Max and the Policeman

The title of this post has you completely curious, right?  I bet!  Well...you will have to wait for the story behind the title...

Peter got up EARLY (in the dark - yuck) this morning 4/28/12 to go run up/down some mountain in Ogden with Nathan.  This was some serious hike - it was like 6 miles and they climbed 8,000 feet.  When they stopped their ascent, they had hit snow!  Anyway, I was a little worried because while Peter has improved his health, I didn't know how his body would react to the elevation change plus he hadn't gone that far in his normal runs at home.  I told myself that it would be okay, Nathan is a doctor and would make sure Peter didn't die.  I wouldn't have worried so much before Max was born but I certainly don't want to be a single parent!

Video - Peter took this to show me what I was missing.  I hate that we don't get this type of outdoor beauty in Texas!

That morning we went over to my step-sister Sharee's house for breakfast and to visit.  Randall made us some yummy pancakes with strawberries, bananas, and whip cream.  We enjoyed visiting with both of them and playing a little with Star and Bronson.  Max enjoyed playing with Quaid's toys (who was sleeping).  It was a really nice visit.  I look forward to our next visit with their family.

Aunt Sharee and Maxwell

We were having a BBQ lunch at Alex's with his siblings so our next stop was the grocery store to pick stuff up.  Alex ended up being there right at the same time.  So we shopped together.  When we got back to the car, I realized that I had forgotten to buy jalapenos.  I have been forever changed by living in Texas.  I now like jalapenos on nearly everything - food should have a kick!  So Peter took Max and said he'd load the groceries in our rental van (we wanted a sedan but the van was all they had so they upgraded us.  Originally I was irritated but it ended up being perfect!  Although we did take a little friendly heat from a few people because the last time we were in town we had a Camero and now we had the family friendly mini-van.).

When I get back out with my jalapenos, I notice that Max is in his car seat by the side of the car and not in the car.  I started to chastise Peter for leaving him out in the sun and not putting him in the car.  Peter goes, "I locked the keys in the car."  HUH!?  You did what?!  My mind flashed back to the rental car counter where the employee tried to upsale us on every possible thing including insurance and road side assistance.  I had declined because all those upgrades are a waste of money.  CRAP!  Was I going to be kicking myself for that?!

Anyway, so I immediately go into solution mode.  I noticed there was a dry cleaners inside the grocery story so I went and begged a wire hanger off them to try and break into the car.

Peter and Alex trying to make the wire hanger work.

In the grocery store, Peter wasn't looking so good.  He was looking pale and his lips were pale.  I was worried that the hike was going to come back and bite him so I made him buy some Gatorade.  Luckily he had that outside of the car so he could drink it.

Max and I got into the back seat of Alex's car so we could enjoy the AC and I kept Max entertained while Peter and Alex worked diligently to get into the car.

Happily oblivious to the drama unfolding around him

Well, the wire hanger was a bust.  So I walked over to some policemen that were assisting on a old prescription/medicine disposal drop off drive.  One of the officers got his kit out of his car and kindly came over to help.  He tried and tried and tried and it just didn't work either.  We couldn't get that dang van unlocked!  But, Max DID get to meet his first policeman ever!  We documented it with a picture... :)

At this point we are stuck, so we call a locksmith and Alex takes me, Max, and the groceries in his car to his house and then goes back to help Peter.

About 20 minutes later I get a call from Peter.  He asks me to look in the diaper bag because he believes the keys may be in there.  I look and they aren't there.  So he tells me to look in the car seat and everywhere because the keys aren't in the car!  WHAT!?  So I'm quickly told that they got into the car but the keys are no where to be found.  Oh man...if those stinkin keys were in the diaper bag the entire time I am going to...  But nope, I thoroughly scour through everything at Alex's and there are NO KEYS!  So now my mind flashes back to the lady at the rental counter talking about how the charge is 200.00 to replace lost keys.  Oh man, I should have said yes to all her stupid upgrades...

About a half an hour to an hour later, Peter finally shows up at Alex's and I learn about what happened after Alex took me to his house.  Here's the story...(and I wish I was a good written story teller so that you could really envision this)

The locksmith gets there and gets into the car.  But at soon as the car is opened up, the alarm starts going off because apparently when the car is locked, the alarm is activated and if a door is opened without the use of the key/fob then the alarm will be set off.  So the alarm is going off and the boys are looking through the van to find the keys.   No keys...  Keep looking... No keys...  Alarm going off... Keep looking... Everyone staring... No keys... etc. etc. etc.   The alarm keeps going off, they are tearing the van apart and the keys are no where to be found.  This is the point Peter called me to look through the stuff to see if the keys were with me.  Of course they weren't.  So they are looking through the manual trying to figure out how to get the alarm to stop going off.  Eventually they pop the hood and disconnect the battery.  Alarm finally goes off but still no keys and the van is torn apart.

At one point Peter is in the back part of the van, looking toward the back hatch and sees there's a little bit of a gap there, so he bends down and sees the keys trapped between the hatch and the bumper.  Easy to solve...pop the hatch, right? AHAHAHAHAHA WRONG!  The only way to pop the hatch is with the keys, which are unreachable.  :)   Peter tried to wiggle them free but his manly fingers wouldn't fit.  Alex tried and luckily his fingers were a little more slender and eventually he wiggled them out enough that he could push the button on the fob and pop the hatch.  SUCH DRAMA!  So evidently what had happened is that Peter popped the back to put the groceries in but didn't unlock the car.  He didn't realize the keys were sitting on the bumper when he shut the hatch and trapped them, with the car still locked.

I am sure this was extremely stressful for Peter.  I know the part that I was a part of was stressful, although I wasn't completed bothered or worried.  I just LOVE LOVE LOVE that Peter locked the keys in the car.  I have done it multiple times (although not anytime in the last 3 years at least) and Peter has had to save me.  He didn't fail to remind me that he had never locked the keys in the car.  UNTIL TODAY!  WAHOO!  :)  Sometimes that massive ego needs to be knocked down just a little bit.   LOVE YOU PETER.

Anyway, back at Alex's we were getting everything ready for a yummy BBQ with the Millar siblings and their kids.  It was a lot of fun!

Showing off their dance moves - Morgan, Lola, and Mariah

Auntie Aja is the best - she willingly tackled a dirty diaper

Tawny's Mom, Kerry, and Max

Uncle Mark and Mariah

Aja and her gang.  I love Harleigh's face!
Morgan, Aja, Korben, Madison, and Harleigh

Morgan, Max, Peter, and Mariah (Man!  Our nieces are getting so old!!!)

Siblings and a handsome baby
Alex, Mark, Max, Peter, and Aja

Peter, Max, and Lola

Jaxton showing us his awesome hiphop dance moves.  We had been planning on attending one of his competitions but he had an asthma attack and wasn't healthy enough to compete.  We were bummed but luckily he felt good enough later to give us a private performance.

The boys love it when Uncle Peter plays video games with them.

Payton and Max

Lola did a great job of playing with Max and keeping him happy.

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"Who's that handsome guy?  I should investigate!"

Video - An update on how Max is coming along in his crawling. 

For the record he is wearing a white onesie under his shirt.  He isn't crawling around in only a diaper.

Lola keeping Max happy and fed -keep those puffs coming!

Max was WIPED out when we finally got home to Tammy's.  He was asleep before we even got him all swaddled up.

There's those lips I love

Turning toward the darkness of the blanket. 

Fear not, within seconds we had moved him to the pack-n-play and he was happily zonked out.

Millar Cousin Day

Friday was just as full as Thursday was.  Except today was "Millar" day!  All Millars..all day.  :)

Sweet baby sleeping - he was up like 4 times during the night.  Sheesh. 

He slept best once we finally let him sleep in our bed after like 5 am.  Poor kid was over tired.  He wasn't on his normal schedule and the only naps he typical got were in the car to/from SLC and Layton.  Normally he would never sleep in the car.  That changed on this trip.  He ended up sleeping like a champ during our drives.  Luckily we were on a road quite a bit so while he didn't get his regular naps, he did get some sleep during the day.

Happy to play with the monkey on his car seat. 

Today he was all decked in the red Under Armour outfit Uncle Alex and Aunt Tawny bought him during their trip to Texas.  So, as you can see I had the BYU hat ready to go and combat all that red!

I love those lips.  Max has the most perfect lips!

The man that bought my mom's house owed me some money since technically his first month's utilities came out of my mom's deposit.  So we stopped by his (her) house to get the money.  I was really nervous about how it would be to be at her house.  The man was really nice, he invited me in while he got the money.  I met his daughter, about 4 or 5 years old - very cute.  And they had a cute little dog running around.  I know it would make mom happy to have a young family with a dog living there.  They had painted the house a bright green and their furnishings/room arrangement was much different than mom's.  While that was a little shocking it was also good because it helped cement for me that it wasn't really her house anymore.  But then I looked at the windows and saw they still had her window treatments which also made me happy because it felt like a little part of her was still there.  It went much better than I thought it would.  I still cried when I got back in our car because it was a little bit like reality slapping me in the face.  I can still vividly see her standing on her porch waving goodbye to us as we drove away the last time that I saw her.  I can also feel the tight hug that we shared that trip also on her porch.  It wasn't a usual quick hug but the kind where you deeply embrace someone almost as if you are hugging their soul and sharing your love for them.  I don't know why but that particular hug has stuck with me and is one of the things I think of most frequently when I think of her.  I miss her.

I tried not to think of her too much on the trip but it was still there - the emptiness she left behind.  I felt like it was my duty to go up and visit her grave, so we planned on doing that during this trip.  But I put it off until the last day and then we took too long getting ready so I said that we didn't have enough time to do that AND catch our flight.  In reality, it might have been a little tight on time but we could probably have made it.  Or we could have gone nearly any other day during the trip.  I really just pushed it off because I didn't want to do it (and I think Peter understood that - he was quite considerate of my feelings all week).  Like I said, I felt it was my duty and that people expected me to do it but I didn't want to.  I'm not sure exactly why...  maybe I am in denial...maybe I am connected to her and not the space she is buried...maybe I don't want to deal with any emotions that might be felt going there... I don't know.  All I know is that *I* didn't feel like I needed/wanted to go and that is okay.

Anyway...

We stopped for lunch at Crown Burgers!  Peter was trying to still be healthy during the trip both in his eating and working out daily, so this trip wasn't all about the food we wanted to hit while we were in town (like it usually is).  He ordered a burger without cheese - - where has my husband gone?!  However, going to Crown Burger made me miss my mom.  She loved Crown Burgers and we usually went together when we were in town.

We then headed over to Peter's Grandma's place again in West Valley City.  It was my goal during this trip for everyone to get to see Max a couple times.  It's sometimes hard to catch him at that perfect, happy time.  Usually the window is about 1 1/2 hours and then it's time to eat or time to sleep.  So, I wanted people to have a couple chances to see him.  It's not like if we spent the entire afternoon somewhere that he would be happy/awake/etc that entire time.  Max got to spend time with his cousins who didn't get to meet him the night before at the musical because he was at Tammy's house.

Cousins!  Harleigh, Madison, and Max

Madison and Max

Morgan and Max

Madison, Max, Morgan, and Momma

Rose (Grandma's friend), Gram, Max and Daddy

Because Grandma watches kids during the day she had some fun toys for Max to play with.  He liked this microphone.  She made me laugh because when Max was babbling, she believed he was saying "kitty" and was telling us that he wanted us to get him a "kitty".  I tried explaining to her that he had never been around a kitty, it wasn't a word that we had been saying to him, and that I was sure he wasn't saying "kitty". He was just babbling.

Max and Cousin Mariah

Max really liked interacting with Mariah

Video - Here's Max interacting with Mariah and playing with Peter's iphone

After visiting with the cousins in West Valley City, we headed to Alex's house.  This is what we saw when we drove up and I felt it needed to be documented - Alex doing yard work!

Cousins!  Lola and Max - - she was so excited to see him and wanted to help with him

Aunt Tawny and Max

Payton and Max

Uncle Alex and Max

Jaxton and Max

Max, unhappy about being held by Uncle Alex

Getting kisses from Uncle Alex

Goodnight!  Max had a great day with almost all of his Millar cousins.  (Even Korben had paid a little attention to him.)  He did great at letting some people hold him for a little bit of time.

Video Flashback to March

I noticed this video never made it to my blog.  Enjoy this jaunt back in history from 3-16-12.  Man I love this sweet baby!  I can't believe how much he has grown since then.

Utah Vacation = A Busy Day!

Our first full day in Utah was exactly that - FULL!  Max did okay sleeping in a borrowed pack-n-play.  He got up every couple hours (apologies to Taylor, who says he heard Max crying).  But after the last time, when I let him stay in bed with us, he slept in while Dad went on a morning run (Way to go Peter - working out even while we are on vacation!)

This is how he sleeps now, one arm spread out

Before they headed off to school, Maren and Preston came to say hello. Max woke up in time to play with them a little.

After we got ready and made Max some food for the day (and had a friendly, competitive match of air hockey), we headed out to West Valley to spend some time with Peter's family.  Max got to meet a lot of family!

Peter, Maxwell, and Peter's Grandma Jean

Hi Gram!

Happy boy

Video - Max and his Great Grandma Jean

Yeah!  Grandma Donna!

Max telling Grandma a story.

Grandma and Max (he was so happy!)

Video - Grandma and Maxwell

Then we headed up to Sandy for lunch.  One of my friends from High School and BYU - Jeff had started a pizza business, Surefire Pizza, with his wife.  Not just any pizza business though, a wood fired, traditional pizza like it is made in Naples, Italy.  I have wanted to try it for a long time and it was just by pure luck that they had an event while we were in town.  (Oh how I wish I lived in Utah in the summer when they are doing stuff all the time.  I would be their best customer - I LOVE LOVE LOVE that type of pizza ever since our cruise last year.)  Check out their site and don't pass up a chance to try their food if you get a chance.  It was a thoroughly enjoyable lunch that fed my belly and my soul.

Melissa, Jeff, and Max

The fantastic pizza and bruschetta.  My mouth waters just looking at it.  This is the way pizza was born!

After lunch we headed to visit my Grandma Nelson.  I was excited for her to meet Max.  She's got two dogs - Gizmo (who has been my buddy since I lived there while in college) and Sybil, a more recent addition.  Gizmo was excited to see me and to meet Max.  Sybil was not happy to meet Max and wanted him to know it.  Max loved both the dogs!  He wasn't scared and smiled and laughed at them.

Sybil investigating Max.  He loved it as she came closer and closer.

Gizmo licking Max.  I thought he would cry or scream but nope!  He laughed!  He would hold his hand out to Gizmo, who would lick it, and then Max would laugh and smile.  So sweet.  I guess my son likes dogs, not like his momma at all!  (Although I do love a few, Gizmo included.)

Video - Max playing with Gizmo who was making circles around Max.

Video - Max is trying to break through Sybil's rough exterior but she's having none of it.  She wants him to know she's tough and doesn't like him.

Max telling his Great Grandma Nelson a story. (I think she liked it.)

Playing with Grandma.

I absolutely LOVE this picture.

Sybil did like Max being on Grandma's lap so she had to be up there too.

After Grandma Nelson's we headed back to my Aunt Tammy's house.  My Uncle Nathan (and eventually Tammy) was going to watch Max for us while we went to Peter's nieces' play.

Buddies...For now... 

It was all downhill from here.  I left toys and food and lots of tips on how to make Max happy.  When I got back home that night, I learned that Max had cried basically the entire time.  He went on a walk, and cried.  He went on a ride in the car, and cried.  He watched Baby Einstein, and cried.  I felt so bad...not that he was upset, but that they had to deal with a crying baby all night.  As a parent, I hope that he will be a happy, easy going baby with everyone.  I certainly don't want him to be so attached to his parents that he can't be happy away from us.

So while Tammy and Nathan were dealing with an unhappy Max, Peter and I had a great evening!  We took my cousins Taylor, Ethan, and Maryn with us to see our nieces, Morgan and Madison, in their school musical - Suessical the Musical.  Almost all of Peter's immediate family was there too (missing - Jaxton, Tawny, and Mark).  It was a lot of fun both during the ride to/from the musical.  We got to revive "party car" from the trip we took to Sequoia National Park with their family a few years ago. 

The musical was great.  The girls both did a great job!  I was really glad this was happening while we were there so we could go and support them.  I hate missing things like this because we live so far away. 

Lola, Peter, Ethan, Taylor, and Maryn

Alex

Payton and Harleigh

Korben, Aja, (Ken), Felicia, Mariah, and Donna

Lola and Morgan - Thing 2!

Felicia, Mariah, and Madison - A Who!

We got home pretty late.  It was a full day from start to finish with not a moment that was wasted.  It was nice to get back to Max.  He immediately perked up and started smiling once he saw us.  Melts my heart.  If you noticed, the one thing I didn't mention today was...naps.  Poor Max didn't get a formal nap but he did get some good sleeping in the car.  That's good considering he doesn't usually fall asleep in the car.