Funny Stuff

So Maddox has done some pretty funny stuff lately, including some funny things he says.


I recently bought Max a doll. (Now before you go scoffing at a boy having a doll, understand that Tyler okayed it and I bought it to get him ready for the new baby.) I asked him what he named the doll. He thought for a second and said, "Planet!!" Now where he got that word we have no idea. And it wasn't just a fleeting thing -- he consistently calls the doll Planet. And he has also added that the doll is "Baby Brother Planet."


Max LOVES our next door neighbors, the Bakers, a TON. He used to just call Steven "a dada" when he saw him, but now he's come up with a better name -- Semen. He came up with that one ALL on his own.


Many days he insists on wearing a hat AND a bib outside to run errands. People must think I'm crazy the way I dress my son. Sometimes it's his CAL hat, other times it's a hat that is meant for an infant. Most recently, it was his big fleecy winter hat that he had to wear on a day when it was like 80 degrees outside. One old lady in Michaels asked me if I thought he was cold. I told her I have to pick my battles. He also enjoys wearing Tyler's ties around the house. And necklaces and jewelry of all kinds. He's very particular about what he likes to wear and how he likes to wear it (example -- sometimes the hat has to be backwards and sometimes forwards. And you better not try to do it the opposite way.) I imagine it will only get worse.


He has recently surprised us, and I don't know why, by being able to point out lots of different kinds of animals at the zoo. Like the mommy macaw and the pygmy marmacet (saying exactly those words). I think he watches a little too much "Diego". He also insists on saying "GO DIEGO GO" instead of just the word "GO". I guess he thinks it goes together and you can't say go any other way.

I'm sure I'm forgetting lots of stuff... this kid gets cuter and smarter and more fun everyday. We sure do love him!!

First Real Beach Day!

It's May. We're at the beach. It's hot and sunny. Welcome to Southern California!! I have to admit, this isn't the worst place to be stuck for a while. Although I do miss the changing seasons of New England.


We took Max to the beach and met up with some friends. It was really fun. The most surprising thing though is that Max is now afraid of the water. It takes him a good while to get used to the waves touching him and he doesn't like to venture out too far, either. Last year he would run straight into the water, never looking back and probably would have kept going if we didn't yank him back to shore. Hopefully with more trips to the beach he'll like the water more. Although not having to chase him into the surf is a blessing for me.

Eating Rocks...

One morning as I was getting out of the shower Max ran up to me and said, very very proudly, "MAMA, MOUTH, ROCK, ATE!!!" I said, um, what?? He kept repeating the same thing over and over. That he had eaten a rock.

Now, I'm not usually a panicker in emergency situations. My detached practical self takes over quickly -- very convenient. So I started looking for the 2 rocks he had been playing with that morning. At the time he found the rocks, I wasn't even thinking he'd eat them. He never puts stuff in his mouth anymore. Well, as I searched EVERYWHERE for them I kept coming up empty. I found one of them, right on his little table. The other was nowhere to be found. Each time I asked him where it was, he pointed to his mouth and said, "ATE!!"

So I'm thinking, at this age, it is impossible for Max to lie, he's not old enough to even get it yet. He is very good at telling me things that actually happened. Normally when I ask him to show me something he brings me right to it. So my logic told me that I had to believe that he ate the rock. I knew that the rock was about the size of a quarter. I also knew that swallowing quarters is a VERY bad idea. He wasn't breathing funny or acting funny -- in fact, he was pretty pleased with himself. But I started to worry that it might block something on the way through his system. So off to the emergency room we went.


When we got there and were finally admitted the doctor asked me what the deal was. I told him that Max had told me he had eaten a rock. The doctor looked at me like I was crazy -- I was honestly going to believe my toddler? I gave him the facts and the evidence and he said we could have an x-ray done (I still think he didn't believe me) or we could just go home and see if he passes something. He said since he got it down okay, he should be able to get it out. So we opted out of the x-ray, since it wouldn't have changed the doctor's course of action and went home and waited.

Sure enough, the next day, there was a poop covered rock sitting in his diaper. I almost took a picture and folded it up to take to show the doctor that my son was telling the truth. But it was just way too gross. You will all be spared.

Max the Builder

One thing Maddox loves to do is build towers with his dad and the knock them down. This was an especially big tower and one that he was especially proud of. Very blog-worthy.

A Fun Visit

This actually happened a while ago, but these pictures were so cute, so I wanted to post about it. Back in April our good friends the Franklins came down for a visit. Nate had an interview down here so Max and I hung out with Tawni and Sofia. We went to the zoo and then when the guys were done we went out to dinner in Old Town. It was great to see them! (And yes Nate, I know I know, we've never come to visit you guys and you've come twice. We are terrible friends). Max and Sofia had a lot of fun playing together. Max especially liked chasing Sofia around.



I'm excited that the Franklins are moving closer!! Can't wait to play!

Red Neck Hick Stroller

My son thinks he's a little red neck hick. This is how he rode around Walmart the other night when we were buying beach chairs.


Yeah, that's a margarita glass and a green plastic lawn chair. That's our boy!

Moms Know Best Success!!

We finally had our Moms Know Best charity luncheon and it was a great success. The food was amazing (I'm now craving chicken salad on croissants and fruit dipped in chocolate). The turn out was great and the things that were donated for auction were soo adorable! I think everyone walked away with something.



I got exactly what I wanted -- an adorable diaper/wipes holder made by the talented Tira Pugmire and a gift certificate to this great sushi restaurant downtown La Jolla (I know, I can't use it for a while, but it will be SOO worth it when I can!!).

Thanks so much to Lani, Tiffany and Mariah for all their hard work!! This was really Lani's brainchild and I hope that it lived up to her expectations! The community room was decorated so adorably (thanks to Mariah's mom for providing all our cute decorations!) and it was just a very nice afternoon with friends. We raised a lot of box tops and had a great time!

Shetboard

One of Max's favorite people in the whole world gave him this mini skateboard (or as he says "shetboard") for an early birthday present! Max loves it!! He thinks he's just like his daddy. He also thinks he can do it on his own and he so can NOT! Check out the trick he pulls, though. My future little skater in the making!

Thanks Mariah!! He's the cutest little skater boi I've ever seen! (Besides his daddy, of course!) I need to get a better picture than this, but he always tries to carry it under his arm just like Tyler does with his. It's ADORABLE!!!

Funny Things Max Says

Maddox has said some funny stuff lately. He is constantly picking up new things and repeating them. It gets a little scary when we are out in public and he over hears dirty teenagers talking or even stuff on the news. Distraction works wonders sometimes!

1. I was trying on some pants at Target the other day and there were two girls in the stall next to me giggling and laughing and one of them said, "Ooo! That's sexy." And Max looks at me and says, "Mama! Ooo, SESSY!!!"

2. When he wanted a snack he used to say, "nack! nack!" Lately he's been trying to say the s at the end of snacks but he forgets to say the n sound and it comes out sounding like, "SEX." The other day in church Max wanted a snack and he started yelling "sex!! sex!! sex!!" at the top of his little lungs.


3. He's been very obsessed with princesses lately. I know, I know. I'm not that concerned because I think he's been watching so much Shrek lately that he can identify the princess really easily (and by a lot I mean like 52 times a day). Anyway, we were in Carter's the other day buying new pajamas for him and he saw this poofy little girl dress and he says, "Mama! Princess dress for Max!" He was very upset when I told him he couldn't have the dress. He really really wanted it.

4. We bought Max a few new pairs of pajamas because he had been complaining a lot about his feet in his other ones. They were definitely too small for him and his feet were all cramped in the footies. So we got him new ones that are two piece without feet. Anyway, he is now obsessed with wearing new jammies. When we want to get him in the bath, we bribe him with new jammies. He cries bloody murder when we have to get him dressed in the morning and take his new jammies off. All day long he talks about "put on my new jammies!!!" This kid takes after me on this one -- I wish I could wear new jammies all day long, too!

Eureka!!

Max loves the show "Backyardigans." It's actually not that bad. They sing creative songs and go on fun adventures. Anyway, one of his favorites has a song where they sing "eureka!!" over and over. It's actually cute! The other morning I heard him singing the song... here is a video. It's pretty cute!! He loves to sing.

If you're happy and you know it...

... sit on the stairs and clap your hands with your friends!!

Sorry for the horrible singing.

I guess it's time...

To make an official announcement... we're expecting baby number 2!! I'm just about 12 weeks along and I had an appointment today where we heard the heart beat, strong and steady! It sounded like a little girl to me (hey, I can hope)!! Anyway, I'm feeling a little more at ease so I thought it would be okay to share with you all the good news. I'm still a little freaked out by the thought of 2 kids at the same time, but Max always says yes when we ask him if he wants a baby, so that helps. Oh, and due date is November 30th.

So now that explains to some of you why I've been cranky and tired and sick for the past three months! I'm feeling pretty good though. This pregnancy is a lot different than Max. I was totally exhausted at first, that went away and the nausea didn't set in until the last couple of weeks. That's slowly going away and I'm feeling okay. With Max I was sick the whole time. This one I've only really thrown up because of a strong smell -- my sense of smell is even stronger than it already was and it can be kinda scary.

But we're so excited to welcome this new little one into our family... and THINK PINK everyone!!! Pink and lazy if you wanna really help out.

Bigger Than Us

Does anyone else feel like there are so many things happening in this World of ours that are so much bigger than us? I'm referring to all these natural disasters. Tornadoes in the Midwest, Earthquakes in China, cyclones in Burma -- all with severely catastrophic outcomes. Thousands of human lives have been taken, thousands! Not to mention the livelihoods of countless others smashed to bits in countries and areas where those livelihoods mean the difference between life and death.

This morning I watched a video of mothers seriously grieving outside a leveled school in China, praying that their children would be pulled from the rubble alive. Now that I am a mother, I can not begin to imagine the agony, the pain, the anguish, the utter hopelessness and helplessness that these mothers are feeling. I never ever want to feel that way. I don't wish those feelings on my worst enemy. I can't imagine losing something that is 100% my life. Maddox is the most important thing to me. Protecting and loving and caring for him is my life. I care deeply for Tyler too, in a different way, on a different level. I have little control over the protection of his life as he is very independent. But Maddox is my responsibility. This new baby will be my responsibility. And to have that taken away in an instant by something that is so completely out of our control would be worse than devastating.

With all the pain and destruction in this world today caused by people themselves -- wars, contentions, murders, hurtful and hateful crimes -- these are all things controllable. What I mean is, these are all human actions that when you strip away the layers of reason and intention are controlled by human beings. I think all of these enormous natural catastrophes are a sign to us -- that things much much bigger than us can happen, things we can't predict, control or lessen. Things that we need to prepare for now.

I'm not trying to be morbid. But I am trying to reflect and understand the recent natural disasters that have hit our small World. The only thing that makes sense to me is that we are being taught that things much bigger than us can take hold of us and do more damage in 3 minutes than the arguments of men will ever do in a lifetime. I think it is a lesson that few will understand and even fewer will take to heart. If only these disasters were enough to make every war lord, every tyrant, every murderer, every world leader say, enough is enough, nature wreaks its own destruction and that is enough for our human hearts to take up and fix.

If there is one thing I want to pass on to my children, it is that there are always things bigger than us. Things we can't control or predict. But that with faith and preparation and hope and love we can rise above and put back together those things that become broken -- even if it is our own hearts and bodies.

Does that sound really idealistic? Kind of out of character for me? Well, maybe it is. But that is the beauty of reflection, isn't it? What you see may not be what you thought you would see. So here's to idealism and hope and faith and love and here's to the knowledge that my gosh things are so much bigger than us out there.

Now will somebody please bring back the sarcasm? It's almost pink and ruffly in here!