Christmas & End of 2012

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas! I know we did. Christmas was more exciting this year because Max was an active participant! Max very carefully ripped each piece of wrapping paper and was slightly confused when he realized that he was finally ALLOWED to open the presents! Santa came early and delivered a rocking chair for my chair loving boy and a play kitchen. Oh and I got an iPad mini that I LOVE! Max got his "big gifts" early because he and I were supposed to leave in a few days while Mike left for training. BUT 2 days after Christmas Mike dropped a concrete pole on his hand at work and shattered 2 fingers. This incident requires surgery in 2 days and so our plans have been postponed. It will most likely be March before Mike gets to participate in his cross-training class. We were slightly disappointed but at least our plans are just postponed and not ruined altogether. It has been an eventful week but I must say, I am happy to be able to spend a little more time just the 3 of us before Mike takes off to Texas for 2 months. 

It's New Year's Eve!! Another year has flown by. 2012 has been such an exciting year for us and the people close to us:

-I gained a sister in law in March when my brother got married. Love you Caitlin!! 

-Max flew on a plane 8 times!

-Mike turned 27, I turned 25 and MAX TURNED ONE!!

-Max took swimming lessons and went to his first professional sporting event

-Mike & I got tattoos (his first)

-My best friend had a baby!!!!!! We love Roman sooooooo much! 

-3 of my friends got engaged 

Looking forward to what 2013 holds:

-Mike will attend job training classes for 2 months

-This will lead to a NEW LOCATION for us!!!!! We are so excited to find out where! 

-We will (hopefully) move somewhere that we enjoy a little more than here ;-)

-We will attend and participate in weddings

-Max will turn 2! And we plan to start the potty training process around that time. 

My goals:

-Get fit! And shed these pounds that I have accumulated over the course of 2012.

-Have more patience. Some days I have the patience of a saint and others I want to shoot someone just for looking in my direction.

-Start some at home preschool activities for Max. Now that he is becoming a toddler I am looking forward to working with him and watching him learn even more! 

We have been and continue to be so very blessed! I hope you do too. Happy New Year!!!!!

 

Guilty Pleasures

Here are my guilty pleasures: (in no particular order)

-Bubble baths. I have always loved taking baths but since having Max I have found a new appreciation for that wonderful tub full of suds. It is sooooo relaxing and peaceful. Have you ever noticed that showering takes actual effort?? Baths do not. They are fantastic. It is also fantastic because when I take a bath, I do not wash my hair which equals less work for me again. Anything that is quiet and requires little effort gets an A+ in my book!

-Shopping for MYSELF. It is a rare occasion. 99.9% of the time when I am shopping I am purchasing things for Max. Even if I just buy myself a scarf or some nail polish, it's a little treat and I get much pleasure from it. Also, I am a shopaholic but that's besides the point.

-Saturday mornings. Husband is home on Saturday mornings and he will (and does) wake up with Max so I can get an extra hour of sleep. Sometimes during the week when I am exhausted, I fantasize about that soon approaching Saturday morning and suddenly I feel a sense of calmness wash over me. Seriously.

-Pintrest. Ohhh do I LOVE Pintrest! Pintrest on the lap top when Max is in bed, even the Pintrest app on the iPhone when I am in bed. LOVE LOVE LOVE it. I can laugh for hours at e-cards, find recipes to try and sometimes fail, look at clothes that I wish I owned, and decorate my dream house that I will only have if we someday win the lottery. MegaMillions aside, I really would kill for a massive jacuzzi tub..... (see first guilty pleasure above)

-Fleece pajama pants, fuzzy socks, and no bra. Enough said.

Tell me these things do not sounds fantastic?!??!

Merry Christmas Eve! I hope that your day consists of one of the above mentioned pleasures. Plus lots of food, friends, and family. Tis the season! :-)

Playing Catch Up & Blog Birthday

Hello. Yes, we are still alive! This has been my longest hiatus from blogging. We have been extremely busy and have been traveling like CRAZY! And I have to do it again in another 2 weeks....................... but for now, we are at home in our house anticipating Christmas in just 5 days!! Yay!!!

We have experienced quite a bit these last couple of months:
-Max went to a pumpkin patch for the first time. He saw animals in a petting zoo (he thinks chickens are hilarious), went on a hayride, played in a corn box (instead of sand), and picked out his own pumpkin!
-Max was a T-Rex for Halloween
-He attended his first parade and decided that we needed to be IN said parade. So we were. We walked in the parade and he waved at people like the little ham that he is!
-He participated in his first sleepover at a fraunt's apartment. The outcome? 4 hours of sleep for mommy and a 6 a.m. drive back to nana's. Never again.
-He went to the St. Louis Magic House which was lots of fun! He loved exploring and of course, put EVERYTHING into his mouth.... which I will blame for why he got sick the following week.
-He got his first ear infection. A double ear infection. Which took a month to get over after 1 failed antibiotic and one (so far) successful antibiotic.
-He got to play with his 2 year old cousin Mabrie. Mabrie taught him how to open doors and how to jump on beds. She attempted to teach him how to hide behind Aunt Vanessa's bed and shove 10-12 Hershey's kisses into your mouth before getting caught.... but, surprisingly, he did not participate.
-We celebrated Christmas with the grandparents and Max got lots of goodies! He was spoiled, as usual.
-Max flew on a plane for the 7th and 8th time. Both, thankfully, uneventful yet again. I believe he is getting used to this!
-He met his "cousin" Roman. Fraunt Bailey's adorable baby boy. Max was VERY gentle and would pet and hug Roman oh so carefully. He would point and whisper "bebe". Cutest thing ever.
-Max can say: mama, dada/daddy (dah-dee), bye bye, baby (bebe), hush! (when he hears a dog bark), more (which he used to say when he wanted more food to eat, now more just means he wants whatever he is pointing to), uh huh (means yes), mo mo (Elmo), if I count "1....2..." he will finish with "gee" (three), oof! (woof is what a dog says), today we were singing about ducks and he said "kack" (quack) and I believe that covers it for now...
-He knows the motions to "Wheels On The Bus" and "If You're Happy And You Know It..."
-We are making progress eating with utensils! Now, he usually just bangs them on his plate BUT he does get a few bites in before he gives up and uses his hands.
-He is becoming increasingly more interested in books! Up until recently, he wouldn't sit still for me to read to him. I would read a page or 2 and he would grab the book from me and run off. Now, I read a book and I have to do it "gen" (again).
-He LOVES Barney. Barney, I would dare to say, may be taking Elmo's place as favorite character. Just maybe!
-Yesterday he played in the snow for the first time. And by "play" I mean he ran around for maybe 10 minutes until I made him come inside because it was just TOO COLD. Even bundled in his snowsuit, it was just too much! He loved it though! He didn't like when he fell and it got on his face, but otherwise snow in Max's book is pretty cool!

I think that's all as of now! I feel like he has grown up soo much these past few months. He is becoming such a little boy now! We are looking forward to spending Christmas together- just the 3 of us :-) before Mike takes off for 2 months of training and we head back to the midwest..............

OH! AND HAPPY 1 YEAR TO MY BLOG!!!!!!!! Thanks SO much for reading and keeping up with us! I started this last year as a way to express my feelings, talk about my favorite boy, share stories and experiences, and just a way to document my little guy's life. Even if no one reads what I write, it has been so great for me to keep track of all the happenings in Max's life. I often go back and read some of the beginning entries and think "wow! I forgot about that!" I have thoroughly enjoyed it! On a couple of occasions I have had a couple girls message me and say "thanks for writing that. I have felt the same way!" which makes me feel awesome and semi-normal. Semi. Anyway, thank you for reading. Thank you for encouraging me. And thank you for not scolding me when you disagree with my choices :-) I'll be back in a few days with a Christmas post!