such a character...

max is quite the card.

there's not really a better way to describe it.

always coming up with stories, made up worlds, and using his imagination.

this is max's version of noah's ark with a pirate ship.

here, he is being the lone ranger.
he and drew (tonto) were riding around the house rescuing people.

after our last children's hospital visit we went to cheesecake factor after our appointments.
when the waitress took our drink order, max asked for "red dragon juice."

the end result was strawberry lemonade...and that worked for him!

and his reward for 3 hours of doctor's appointment...cheesecake! :)

we headed out on an adventure to cabellas.
max was digging through this display and found this opossum.
seriously, who chooses an opossum?  we just thought it was too precious to not get it for him.

he decided to put on grama's boots and the superbowl party!

for career day he went as a doctor...quite the handsome doctor if i do say so myself!

on the way to grama's the other day, he wanted to wear a superhero mask.
he wanted to be in disguise and surprise her! :)

some mornings max asks for coffee.
right now milk in a coffee cup works.
i can't even handle the thought of him turning 5 this summer...i don't want to think about him drinking real coffee! :)

gig at lawrence...

drew was asked to play at lawrence for an afro-carribean club event with tani diakite from west africa.

max was loving the music and was playing the drums in his chair.

some of the students got max up to dance with them.
he got right int he middle of their circle and danced and danced.

he even got in their for a picture with the band.

someone was disappointed that he couldn't go along with daddy to his second gig of the night.

checking out the gamblers...

we headed to our first hockey game a few weeks ago with some good friends.
max was very excited.
it also happened to be the teddy bear toss night.
for those of you who know max, he LOVES stuffed animals...i was worried it'd be hard for him to give up the stuffed animals that we had picked out.

here he is.  ready for the game to begin with stuffed animals in hand.

we talked about the various books, stuffed animals, and blankets he'd received during different hospital visits and stays and how they had made him feel more comfortable and safe.

before tossing them, he made a wish and whispered it in it's ear and then gave it a kiss.
so sweet!

ready to toss!

the collected so many animals...it was amazing.

here is max with a couple of his new buddies.
thanks for the invitation and the great night!

snow shoeing adventure...

we had the chance to go snowshoeing for the first time at the apple creek y a few weeks ago through neenah rotary.

none of us had ever been before and we were excited to try it out.
max was totally into it.  whenever there are "accessories" involved...he can't help himself.  with snowshoeing...it was the poles.  :)

daddy and max enjoying the trails! 

just one of me to prove i was there!

and finally, an attempt at a family shot with the timer on the camera.

we had a great time and ran into many friends while exploring.
we are looking forward to the chance to go again soon!

bowling and dinner with grampa mark...

grampa mark made a visit a few weeks ago.

after an exciting morning...captain america had to take a nap in the car.

so, my dad jokes all the time about taking the grandkids camping.
we thought he should experience all of them together...
so we decided to meet in fond du lac to go bowling.

max was PUMPED!

we used this little roller devise.  it saved us a lot of time!

someone was happy with their performance. :)

uncle ryan was a little warm and had to roll up the sweatpants....wow.

thumbs up from hayden!

grampa mark is a pretty good bowler...he was giving some pointers to the boys!

celebrating with dad.

grampa mark and his granddaughter!

the kids had a blast...and the adults did too!

we ended the night with dinner at buffalo wild wings.
thanks for the great visit grampa!

creating at the fire...

i got a gift card for my birthday to the fire.

max and i headed there after school on a friday to create something together.

max was excited.  he was interested in checking everything out and was very opinionated in choosing our project.  we looked a lot of options and finally settled on creating a mosaic bird.

me and my little artist.

this is how we left it when we were done.

and the finished product after grouting.

a couple of cold days...

these pictures were from the first batch of really cold days.

just chillin with my little buddy.

trying out a cool playdoh toy from grama.

mustachio man!

he decided he needed to be daddy's helper to install the new toilet.  

the coldest day so far of the year and he decides he isn't go to wear a shirt...

what a silly guy.  at least we got in some good snuggles!

new years eve...

(so...i'm a little behind...but better late than never!)

we ventured over to the stachowiak's annual new years party...pajamas, fondue, and beer tasting!

audrey, hannah and max posing for a quick picture.

the spread...it was so good.
beer cheese with bread, veggies, pickles, pretzels, and sausage.
broth for beef tenderloin.
and chocolate with fruit, pretzels, and angel food cake.

these two got tired out and decided to rest and watch some "up."

me and my favorite little guy!

i picked up some sparkling grape juice for the kids...his facial expressions are hilarious!

two cool dudes!

max enjoying some chocolate fondue.

thanks stachowiaks for always hosting such a fun party!