baby-proofing...

well...max likes shoes.

he will crawl across the living room and dining room to scoop up a pair of shoes.

somehow he reached under the ottoman coffee table and pull out one of my dirty old flip flops.

luckily i caught him just as he was about to put it in his mouth. yucky!

so...in the meantime until he gets past his shoe fetish...this is where we are keeping them.

our little linus...

max loves his soft blankets.

he was dragging this one around with him all morning.

awww...our little linus!

blueberry yogurt...

max tried yogurt for the first time today.

i made it myself with some smashed blueberries and some great organic plain yogurt from trader joes.

it was a little tart...but i think that max liked it...he ate the whole bowl!

hangin with aunt amie...

aunt amie spent a few days with us. she came up last thursday-friday just to relax for mini-vacation. and she was here again yesterday to watch max because daddy had to start his training for his 6 week long-term sub job.
thanks for visiting. max LOVES you! (and so do we!)

sunday dinner at grama's...

we had a spur of the moment cook-out at grama's on sunday.
this is the first of many this spring/summer!
there isn't a reason needed for these...just time to get together and enjoy grama's delicious cooking!
halfway through cooking the chicken...the grill ran out of propane. it was still yummy! that grama can cook! we got there early to help. max entertained himself on the kitchen floor.

chewing on his drumstick.

look at that bottom lip...too funny!

i'm pretty sure this kid's got great vision. in this picture he was reaching for a cat hair that was floating in the ray of sunshine!

seriously...no new toys for this guy. he was entertained with an empty water bottle for a good 20 minutes!

snuggling with grama.

max and uncle denny enjoying their favorite beverages!


teddy was nice enough to share his g.i. joe with max.


teddy might want to think twice next time....or he'll have a headless g.i. joe!

look at these two handsome guys!!! all ready to go home.

we have a crawler...

well...we officially have a crawler on our hands.
we are so proud of our little guy!
now...to do the last few bits of baby-proofing!

drinking and driving...

max had all kinds of fun today.

spending the day teething and playing with daddy.

apparently eating a handful of dirt.

hanging out with his aunt amie.

riding on his lion
giddy up!

working on his crawling skills


showing off his new big boy jammers.

and finally doing a little drinking and driving.

hopefully this doesn't become a habit! :)

batter up...

we took max to his first baseball game on tuesday.

we went with some people through my leadership fox cities class.

max got to meet a lot of neat people, take in the sights of a baseball game, meet fang, and spend some time with mommy and daddy.

max and mommy


checking out fang. (in the pic with fang i have 3 chins so i decided not to include it!)

family self-portrait!


snuggling with daddy

family photo on the way out of the park.

the human race 2010...

hello friends and family.

i am currently collecting pledges for a 5K walk and fundraiser called The Human Race.

please visit my online fundraising page for more information and i hope you would consider pledging me to help to support Youth Go!

http://humanrace2010.volunteercenter.net/Youthgo/khicks/

here are some photos from our group from the last two years!

spring break service trip to kentucky...

we are two proud parents...

I am happy to report that we had a great trip. It was amazing for me to sit back and watch these 8 high schoolers have fun, work hard, and make a difference. For some of them, throughout the week, I could see the burden that they carry from their lives at home being temporarily lifted off of their shoulders and watch real joy take its place!


Our group of 10 split up into two teams. My group worked on the house of an elderly woman named Mrs. Caudill. She had many issues with leg and joint pain as she spent her working years doing hair and standing on her feet. She lost her husband about 10 years ago to bone cancer. She was a lovely woman and was really touched by these kids. We scraped and repainted the wood around her windows and on the underside of her roof, installed new storm windows, painted her porch, did some yard work, and some interior cleaning. We ended our week by plating a rose bush in her yard so that she could always remember the kids! The other group, led by Drew, worked on a wheelchair ramp for a woman named Shirley. Shirley had polio as a child and was wheelchair bound. The first day they were there, she sat in the doorway to watch them work and visit with the group. As each day passed, because of the work that they did, she was able to gain independence and actually come outside of her home without the assistance of another person. They gave her a real sense of freedom by building the ramp and I think that really made an impact on the kids.
we hung out with some awesome kids...and even taught some of them new skills.


we colored easter eggs and celebrated easter with our youth go family!


we celebrated a few birthdays.


we danced to bluegrass.


we had campfires.


we saw beautiful things.

we drank lots of much needed coffee.


we played hard...but worked even harder.


we touched the lives of two precious women.


we celebrated a job well done!