Things in Max's Bed

We started putting books in Max's bed when he was old enough to look at them by himself when he would wake up in the mornings to keep him entertained. He's also always slept with a little blankie I made him and a creature he calls "Feet-Feet" from Dr. Seuss's The Foot Book. However, things have recently gotten out of hand. Currently his bed is also occupied by Elmo, a puppy, and a teddy bear, along with about 4 books. When we put him to bed tonight, he asked for Thomas and Percy, so they are with him tonight too. I'm fairly certain he had a couple cars with him at naptime that were left in there too. So if you're keeping track, that's at least 13 items...oh and there's also his pillow and a blanket in case he gets cold. Is there room for a boy in that crib?!?

Snow Day!

Icicles - check!

 

Cold weather gear - check!

 (I think Max had on 3 shirts, a fleece pullover and his jacket - also, it's difficult to put gloves on a toddler!)

No work - check! (only half day for Matt - sorry babe!) 

Hot chocolate - check!

But wait....there's something missing....

Can you tell what it is?

Oh yeah... 

NO SNOW!    (boo)

TWO

Max, you're two! Well, you have been for like 3 weeks now, but you know mommy is a little slow with the updates sometimes.
Stats: 28 lbs 10 oz, 35 3/4 in.
You have been talking like crazy since around Christmas. You say at least one new word every day and you've been making more sentences, most of which involve telling us what to do - "sit mommy here", or telling Annie what to do - "Annie go pee-pee" (as in wanting to her, the dog, to use the potty).
You would play outside all day if you could.
Your favorite food is pizza and I'm pretty sure your second favorite (other than dessert) is canned peas or green beans.
It's so fun to watch you play and interact with other kids now.
It's such a time of growth and learning, and we are constantly amazed at things you figure out or remember.

 

The sweetest words we hear are "I love you Mommy" and "I love you Daddy". 

We love you too buddy!

When did this happen?!

I'm not sure when it happened...
But this is my baby...

I don't know who this 2 year old little boy is or where he came from!

Okay, I like him too. He can stay.

Texas Bowl

Baylor finally made it to a bowl game and luckily for us it was here! It was fun to go to the game and enjoy the atmosphere.  The game itself was another story but we put it behind us and we're focusing on the fact that they did actually play in a bowl game this year.  We decided to make a night of it since our anniversary was last week too. We got a room at the Hotel ZaZa, a hotel that's too cool for us. Our room had a great view of the pool, although this picture doesn't do it justice.

Thursday morning we stopped to see a movie (True Grit - we highly recommend it) and ate popcorn for lunch before heading back home to the baby (okay...toddler, boy, guess I can't call him baby anymore). So regardless of the outcome of the game it was a fun night out and thanks again to Nanny and Great-Nanny for babysitting!


 

December

 I'll just sum up the whole month in one post. The Christmas season has been so fun with Max. He loved looking at Christmas lights. We took a hayride around one of the neighborhoods close to us that always has really good lights, and we also went to a place that has a train that goes through a large light display. That was a hit - 2 of his favorite things at once! I think the hayride will become an annual tradition. As for Christmas itself, it was a little hectic at times but so much fun with Max. He still didn't really get the idea of opening presents. On Christmas morning at our house, he was much more interested in playing with the toys that he already had than in opening presents. We spent a couple days before Christmas at my parents' house and celebrated Christmas on Christmas Eve morning. Max loves his grandparents, great-grandma, and Aunt Ellen! It's so fun to hear him say all their names now, and he had so much fun playing with all of them. 

That afternoon we came back home for our Christmas Eve church service and then dinner with Matt's family.  We enjoyed a quiet Christmas morning at home with presents and cinnamon rolls.

 

Then on to the next stop - Matt's parents' for more presents and lunch. 

It was fun with all three kids opening presents and playing. 

Round 3 (or 4?) - Some of Matt's family came down on Sunday so we were back for a few more presents and more eating! Two more kids were added to the mix so they all had another fun day of playing.

By that evening, we were all definitely ready for some rest. I think Max took a nap that afternoon for the first time in 5 days. At least he had slept well at night over that stretch. We had a good week at home last week and celebrated the New Year in our pj's with a kiss and a toast.

Now...the countdown to Max's birthday!

Fall in Indiana

A long time ago (well...back in October) we took a trip to Indiana to visit my sister and see autumn (although now that it's December, our maple trees are looking very colorful - so if anybody says south Texas doesn't have fall, you can just tell them we do, it just doesn't happen until after Thanksgiving). Anyway, we drove and we were a little scared about a two-day drive with Max but he was great in the car. We had lots of fun with Aunt Ellen, discovered that Max truly does not like to sleep anywhere other than his own bed (not counting the car), played in the leaves, ate good food, and had a nice little vacation.

He felt that he had to sit on the pumpkin