppose that is the prerogative of a 16-month old. So I got him a little kitchen set, which he loves, and does seem to help. I keep sending him off to his kitchen to help me by making some soup or whisking up some eggs. His favorite thing, though, is to pull out the sink and climb right in. For some reason I see this photo and I see Max's Uncle Phil.

We also had a fun visit to the Arboretum recently where Max also decided that this big ball needed a hug-a.

Max is growing like a weed. In the course of 6 weeks this summer he grew 1 1/2 inches! He eats like a horse as a result. The other morning for breakfast he ate two banana muffins, an entire banana and a bowl of cantaloupe and pineapple.

He is so affectionate with us and with all of his Gings (grandmas) and Pas (grandpas). The best part of my day is when I get an out-of-the blue hug and kiss, which is fairly often. His favorite things are pens and garbage, and is constantly disgruntled by the fact that we won't let him handle either one.

He can tell us what he wants (by saying "want" and pointing), he can tell us when he is "hunga" (hungry), or when he konked his head or if he needs help with something. He has so many words already it is amazing and I am constantly amazed by the things he comes up with. He points at fire hydrants and says "water" - turns out Grandma Alyse taught him that.

He loves saying "hi" and waving to everyone - he is hilarious at the grocery store. Hmmm, maybe it is genetic. I seem to remember stories about myself doing things like that when I was a baby. In any case, he is the best baby boy (and if you call him a big boy or a good boy he is sure to correct you by saying "baby") that anyone could ask for.

What a joy, what a joy, what a joy.

First Camping Trip

Max went on his first camping trip for the 4th of July this year - reviving a tradition from when we lived in Boston and would go up to Maine or Vermont for the weekend. This trip was quite different with 14 adults and 10 kids age 3 and under. No one got hurt and everyone had fun, so despite some overnight rain I would say the weekend was a huge success!

Telling stories to his birthday-buddy:

Max slept through the night both nights in the tent - so we might even try to take him on another camping trip yet this summer/fall.

Everyone had a great time at the beach. We spent almost a full day playing in the sand, with seaweed, and swimming in Devil's Lake.

And we tried hard to get a picture of the "triplets" - all three born on the same day - but they weren't too interested in our plans. Here's the best one.

Happy camper!

Favorite New Game

Don't mind my disaster-area of the kitchen - Hurricane Max wreaked havoc throughout the house yesterday.

Early Summer

In just a couple of days you will be 13 months old! Where has the last month gone?? We've been running all over creation, seeing friends and family, visiting grandparents, reunion-ing with high school friends and enjoying the summer - especially our wonderful garden. We even harvested our first vegetables this week - a big bowl of beautiful and delicious lettuce for Father's Day Dinner. We have visited the pool, which you can't get enough of - especially when you have a tiny little watering can to fill and dump over and over (and over and over and over) for two hours at a time (no joke).

We started off the summer on Memorial Day Monday by throwing you a first birthday party. You ate more pie.

In the pouring rain.

Despite the bad weather, more than 60 friends and family came out to celebrate you! You were such a good boy and had fun chasing the older kids around, trying to do what they were doing.

You have exploded in the last month in your understanding of what we say to you and trying to communicate with us, or at least mimicking the sounds that we make. You can tell us what a doggie says (though you've been able to do that for months) and what a pig says and you are trying to say car and ball and bubbles and blueberry and you definitely know how to say banana. Before you were even calling me mama you were calling the dog across the street by name. You look for Coco every time we leave the house. You amaze me every day with something new that I didn't know that you knew. A couple days ago you signed "more" to me after I said it in conversation to someone else. You stubborn little thing - you won't do it when I ask you if you want more of something, but you know what it is! (I wonder where you get that stubborn streak from. It can't be from me, that's for sure.)

You are so affectionate. I love your kisses and hugs and cuddles. Just tonight while I was making dinner for just the two of us, you came up and hugged my leg, just a little at first then tighter, then you started patting my leg like I pat your back. Sweet sweet boy.

You are solidly walking too, after taking your first steps the day before your party, on May 28. You toddle after everything like Frankenstein, but you get where you want to go. And you love your climber and sandbox in the back yard. You are an outdoor kid for sure.

Cool kid.

Birthday Boy

Dear Max,

One year ago at 4:48 in the afternoon, you appeared in our lives like this:

Beautiful as can be! Crying and snorting (you still do that) and waving your arms. And everything changed - for the better. This is your huge self today:

Our first year together (not counting the 9 months we spent together before I could tell how much you look like your daddy) has been amazing. You are such a good boy and have such a big personality. I have the best job in the world right now - chasing after you and taking care of my baby boy. I couldn't ask for anything more.

Grandma Alyse and Grandpa Vic helped us celebrate your first birthday by going to lunch at the Arboretum.

Your two bachans were there too.

It was hot outside - unlike last year. Last May 25 was cool and rainy. I remember fogging up the back window of the car when we were sailing down Lakeshore Drive on our way to the hospital - I wondered (in the back of my head somewhere) if anyone could tell that I was not buckled in, kneeling on the back seat trying not to have a baby in the car. After making us wait so long (10 days late!), you were in a big hurry! We barely made it to the hospital before you were born.

Today you got to try Bachan Sumie's famous apple pie for the first time:

You LOVED it.

We love you. Happy birthday baby boy!

More travels

Max and I have been doing some gardening around our house and at our vegetable-garden plot down the street... We have a LOT of weeds at our garden plot, but we also have lots of lettuce sprouts coming up, which is very exciting! Hopefully all our other experiments will go as well. Though we have a lot of work ahead of us to get there!

He loves riding in his wagon! Especially when there are gardening tools to play with.

We took our last airplane ride for a while and went to Maine with Grandma and Grandpa Purdy. Max took his first boat ride. It was too early for whales, but we saw a Bald Eagle and porpoises and Harbor Seals.

Max LOVES macaroni and cheese (Annie's organic, of course!) and loved rubbing it all in his hair just as much as eating it.

We did some hiking at Acadia National Park:

And played in the sand.

And on the playground at the condo complex.

Max was super in the car. We spent a lot of time driving around exploring, and he was very patient. He even took a couple naps in the car.

We rode on a teeny-tiny turbo prop to and from Boston up to Maine. It was a crazy experience. This is a picture from the last row of the plane, where we were seated. The "main terminal" of the airport was a double-wide trailer and the baggage claim was a hole in the fence. It is a different world between Rockland Maine and Chicago's O'Hare Airport.

We have almost nothing planned this week so that I can get myself re-organized, do some vegetable gardening and get some spring cleaning done (finally!). We need it before our busy-busy weeks coming up with Max's first birthday party, visits from grandparents, CK 15-year reunion, Soldier Field 10-mile race, camping, and a trip to South Haven over the next six weeks. Lots of fun - but a lot of work to get there!