Blue

My boy has the most beautiful blue eyes (I can say that, I'm his mom).

This kid cracks me up...

He seriously had me rolling on the floor dying with laughter. He taught himself how to do this. It is hilariously adorable!!

Turkey Dinners

I am thankful for a lot of things on a regular basis -- the fact that a baby counts as a second person for the carpool lane, afternoon naps, hot showers, that noodle bowl from Pei Wei. This year I am very thankful that Thanksgiving means turkey dinner. Is that a little shallow? Probably. Oh well.

This year we had a nice low-key Thanksgiving. I did most of the cooking (the only thing I didn't make were the pumpkin pies, the turkey and stuffing and the salad). My mom made a fabulous turkey and the most delicious gravy (I am a gravy NUT). Bob's uncle and his wife came for dinner, too. They live in Riverside but we are now only getting together with them since my parents are moving. Kind of weird how that happens. Anyway, they were very nice (and his wife has a grandson whose middle name is Maddox -- weird!).

My friend Bill from high school came for dinner, too. Since he is moving to Taiwan it was nice to get to see him one last time. He's been keeping in touch with my parents for years even when I moved away so he's like a brother (we'll miss you Billy).

I had a photo shoot with Mattie and Max, too. I'll post an album of those pictures when I'm finished going through them. They are adorable!! Mattie has these fairy wings that she likes to wear around with a tutu. It's so girly and wonderful.



Okay... so for 10 things I'm really thankful for (#11 being Turkey Dinners) (in no particular order):

1. a healthy happy baby boy
2. the love of my youngest sister
3. the love of my ever-patient husband
4. my own health -- at least I'm alive!
5. money, as little as we have
6. a cozy apartment to shelter our family
7. a bed for my baby
8. cameras so I don't miss a second of my little man growing up or my big man growing old
9. mothers
10. perspective

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Disneyland

Mattie and Max went to Disneyland for the first time. My parents wanted to take the kids before they made the big move back East. Mattie is really into Disney movies right now, her favorites being Cinderella and Little Mermaid. When she wants to watch them she points at the TV and says "waaaa" because to her, the princesses sing like that. Anyway, both of the kids were in awe of Disneyland.

We only took them on a couple rides (the tea cups (where I wanted to yak), Dumbo (where Mattie went a little crazy with the controls -- the reason why I strapped Max in super tight so he couldn't touch the controls), the merry-go-round, a train ride, and It's a Small World which was decked out for the holidays). They loved every ride and even asked to go on them again. We only went for a few hours because my mom didn't want to push it with the kiddies. They LOVED the small world ride and were completely still for the whole ride just staring at all the little [creepy] dolls (did I say that?).


Mattie didn't actually get to see any Disney princesses but she did see a lot of little girls dressed like the Disney characters and thought whole-heartedly they were real and was so excited.
It was a fun time and I wish we could have stayed longer and taken them on more stuff. I wish Tyler had been with us, too. He would have loved to see Max light up on the rides and I would have loved not having to go on them (I know, aren't I lame now).

15 Month Check-Up

Maddox had his 15 month check-up with Dr. Archie and he did great -- except for the whole shots thing, he wasn't too keen on that part. The room we were in had a large dinosaur mural on the wall and when Dr. Archambault asked Max what they were he said "dinesore". I had no idea he knew that. And of course he wouldn't say it again. The doctor was impressed. I on the other hand knew what a complete fluke it was.

Max is now just tipping the scales at 20lbs. And I mean BARELY tipping the scales. He is also 30 inches tall. So, basically, Max is as big as a normal 10 month. I know, he's very small... but oh so darling!! Dr. Archie still mentions the possibility of using a growth hormone when he is older. I am considering it more and more because it's one thing to be a shorty girl, but a shorty boy? I think that is so much harder. Poor kid. At least I have a few years before we have to decide.

Anyway, he had four shots. He cries harder as he gets older but he doesn't cry as long, so I guess that's better. He did great, was only fussy for most of the next day and is now up-to-date on all his immunizations (despite my overwhelming unfounded fear of autism -- but that's a whole different post).

I think for the first 15 months of his life we've done okay! Go us!

Ooo... Planes!!

Max is obsessed with planes. Every time he hears the sound of a plane or helicopter or any other kind of thing with an engine that might be in the sky we have to stop, look up, point out the plane and wait until we can't hear it anymore. He loves to point them out, too. He searches the sky until he can't hear them anymore or until he finds them and then can't hear them anymore.


And living a couple miles from Miramar (the Marine Corps air station) means we have LOTS of opportunities to hear, stop, point and stare.

The strange thing is that his love of airplanes does not translate to loving them while actually being on them. In that case he absolutely hates them with every fiber of his being. Poor kid... I wonder what will happen when he realizes that the two are the same. That might be a "bake a pan of brownies and eat the whole entire thing day".