Summer is a lot of fun! Sometimes I read other people's blogs and see everything they are doing with their kids and feel like we don't do enough with Max. But, I am glad for this blog because as I am going back and looking at these pictures it is a reminder that we DO have fun with Max and he isn't stuck with a totally boring life. It's hard at times not to compare our life to other people's lives and feel like we aren't doing enough, or being creative enough, or traveling enough, etc. Then I remind myself that my life is different than other's. I have chosen to have a demanding career AND a family. There are trade-offs. We may not do a lot of fun little vacations but we get to go on awesome cruises at least once a year. I may be tired on the weekends and not want to do a bunch of activities but I still spend quality time with Max at home. My life is good.
Video - Have I mentioned that Max loves giving raspberries?
Peter (I shouldn't leave him alone with Max!) taught Max how to get peanut butter out of the jar with his finger.
Max progressed to putting his whole hand in. Nice. I roll my eyes but secretly I think it's good for Peter to teach him crazy stuff like this.
Max's new thing in the car - taking his shoes off and putting them on his hands.
I took a weekend afternoon and went to get a pedicure with some of the neighborhood gals.
We finally got the paintings up on the wall in Max's room. I still adore these - thanks Dad and Marriann!!
There are less and less open lots in the neighborhood.
Look how green my grass looks - before the summer (and the water restrictions that dictate we can only water once a week) took it's toll
Melt down in a restaurant.
Unfortunate solution to the meltdown - iPhone
Going for a bike ride
Video - I think it's just so funny how he rides his scooter
Playing at the splash park with his cousins
So there was a morning that we were laying in bed and I was listening to the storm outside and I hear this drip, drip, drip. What in the world was that?? I got up and realized that our roof was leaking and I was hearing the water drip into our bedroom. GRRRRR!!! Thank goodness we were still under warranty. I found it so odd that the roof just started leaking now when we had got through the "rainy" season without any issues.
The guy came to start working on the ceiling when Max was napping so we just moved his crib out of the way and he kept sleeping.
Playing at the park
We had a hole in our ceiling for a week while everything dried out before they patched it up.
Max started swim lessons! With our neighbors having a pool, I wanted him to know some basic safety swimming skills. Because he's so young I go into the pool with him and hold him the whole time. At this age we are working on basics like getting him comfortable with the water, putting his face in, learning to hold his breath, and being able to climb out of the water. He won't be swimming on his own at this point. It's all about teaching him to be okay in the pool long enough that if he falls in, I have time to get to him.
Peter won tickets to a rangers game at work. They were fantastic seats and we were surprised when we got there that our friends (and Peter's co-worker) Andrea and Jeff had won tickets to the same game. So we got to go on an unintentional double date.
Just a handful of rows up from the field.
If that lady's head wasn't in the way you could see the back of Nolan Ryan's head. (That's also where President George W Bush sits when he goes to the games but he wasn't there that day.)
We had a reserved parking spot! Not too shabby. It's nice to live the "high life" every once in a while and not have to pay for it.
Taking advantage of the Frisco City water expert to come inspect my sprinkler system - then having the sprinkler company come fix everything while we are still under warranty. It's going to stink we have to pay to have things fixed!
We went grocery shopping and Max pushed the shopping cart. He had fun but it was quite stressful keeping him from running into people, displays. :)
He even helped pay for the groceries.
Momma did some baking and let Max enjoy the beater. He was a fan.
We had dinner over at Andrea and Jeff's house and the kids swam in the kids pool. Max and S had fun playing together.
Video - Max and his trademark jump. He was a trendsetter and S started doing it too (looks painful to me).
What is Max up to lately?
When he is in the shower, he enjoys standing with his back in the water which is an improvement
He has started crying and throwing a fit if he doesn't get his way
Lately he has been calling me "Kallie" more than "Momma"
He LOVES being on his bike
Says "Oh, man" quite frequently
When you ask him if he wants to do something or if he wants something he will say "I not" instead of "No" or "I don't"
He can now open some of the doors in the house
We read a book from Kindermusik at bedtime called "Animal Serenade" (It's a great book!) and he can sing some of the songs from that book and will sometimes sing along with his kids music in the car
It's summer time!!!!! I love summer! Of course, it's not as fun as when you were in school/college and got the summers "off" but it's still a great time of the year.
This summer we will have built in playmates living with us! I briefly mentioned it, but Brittany and Joe and their boys moved into our house while we were in Austin. (We purposely did that so they didn't have to stress as much about moving in if we weren't there and they had a few days to get settled.) They are going to be living with us for at least 6 months. Joe is trying to get a new career started at Costco and has stepped back an in-n-out. In order to help them save money, they are going to live with us. They have the whole upstairs - the bedroom, bathroom, closets, and game room. It's a good set up that gives them completely their own space and still gives us our space. It will be an adjustment having them in the house too but I am glad that we are able to help them out.
Lots of playing outside on bikes
Peter went on an overnight work trip for the first time since Max was born. This would be the first night I ever spent alone with Max without Peter. I was a little nervous about how it would go but it went great! (plus it helped that Brittany was here too so I didn't feel too alone) It was weird having Peter be the one that traveled. I like it better the other way around. :) But I LOVED the alone time with Max. He's such a daddy's boy that it was nice to be able to do some of the things with him that daddy usually gets to do, like lay him down to sleep at night. At one point he "shhhhh'd" me, which totally cracked me up. He has started begging. So, for example, if he wants a cracker and we say "no" then he will say "pleeeeeeeease". Joy.
Max was feeding himself and he HATES if his chin gets messy. He gets upset and stops eating until you clean it off.
Video - The boys are having fun playing together. Here they are counting and running.
We went swimming for the first time in our neighborhood pool.
Video - We are trying to teach Max his colors.
Video - I found this video on my phone, courtesy of Max. It's more a sound clip than a video. It totally cracks me up. It's Max, in the morning, asking for his iPad.
Silly boy
Playing in the backyard
Playing catch
Max wanted to say "Hi" to our neighbors
See my tomato plant? It's looking pretty good.
The view from their side - :)
Good fences make good neighbors!
Max at the park with Brittany - he finally played in the sand. Previously he wanted nothing to do with it.
Our new roommates
I had a work trip to San Jose. I took advantage of being back "home" to get some yummy teriyaki chicken!
I stayed at my favorite hotel anywhere - the Hilton in Pleasanton, CA. It was a fantastic visit until 4 am when the fire alarm went off. So much for getting a good nights sleep! Luckily there was no real fire (still not sure why the alarm went off). However, I've been through this before and was smart enough to grab my car keys, purse, and laptop in case I needed to hang out in my car if this lasted too long. It only lasted 1/2 hour and the weather was lovely. I didn't lose so much sleep that I didn't make it to the amazing fitness club attached to the hotel. I may not usually work out on the road but if I am staying here, I always work out!
Typical Max in the morning - sippy cup with milk and his cup of cereal (although usually he's clothed)
Learning to ride the scooter
Cheese
My tomato plant too a turn for the worse. I emailed my Grandpa Blank this picture and asked him what was wrong. He said that was the sickest tomato plant he's even seen. :( He suggested euthanasia and said he'd pray for my plant. Not a good diagnosis! I am going to try and keep it going.
We went to a local ice cream festival with Tida and Jason, Jess, John, and C. It was a fun way to spend the morning. Ice Cream in the morning is a good thing!
Max enjoying Momma's ice cream.
He really dug into it.
C enjoyed her ice cream too.
Checking out the petting zoo (C is 3 months younger than Max)
Max wasn't interested when we went in
Then he got scared
C was brave and had no problem, Max was clinging to me
At least getting close to an animal without holding on to Momma
Yeah! He warming up to the bunny
There we go!!
Fearless C petting the llama
My stylin' dude
Strutting around
He enjoyed jumping off the curb over and over again
No such thing as too much water!
That afternoon I made dinner (tacos, rice, beans, and all the fixings) for one of Peter's co-workers, Tim, and his family who just had a new baby. They had brought dinner over when I had Max and I was really glad for the opportunity to repay the favor. I am so grateful for all those that brought meals!!!
Wife, Mom, and Career Woman. Trying to succeed at all three. Enjoy cruising, time with friends and family, and sleeping. Busy life doesn't leave time for as much fun as in the past but that's okay, it's still a good life.
