oh christmas tree...

we did a little bit of tree decorating last night.
drew and i figured we'd just put a few ornaments on until he realized that they were supposed to stay on the tree.
that way we hopefully won't have to spend time each night putting them back on!


my perfectionism is having a panic attack looking at all these ornaments cluttered together on the bottom branches! :)

and more than one ornament on one branch...is a good thing i love you buddy or else i would have already moved them!

motorcycle...

aunt heidi got max this motorcycle for his birthday.
it had been at my mom's for the longest time.
he noticed it in the garage last night after he hit the panic button on my keys and drew had to run out there to get the darn car to stop honking!

the battery hadn't been charged so drew pushed him around on it for awhile.
it was a riot watching those two play!
then max decided that he wanted to push.

then the frustration set it.
this is him "cheesing" and whining at the same time!
we'll have to get that thing charged up for him so he can ride it tonight!

it's beginning to look a lot like christmas...

we have started to slowly break out the christmas decorations.

max is a fan of the santa hat.
big surprise? nope, not at all.

he also really enjoys the peanuts characters.
we do not as he pushes the button repeatedly.

he is just too stinkin cute!

we put the tree up without ornaments so that he can get used to it.
it's so cute. he runs up to it with such an excited face, gets as close as he can and just stares in awe.

i can't wait for us to get the rest of the house ready for christmas!

17 months...

mr. max...you are 17 months old.
you are stubborn, sweet, smart, and stylish (that one is thanks to mommy!).
you love to play with cars, chase libby, try to climb the stairs, open and close doors, wear hats, take baths, and you still love to read books.
you are such a talker. you are now trying to say words with all of their syllables.
you like to try to count to 5 but the numbers go in a different order each time! :)
you are becoming a pickier eater. you are sensitive to textures, temperature, and flat out don't like meats.
you bring us so much joy. it is amazing to watch you discover things.
you bring us so much love. we can't get enough of your snuggles, hugs, and kisses.
you bring us so much happiness. every day you make us smile with something that you say or do!

playing cars...

max is loving his cars lately.
he rolled this one all around the house today.

i love it when he lays on the floor and plays like this!

grinch...

max is not feeling the greatest.
this morning after breakfast, we decided to watch a movie.
i put in "how the grinch stole christmas."

look at those crossed feet!

he just realized it was the grinch (he has the book and stuffed animals from kohls)

waving "hi" to the grinch.

i ran upstairs and grabbed his buddies.

he enjoyed the rest of the movie snuggled up like this!
how precious!

great minds...

...think alike.
both gramas showed up today with an awesome chair for max.

this one was from my mom.
we put it in max's room for him to read his books in.

this one was from drew's mom.
it'll stay in the family room and will be max's seat for many packer games!

happy thanksgiving...

i couldn't pick just one!

thanksgiving at the hicks household...

we hosted thanksgiving at our new house this year.
the morning started off in a bit earlier than i had hoped.
max decided that we should all be awake at 6:30.

we spent some time playing, watching tv, and reading books.

i went to get the turkey started at 9ish and was unpleasantly surprised by the fact that it was still partially frozen. it had been sitting in the fridge since monday.

after i calmed down and the disaster was avoided, we finished the rest of our preparations.

company started arriving at 12, right after max woke up from his nap.

max was checking out the black friday adds...toys r us, upside down, and missing a sock!

amie looks afraid...i'd be afraid too sitting with those two!

max and grama got in some snuggle time!

check out that spread of delicious sides

lindsay showing off her brussel sprout specialty!

enjoying the meal and the company.

heidi was the obvious favorite of the dogs...she shared her pumpkin pie!

appleton christmas parade...

last night was the appleton christmas parade.
i was so looking forward to us going as a family and making it a tradition.
the weather forecast was a balmy 22...so i didn't think the conditions would be best for a good time.
so we made an alternate plan.
we invited becky over to watch the parade with us, ordered up some little caesars pizza, and got ready for the show.
max was hil.ar.i.ous.
he was waving at the people walking in the parade, pointing out all the "cool cars," and dancing along with all of the high school bands.
it was pretty precious.

we managed to make the best out of the situation and made some great memories.

max loves football...

opposite game...

max loves to play the opposite game already! :)

veggie tales live...

today we headed to waukesha for veggie tales live.

i'm not sure who was more excited...daddy or max?

here are all three boys before the show...

what goes better with singing vegetables then a glass of milk?

and here are a few of our vegetable friends.

this was about 15 minutes in when he finally realized what was going on.

after this point he started shaking back and forth and busting out a few dance moves.

we made it to just before intermission.

max was ready to nap.

we headed to the bathroom for a diaper change and then decided our best bet would be to leave with the good memories we had made, rather than try to struggle through the second half.

having a drink of water before leaving.

he is hilarious drinking out of a water bottle!

me, max and dad.

me, max, and drew.

and on the ride home...like father, like son!

now that...

...is some serious bed head!

i guess that is what happens after a 3 1/2 hour nap!

ummmm...

does this mean he's done?

cheese...

tales tantrum...

so, max loves veggie tales.
he stands in the family room, points at the tv and demands "tales!"
well, momma said "no" and this is what i got.
a little tales tantrum.

then he realized i had the camera out and was taking pictures...

...and the quick switch to a smile.
goodness gracious!

what do you want for breakfast...

max's answer....PEAS!
here you go buddy. you eat peas, i'll drink coffee.

and the verdict....

so long wheaties. peas...the new breakfast of champions!