Pretty Accuarate, for a Cookie

Clint stayed home with Max on Friday, because he came home early on Thursday with a fever (and no other symptoms of illness). Because he was feeling or acting ill, they had a pretty darn fun day together. I, on the other hand, had a hell-atious Friday, and was not in the mood to go home and work some more in the way of feeding my family. So, we went to our favorite Vietnamese restaurant, Kim Phung. At the end of the meal, they serve fortune cookies.

Some people are pretty particular about their fortune cookie methodology, believing in the endless wisdom of the Fortune Cookie Writer and the Fate that brings them their message. That aint me. However, this time, they were pretty dead on. For all of us.

For Clint, our fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants, express-whatever-emotion-you-feel, constantly-changing-and-evolving Papa: "Be patient. Good things come to those who wait."

For Me, the every-activity-must-be-scheduled, every-possible-contingency-planned-for, and-for-no-reason-whatsoever-will-we-even-consider-deviating-from-said-schedule-and/or-plan Mama: "now is the best time for you to be spontaneous, Serendipity."

And for our spit-fire of a two year old who thinks he is King-of-the-World son (whose future might be just a bit too wide open to predict right now): "You are fiery and adventurous."

Ahem. Well, then...

Weiner-Whack

Max is on a serious movie kick and usually asks to watch a movie at least once a day (often first thing in the morning). So, we've seen the Lion King once or twice around here, recently (and by "once or twice" I mean "enough times to have the script dedicated to memory"). For this reason, Clint was singing the intro to "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" yesterday afternoon. He was wandering around the kitchen singing "A weema-wep, a weema-wep..." when Max piped up with his own interpretation of the lyrics. Only Max's version was ever-so-slightly more inappropriate. Max's version of the lyrics sing "A weiner-whack, a weiner-whack..." Aren't boys fun? I can already envision the calls I will one day recieve from his teachers.

Um..yeah. So, it's July.

Right. And I haven't posted here since May. What can I say? We've been busy...

I got laid off in early May, so I spent a little time resting and a lot of time job-hunting. Luckily, I found a job in just about 3 weeks, and I love it. It's perfect for me, and the company is great. But we have been busy, and tired! At the same time, our hard drive crashed, and we lost many, many pictures... Back up your hard drives, people! We haven't tried to recover, yet, so we don't know what (if anything) we might still have.

This summer, we have had lots of new and exciting stuff. Max moved up to the Orange room, which is the 2 year old classroom at school. He moved up with quite a few of his friends, and also gets to be with some slightly older friends. It's all very exciting. In his new class, he is potty training (very exciting for Mom), and swimming twice a week (very exciting for Max).

We have been swimming out at a lovely (and, more importantly, cool) swimming hole called Krause Springs, where we also went for our very first camping trip. It was awful for Clint and I (loud, obnoxious neighbors and the twin air mattress instead of the queen), but Max had a good time. Next time, we will go on a less busy night, but probably not until, oh, October, when the highs are only in the 90s.

Max went to visit Grandma and Grandpa at the end of May, but he only stayed for a few days. He got to take lots of rides on the tractor, play in the pool, and see the cows, but he missed his Mama, and came home early. I was happy to have him home! Last month, Max went to visit Mimzy and Pappy and stayed for the week. He was busy, playing with cousin Bella, going to the beach for the first time, going to his first Astros game, and so much more. He didn't want to come home...but I was pretty sad without him!

Max is making such fun strides in his thinking and play. He is really starting to play much more imaginatively. He is also really in to movies, right now. He asks to watch a movie just about everyday. During the very, very hot weekend afternoons we have been having recently, I have been happy to indulge him!

He is also definitely going through his terrible twos. He can be obstinate, bossy, refuse to listen, and throw tantrums at the drop of a hat. All compounded when he is tired (which is almost every night after school). But he can be oh-so-sweet...at moments.

Every year for the Fourth of July, there is a fun parade at school that Max finally got to participate in this year. We don't have a bike, yet, for him to ride, so he got to borrow his Uncle Bill's (a friend of Clint's) skateboard. Max was in heaven, as he thinks Uncle Bill is super cool, and loves the skateboard. I think his teachers were less-than-thrilled, but he managed to come home all in one piece.

Alright, enough words for one night. Coming soon... pictures!

Easter, Birthdays, and Grandparents

Alright, enough of poop being the top post. We have been very busy bees, with Max's birthday, Easter, and visits to and from Grandparents. Fair warning: serious backlog of photos in this post! For some reason, I don't think I'll hear any complaining...

Max's school was closed for Good Friday, so Max and I went to Mason to visit Grandma and Grandpa for Easter (Papa had to work on Saturday, so he didn't get to go). After a string of really nice days, it was overcast, cold, and cloudy for our visit. :( But, we still got in an egg hunt!

A serious hunting face.

Max found lots of eggs!

We played in the sandbox that Grandpa built for Max. And, of course we rode on the tractor. When Grandpa decided the tractor needed a rest, Max played on the tractor and with Grandpa's "glubs."

"If I could just get this key turned..."

"I wonder when Grandpa will take me for another ride?"

There were also adventures with Grandma & Grandpa's neighbors, Mark and Sandy, and their dog, Cinco the Chihuahua. Cinco and Max entertained each other by fighting over who got to sit in the little chair! We came back to Austin on Easter Sunday, and Max's birthday was the following Monday. For his birthday, he took cookies to school and we made pizza for dinner!

Clint and Max share milk and a cookie.

We were supposed to have a big party for Max's birthday the next weekend, but it got rained out. But Mimzy and Pappy still came to visit, and brought with them Auntdrea, Aunt Ree, and Cousin Bella! Max got a cool alphabet floor puzzle, rubber fireman boots, new books, and clothes. But more importantly, he got to see and play with everyone, especially Bella. Bella and Max had so much fun together at our house and the park!

The kids play in Max's bed.

Rockstar Max

Rockstar Bella

Auntdrea and Bella on the slide.

Max shows Aunt Ree his teeth.

Walking home from the park.

Then, after all that fun, Grandma and Granpa came to visit, and delivered Max his very own sandbox for the backyard! This has quickly become one of Max's favorite things, and promise of playing in the sandbox in the evening has managed to keep him out of trouble for an entire week at school. Behold, the mighty pwer of sand.

Poop-a-palooza

Yesterday, instead of taking a nap, Max decided he was going to have his own little festival in his room. He must have been inspired by SXSW going on in Austin right now. Max decided to call his festival Poop-A-Palooza and, instead of featuring new music, it featured poop. And a steam cleaner.

I won't go into all the gory details...OK, who am I kidding? You didn't have to smell it or clean it, but you will get to hear about it. Max was supposed to be taking a nap-something he'd been revolting against for a good 2 hours. I had gone outside to work in the yard, and Clint had followed me out for a moment. When we came back in, we were both trying to figure out who had stepped in poo... I kicked my shoes off in the tile kitchen, and decided to go check on Max, who was being awfully quiet...Had he gone to sleep?

That was when I discovered that no, he had not gone to sleep. In fact, he had decided to dig through his trash can and remove several poopy diapers that he had strewn all over his room. The carnage required the removal and washing of all bed linens (including a pillow), the steam-cleaning of carpets, and the washing of almost every other surface. And two washings of the child. You could say it wasn't a big hit.

On to something cuter... Max fell asleep reading a book, back before he decided naps were for chumps:

Overheard

A few funny things Max has said recently:

At church on Sunday night, I was changing Max's diaper and he was whining because he had a bit of a diaper rash. I asked him if his bottom hurt, and he mustered his most pathetic voice and said "Yes, Mama. Kiss it."

We keep a hat that Grandpa gave Max in the car for entertainment during drives. On Monday morning, I put the hat on Max's head, closed his door and sat down in the driver's seat. I turned to look at him and he beamed at me and told me "I look cool, Mama."

Last night, I got a catalog in the mail and was looking at it on the couch. I set it down and walked into the other room and Max jumped up and started to flip through the pages, talking to himself. Clint overheard him exclaim "It's so expensive!" Hrm. Wonder where he got that from?!

Busy Bee

Max has been keeping us very busy, lately, and by the time it is all finished, we are utterly exhausted! He speaks more and more every day, and is really loving puzzles, books, and being outside. Max loves to sit in the front seat of the car and tell me "I drive, Mama!" He also likes to "go fast." One night, I was leaving the house for a run and Max told me "Go fast, Mama!" Here are some pictures of what we've been up to, lately:

Clint, Max, and the neighbor cat, Annie, sitting on the front porch.

Max loves to 'help' by sweeping or vacuuming.

He also loves to play with our shoes. Here, he is shuffling around in mine.

Max will no longer let me help him eat. He looks like this a lot more after meals, now; especially if they involve a spoon.

Max wearing his "scarf" aka, the belt to Papa's robe.

Max and Papa cuddle on the couch before bed.

"Say CHEESE"

Yes Sir, That's My Baby

We aren't sure where he learned it, but Max's catch phrase the last few days has been 'yessir.' His answer to any yes/no question and everyone is 'yessir.' I never thought I'd say it, but the formality of it kinda creeps me out a bit...

Once again...

So it seems I have left this blog un-updated too long, once again. We are so busy chasing Max these days that I rarely have a moment to sit down here and collect my thoughts. Here are a few of things that we have been up to, recently:

Max has taken to announcing himself as "Naked Boy!" whenever we start to change his clothes or diaper, or takes his clothes off for bath time. He curls his little arms up at his chest with his elbows sticking out, twists from side to side and says loudly "Naked Boy!" It is hilarious. This is just one of the constant stream of funny and amazing things that is constantly coming out of his mouth. Sometimes Clint and I wish he would just STOP talking for 5 minutes just so we can have some peace and quiet! But then I remind myself that someday he will be a teenager and I will be complaining that he NEVER talks to me anymore... (I hope that doesn't turn out to be true!)

We have moved, again, for the last time for at least a year and a half, we promise. If you need our new address, let me know and I'll send it to you. Max seems to have gotten used to moving; the transition went much more smoothly this time. He is also used to having his own room, so I think that helped a lot. Max loves the new house. There are several cats that live next door that he loves to watch, chase, and pet if he can get his hands on them!

That's all for now, as Max has finished his breakfast and is off getting into trouble. It is hard to have boxes! Full of stuff! around that you aren't supposed to get into... I will post a picture, later, of Max after breakfast-he refused to let me help him eat his oatmeal this morning.

And so potty training begins...

This weekend, Max announced to Clint and I that he wanted to go poop in the toilet. After trying to balance himself on the big toilet, we went out and bought him a little seat for the toilet so he can sit on the big potty by himself. Over the weekend, he would tell us when 'He had poop' (meaning he needs to go to the bathroom, not that he has a dirty diaper). He sat on the toilet a couple of times, but nothing happened.

But tonight, after dinner, Max said he had to go...and he did! Clint took him to the bathroom, and he used the toilet for the first time! I'm so proud of him, and so excited that he's interested in trying the toilet.

The latest and greatest

First of all...Max wants to wish his cousin, Bella, a very happy first birthday! We love you, Bella!

I was reminded in my post about Max's sayings that I left out a very important phrase that Max says... When we went to visit Mimzy and Pappy for Thanksgiving, the girls got to go see Twilight while Pappy and Uncle Adam watched the kiddos (Papa was unexpectedly occupied with helping Uncle Kevin). During the 3 hours we were gone, Max had two blowout diapers. During the second blowout, Pappy taught Max to say "Have Mercy!" The funniest part is that he says it with perfect emphasis, and in the proper context (unless he is prompted to say it.) Most recently, he has added a "pappy" on the end of it, so the phrase is "Have mercy, Pappy!"

Yesterday, we took Max and Papa to the barber shop and Max got his first barber shop haircut. Max did great! He was a little upset, but he warmed up pretty quickly, and he sat mostly still until the barber started tickling him while trying to clean up the hair on his neck.

This morning, Max has been re-named 'crash.' He fell in our bedroom, banging his head on a chest of drawers, in his bedroom, breaking the wagon to his new tractor, in the living room, after which he walked straight into a chair, and again, in the office/guest bedroom, banging his head on the corner of guest bed. This is after coming home both Thursday and Friday with bumps on his head...

And finally, some pictures from Christmas:

puzzles!

blocks!

tractor!