our two year old...

maxwell joseph hicks...

i can't believe you are two years old! at your visit with you doctor, you weighed in at 38 1/2 pounds and measured at 36 1/2 inches. sometimes i think back to day 8 when you came out of your surgery...so small, so fragile, so helpless...and i am amazed at the big, strong, healthy boy you are today. sure, your breathing is still noisy and there is still more to come to fix that but i have faith that it'll all work out just fine.

you are so very smart. you can communicate so well and are able to tell us what you need most of the time. you know your alphabet and your colors. you can count to 15 consistently and sometimes try to get to 20. you love music, dancing, and playing instruments. your favorite toys right now are your basketball hoop, dinosaurs, and cars.

you go to bed around 8:30 and wake up around 7. you still are taking a good nap everyday and that makes momma and dada very happy. your naps range from 1 1/2 hours to sometimes even 4! you are a good eater. some of your favorites are bagel thins with cream cheese, blueberries, yogurt, peas, tomato, green beans, banana, and pancakes.

you love to read books and have so many of yours memorized. you like to read on your own and with others. your favorites are probably "i love you stinky face," "goodnight moon," and "llama, llama, red pajama."

you give great hugs and kisses, you like to comfort others when they are sad, and you love to initiate "family hugs."

we are so blessed to be your momma and dada. you make us so happy and we look forward to so many more years as a family.

blues clues birthday party...

on sunday we celebrated max's 2nd birthday with friends and family at our blues clues party!
the set up.

the loot.

the back deck.

the guests.

the cakes.

the blowing out of the candle.

the licking of the candle.

the first bite.

the licking of the cake(?).

so many of max's favorite people joined us to celebrate his birthday. he is such a lucky boy to have so many people that love him so much!

teddy got some cuddle time in with baby liam.

we moved inside so that max could open his gifts.
max got so many thoughtful and fun gifts.

hey austin, there's a dragon on your head!

trying out his new guitar from dada and momma.

max loved playing with the balloons.

after the guests left, the party hats became horns.

here are the blues clues characters that i made for the party. from left to right...mr. salt, tickity-tock, mrs. salt, and shovel and pail!
it made me smile that max knew who all of them were supposed to be! :)

max says "thank you" for all of the awesome presents!

we had a wonderful time and we are so glad that so many people came to celebrate with us.

a birthday, a wedding, and a dancing machine...

we started max's birthday with a special treat for breakfast...donut holes!

here he is trying to show me that he's "2."

not sure where he learned this trick.

mmmm.....

after enjoying breakfast and picking out his own "basketball" shirt, he helped grampa mark fix a chair.

then i let max open a gift before we hit the road for door county for the wedding.
a dinosaur!

he got so excited, he was swinging the paper around!

we started our drive and shortly into the trip, he took a snooze with his new friend.

we got there a little early, so we did some exploring.

checking out the lobby of the stone harbor resort in sturgeon bay.

then we walked down to the water to look at the geese and the boats. i think he may have been "honking" at the geese in this photo.

cheese!

after the ceremony, max needed to run around!

checking out the pool area and being a little peeping tom.

my two handsome guys!

momma and max.

we then headed in for dinner and the reception.

max thoroughly enjoyed his cupcake and then it was time to hit the dance floor!

cutting a rug with dada!

he was in awe of the band. he would watch them, then stop, bend over, and play the drums on the floor.

clapping along.

i don't remember the song that was playing...but he was singing along!

bust a move! (doesn't he look handsome!)

he was so tired, but he couldn't stop dancing!

we finally had to pick him up and convince him it was time to head home.
he must have been exhausted because i talked him into getting into his jammies and into the car!

fun times with grandparents...

grampa mark, great granny, and great gramps came to visit for max's birthday.

grampa and gramps spent some time on the computers.

granny and max watched a bit of the car movie.

and max enjoyed an apple...he ate the entire thing...including part of the core.

we went out to dinner and then enjoyed some play time outside.

max with his great grandparents!

max with his grampa mark!

thanks for the visit. we loved having you all here!

what a mess...

a day out with thomas...

drew took max to "a day out with thomas" in green bay.
here are the photos.
hopefully there will be a "guest blogger" to fill you in on the afternoon! (hint, hint drew!)