Yes, I went last night. I know, I know...it's no midnight showing, but still. This group of fanatics took up an entire row at the theater. And I'm pretty sure there were as many squeals and giggles coming from our row as from the row of 13 year olds in front of us. (Okay, that may be a little exaggeration.) My only regret--not taping a sign that says "Renesme" across my belly to go along with my "Bite Me Edward" shirt. Fun, fun night!
We started our Christmas celebrating a little early this year by going to the Embarcadero Center's Building Lighting Celebration! Max was so, so excited--lately in his prayers he's been saying, "Please bless that it will be Christmas"--and this did not disappoint. That boy was in Christmas heaven. He met Father Christmas (different from Santa), Rudolph, Frosty, Mrs. Claus, and several others. He shook hands with an orgran grinder monkey and played in the little petting zoo. He decorated cookies and made a candy cane Rudolph.
Jack was not in Christmas heaven. Most of the night he looked like this--
The only time he had a smile on his face was while he was sitting in his stroller, being left alone, eating the sucker they were handing out at the See's store, and when he finally geared up enough courage to go pet the bunnies, goats, ponies, and chickens in the petting zoo.
In addition to all these fun activities, they also had a preview of the new Disney on Ice with Lion King, Cars, Tinkerbell, and the Little Mermaid. We had the perfect amount of time to run and grab dinner and a yummy fresh banana shake at Bistro Burger before heading over to the ice show and snagging excellent seats for the lighting and the fireworks. 
Merry Christmas in November?
So this is Jack's posse. And lately, he doesn't go anywhere without one or all of them--to bed, to church, to the park, you name it, his posse follows. I love watching him try to carry them all--some in his hands, some tucked under his arms, and even a lucky one usually goes in his mouth. Plus, his posse has quite the variety. Dinosaurs (long necks and sharp teeth--Thank you, Land Before Time), a Mommy and Baby Elephant, and Claude, the white alligator from the Academy. But if I had to pick his favorite I'd definitely say the dinosaurs. He loves his long necks and sharp teeth. And I LOVE when kids line up all their toys--so, so cute.
I wish I was more on top of things, like Rachel, and realized when the first time Max wrote his name was. I have plenty of papers of learning and practicing but I don't know the official "first time." But I do know that this is how his name came home from school the first time he wrote it there and every time after. Very efficient, I think. 
We don't really follow soccer too closely, but when we saw this video (if you haven't seen it, click on it--really, it's worth it) we jumped on the bandwagon. So, when Blake got an email from the BYU Alumni Association encouraging us to go support the Cougs vs. Stanford today, we got on our BYU gear and started the drive down to Palo Alto. The results of the day were a little different than we expected:
1. Even though the game was smack in the middle of Jack's naptime, he was probably the one who enjoyed the game most. He couldn't take his eyes off the ball and was pointing to all the other balls around the field. He kept saying, "She kick da ball SOOOOO high" and "GO COUGARS!"
2. Max, the person who I thought would love the game, hated it the most. He was definitely the one who needed a nap. He spent a good chunk of the game sitting on the ground. 
3. And poor Blake--the only time Max wasn't sitting on the floor and Jack wasn't watching the game was when they wanted to play with Daddy Blake. And of course that always happened at the same time. So Blake had to deal with a lot of annoyed head turns and rolling eyes from Stanford fans. Actually, Blake didn't really care, I was the one freaking out about the mean looks.
4. The Cougs lost. :(
We finished off the night with shopping and dinner at Ikea. I can't wait for my first Parents' Weekend at BYU. Goooooooooooooooooo Cougars!
Today Blake and I learned all about Nicaragua...from Max. Max's school had a program where we learned that Nicaragua is home to fresh water sharks, several volcanoes, and the largest lake island in the world! But the best part was seeing some of the traditional dancing by the cutest little Nicaraguans this side of Lago de Nicaragua. When Max and his little partner started walking out, Max froze when he saw all of the parents and I could tell he was getting nervous. Finally he saw me and Blake and kept looking back and forth between us (we had split up for picture taking purposes) and got in his ready position for the dance.
But when the music started playing, and the girls started dancing while the boys were crouched down, his little face teared up. He kept waving at me while trying to hold back his tears and I'm pretty sure it was the saddest thing I've ever seen. Later when I asked him why he cried, he told me it was because he wanted to come give me a hug, but he had to dance instead. He's such a sweet boy.
Finally it was time for the boys to dance and when Max realized it, he hopped up, put a smile on his face, and walked in some of the best circles I've ever seen. I love that he kept waving at me through the entire thing. 
His class also stood up to recite a poem. For the first half Max was a deer in the headlights but then picked it up and finished the last half. He told me the poem later today and was so proud of himself even though I'm pretty sure he has no idea what he's saying.
The program finished with an authentic volcano explosion and a traditional Nicaraguan dish--Gallopinto, which if you speak Spanish, or if you don't, is really rice and beans. 
I am so, so proud of Max. Yea for a successful first ever school program. I can't imagine what it's like for him to go to school and not understand a word his teachers are saying. I'm in a constant worry wondering if I'm doing the right thing for him. But even though he may not understand everything, he loves going to school and I know he is learning. I love when he randomly breaks out a Spanish word on me or when I drop him off at school and he marches right in and says, "Adios Mommy!" He is such a smart boy and he makes me so, so happy.
Max's favorite kind of cookies are "the ones with brown sugar." I think he means peanut butter cookies, but any kind with brown sugar will do. So really, it's not the cookies, it's the brown sugar. He'll maybe have a bite or two of the finished product, but he can't resist eating a handful of brown sugar. 
P.S. Can you tell he inherited my long lizard tongue?
Today while Jack and I napped, Blake and Max when on an outing. When they got home, these were the pictures Max showed me on the camera--
They washed the car.
And walked across the Golden Gate Bridge.
Except when Max was telling me about it he said they didn't walk the whole way across. Blake confirmed that was true and said he decided it would be a good time to turn around when Max said, "Hey, look! I can fit my head through the bars." Good decision, I say.
My other favorite part of Max's picture narration was with these pictures. He said, "This is a picture I took of Blake..."
"and this is a picture I took of the bottom of Blake."
I love these boys!
It seems like lately Jack's two favorite things to say are, "I do it myself" and "I don't want to." Both of which make for some very stinkeresque moments. Even sometimes when I ask Max what Jack is doing, Max will say, "He's just being a stinker again." Good thing he's not literally a stinker...most of the time!
The last time both boys went to the doctor on the same day was almost two years ago. And that day, I had Blake. Today, I braved the office all by myself--for TWO hours. I won't get into all the details, but it was because of poor planning on my part (I scheduled smack in the middle of Jack's naptime, which made for a very uncooperative Jack) + a med student who was shadowing our doctor, asking all sorts of questions. (COME ON--is he trying to LEARN or something--can't he see we just want to get out of there!) So, the only reason I even know how much Jack weighs is because I had to hold him on the scale and then the nurse weighed just me and subtracted my weight. Fabulous. But it's good to know Jack is a big boy--31 pounds, 2 ounces (90%), 37.5 inches (90%), which is actually a tad more than his big brother was at his age. But I guess it could have been the difference in the scales or level of cooperativeness. Still, I always thought Max was SO much bigger.
Max, on the other hand, was a perfect angel. This visit he took an eye test, turning his hand each way the E was pointed, and passed with flying colors. He talked up a storm with the doctor and told her that he loved to read. When she asked him what his favorite book was, he thought about it for a minute, and answered "Book of Mormon Stories." He stood still "like a robot" to be weighed and was so proud of how tall he's grown--41 pounds (90%), 43.5 inches (90%). 
When we were in the car, driving home, I asked the boys what their favorite part of the doctor's was. Max said, "Being poked with the needles because I'm so brave." But soon changed his mind and decided "being poked is mean." And Jack answered, "Candy." I can't wait for when I get to go to the doctor with THREE kids! :)
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