W, X, Y, & Z

I wrapped up Maxwell's alphabet book on Monday. I made my deadline. This alphabet book was particularly hard because of my subject. He does not like to follow directions or look at the camera. I'd be OK with this if we were just taking some casual every day pictures, but the alphabet project kinda depends on Max's interaction with certain props.

Judd mentioned last night that the alphabet book project is yet another reason that we won't have a third kiddo - I'm just not sure I have it in me. They'd probably be going off to college and I'd be pleading with them to smile in front of a Zebra at the Zoo while they zip up their Zipper.







Don't ask me how this happened. Since I had the 50mm on the camera, I had to back up pretty far. They stayed like this for about 2 min, just holding hands looking at me. A little girl even came in and photo bombed a couple of the shots. I knew it was going to be a great morning when I got this picture, and it certainly was.

Maxwell turns 2

Max celebrated a birthday today. He turned 2. I was rocking him tonight singing to him and thinking back to when he was a baby. How much he has changed in two years. He is such an awesome little boy. I laid him in his bed. He was clutching one of his new trucks in his hand. I thought there isn't a better way for a 2 year old birthday boy to go to bed, but to have one of his new trucks in his hand.

We started the day off with donuts. Chocolate with sprinkles. Charlotte was allowed to stay home from school this morning so she could hang out with the birthday boy. We headed off to the zoo.

We had the best morning. They were both very good. Since Max isn't really a fan of the stroller for longer than 2 minutes, I opted to go without it. He walked through the entire zoo. I think the longest I carried him was when I had to take him kicking and screaming away from the playground when it was time to leave. It was such a freeing feeling!

First stop was to see the stinky flamingos, then it was off to feed the parakeets. The zoo was pretty empty this morning and the parakeets were ready to eat. We haven't had them eat off our sticks like they did this morning, Charlotte loved it.



Max giggled every time a bird would take a bite for the first few bites. It was really cute.



We walked through the warthogs, giraffes, zebras, lions, monkeys, then to the gorillas. The gorillas were all out enjoying the beautiful weather, playing with their babies. We had a great time watching them. Max would pound on his chest like a little gorilla.





We saw some of the pandas, then stopped for a quick snack and took a look at our map. Charlotte was able to follow the map surprisingly well. She would point and know right where we were. She carried it with her the entire way through the zoo.



Next up, the kangaroos and the petting zoo.





Then, the best part! The rides!



However, Max freaked when it was time to go on the train. He wanted NOTHING to do with it. Luckily, Charlotte was just tall enough to ride by herself. She was thrilled to be able to go by herself. She sat in the front seat and waved to us as the "engineer" yelled "ALL ABOARD!". I was really proud of her, but also really sad. Today, she seemed really grown up to me.

We spend some time at the playground, but then needed to get back for Max to get a nap in before his 2 year well check.

He wasn't so sure about his check up at first, and there was some screaming and tears, but by the end he was giving the Dr. a high five. Here are his stats:

Weight: 29lbs, 76%
Height; 37.25", 99%
Head: 20", 97%

He is saying new words everyday and is very expressive. He is sensitive, but tough. He wants me to kiss every bump or scrape, but he rarely cries when they happen. He loves to cuddle and hug, but wants his freedom too. He thinks he is just as big as any other kid. He is happy to play by himself with his trucks or trains. He knows his colors and shapes.

He is doing well with school and didn't cry at drop off at all last week. He is still taking his paci at night and at naps, but I think it's days are drawing to a close soon. I have to pull the plug, I'm just not ready!! We are no where near ready to potty train.

He is just such an awesome little guy and I'm so thankful that God gave him to us.

Snuggled

Snuggled in our bed on a cool morning watching cartoons.

Our Dining Table

Judd made it clear that next year major renovations were not going to happen in the house. Since we just did the kitchen in February, he would like to put our money in other things. While I would love do redo our master bath, I will be stepping out of the shower onto 12 inch hunter green tiles for a while longer.

Since I can't do any major renovations, I have decided to spruce up the living room area. We have a large vaulted ceiling living room. It is an awkward space to arrange. What we ended up doing was splitting the room in half and make one half a dining room, the other half the living room. It works nicely, and my Grammie's table is the perfect size for the room.

(When my grandparents moved from their apartment to the assisted living facility, my Grammie gave me their dining room table and hutch. My parents shipped it down to me and it has been in our dining room ever since. )

You may remember that last January, I decided to give painting the table a try. Well, as I stated in that post, it was going to be somewhere in 2013 that I was going to finish it, if that. Also, the paint was kinda peeling and it just wasn't looking good - I did something wrong with the waxing portion of the project.

I knew that Allison's mom started a furniture painting business, Fanci Seats, so I enlisted her help. She and Allison came to pick up the table on Saturday, then three weeks later a beautifully painted black table and chairs returned to my doorstep.

I love the way it looks. I didn't really know what to expect and it turned out better than I imagined it could. I'm not sure how she does it, but it looks like a factory paint job. Whenever I paint chairs, there is always a drip mark or the paint pools in the corners. These are so smooth.

When she dropped off the table, we quickly loaded the bottom of the hutch into her car. I can't wait to get that back. I'm not going to paint the top of the hutch. I've decided to use just the bottom and have it serve as a buffet.





It is a good, solid table that is a great size for the area. I'm so happy that I decided to preserve it rather than go with something new. Plus, I like to think that my Grammie and Grandpop know that we are eating a lot of meals around it. I'm sure they would love that.

We have also replaced the old brass fans in the room. Rather than put a new fan in over the table, we draped a chandelier to fall directly over it. Previously, there was a fan that hung down over one side of the table - centered for the room, but not how we were using it. The new lighting makes a big difference. We are having the room painted in the next couple of weeks. After that, we will be trying to figure out what to do with the brass fireplace cover.

U & V

R, S, & T

I have 7 days to wrap this up before his 2nd birthday...that's my deadline. I think I can, I think I can, I think I can....

I just can here his little voice when I look at this picture. He is saying, "Dat?" Even though he knows what "dat" is because we have read "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" 1000 times.



I'm not so sure there's a better one than her. She loves him more than I ever dreamed she would.



This is his truck he got for his first birthday. His preferred method is not to sit in it, but push it up and down the driveway 500 times, every day.

Weekend in Asheville

This past weekend we spent in a house in the woods near Asheville. The house was great and was able to accommodate all 15 of us comfortably, complete with a fireplace. We even roasted some smores on the fireplace Saturday night.

Saturday morning we woke up and went to a pumpkin patch to pick up a pumpkin and some apples. It was a beautiful day. We enjoyed driving through the mountains to the patch. Charlotte and Max picked out a great pumpkin for us.







(These three played, talked, and enjoyed each other's company all weekend. The house had two lofts above the bedrooms. I barely saw Charlotte all weekend. She and Lilly made a Clubhouse in their loft complete with a long set of rules. They stayed hidden up there for hours at a time.)



We had to take a ride on the Cow Train after picking our pumpkin.





After that lovely cow train trip around the orchard, we headed into the barn to pick up some apples. Charlotte made sure that we picked up some Granny Smiths to make some pie. (Just the day before she received an Amelia Bedelia book about making apple pie) Max picked some out just for Charlotte.





Sunday was a rainy day. Max woke up very cranky and pulled at his ear a couple of times. He also felt slightly warm to me. I ended up taking him to a Minute Clinic and got a prescription for antibiotics. He was out of sorts, but then took a 3 hour nap that afternoon. After that he seemed much better, though he was still running a fever. Sunday night was a little touch and go - he was up a lot more than usual.

We all just kinda hung out on Sunday. The ladies were able to sneak away for a little while for some shopping and Starbucks which was a nice treat.

Monday we packed up and headed out. I was sad to leave. I wished we had one more day to explore the area.

Here's one that Frank snapped of all of us on the last day.

All in a line

If there is one thing I'll remember about Max's toddler years will be his obsession for lining up his cars. He ever so carefully puts them in a line, one by one. The way his hands gently push the cars - and he watches them move so closely. It is fascinating to watch.

The "wittle twuck" gets pushed in place:



next up, the mixer (which was his dad's)



then, a moving truck



Lastly, a rescue truck (also his dad's)



bends down to get a look at a different angle





one more small adjustment



ahhhh, satisfied with his line up.



I could watch him do it all day.

PS. Please disregard the giant "E" shaped scratch in the table...you can't have anything nice around with kids.