Boys Club

So, this is my first post for my new "Boys Club" posts, that I want to start doing. I thought I would start with this one as I put Max to sleep last night and instead of wanting something soft like a stuffed Teddy Bear to sleep with, Max wanted his plastic toy Shark and Killer Whale.
He's been sleeping with them for about a week. It makes me laugh and is SO Max. He's really into sea animals right now, especially, Sharks and Whales. He wants to watch our Discovery Blue Planet DVD'S all the time. He cracks me up!
So, to be in this Boys Club, you've got to be willing to sleep with Killer whales and Sharks. ;)

The spirited child

I was reading on the Internet that there are 3 types of children.

1)The shy one

2)The easy going one

3)The spirited one

Of course, all children will have a little bit of all 3 at different times. Our Max is defiantly the more spirited one. High energy and high maintenance, and I love every bit of him and who he is.

I think it's funny they call it the "spirited" one. Makes me laugh.

Shaun and Max were at his moms house last night, she was calling him.....quite the character. She was getting a kick out of his antics.

Here's a little bit of what my "spirited" child did today. I went to put in a load of laundry. I had him out of my sight for maybe 5 minutes. When I came back he had pulled a chair out, climbed up it and then onto our table. Where I had put the dogs water bowl. It's a big bowl. He had dumped it out and was splashing in the water and squealing with delight. The water was dripping off the table and all over the floor. He had also thrown all my now wet papers off the table.

Then I gave Max some crayons and was showing him how to color in a coloring book. They say that it's good to introduce this to them. He loves crayons! He loves to hold them and then eat them. I was trying to teach him how we use crayons. I had to keep telling him not to put them in his mouth. I walked away to see if he would listen. I kept looking back at him and telling him each time he tried to put it in his mouth, I would tell him, "no, we don't eat crayons."

Here's where his "spirited" side comes in. He gets up, throwing the now empty box of crayons to the floor in defiance and runs down the hall with a fist full of crayons. I come across the kitchen and down the hall to follow him. I found him trying to hide behind my bed stuffing all the crayons into his mouth as fast as he could. hahahaha! Seriously?! He cracks me up. Then he had a melt down when I took the crayons away and had another freak out moment when he realized that a mouth full of crayons doesn't taste good.

Then I found him in the bathroom with toilet paper unraveled all over the floor. I mean all over the floor. When he saw me, he ran to the other door to the bathroom and frantically tried to open the door and escape. He looked so funny! I started to talk to him and ask him how all the toilet paper got all over the floor. He wouldn't look at me and was acting like he couldn't hear me. Still trying desperately to open the door and pretend like he had nothing to do with it. HA! I finally got him to acknowledge my existence and told him to help me clean it up. Which he then turned and looked at the mess like it was the first time he had seen it and he put his arms up as if to say, How did this happen? I have to try so hard not to laugh! Mind you, all 3 of these stories happened before 9 in the morning. This happens in minutes. It's not like I'm not watching him. I do have things to do and I think he's fine playing for a minute. Sometimes he is fine playing for a minute, then other times, He's sneaky. ;) I try and keep all the doors closed.

The other night Shaun and I went out on a date with his siblings. Our neighbor was watching Max for us. When we came back she said that he cried for the first hour and a half! That's terrible! Then she said that when she had opened her front door. He hurried and grabbed his water and his bag of snacks and headed out the door as fast as he could, going across the lawn and to our house. Ha! I can just see him doing this. With his half run/walk, wobbling here and there as he tries to move faster then his little body knows how.

Thanks for making me laugh Max! Your "spirited" ways can be tough and a challenge for me sometimes, but I wouldn't have it any other way because then it wouldn't be you. You're an explorer, focused on what you want to do and where you want to go. You're very persistent and I feel like I need more then 2 arms to try and detour you from whatever it is your trying to get into or want to get to.

I love watching you learn and grow and become the funny little person you are. :) Your smile can brighten any day.

Prayer

fold your arms, bow your head, this is how the prayer is said.

I've been singing that song to Max before we say the prayer. He loves it. It really got him interested in the prayer. About a month ago. As I started to sing the song. He folded his arms! I thought I was going to burst with joy! It was the most adorable thing. He now folds his arms whenever I say the word prayer, or ask him to fold his arms. What a little angel he is.

It's so cute because he'll come up to me and fold his arms. Looking at me with that sweet face. Wanting to show me what a good boy he is. The look on his face is priceless. I don't disappoint, I praise him and tell him what a good boy he is. By doing this, he has reminded me to say the prayer many times when I've forgotten. I love that boy! Thank you Max.

I also caught him the other day. folding his arms over one of his toys. With him smiling and trying to close his eyes that kept peeking open to look at his toys. Even though he probably doesn't understand what it all means. He's learning and my heart was swelling with joy.

The funny thing is, he can't keep his arms folded throughout the prayer. What he's been doing is folding them at the beginning and then when I say Amen, he hurries and folds them again. haha! I love you son. Thanks for bringing me so much happiness. :)

Max's old ride

My brother was borrowing Max's old car seat. When he brought it back to us, Max thought it was pretty fun to play with. I left it in the living room all day so he could have fun playing with it.

Did I really fit in there mom?

Also, about the shorts Max has on. I guess because he's thinning out they tend to hang down low on his bum. The more he plays and moves around the more they tend to slide down his bum. It's pretty funny.

Max is going gangsta style. As long as he doesn't start rapping. He could rap about his two D-O- double GGizzles in the Heezee. What? yo, yo, yo. Please no, no, no.

I do know that my golden retriever Baxter is quite gangsta. My little baby face cat and chicken killer. Baxter's just keeping it real. He is a true D-O double G. Feel free to add the izzle to that. :)

hand, foot, mouth

Max got the Coxsackie virus (known as hand, foot, mouth.) while we were in Utah. It's so terrible! I took him to the doctor and there's really nothing you can do. I want to cry every time I look at him. He has the rash all over his body. everywhere! Even IN his mouth. There's little bumps and big bumps everywhere. Some places look terrible. Like big blisters all over.

The doctor said he had a very impressive case. I don't know what he thinks is so impressive about it! Impressive is not the word I would use. More like TERRIBLE!

He's doing really well with it. Better then I am about it. I give him oatmeal baths, Ibuprofen, benadryl, and rub triamcinolone ointment all over him.

The doctor said it could last up to 5 to 7 days. Blah! I feel so miserable for him. The rash looks horrendous. I hope he gets better soon. Meanwhile, we're keeping Max at home. It's very contagious. Older kids usually don't get it so bad. Adults usually don't get it. If they do get it, It would be a sore throat.

I think he's on the mend now. The parts of his body that started out first with the rash are going away. It seems to start out as small bumps then grows into a big red blister and then scabs over.

I hope it goes away soon. My poor baby......

Max walks

Max is walking! He still prefers the crawl when he wants to get to something fast. He's a very fast crawler.

I still have to get a picture of his crab crawl. That's what I've been calling it. He does this funny crawl where his left leg is in normal crawling mode on his knee, but with his right leg he puts his foot flat to the ground. It looks so funny! Especially when he's trying to go really fast. I must get video of this.

Of course, his walking wouldn't pass a sobriety test. He is getting better everyday! It's so fun to see him walking. I love to see the concentration on his face, and the look he gives me to get my approval for what a good job he's doing.

People have said to me, "wait until he walks, he'll be into everything." I don't know how he can get into everything anymore then he already does. Hurricane Maxwell makes it's way through my house on a daily basis. Multiple times a day. I'm sure he'll find some new places to mess up.

I can't seem to download the video of Max walking. You'll have to take my word for it. :)

Girls just want to have fun

My friend watched Max today so I could go to the doctor.....in peace. She has 4 girls. Max was the perfect victim. Time for dress up.

think Mulan

Who is that girl I see

You're cute, how about a kiss

He even got into her toilet paper.

I figure this is how he tried to get back at the girls. Because girls always need lots of toilet paper. ;)

Thanks Whitney for the great pictures! and for taking care of Max. He had a great time playing with the girls.

Getting my mean on

This sweet looking boy can be naughty. I know, It's hard to believe. I guess naughty is a harsh word. He's just being a little boy testing his boundaries. In an effort to make sure that he knows certain things are not o.k. to do. I've found that Max doesn't take me serious. My doctor told me that at one you should start giving time outs for 1 minute.

I've been doing this. Max thinks it's funny. When I look at him with a very serious face and a serious tone of voice. He laughs! That's right, he thinks I'm being funny. Or he doesn't listen to me and keeps doing what he's not supposed to be doing. With somethings, he'll do it even more.

It doesn't help that the daddy will laugh because Max being defiant is really quite funny. He has a really funny smirk. I think we're in trouble with this kid. Then if the daddy laughs, I do too. It's hard not to. Max is so funny.

So in an effort to get him to take me more serious. I'm trying to get, as my brother puts it, my mean on.

Let me know what you think.

This is my serious, I mean business look now. The crazed eyes as if to say, "no you didn't." and the tight lip. I can see why Max thinks I look funny! I need a better look.

How about this? Do I look mad enough? Will he take me more serious?

What about this? The cold sidewards stare. With an added finger point.

What about this look? I added a little growl to my lips.

This maybe a new sexy look for me. I'll try this out on Shaun later. ;)

I think I've got a winner. Are you ready for this look? It's really scary. I look at it and I get scared. Beware! It's really scary.

If looks could kill. I think we would all be dead for viewing this photo. I might have to hold this one for when Max grows bigger then me. Then he'll still know that I'm the mom, a.k.a the boss.

Here I am. back to normal. I don't want you to be scared anymore. :)

Car seat safety check

I was coming out of Wal-mart after finishing up some shopping. The greeter lady at the door told me that the fire department and police department were doing free safety car seat checks today. To the side of the building.

Great! I've been wanting to do this for a while. I want to be sure that Max's car seat was proper and safe.

I then had to disregard the fact that my car desperately needed a vacuum. There were fishy crackers, Cheerios, and who knows what else, all over the floor and car seat.

I had to think, this was about Max, not about the fact that I would have to be embarrassed by crumbs everywhere.

The fishy crackers didn't go unnoticed by the the police officers. As one of them pulled the car seat out. A bunch of fishy crackers fell to the floor. The other officer said, "hey, I wanted to save those! I'm hungry!." haha! I get it! My car could use a vacuum. ;)

I was so glad that I got the car seat checked. They checked Max in the seat when we came in and told me all the things I was doing wrong. Again, Gulp down a little bit more embarrassing juice.

This was the reason I was there. To make sure Max was safe. They then checked the car seat and made sure there were no recalls on it. Then they fixed everything right and loaded it back in the car properly. Showing me exactly how to do it all. All the while, Max was screaming in one of the officer's arms who was holding him while the other one talked to me and had me properly put in the car seat. I'm sure the officer was thrilled to be bouncing Max around and trying to get him to stop screaming. Again, It's all about Max being safe. :)

Then they gave me a booklet for future use of other car seats I could be using for Max in the future.

It feels good to know that all the things with the car seat are functioning right and that it's properly locked in the car.

I would recommend that you do this. It's nice to have a peace of mind. Hopefully, you can be prepared and vacuum out the car before you go. ;)

safety first!

Hanging poolside

I love these photos of Max with his cousin Jett.

two cool dudes.....hanging poolside.....makes me smile. :)

People let me tell you about my best friends

Max loves his dogs. It's really cute to see them together. They are sure to become his best friends. You'll see by the pictures that they have some great friend qualities.

getting to know Baxter

Getting to know Boston

helping to rock max in his cradle

Max can lean on them. They've got his back.

(seriously?! Max is huge in this picture! FUNNY! I love my BIG boy! Shaun thinks he looks like Voldermort. Naughty Daddy! You can't call him Voldermort, or mini me from the Austin Powers movie. haha!)

Helping to get dressed

being protective

They share secrets. "What's that Boston?"

They were probably planning this below

Come on Max! you can reach a little higher and turn the door knob. Then we're outta here.

They also let me know that they don't like it when Max cries. Whenever Max is crying really hard. The dogs start to whine and howl! It's really adorable. They get all restless and upset. The more Max cries the louder they whine and howl. It's really funny! I've wanted to catch it on video but I'm busy trying to help Max with whatever it is making him cry so hard.

A couple of things I learned today

The first thing I learned today is; You have to set your child free to do things on their own and they will surprise you. Also, when your hovering over them they will always use you as a crutch when they really don't need to.

I came to this conclusion today while Max and I where at the park. We've been going a lot to a certain park that we love. It's shaded and secluded. Which helps with what Max likes to do. He loves to climb up the stairs and up the slide. Then slide down the slide with a huge smile on his face and he even lets out a few giggles. This has worried me because he could easily fall over the side. There's not a lot of protection from the side of the slide or the side of the stairs. Because of this, I have been helping him here and there or standing next to him as he makes his way up the stairs or slide.

He had a hard time getting all the way up the slide a couple times. He would slip and slide back down, or seeing me there next to the slide, he would reach for me to help him. After he had some practice he was able to go all the way up by himself.

I still would stand next to him because I didn't feel like he was all the way staple and I wanted to be there just in case.

Well, because I was always standing right next to him. He would start to reach for me to help him the rest of the way. Even though I had seen him do it by himself many times. so today, I sat in the chair that I brought and I decided I was going to let him do it all by himself. This was hard to do at first. I was watching him like a hawk and practically sitting on the edge of my chair ready to pounce at any sign of wobbling on Max's part.

To my surprise, He climbed up the stairs and the slide over and over again without any hesitation, very stable and sure of himself. He then would slide down the slide over and over again. All by himself. I still couldn't keep my eyes off him and every muscle in my body was at the ready to jump up and save him if need be. It was so fun to see him climb up to the top and then turn and look at me for admiration as if to say, "look what I did mom!"

Then he would go down the slide on his tummy with his feet first and his knees bent up under him. It was so cute to watch. It was a great accomplishment.

I also learned today that I have an evil side. That's right people. Let me explain. When we go to the park I bring some fun sand toys for Max to play with. Other kids always want to play with them too. Which is fine and I have no problem with them doing so. It's good for Max to learn to share his things.

Today there was just Max and another little boy. This boy wanted to take all of Max's toys and then not let Max play with any of them. He would yell at Max if he tried to play with the toys. His mom would tell him to share and to stop it. Well, the boy kept on doing this. Then he would throw sand at Max. I was very calm and realize kids will be kids.

Then the other mom pulled out a brand new motorcycle for the little boy. While she tried to get it out of the box. The little boy kept grabbing all of Max toys and throwing them around angrily.

The other mom gave him his new toy and he buried it somewhere and then couldn't find it. The mom tried to help him and they couldn't find it. When it was time for them to leave the boy started throwing a fit and started throwing sand everywhere and getting it all over Max and in his eyes, then grabbing Max's toys and throwing them everywhere.

Then the mom told him they would go get him another toy. What?! after he's been acting like this!? Now, I'm pretty understanding when it comes to kids. Max has his naughty moments. but this kid was being really mean and nasty the whole time he was there.

They left with the mom having to bribe the kid with more toys.

Here's where the story gets good. I decided that I would try to look for the toy motorcycle. I looked with no success. Then as we were about to leave I decided to look one last time. Wall-la! I found it! So you know what I did? I put it in our bag and brought it home! We got that kid in the end! (insert evil witch laugh) I know it was wrong but I found a little pleasure in it. Naughty me! good thing Max is too young to know of my evil doings!

Max is now the new owner of a green and gold motorcycle. It's about 6 inches long and 2 1/2 inches high and can easily get lost in the sand. ;)

First hair cut

It has to be written somewhere in the mommy handbook. That you have to take pictures of the first hair cut. So that's what I did. Even though, I'm a picture person. So you know this was going to be a photo opportunity for me anyway. :)

Before

unruly, long, wispy hair.

getting things warmed up. Having Max touch the clippers so he wont be scared.

Keeping Max happy during the cut

Time for gel

TOTALLY SYLIN!

A must do for all moms

Kids love toys. Kids love to spread their toys everywhere. Mom gets sick of having such a big mess of toys everywhere. Here's something that will help. I have loved this system and you will too. It's called organizing. ;)

Instead of having a couple big totes filled with all of Max's toys. I have separated them into separate bins by categories.

TA-DA!!!

This has been so wonderful! I give Max one tote to play with at a time. When I think he's done playing with a certain tote. I clean up all the toys and put them back into the tote and pull out another one. This has worked out so well for us! Max loves to play with the tote themselves too! He loves to take the toys out and then put them back in. He plays great with this new system.

This makes things so much nicer. Now I don't have so many toys everywhere. Max still likes to spread them out everywhere but it's not as bad and clean-up is easy. It also makes it a lot easier to sanitize everything. I just do one individual tote at a time. It helps me to not feel so overwhelmed by toys!

Now Max plays with one thing at a time. I love it! It also makes it easier to see what he actually likes to play with. I just keep rotated the bins through out the day for him to play with.

He still has one big tote for his bigger items. This is still easy to clean-up. I'm able to keep track of everything so much better. Things don't get lost so easily now. This is a must do for all moms. I promise you will love it! It will also help to establish that you must clean up what you have been playing with before you get to play with something else. :)

Anything that helps us moms from going completely insane is a good thing! ;)

Even daddy is loving this new system. All though, yesterday, he did mix up a few of the toys and put them in the wrong tote. I then had to yell a lot and hopefully, he wont be doing that anymore. ;) lol!

The ZOO

On Saturday we went to the Phoenix Zoo. I love the Zoo and had a great time with Shaun and Max. Here's some photo's of our day at the Zoo.

This picture does not capture just how beautiful and huge this Golden Eagle was. So amazing.

Just LION around.

Isn't she lovely

Love bird Rhino's. These two are HUGE! Really cool to see. So cute snuggled together.

The ugliest animal.

Amazing color! So vivid.

The wildest of them all.