Max & Drake

This weekend our friends, Jill, Tyler, Todd, as well as  Kelli, Brandon and Drake came to visit. We stayed around the house talking and laughing--remembering countless crazy stories.

Max and I left for a little bit to celebrate  my friend Kelly's son Cayden's birthday. Max had a blast playing with all of the kids at the party, but was excited to get back to the crowd at home.

We all went to Beach Bums for dinner, and they put us in our own special room to separate us from the rest of the customers. It was probably a good idea because the boys were able to go crazy. We blocked off the back of the restaurant and they ran around causing trouble. After we ate, our childless friends met up with a few other people @ Duty's while the poor parents had to go home and put the kiddies to bed. ;)

This morning we all woke up (well, really Max and Drake woke up) and we had a tasty breakfast of eggs, sausage, and homemade apple cinnamon waffles  The waffles were excellent- I would recommend making them with sugar and cinnamon apples sometime. Here are some pictures of  Max and Drake eating together.

The boys were very entertaining. They ran around the house screaming and playing with their Uncle's Todd and Tyler. Todd of course taught Max to say Dude as soon as he saw him. It was great spending time with everyone! 

Visiting T-Town

A couple of weekends ago, Max and I went to Toledo for a few days. We had so much fun visiting with one of my best friends, Mandie, and my family. Max was giving lots of smooches and loved being with his family.
Mandie and I met at the old Franklin Park Mall- which is completely different from when I was growing up. They have the coolest Family Lounge ever!!  Max was a very good boy and held Aunt Mandie's hand the whole time. After we shopped for awhile we decided to eat at the Elephant Bar. The food was delicious and it was nice being able to sit and talk for a couple of hours. I miss living close to my oldest friends! Here is a picture of Max and his Aunt Mandie (he was able to say her name which made Aunt M very happy). He is obsessed with chap stick, so his lips are super red.

The rest of the weekend was spent with the Bodenmillers. We watched football and stayed warm. Nana and Papa made a Thanksgiving dinner part 2 because we got a free turkey from my Uncle Terry's work--I won't pass up stuffing and green bean casserole;) G-Norm came over and we all hung out for the rest of the weekend.  My mom gave Max an early Valentine's day gift. He dove RIGHT into the box- didn't even stop to look at it. When we got home I put the box with the rest of  the candy in his closet. He spotted it right away and every night before bed he asks, "Piece, Piece!" begging for another piece of chocolate. Here are some pictures of him chowing down.

She also gave me beautiful amethyst necklace and shirt for my birthday. What a surprise!! We are very lucky to have our family close.

Our Second Baby Boy

On Tuesday, January 18th, we all went to the Dr.'s to see our new baby. Clint and I were really excited to find out how the baby and I were doing and of course to find out if the baby was a boy or girl. Max didn't stop saying, "Baby! Baby!" the whole time I was getting the ultrasound. We were happy to find out that soon Max would have a new baby brother to play with!! That means more beeps, blocks, and balls for many years to come :) Our little boy should arrive around June 2nd or 3rd. Now the hard part--coming up with a name. We had a kind of hard time trying to think of a name for Max, so I wonder what we will decide. I'm not sure if we will keep it a secret this time or not....My  dad suggests Ernie (I think for his middle name Ernest) and my mom likes Cooper. We will see.

The picture above is from my ultrasound at 13 weeks. It is actually better than the pictures we got yesterday. Baby (I told Sarah I was going to call  him Otis Stanley) was all curled up in a ball-his knees were touching his head--so we couldn't see him very well. As soon as I get the pictures on my computer I will post them.

Max's First Haircut

Well, almost two years after Max was born, he finally had his first haircut last Tuesday. I think we were more nervous about the process than he was! As you can see in the pictures, he did a great job. No tears were shed, no screaming tantrums...just his serious face watching every move the hairdresser made. He loved watching his hair disappear and was fascinated with the razor. Clint and I were very proud of him :)

After his haircut we went out to eat at Red Lobster-my old home away from home ;) The cheddar bay biscuits were as delicious as ever. 

Sledding

Today we tried to take Max sledding for the first time. We got all bundled up and packed into the yellow bus (Escape) and headed to a hill we thought would be perfect. Unfortunately, it wasn't open! So, we came home and had fun playing in the backyard.

 Max was very curious about the snow. At first, he was skeptical about walking into it, lol. After a few minutes his courage increased and he was running and jumping into a big snow pile dad made for him. We had a great time. 

  
Here, I am about to teach him how to make a snow angel. He wasn't so sure.....

                        
               Clint pulled him around the backyard. Nice workout!

                             Now it is time for some hot chocolate!

Christmas 2010

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Max's "smile" :)

This year we were able to spend a very peaceful Christmas day at home. It was so much fun watching Max open his gifts. He had a great time playing with everything! I am glad we were able to be at home and enjoy that time together.

On Sunday we traveled to Toledo to visit my parents, Grandma Norma, and Uncles Dave and Zach. Max loved seeing his Nana and Papa and of course couldn't stop talking about them for a while after we left. Nana, Clint and I took him to The Children's Wonderland. He LOVED the train!

Then, on Thursday, we drove down to Noblesville, IN to visit Kelli, Brandon, Drake and Grandma Carol. The boys actually played nicely together and shared most of their toys. They had so many to open it took all afternoon. 

On Friday, we celebrated with Gramps and Gamma in Churubusco. The Lockwoods came up and we had a delicious breakfast. The boys once again had lots of fun opening up their toys and playing in Kidland :)