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.