Happy New Year 2012

Dear Max,

Christmas was a sweet time with you and your brother this year. The excitement was contagious! You really enjoyed watching each other open presents and had a great time in kc and Columbia with family. You and cousin Caden really hit it off and he enjoyed reading to you.

So far the new year has been entertaining with your explosion of language. Daddy and I are constantly cracking up at your expressions and intonations. You are very animated! The other day you told dad when he's a grandpa he can visit you and your puggy! So cute!

You and Noah continue to snuggle in the same bed. And, your wrestling has increased quite a bit too. You make Noah giggle so much when you jump all over him!

Ata has been interesting with you. Some days you're really into it and other days you are rolling around on the mat yawning!

We love you little man,
Mom

Happy Birthday Max!

My Max,

Ahhh, I had a very hard time with you turning 3 this year!  It just hit me that you are growing up and not my little baby anymore!  You are such a snuggler and loving little man...I so hope you don't lose that!

You had a fun bounce house party in our basement with all your buddies from school.  Such a sweet host you were! 

Then, that night, you got to celebrate with your family, then with family in Columbia, and finally with family in KC over Thanksgiving.  It was a full week long celebration! 

Since you've been 3 (10 days) I've already noticed such a maturing from you.  You have SO much to say all the time and it's darling!  For example, you had a tornado drill at school yesterday and have been quite obsessed with tornadoes now.  You're terrified we are going to have one and have now stated that "the tomatoe (not the vitamin kind mom, but the kind in the sky) will not break our house down because our house is too strong!".  I mean really, could you be any cuter?!


Here are the top 10 things that remind me of you now that you're 3:

1.  Wrestling with Dad and Noah
2.  Running and Racing
3.  Riding your bike with training wheels
4.  Santa (you love him!)
5.  Playing the wii with Noah
6.  "I can do it myself"
7.  Your love of sweets (you now love french silk pie like mom!
8.  Still love anything to do wtih sports
9.  Snuggle bunny
10.Your love of music

I love you my baby!

Mom

Halloween 2011

My Dear Max,

Halloween this year was AWESOME with you and your brother.  You guys were the Super Mario Brothers and I love that you wore your mustache the WHOLE time you were on the streets!  The weather that night started out so comfortable, but by the end of the night you were so cold that you had your hands burried in daddy's shirt on his chest to keep warm.  I think your Dad secretely loved that you were cold so he could carry you and nuggle with you!

Here's to many more Happy Halloweens!

Love you,

Mom

21 Questions

Dear Max,

I wanted to ask you 21 questions about me, but we only got through 17 before you started acting too silly, so here are the answers to those:

1.What is something Mommy always says to you?
   "Kiss...Mmwaah."

  
2. What makes Mommy happy?
    "When I kiss ya."

3. What makes Mommy sad?
     "Hit ya."


4. How does Mommy make you laugh?
    "When you tickle me."


5. What was Mommy like as a child?
    "A baby."


6. How old is Mommy?
    "Just count your fingers. What number are you?"


7. How tall is Mommy?
    You reached your hands up as high as you could!

8. What is Mommy's favorite thing to do?
    "Work. Hug."


9. What does Mommy do when you're not around?
    "Work."


10. If Mommy becomes famous, what will it be for?
     "What famous is?"

11. What is Mommy really good at?
      "Working. Cooking."


12. What is Mommy not very good at?
      "Pushing."


13. What does Mommy do for her job?
      "Work."


14. What is Mommy's favorite food?
      "Lettuce."

15. What makes you proud of Mommy?
      "Kissing."


16. If Mommy were a cartoon character, who would she be?
     "Alvin."


17. What do you and Mommy do together?
      "Play games like tag."

I loved hearing all your thoughts!  Can't wait to do this again in a year and see how things have changed!

Love you,
Mom

Wild One!

My Wild One,

It has been a wild few months with you! You've had a few trips to the ER, ridden a pony, started pre-school, learned how to ride your bike with training wheels, and kept us laughing throughout it all!

The trip to the ER was pretty easy with you! You are such a little scrapper and a trooper...but we did learn that you HAVE to have Mommy when you are in those situations and you are just like your Daddy when it comes to blood (you can't stand it!). You ended up with 7 stitches and we now know when you're on the swing in the backyard, the gate has to be closed! We ended up there again a week later because you fell while trying to climb up a slide (even though I'm always harping at you to use the stairs or ladder) and broke your wound open a bit. There was nothing they could do for you, but your over cautious Daddy felt better knowing we took you!

You seem to be loving school this year! Ms. Beth and Ms. Amanda are you teachers and you are making some nice friends (Jake, Caleb, and Jack). I also know you hang out with your brother and his friends on the playground too (so precious)! I think music with Ms. Ann is your favorite thing at school. You know all the words to the songs and you walk around the house singing! We love it!

We just got back from a little family weekend to The Cowboy Cabin in Marthasville, Mo. You loved every minute of it, but being fascinated with fire, you especially loved helping Daddy make the fires! You are not afraid of it, which makes me very afraid! We hiked, biked, grilled, and played and enjoyed making family memories! You were more snuggly and loving than normal (which is a lot!), so we knew you were HAPPY!

I love you!

Mom

A Month Later...

My Max,

Here we are, a month later and I'm just now writing again! At least it's better than a year later! You are definitely in the midst of your terrible two's this past month. You are generally so sweet and easy going, but this month has been a bit more challenging! You are talking a TON and have NO problem telling me what you like and don't like! Some of the whining has come back and we are ready for our sweet Max to come back!

When you are rested and happy, you are so funny and charming! You were GREAT at t-ball and got your first trophy this weekend. You were one of the youngest ones on your team and hanging in there with the best of them! You love sports and anything to do with a ball!

The 4th of July was so fun with you this year! Obsessed with the fireworks is an understatement! You loved them.....BUT, you did get a little burn on your foot when a piece of the sparkler you were holding fell. That put a damper on things for a bit, but once you figured out you could just wear a sock on that foot, you were good to go! You hate bandaids!

You graduated to a big boy bed, but instead of sleeping in yours, you have made your way to Noah's bed and now sleep with him every night. Then, you wake him up at 6am and you guys play in his room until the night light sun come on. Poor Noah! Actually, I know he likes having you in there with him too!

Daddy buzzed your hair and you are adorable. It makes you look like a little doll and I can't stop kissing your head! Most of the time you let me, but you are starting to push me away every now and then and I see you growing up! You still let me snuggle with you on the couch and like to hold my hand! You and I also pretend to be kitty cats snuggle up too...weird, but kind of our thing!

Here's to one more month of summer and you getting out of the terrible two's!!!

Love you,

Mommy

Where have I been??

Dear Max,

It's been so long since I've written to you that I'm way overwhelmed and not quite sure how to get up to date! You are 2 1/2 now and such a little man! We laugh at your comments all the time....just today, as we were cleaning out the clutter in the basement, you asked me if we were giving some of your toys away or keeping them. When I told you we were keeping them, you said, "yeah, they aren't going to ms. will"! Meaning, Goodwill!

You are 36" tall and 30 lbs right now. You have been completely potty trained since Christmas (even in the night)! You love to watch everything your big brother does and try to do the same. We signed you up for the Itty Bitty t-ball team this summer because it has been torture for you to have to sit in the stands and cheer for Noah at his games and you can't play. You love t-ball and are so cute and confident out there when you play!

One of the most difficult times with you lately is dinner. You don't want to sit still for very long and don't love to eat (like the rest of us!). Well, I take that back, you love to eat treats only (like me) and don't want to eat your main dish. You love fruit, but veggies are another story: see video (ok, I've tried to insert your icky carrot dance here, but can't seem to get it loaded...I'll keep trying and hopefully get it one of these days!)

One of the best times with you lately is snuggling! You still love to cuddle and nuggle and so do we!

Oh, and your sleep pattern is awful! You just don't seem to need as much sleep as the rest of us! You usually go to bed around 8 or 8:30 and wake up no later than 6:30am (on a good day), but lately you're waking up anytime from 3:30am to 5:30am....aghhhhh, we are tired!

Love you so much,

Mom