My Worst Nightmare

This morning I woke up to my worst nightmare. (Okay, maybe not my WORST nightmare, but I wanted to make this sound dramatic.) Blake had left for work and I was lying peacefully in bed when all of the sudden I heard a little tap, tap, tap on my bedroom door. At first I thought I was hearing things. Then it came again. Tap, tap, tap. But this time it was followed by, "Mommy! Get up! Max come in!" Aaaaa! Max can now climb out of his bed. I put him back his bed and asked him to show me how he got out. This is what I saw-
I am a little surprised that it took him this long to figure out he could do that. Oh well, there goes my mornings sleeping in! However, Baby Jack has been the perfect angel, sleeping between 7-9 hours during the night for over a week now. We'll definitely keep him!

TGITh--The Doctor's Office

This week Blake switched things up on us. He had Thursday off instead of Tuesday. So this week we planned something REALLY fun--a trip to the doctor's office for Jack's 2 month and Max's 2 year appointments. I can't even imagine going to the doctor's office with two kids and no Blake. If he wouldn't have been there I'm pretty sure one of the boys would've, ironically, come home with a serious injury. Max had three shots and Jack had five. Max didn't cry at all, and Jack only cried for a minute, but by the time the doctor was putting on a bandaid he was fine. I am so lucky to have such healthy boys.

And the results are in--
Max: 30 pounds, 2 ounces (90%) and 36.5 inches (90%)

Jack: 13 pounds, 6 ounches (90%), and 24 inches (90%)

Max's Happy!

All day whenever we'd ask Max whose birthday it was, he'd say, "Max's Happy!" That's right Max, it's your HAPPY BIRTHDAY! It did take a few tries to realize it was actually HIS birthday instead of Nanny's, whose was a few days earlier. Blake, Jack, and I went in to get Max from his bed this morning, singing "Happy Birthday" but the only thing he could do was point at his door and yell "TWO!" After we got him out he ran over to the door and pointed to each two and said, "Two. Two. Two." Man, was I sure happy I decided to stay up late and cut out some twos! Then the real fun began. Candles! I can't even count how many times we lit the candle, sang, had Max blow, clapped, and started over again. I loved it. Max's blow was hilarious. The blows were more like spits and it took him a while to get the blow aimed just right.Then, for Max's birthday activity, we went to Yerba Buena Gardens to ride the carousel. We've been down to the Metreon so many times to go virutal bowling (sigh), but have never tried out the carousel. Max was so excited and couldn't wait to ride the horsey. But when we got there, it was a different story.He kept saying, "All done! All done!"...until we started going. Then he realized how much fun it was. We rode twice--the first time Max picked a horse to ride and the second, a camel. And if we would have rode three times, he would have picked a giraffe. This carousel was great!Even the birds came out for Max to chase for his birthday. This really is one of his favorite things to do and one of our favorite things to watch. "Fly away bird!"Later that night we met Blake down near his work for dinner at Tony Roma's. The waitors there were excellent and actually sang and lit the candle in his ice cream three times after Max's "AGAIN" requests.Then home for the best part of birthdays--presents! When we'd ask Max what you get on your birthday, he'd scream, "PRESENTS!" And the presents this year did not dissappoint. They were all so good, he didn't even have a favorite. He kept going from toy to toy to toy saying, "Now dis one!" I love how he's just throwing the clothes out of the way in the picture.

He even shared with Baby Jack. Yes, Jack was there with us today, too.

And to top off the evening, we sang, lit, blew, clapped, and repeated with his birthday cake. Thank you to everyone who called and sent presents! And Happy Birthday to my sweet little 2 year old!

Happy Birthday Max!

Today my little Max enters official toddlerdom. He is no longer a baby, but a big boy at the ripe age of 2. He is so much fun right now that I wish I could freeze him in time and keep him like this forever. He makes me laugh every day. Even HE thinks he's funny. The other day when we were driving in the car he started laughing out of no where and then said, "Max is funny." He is such the jokester. When we were trying to teach him the color of our house, he always mixed it up with green. Now when we ask him what color our house is, he thinks it's funny to say green. After we tell him, "No, it's yellow" he'll come back, "NO! Green!" That was the beginning of his playful banter. Now if I tell him, "Max, you're the best!" he'll say, "Mommy BEST!" Or if I say, "Max, you're so handsome" he'll say, "Mommy PRETTY!" This little guy knows how to make you feel good. He is growing so fast and learning so much. He can recite lines in many of his favorite books, identify all the letters and numbers, and is starting to sing songs. But he still LOVES to run and jump. Every night Max rides his toro (Blake) and is getting better at holding on. If Blake gets home late, to get Max's energy out, I set up an obstacle course for him to run around and tell him to run and touch the fridge, his bed, the front door, etc. His run is hilarious and has been compared to Phoebe on Friends. And Max really loves to jump. He jumps higher than any toddler I know. He can get some serious air. Max is also the best big brother. He is always the first one to respond to Jack's cries. One of my favorite things he says is, "Hi Brother!" while patting Jack's head. This little guy is the light of my life. Happy Birthday Max--I love you!

TGIT--SF MOMA

Enough TGITs filled with parks, games, and fun. We need some culture in this family. Today we went to free day at the SF MOMA. Max and I have been to the MOMA once before and I wasn't too impressed. I guess I'm not an appreciator of modern art. I just look at everything and think, Max could do that. Seriously. What makes a canvas painted solid blue such quality art? But of course, we always have fun when Blake comes with us. To start things off, we found a parking spot on the street right in front of the museum. And even though the cost was a little steep at 25 cents for every 5 minutes, you can't beat the convenience. The fun immediately started when we entered the building. There was a fan swinging from the ceiling in the main lobby. Max had a fun time trying to grab it, and it swung so low that Blake really could grab it!One of the best exhibits in the MOMA is the Education Center where you can do some hands on learning. We did experiments with mirrors and lights, read books, and drew on a chalk board. It was perfect for a little guy who wanted to touch EVERYTHING.

But the highlight of the museum was definitely this exhibit. It's hard to explain and the fact that I don't really understand it makes it even more difficult to explain, but I'll try. It's a car, that has an ice sculpture built around it. It has something to do with global warming, but that's as much as I know. Even after reading the description on the link, I still have no clue what the purpose of it is. Anyway, to look at it you had to go into a freezing cold room. Jack and I sat this one out, but Max and Blake had to give it a try. It was so cold, they even gave you blankets to wear while you were in there. Ahhh, modern art.We finished our outing with lunch at the Caffè Museo, a fun thing to try once. TGIT!

Santa Claus is Coming to Town!

Yesterday for playgroup, the stroller brigade went to the mall to visit Santa. I think there were more kids NOT excited to see Santa than there were excited. Max fell into the NOT excited category. He was doing fine while we watched the other kids go. I told him he needed to sit on Santa's lap and tell Santa to bring toys for him to Nanny's house. He was ready to go until I started walking toward Santa--then the melt down began. Max started scream-crying for "Mommy Addi" which he usually does when there are a lot of other mom's around. He doesn't want anyone to get confused. When I told him he needed to ask Santa for some toys, he started screaming, "Toys! Toys!" so I would come get him. Jack didn't even get the chance to get out of the stroller and sit by his brother (which actually worked better for me since Jack kept sleeping all through our yummy lunch at Olive Garden). Maybe next year, Santa.

September 2010

Everyone now has until September 2010 to come visit us in San Francisco. That's right--we are committed to the city for three more years because this morning Blake got an email accepting him to the Orthodontic Program at Pacific. Way to go Blake! All four of us are so excited to call this city our home for the next few years--there is still so much we haven't done. So, what did we do to celebrate this news? Well, Blake got the email at 6 this morning, left for work at 7:30 am, and then after work, his class and a meeting, he didn't get home until 9 pm. So, the celebrating consisted of Max staying up late to say "Congrats" and then going to bed. We are quite the party animals.

TGIT--O Christmas Tree!

Today we hopped in the car and drove out of the city, down south to the enchanted forest of Home Depot in hopes of finding a magical tree to help celebrate the Christmas Season. First we stopped by Burger King to fuel up before we started the long hike up the parking lot to the "Outdoors and Garden" department. We searched high and low and went through a very selective process until we found the perfectly shaped (and priced) tree! I know you can't tell from the picture, but this tree has the best star-topper branch!
Once the tree was cut and paid for, we started the long trek back down the parking lot, and strapped the tree to the top of the car. I love how Max is pointing to the tree on top of the car. He really couldn't believe there was a tree on the top of our car.

We're so lucky Blake is an Eagle Scout. He was throwing together all kinds of very difficult knots to keep that tree strapped down to the top of our car. I knew he must be some sort of pro by the way he made sure to hold the end of the rope as a safety net while he was driving. Don't worry--we made it home, tree and all, driving 30 mph the entire way!When we got home, we turned on the Beach Boy's Christmas Album (Max's favorite group) and went to work. Max was such a good helper, following Blake around everywhere. And Jack picked out his favorite ornament and wouldn't let it go!

Now our house smells so Christmassy and we've only had one ornament casualty. I love Christmas time!

A Utah Thanksgiving!

We flew straight from Arizona to Utah to start our holiday fun and Utah did not disappoint us, even though there was no snow. We had hoped to do some more sledding with Max, but it was not to be. Instead, we played wallyball and racquetball, had family pictures taken, went to the park, visited family, celebrated birthdays, had a DWTS party, watched some NBA games, and went shooting at the gun range. And when I say "we" I mean mostly Blake. Max and I did participate in the parking, visiting, celebrating, and partying, but it was Blake who got enough physical activity to last him until next year--if he can move by then.

There was only one minor set back during all of this fun. Poor Max had the throw-ups one night. It's times like this that Mommy LOVES being at Grandma's house!And all this fun was BEFORE Thanksgiving. We started out Thanksgiving Day by going to the zoo for the Feast with the Beasts. They had scheduled times throughout the morning that they would feed the animals their Thanksgiving dinners and you could go watch. We decided the crowds were too big during the feedings and roamed the zoo on our own. The animals were definitely putting on a show for us. They were right up against the fences moving around like crazy. Max's favorite was definitely the tiger. And Max was such a good sport in the cooler weather, even though he couldn't put his arms down in his big coat, similar to the little boy on "Christmas Story." He looked so cute! And thanks Grandma for staying home with Jack so we could have so much fun!

For Thanksgiving dinner we went over to Grandma's house. Almost all the family was there. I LOVED the turkey, Grandma's cranberry relish, sweet potato pie, and for the first time in my 26 years, the pumpkin pie. I love pumpkin pie now, my tastes must have definitely matured. And of course, we took NO pictures of Thanksgivng dinner, the main event, the reason we went to Utah. I guess we were too busy eating!

But yes, as soon as Thanksgiving was over, we moved straight on to Christmas. Christmas is getting earlier and earlier, but we don't mind. My parents decided to celebrate Christmas on Thanksgiving this year, since it's their off year. We were all so excited that no one would help Mom decorate the tree--we went straight to presents. Max loved opening his gifts. After opening a football, he thought the rest of his gifts would be "balls." And I'm pretty sure we gave Andy, Bri, and Tony their favorite gifts of the season--custom-made bleaching trays. Those lucky kids.

But I'm DEFINITELY sure that I was the big winner! I got the camera that I'd been wanting for so long. Thank you so much Mom and Dad! We are so thankful for all our family!

Jack's First Flight

Jack is one busy boy. If all the fun in San Francisco wasn't enough, this weekend that little guy went on his first plane ride. On Saturday we headed to the airport for our first flight as a family of four. We decided that the Saturday before Thanksgiving is the perfect time to fly. Max and Blake had their own row and Jack and I had our own row. Perfect. Jack was such a good boy--he slept the entire time. It was the best flight I've had in two years! I read so much of my book and finished all the Sudoku games in my Spirit Magazine. The Captain was even nice enough to let us into the cockpit to take pictures of Jack's first flight. And where was Jack's first flight to? Sunny Arizona. We are so happy we could attend Baby Zoie's blessing. That precious girl looked so beautiful in her white, crocheted dress. Plus, Jack couldn't go a minute more without meeting the rest of his cousins, and they did not disappoint him. Especially Caden and Jace who kept asking if they could hold him. I was totally shocked when Caden just picked him up and started walking around bouncing Jack. Caden is so big now, I can't believe it. And I love how Jace just sat there and snuggled Jack. I hope my boys are as good brothers as those two boys are. And I love, love, LOVE that Jack finally met the rest of the 2007 babies. These are the cousins that Jack is going to get in all sorts of mischief with. So, even though we were only in Arizona for a little over 24 hours, the trip was well worth it. Can't wait to see you guys again soon!