The road goes on forever

...and the party never ends. So Max's birthday was on Friday, the 25th, but the real party wasn't until Saturday. We started the party at The Little Gym. Max loves that place! I love seeing his face light up when they bring out the bells, balls and bubbles. At his party he actually participated in most of the activities, which he usually doesn't. After playing we had some snacks that I prepared. Fresh fruit, vegetables, cheese and crackers. My mom helped me put the finishing touches on the platters and they looked great. Wish I had taken a picture. All the kids got a train with their name and a balloon. The kids worked up and appetite, so they were munching away. Max did a good job while we sang him "Happy Birthday". He also blew out the candle (with a little help) all by himself. Then on to the yummy cupcakes that Suzy and I baked and decorated.

After the kiddie party, the festivities continued at our house with our family. We had a house full and it was great. Max was so pooped he took a nap, but he woke up in time for the hot dogs and seafood gumbo. Once he realized his cousin Isabel was there he was ready to play! Maddie on the other hand would not nap, as much as I tried (much to the chagrin of some veteran mommies). I guess she wanted to party with everyone. We ate, opened gifts (way too many), ate more cupcakes, played Wii and played some more. I cannot even begin to list all the gifts he received, but he got his favorites: guns, cars, guitar, clothes, bubbles, puzzles, etc. It was a great night and we felt so blessed to be surrounded with our loved ones.

A Very Hungry Max

Bedtime has been quite the struggle lately. A wise woman, aka Suzy, reminded me how relaxing reading a bedtime story could be. Max is so hooked on Diego I usually just let him watch until he is sleeping. Well last night, he picked out A Very Hungry Caterpillar last night. It was so appropriate for his birthday. It reminded me of him because in the past month he has had a growth spurt. Weighs more than 30 pounds, his 2T outfits fit perfect and 3t doesn't even look that big on him. And his appetite is back, thank goodness.

We were shopping at this cool consignment sale today and this other mother and I were talking about toys and our boys. She asked me how old Max was, and for a minute I hesitated, but I finally said "he's 2!" Her response, "he's a big 2, he's tall". I've been looking at him and looking back to the first day I met him and I am overjoyed and overwhelmed with emotion. My child has grown so much and he is starting to look like a big boy. As a matter of fact he loves to say big boy. Going down the stairs, he wants to go alone, like a "big boy". When we are out and he is ready to leave, he says "go home" or "daddy". His new favorite phrase is "I want". .....and let me tell you he wants EVERYTHING!! He sometimes asks me to carry him, usually when I am in the middle of something. But I usually give in since he rarely lets me cuddle with him. Sometimes I act a bit put out when bedtime takes too long, but then I realize........one day he won't even want me to hug or kiss him, so I better take it ALL in!!!

Another big thing in is that he is registered for pre-school for 2 days a week. I am so excited for him! I think he'll learn so much and really mature in a more organized setting. I met some great moms at registration, so I see some great play dates in our future. Max also got his first real pair of boots. We've bought them in the past, but he never liked them or they didn't fit right. We went to Cavendar's and we found a great pair. He loves wearing them and his cowboy hat, Lord help me!

He is definitely pushing boundaries which is normal for his age. Shawn and I are trying our best to put our foot down and ignore the tantrums. Sharing isn't as easy anymore for him, especially with his sister. :( We've had some tantrums over cars, trucks, etc. with his best buddy Jaxen. Boys will be boys, learning everyday!

Max in his boots with his cowboy hat

Eating one of his favorite breakfasts: cereal and raisins

Helping with the cupcakes for his birthday party

Making our own fun

We had a pretty uneventful week. Shawn worked late a few nights which made for some exhausting nights for me. Max seemed to get a little sick again, but no fever so we just hung out at home mostly. Wow, this post is really boring...but I do want to share some pictures.

He did have fun playing with his stickers. He only wanted to stick them on his stomach. I have no idea where he got this from. Maybe because he likes to play with his belly button. Since he is almost 2, I've been hinting at using the potty, but he has zero interest. Oh well, I guess the diaper factory will continue!

Max had fun on Saturday with his daddy putting together his first bike. It was really cute to see him stick the screw in the holes and "turn" it. He loved using his hammer to bang on the bike too. It's a pretty cool bike for us because we can just push him since he is not ready to pedal himself.

My Maddie just gets cuter and more engaging by the day. She loves to roll all over, grab for toys, remotes, cell phones, anything really. She is lunging forward, getting on all fours and rocking. Crawling seems inevitable at this point! She is sleeping so well too. She take about 2-3 naps a day and generally sleeps from 8 pm - 7am most nights, I wish I could say the same for Max....did I already write this? It seems like the story of my life, just worrying about how they sleep!!

Birthday party at the zoo

I was so excited when we got an invitation to Jonah's 2nd birthday party at the zoo. It was a morning party and the weather was great. Just a little chilly so we bundled up the kids. Jonah's mom, Celina, did a great job with everything. There were breakfast tacos when we got there and coloring pages for the kids. Then we were off to explore the zoo. Max was running around looking at the elephants, lions, giraffes, and we even saw a tapir like on Diego. Maddie stayed nice and cozy in the BOB. Everything was great until Max got so excited while running that he got ahead of himself and had a terrible face plant on the gravel. Poor little guy got a pretty good scrape and knot on his forehead. We were able to console him with some love and his pacifier. We were even able to ride the carousel. Max didn't want on at first, but he did a great job.

After a while we joined the group to have some yummy red velvet cupcakes and juice. Shawn did a great job helping out with Maddie so I could have some fun with my big boy. Max was more interested in the noise makers than anything else. Although he couldn't get it to work right, he would just say "broken". One cute part was after we sang to Jonah and it was time for him to blow out the candles. His parents were trying to get him to blow and he said "no", in the cutest voice. I could just totally imagine the same scenario playing out in a few weeks for Max's birthday! All in all great day, we made it home and kids were ready to nap and rest up for a visit from Mema, Abuelo, Tia Memi and Jessica!

Our girl is 7 months!

Our purdy purdy is growing too fast! Can someone please slow down time? In the past few days she has started lunging forward and getting up on all fours. Crawling is just around the corner....scary. She is eating like a champ. She loves fruit mixed with her oatmeal, veggies, baby Mum-Mums and drinking water from her sippy cup. She is still mostly nursing, but I give her a bottle about once a day. She is fascinated by Max and Tyson. She is so eager to play with them. She likes watching cartoons with Max too. She is sleeping well in her crib. Most nights she goes down around 8pm and wakes up between 7 and 8. She still wakes up sometimes during the night. I usually just bring her with me, so she doesn't wake up Max. She is actually sleeping more than Max these days!! She is getting to be a little more vocal. She makes the "m" sound and squeals and coos. So sweet. Love my Maddie Cakes!!

Forecaster says...

This week was pretty uneventful. The forecast called for wind, rain, very cold weather and maybe snow on Friday. Max was finally not showing symptoms of being sick so I Monday we went to Little Gym, which Max loves. Of course this Monday when it came time to take off his socks we had a meltdown. All out, throwing himself on the floor, crying tantrums. Thank goodness Maddie was sleeping in her carrier (which she has almost outgrown!) so I was able to coax Max back into the play area with minimal embarrassment. After class we went to our favorite lunch spot, Chick-fil-a! After we went home and had naps we headed to the park to jog (me) and play (Max). I was really trying to squeeze lots of fun into one day.

Tuesday we had a play date at our house with Kristi, Logan, Carson, Jennifer and Jaxen. We had coffee and cake and the kids had lots of fun. I was so glad they came over because the cold front was blowing in. Wednesday I watched Jaxen for a few hours so Max had some fun playtime again.

By Thursday the meteorologist was forecasting 1-3 inches of snow in Cypress and College Station. This has happened before and we end up with no snow and CS had a winter wonderland. I decided I would not take the chance so I bundled up my kids for a trip to Abuelo and Mema's house on Thursday. It worked out and we even got to visit Tiffany, Isla and their newest addition Iselle. It was cold, but no snow. That night Maddie didn't sleep very well, but I was monitoring the snow, or he lack thereof. But luckily the next morning we had about 1 inch of snow. Max and I bundled up and went outside for the big reveal. We went to play with Elizabeth, Yovani and Cristian but Max wanted nothing to do with the snow. So I took a few pictures and we went back in. Max preferred to watch the "no"(snow) from inside!