How fast can YOU climb 52 flights of stairs?

Me, Hayden, and Max's double chin - Ha!

Want to cheer Max up?  Give him some stickers.

Another lunch at Britt's where Max slept the whole time.  Don't you love his socks?

He finally started feeling better last night and that has changed everything.  It's HARD to have a baby who doesn't feel good.  It's hard on them and hard on you.  It's been so nice to have my happy baby back who smiles and laughs instead of cries and screams.

He can now point out eyes, ears, tongue and teeth on pictures of people and some animals.  He said sticker today - I had no idea he knew the word!

I have been taking him to a gym class for toddlers.  Most of the time it has been me pushing him to try things and he hasn't been very interested, adventurous, or independent however this week he finally started to get more engaged.  I look at what some of the kids his same age are doing, and he's just not there yet.

He is starting to be able to pick up some food with a fork.  Mostly scrambled eggs. And can use a spoon when eating something thick like yogurt.

If you bend down and ask for hugs, he will run at you full force with his arms outstretched and then when he reaches you, he will wraps his arms around you.  It's fantastic.  I love it!

You never know what you are going to get when you get kisses though.  Sometimes they are closed mouth kisses, sometimes they are open mouth kisses, and sometimes his tongue is there too.

He really follows directions well, which is nice! 

Silly faces

Everybody smiling!

Max cuddling into his momma

Max on the 23rd of January:

• Even though he's feeling better, Max isn't all just sweetness.  He has started throwing tantrums which include screaming and hitting.  Joy. 
• He calls me Kallie lately more than Mom/Momma/Mommy. 
• He is GREAT at letting me wipe his nose.  It's never an issue and usually he stands there waiting for it to be wiped.
• He has been sleeping until 7:20 am which means he's been sleeping for 11 1/2 - 12 hrs each night.
• I'm not sure if he's going to be left or right handed because he uses both of them frequently.
• He loves eating plain yogurt and also loves Oatmeal Squares cereal.

Don't those pants look so stylish? 

Yeah.  They aren't pants.  They're shorts. 

Being a big kid sitting on the trike.

Sweet boy, boring socks.

Silly!

Not quite sure why he was wanting to eat the furniture.  Teething?

I'm sure you are like, what does any of this have to do with the subject of this post?  It's doesn't other than these were some pics from that week.  NOW...to the fun part of the post.

Peter's work, Ivie, sponsored a race.  However, it's not a 5k race or anything like you are used to.  It's called the Big D Climb.  And it's 52 flights of stairs and 1,040 steps.  You can check out their website here.  It's done downtown in a really pretty skyscraper called Fountain Place.  Peter asked me if I wanted to do it with him but I was chicken.  I've never climbed 52 flights of stairs at once and wondered if I really could.  When we go on cruises we make ourselves take the stairs and if I have to do 7 or 8 flights, I'm huffing and puffing at the top.  How in the world could I do 52?!

So I wussed out but he didn't. 

The day of the race (1/26/13) was cloudy so when you looked up towards the top of the building, it got all cloudy.  In fact when we were driving in, we couldn't even see the top of the building because of the clouds.

Before the climb.  I couldn't get Peter and all of the building in one picture.

The top of the building (yup - he's going all the way to the top!)

We hung out in the crowded lobby waiting for his start time.

Because of tight quarters at the top of the building, you couldn't go meet your racer at the finish line.  You had to meet them back in the lobby.  So while Peter raced, we made him a sign.  We had no idea how long it would take Peter to do this so we came prepared to wait a while.

Peter was back before we knew it!  He finished in 12 min 13 secs!!!!!!

He smashed it!

Way to go, Daddy!

His whole group.  He's in the very top left.

I asked him how it went.  He said it was good until about flight 40.  At that point his legs were pretty weak and he, along with those around him, were using the railing to help pull themselves up.  I think what he did is pretty amazing.  52 flights of stairs!!!!  Nearly 12 minutes!!!  That's less than 15 seconds per flight!

After the race we went to a little cafe for a celebratory breakfast.  Max was a BIG fan of the homemade blueberry muffin.

Good job, Peter!  You are awsome.

17 months old / Winner! Winner!

Max is 17 months old!...

He is NOT feeling good today, January 19, 2013.  And when Max doesn't feel good, it means that it's a bad day for the entire family.  He's so unhappy but yet not sick enough that he would just lay there.  We decided to go to a fundraiser for Peter's work, Ivie.  I really wanted to get out of the house but worried how Max would do.  As soon as we got there we bought some tickets for the raffle.  And guess what? Within 2 minutes of the buying the tickets, they had another drawing and WE WON! (they must not have stirred the tickets well)  We won 2 tickets to a Texas Rangers Baseball game.  It will be fun to go to a game!

We didn't stay for too long after that.  We did order some food but barely touched it because it was such a hassle to try to eat and keep Max entertained.  Sigh.  Hope he feels better soon.

Just another week

January 14 - 18 was just another work week.  Nothing exciting or spectacular.

Max slept all through my lunch visit to Brittany's.  He tends to sleep much longer on Monday's.  He must be catching up for the weekend when his naps are always shorter.  (They are shorter because he just doesn't sleep as long, not because we are rushing around or something like that.)

Enjoying an apple

That's my cute smiley boy!

We got another snow storm.  Max went out to check it out.

He did not like snow on his hands after he tried to pick it up.  He thought it was pretty cool to stomp on the slushy sidewalks.

The grout on our fireplace is stained in some places and it is driving me nuts.  The flash of the camera makes it more visible than it is to the naked eye.

It's stained in a few places.

This pic does a better job of showing how you can't really tell.  However, it was the only thing I saw when I looked at the fireplace so I called the builder and the stone guys came over and added more grout and now it looks much better.  I'm so glad that I didn't just have to live with it.

Video - Max still isn't feeling very well.  As a result he hasn't been sleeping very fitfully.  He wakes up frequently and each time he does he starts talking.  Sorry about the white noise machine going at the same time.

Max woke up while I was at Brittany's for lunch.  When I went to get him, he wanted to just hang out in the swing, playing.  He was having a great time.  :)

Video - He's talking.  I'm not quite sure what he's saying, but he's talking.

Pouty Max.

I let Max play with my phone one morning when he woke up early and I wasn't ready to be conscious yet.  (He's been getting up at 6:50 lately which is too early for me.)  I frequently find pictures like this on my phone after he's played with it.  Even though I have a passcode on it, he's figured out he can still access the camera when it's locked.

Dad eventually let him play on the iPad.  Max LOVES the iPad and he's amazingly good at it.

Sweet boy -

He is doing a great job saying "please" and "thank you" on his own.  Plus we hit an exciting milestone.  He let me trim his nails without fussing for the FIRST TIME EVER.  We did have to take a few breaks throughout the process but I was sooooo excited because it's been a fight ever since I stopped nursing and couldn't do it while he was distracted by nursing.

talking in bed
trying to send dad a message

My Jewelry

Post written 1/12/13

The other day when we were at the zoo, my sister Kimberly sent a text to Brittany and I showing us how she was wearing one of the bracelets my mom made.  I had to laugh because I too was wearing a bracelet my mom made.  So I took a pic and sent it to her.

One of the things that means the absolute most to me is the jewelry I have from my mom.  She left her jewelry to her daughters in her note.  My mom had a TON of jewelry.  It was something she really enjoyed.  She also really enjoyed making bead jewelry.  I was amazed at some of the complicated designs she did and how much time she had to put into making these beautiful pieces.  There were days that she didn't feel good enough to leave the house but she could put her focus onto beading.  I have memories of her hands shaking (a side affect from the medication) but she would still be sitting there beading.

So when we were going through her things, we divided up her jewelry and all got quite a few pieces.  We also sold some of it at the garage sale - there was just so much of it that to keep it all was silly.  I am appreciative of the money we made from selling her jewelry.  I know that members of our family, that she loved, also got pieces she made and I KNOW she would have wanted that.  Looking back I might have changed how we did it and given pieces to those she loved and love her but I wouldn't have sold it to strangers.

Her jewelry has brought me comfort and helped me feel close to her.  I wear a piece of her jewelry - either a bracelet, necklace, or earrings nearly every day.  When I look at them, I think of her.  When I get compliments on them, I proudly say "My mom gave it to me".  She had great taste.  She had a sense of style that I didn't inherit and did an amazing job of looking nice even when her outfit may have come from a second hand store.  I like to think she's proud of me for branching out and wearing pieces of her jewelry that might have been outside of my typical style before she passed. 

I miss her terribly.  I still have a great dad and a step-mom but it's funny to me that with the loss of my mom I have lost a big part of my foundation.  There are times I feel like an orphan.  She kept me connected with my extended family.  She got excited over my successes.  She listened when I needed to talk.  When a day is going by normally, I forget she's gone.  Then I will think about telling her something or see something she'd like and I remember that she's gone.  The worst thing is the finality of it - she's gone for the rest of my life.

But I appreciate the way I feel like I have her with me when I wear her jewelry.  She was extremely talented.  Thank you Mom!

ALL this jewelry was hers

A purple bracelet she made for me

She made such a variety of styles

Amazing detailed work

2nd week of January

When I was at Brittany's for lunch, I went to check on Max and this is what I found - one sock off...  Wonder how he did that!

I had to go to Toronto, Canada for a work trip for 2 nights.  I was NOT looking forward to leaving my boys, especially after getting to enjoy so much time with them during the holidays.  Peter drove Max to Brittany's so I got into the backseat to say goodbye.  I didn't want to get back out.  I was also sad because I had made the decision that my trip to Canada would mark the end of nursing (remember, I was only nursing in the morning at this point and not pumping throughout the day).   So the morning of the 8th was the last time I nursed Max.  I had wanted to make it to 18 months, was only 11 days short.

And then Max started throwing a fit which made it easier to get out of the car.  :)

Brittany was nice enough to send me pics during the day so that I could see what he was up to.  Look at this mess he made!

He found the book with the stickers in them.

He hurt himself somehow.  Poor kid.

At home he had fun playing with daddy.  He is enjoying his new tunnel.

Eating his snacks in the tunnel

It's always interesting to see things that are different compared to home.  Look at this weird vegetable I found - creepy.

I was tempted quite frequently to buy stuff for Max.  That's going to be a bad thing if I start going on a lot of trips.  I will be bringing home a bunch of crap.  :)  I almost bought him one of these dolls but was able to resist the temptation.

I brought home snacks for Peter like Smarties (similar to M&Ms), these chocolate candies and some Ketchup flavored Lays chips.  I really wanted to bring home some Old Dutch Salt N Vinegar potato chips because I LOVE THEM.   (I remember getting them with my family when I was around 10 and we drove up to Vancouver.)  Alas, I passed them up when I saw them and then didn't find them again.

In case you are wondering...Ketchup potato chips?  yeah, not so great.

Max now says both our names - Peter (sounds like Pee-uh) and Kallie (sounds like either kowee or towee).  He still says Mom/Mommy/Momma and Dad/Daddy but commonly when he wants something he will use our first names.  Cracks me up.

We went to 5 guys for dinner over the weekend.  We let Max try dipping his fries into ketchup for the first time.  Of course, he loved it and was really good at it.  He really wants to be independent.  For example, he wanted to hold his own drink instead of us holding is.  He also asked to wear a hat today.

He's still fighting taking naps unless I lay down with him (which means I end up taking a nap too).  He has to have his blankie in order to sleep.  Thanks Aunt Aja for making this gorgeous blanket for Max!

He was walking around holding a stud finder to his ear like a phone.

He loves wearing his hats.

This isn't a baby anymore - he's a little boy!!

Max and his blankie first thing in the morning.  When he wakes up, he stands up and calls for Peter and I.  When we get close to getting him, he drops down and picks up his blanket so it comes out of the crib with him.

Playing with the shape sorter I got him in Canada.

Sneaky kid knows where the snacks are.  If we aren't good about keeping the pantry closed, we find things like this.

An update about Maxwell:

1. He likes bean burritos
2. He loves watching the Baby Einstein farm video
3. He loves whoers and finally will let me put his head in the water to rinse off the shampoo without getting upset most of the time
4. He is a DADDY'S BOY!
5. When I got back from Canada, he only wanted his daddy.  He only wanted daddy to hold him, feed him, change his diaper, read to him, etc.  It made me sad.  :(
6. BUT...When I took him to Kindermusic, he wouldn't leave my side.  So that made me feel better.
7. He loves his number book and wants to read it over and over and over (which, gets old quick for me because there are no words...just the numbers 1- 10).  He says Number (sound like nummer) when he wants to read it.
8. He has figured out that his toys can go down the slide.
9. I still have to keep toys or something else in his hands during diaper changes because otherwise, he's reaching down there which is NOT good.  Poop should only be on bumms.
10. He likes to play with anything that has a zipper.
11. Hayden has started calling him Maxwell which is just so sweet.