Second Week of June 2013

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
• He is now down to just one nap a day.  Sad.

Max's Nursey - Before and After

I am finally getting around to this post.  In some ways its a hard post to write because of it's tie to my mom.  In part of the last conversation I had with my mom, she had asked to Skype so that she could see the nursery.  At that point it wasn't done (we didn't have the bedding, etc) so I, being my tired-easily irritated-pregnant-self, told my mom it wasn't done yet and I didn't want to show it yet to her (I said these words with a little attitude thrown into my tone).  I completely regret how I handled her request and wish that I had just gotten off my lazy butt and showed her the nursery.  It's one of the few regrets that I have regarding my mom and it is probably only a regret because of the part it played in my last conversation with her.  I have wondered if the hurt, that I am sure my refusal caused her, played into whatever justification she used to make her final decision.  My logical thought says that this was a minor thing and surely didn't have enough weight to push her "over the edge".  However, my heart hurts because it could have been used as evidence in an argument that I believe played in her head around not being important/loved by/needed/wanted by those she loved.

So, I am sorry mom.  I should have shown you the nursery.  I'm sure you've seen it now but here's the transition that I blocked you from being a part of.








Here is the conversion from office to nursery:

Before: Our office  - I didn't think it was overly messy and cluttered then however after looking at the pictures now I'm like - Kallie!  TIDY UP!

After we had removed nearly everything except part of one desk and started moving in baby furniture

Peter starting to put the crib together

Still smiling

Crib's done - whew!

After: All Done!  Since we live in an apartment and want to get into a house in the near future, I didn't want to decorate TOO much.  Plus, I have found it nearly impossible to find any decorations/accessories for a nursery that fit my style.  We splurged on the bedding (it was the ONLY thing we found that we both liked).  And then my Dad and Marriann painted the animals on the walls based on a style I found and liked.  I absolutely LOVE the paintings.  Max noticed them immediately the first time we went into his room after putting them up.  I love them because they are cute but also because they were made by his grandparents, with love.  I treasure them and appreciate the time put into creating them.



Changing table/dresser (with the heated diaper wipes warmer that I LOVE)



Corner of the room

The never-slept-in-yet crib.  (Why did I stress about getting the nursery done???)

I am happy with how it turned out and look forward to getting into a house so I can take it up another notch.