a great couple of days...

we had a great day weekend. max's was feeling better and was back to his regular napping schedule.

here is max sporting a new t-shirt from his grammie.


daddy and max getting things ready to leave to go look at a house that we are interested in.


max loves his blanket. this is how he usually falls asleep...holding the blanket to his nose and face. we use it as a "test" to see if he's sleepy or not.


he had fun rolling around on the rug snuggling with his blanket.

an interesting fact about this blanket...my mom actually bought it while drew and i were in ireland...weeks before max came into our lives. it has horseshoes on the ribbon around it and has lucky embroidered on the bottom. it's perfect!


i'm not quite sure of you mr. lion...


well, maybe we could be friends.


i think we will have lots of fun together.

i hope you don't mind if i give you a kiss...

8 months...

on thursday our little man turned 8 months.
has it really been that long?
i can't believe it!

max loves...
to eat - cereal and oatmeal, any fruits, and all veggies except carrots.
to play - right now his shape blocks and stackable rings seem to be his favorites
to look out the window
to giggle and smile at the dogs
to play with daddy - max just lights up when he's spending time with daddy
to read books

max is getting close to being mobile. he knows that he can roll toward whatever he sets his sights on. he is can turn himself around on his belly. he just started to figure out how to go from sitting to being on his belly. he's not to graceful or careful yet...but he's getting there.

he is such a friendly, happy, fun little guy.

as long as he's not tired or hungry, he's full of smiles and lots of fun!

first family vacation (thursday and friday)...

thursday we woke up and waited for the rest of our crew to arrive.

uncle ryan, aunt leslie, and cousin hayden got in first.

we spent some time hanging out on the floor.

ryan and max made silly faces.

then the daddies fed their boys.

then it was time to play.
i loved that max and hayden interacted with each other. they were both very interested in what the other one was doing or what the other one was playing with. i think these two are going to get into lots of trouble together!

what a handsome guy!


hayden let max try out his firetruck.

then max's grammie arrive and we got ready for the waterpark.

ryan grabbed his six pack and was ready to go!

what a stud!

mommy and daddy

max's grama and grammie! what a lucky guy!

max hung out with his daddy.

ryan, leslie, and hayden played in the wave pool.

then it was back to the room to change, shower, nap, and take care of business.

we spent the rest of the evening just laying low.

after the boys went to bed ryan, leslie, drew and i headed to the casino.

i didn't get any pictures but we mainly walked around, talked, and played.

i ended the night up $1, ryan won enough to pay for their share of the room for the night...and well, drew, he lost a few bucks. we had a good time and quite a few laughs.

friday morning we packed things up and relaxed. ryan, leslie, and hayden went back for some more waterpark fun. we all left around 11. drew, grama, max and i made a stop at the outlet mall. i, as usual, found a few bargains!

we made it home safely and are excited that we still have the weekend left to hang out!

first family vacation (wednesday)...

for our first "family" vacation, we decided to go to wisconsin dells.

drew and i had magical thoughts in our head of how fun and wonderful it would be
max loves bathtime, so why wouldn't he love to be in a giant bath?

well, i guess we didn't figure that max's bathtime fun doesn't usually include hundreds of other people, loud and strange noises, and unfamiliarity. add to that a stuffy nose and a the fact that he is cutting a tooth...it was not wonderful. it was still fun and minus us being stressed parents, it was fun to get away and spend time with the family that joined us.

wednesday drew, grama, max and i arrived at glacier canyon lodge at the wilderness resort and checked into our room.

we had lunch and got familiar with our surroundings.


grama helped max get changed into his swim trunks and then he waited patiently for the rest of us to get ready.

we got a quick family photo and headed to one of the indoor parks.

max was really unsure of the water


but he was perfectly content just hanging out and cuddling with grama.

look at that belly!

after a while we headed back to the room for naps.

max had a great nap, played with daddy and then it was time to make dinner.

max wanted to help grama...

after max went down for the night, we got to play my new game.

all in a day's work...

today was another busy day for max.

he started off with a morning snack...

he decided it was time for some munching on his toes.

then it was bathtime!

look at that belly!

we tried letting him feed himself a few steamed cubes of sweet potato...but he just mashed them onto the tray.

finally he ended his day with some good 'ol play time.

girls weekend...

we've been a little stir crazy lately and the cabin fever was at an all time high. it was time for a girls weekend.

we started off our excursion with a trip to trader joes and then lunch at the cheesecake factory.

max was relaxing in his chair and watching all the ladies enjoying their delicious food.


diane, darla, and pam.

we ventured to the mayfair mall for lots of shopping and in my case, bargain hunting.

my deal of the day...3 pairs of pants for work for less than $30!!!

we went to check into the hotel and then hurried down to the lobby for their free happy hour.

max and all of the girls....grama v, darla, pam, and meredith!

here is proof that i was actually there...a self portrait of meredith and i.


here is max's reaction to the flash. he is just too much sometimes!


relaxing at the end of the day...max style!


relaxing at the end of the day...grown up style.
chocolate fondue and wine! perfect!


good morning...someone looks ready for more!

we headed out to the brookfield mall for a bit and were back home by 2:00.
a great time with great company!