16-17 Months!

Happy Fall!  Considering my last post had pictures from 4th of July, I feel like it's probably been way too long since I've given any updates!  I'd like to say that I'll try to do better....but you all know how that goes...

Max seems to have grown and changed every day during the past 6 weeks or so.  His vocabulary is greatly improving...we now have at least 10 words that he remembers and can associate with their correct meanings....Mama, Dada (Daddy), Oma, Jiggs, Em (Ummmm), ball, car, uh-oh, night-night, hat, Nana, and yum-yum are the most common.  He still jabbers constantly...we figure one of these days that jabber will turn into complete sentences.  I'm sure it's all complete to him already!  We're trying really hard to get Gamma and Poppy, but he's still struggling with those.

Since Max has finally decided to start drinking milk again (only about a cup a day, but at least it's something), and because he pretty much eats non-stop, he is starting to pack on the pounds.  It seems like just this week his face and body have filled out more and he's starting to get too heavy to hold for a long (or even short) period of time.  Matt and I were discussing yesterday how tough he is.  He'll fall down and scrape his knees or run into or over something and it doesn't phase him at all.  He cries a lot more when his feelings are hurt than when he's physically hurt.  He is also going through a very obsessive-compulsive stage.  Everything has to be just-so, and when he can't make things work the way he thinks they should, he has little meltdowns.  They usually do not last very long, but can be interesting...I hope a lot of that will go away when he is better able to communicate what he wants/needs.

We've got a really busy next month or so coming up - Matt is going to Destin for his yearly work trip so Oma is coming to stay this coming weekend.  Then next weekend Aunt Em is coming for a while to stay with Max while Ms. Wanda has a week off.  We hope to get to go to Louisville while Aunt Em is here to see Maddie and Rivers (and Mariah and Mike, of course).  Then back to Vardaman the weekend of Oct 23 for my 10-year reunion.  Oh, and tomorrow (Sept 20) is our 7th anniversary!  Happy Anniversary Matt!

Here are some pictures from the last 6 weeks.  I posted a big batch to the shutterfly site as well...about 130 of them!  Have a great week!

Fun on the 4-wheeler

Caitlin's 3rd birthday party.  Max had a blast in the kiddie pool (he was in there for about 45-mins straight!)

With Jiggs & Toby

Big smile!

Check out those eyebrows!  (sorry you got those from Mama, Max)

Busy July!!

Happy Monday!  Just a quick post to let you know what we've been up to this month...

The month of July has been super busy for us!  We started out with a trip to Vardaman for the 4th.  Two weeks after that, Matt and I went with Stacia & Charlie to Chicago to visit Lindsay for a long-ish weekend.  Oma and Jiggs came to keep Max for the weekend.  It was so hard leaving him for 3 nights, but we got to see him each day on Skype and he had a blast wrapping Oma and Jiggs (even more) around his little finger. 

Belle & Reagan also came in from Texas a couple of weeks ago, so Max has had a great time playing with them.  He is definitely jealous when they take up his time with his daddy....he pushes them away when they try to sit in Matt's lap.  The girls are coming to stay with us Saturday afternoon/night so I'll try to get some pictures of them then. 

Last Thursday I had a birthday - the big 28!  Thanks to all for the birthday wishes!  I am so blessed to have an amazing group of friends and family!

This past weekend was Nana Pearl's birthday and Lyndsey's wedding shower in Vardaman.  Matt decided to stay home and paint the kitchen (Fiestaware Orange to a gray-ish blue), and Max and I spent the weekend in MS.  Thanks to Jordan for bringing us back today, and we're super excited that she is spending the week with us! 

Here are a few pics for your viewing pleasure.  More are on the shutterfly site (Picture Albums link to the left).

This was taken in a glass box 108 floors above the streets of Chicago (top of the Sears tower).  So cool...those are the tops of skyscrapers you see.

Amazing friends, amazing view!  The Windy City, living up to its name!

Fun in the sun.  Note the red nose...he fell off a chair at the pool and scraped a layer of skin off his nose.  Poor baby! :(

With Aunt Em!

Nana Pearl & Oma

Nana with the granddaughters (L-R) Lauren, Me, Lyndsey, Jordan, Emily

15(ish) Months!

Tomorrow my baby will be 15 months old!  I know I say this often, but it's so hard to believe how fast time flies lately!  Everyone who sees Max lately says they just can't believe how much he's grown.  Matt and I comment all the time that it really seems like overnight he's become a little boy, no longer a baby. 

What we've been up to:

Outside time!  We try to find times on the weekends to get outside.  Because it's been so hot, this hasn't been as often as we'd like.  Usually when we do find time to play outdoors, it involves water.  This was taken after playing on Max's water mat and then a few rolls in the dirt and grass.  As we learned on vacation, it's hard to keep him in one place for one time.  He gets wet and has to run around everywhere. 

I promise this picture was not staged.  Lately three things seem to be Max's favorites:  His belly, remote controls, and "relaxing" on the couch.  This moment was priceless.

4th of July weekend we went to Vardaman and had a blast swimming in Ms. Karen's pool, feeding the fish, picking blueberries in Jiggs' garden, and chasing Toby and Gracie around the house.  This picture was taken after a long day of all of the above activities.  Sleepy baby.

Before & After haircut pictures.  MUCH NEEDED haircut!  Such a handsome little man.

Happy 4th of July!!

Somebody decided to assert his "Independence" on July 4th by pushing the wagon around the yard instead of riding in it.  This went on for about a half-hour, until we realized that the mosquitos had eaten Max alive.  Some of those bites are still visible...I guess they just love his soft baby skin.

As always, many more pictures are added to the shutterfly site (link to the left).  Hope you're all having a great summer so far! 

More Pictures

Hey everybody!  The pics from vacation are posted on the shutterfly site now.  Hope you enjoy!  There are a lot - all the way back to Mothers Day in Vardaman, so be sure to click "View Album" to see all of them.