It was a beautiful weekend so we got outside to enjoy it. We took Max to feed the ducks at a park down the road. It wasn't a great set up for feeding the ducks but it worked.
Big kid walking by himself
We were sitting up on top of a bridge, tossing bread down to the ducks
See him leaning over? Yeah, this made me SUPER nervous. I'm like, "Peter...don't drop my baby". Peter's laughing at me about that.
Max was happy about it though
Video - Max enjoying ripping the bread into pieces and throwing it at the ducks.
See the ducks way on the other side of the water? Yeah. They couldn't care less about the bread we were throwing them. (When we got there a dad was there with his daughter feeding the ducks. Maybe the ducks were full from them?)
The bread kept disappearing even though the ducks weren't eating it. We soon understood why. There were catfish in the lake that were eating the bread. I caught this picture at the exact moment that fish came up for the bread. Crazy!
2013 started off great. We got to enjoy 2 more days with Kimberly, Tyler, and Kaitlyn. Max was finally warming up to them! We noticed on January 1st that Max's first two molars had broken through on the top of his mouth. No wonder he'd been so drooly!
Holiday left overs make for yummy meals! (I made Grandma B's jello for the first time, so yummy!)
Kaitlyn got her reading practice in by reading to Max.
There was lots of "boy" playing over the past week!
He liked Kaitlyn's reading so much that he sat down and got comfy. :) So sweet!
This is how we saw Kimberly quite frequently - we gave her a hard time about it, of course.
Max didn't want Kaity reading to him anymore but he still wanted to be by her.
I went back to work the next day and while I was at work, magic happened. And by magic, I mean an awesome cleaning lady named Katy. Seriously I LOVE her. See those baskets on the fireplace? That all the laundry she folded for me.
She cleans any dishes that aren't in the dishwasher. (I do my best to limit this because I feel bad having her clean my dishes.)
There is nothing better than climbing into bed at night after Katy has made the bed. She must have gone to school for bed making because she's amazing! I count my blessings that we get to have her come every 2 weeks. It has been a very worthwhile expense for us. It has removed stress on our marriage to not have to bicker about cleaning the house. It frees up time for me on the weekend to spend time with Max instead of cleaning toilets. PLUS it means I HAVE to completely tidy my house every 2 weeks because I don't want her to have to tidy it. It ensures my house never turns into a complete disaster.
I'd love to say that I'm a neat freak and not messy at all however I have come to accept the fact that it's not true. I leave stuff all over and am not great at putting things away when I touch them plus I get distracted and move onto something else. Oh well, that's why I work hard!! So I can have someone make up for my shortcomings. :)
Video - When we were looking for our house our realtor talked about how with all the building going on around us, we would probably get to see some of the workers "throw" bricks. He said that's how they got bricks from the ground up to the scaffolding above. I've been looking for that and finally got to see it! I took a quick video. It's pretty cool. The brick worker takes multiple bricks, throws them to the guy above him, who catches all of them at once. I think it's pretty cool - you can watch.
We spent Kimber's last night over at Britt's house. Max finally had warmed up to them. He sat on Kimber's lap and here he cuddled with Ty. It's too bad they had to go back home and next time we will have to start from scratch. I love my sister, niece, and nephew. I am so glad they got to be here for so long and we could all celebrate the holidays together.
Video - Here is Max's goodbye wave. It's no longer the pageant wave.
Silly boy
Video - Max was singing in the car and I wanted to capture it so I held my phone over his car seat. I didn't realize until I watched the video later that he was waving with his hand.
Max hadn't been feeling too hot for weeks. At first I thought it was just a cold but then this week he had a fever, his cough was worse, and he just seemed sick even after his teeth broke through. I had regularly been putting essential oils on Max to help him get over whatever it was. I struggled with whether or not to take him to the doctor but eventually decided to go. I didn't want to not get him help if he was really sick with something that could only be helped with some medicine. So, on January 4th, to the pediatrician we went, for the very first time for anything other than a well child visit. (Not bad considering he's almost 18 months old.)
Trying to get into everything
I love when he stands on his tip toes. :)
His doctor checked him out and the good news was that it wasn't anything other than a possible cold. The bad news, that meant he would just have to get over it. It stinks to spend money to be told that nothing is wrong and nothing can be done. But, of course, Max is worth it and I was glad to have the peace of mind to know he was okay.
The last night of 2012 was fantastic. I am so grateful for my awesome sisters and their families. I am also grateful for our house and the space it provided for us to all hang out together.
Max happily played with his cousins all night.
Each year we make basically the exact same things to eat for our New Years' snacks. This year I wanted to shake that up so I challenged my sisters - we each had to try at least one new recipe.
Brittany testing her recipe.
The kids enjoyed their fort.
Hayden has no idea what's about to hit him...
Tackled by Max!!!
Look how big and awesome that fort it - thanks Aunt Kimi.
Love!
What a cute family.
My cute family.
Kimber's family with a photo bomb courtesy of Hayden.
Superman shots (and Kaity holding nothing). No one is having fun. (HA!)
The kids enjoying their celebratory virgin Pina Coladas.
Even Max got to enjoy some.
Our spread...
The new recipe items - (and because I'm blogging this 3 1/2 months later I can't completely remember)
Italian Sausage Hoagies
Jalapeno popper dip
cornbread jalapeno poppers
...and I don't remember anything else. We didn't end up making one of Kimberly's because it was too much food already. While it was all good, nothing was so amazing that we would make it again. Oh well - it was good to try something different!
Video - I can't get enough of this giggle. Peter is still the best at getting it.
Kisses for Aunt Brittany
Picnic dinner
TOnce the kids were down, we played Apples to Apples. We didn't even notice when midnight hit because we were having fun.
Small chance getting a picture without one of us pulling a face... :)
I called it a night earlier than everyone else (because Max was still going to get up at 7:00 regardless of a holiday or not) and they stayed up playing more Uno.
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.
