Puppy

James' friend Lynn has offered us a puppy. I know its crazy; I just barely got rid of the cat; but I just can't convince my crazy husband that it is crazy. He thinks every little boy should have a puppy. We had talked about getting Max a puppy when he was a few years older and could help pick it out, name it and take care of it. But his friend offered us one of their litter and James has done his research to find that they sell for $350 to $600, they have hair instead of fur so they don't shed, and they are great with kids and very trainable. I really don't want to do it now, but now is when we are being offered one.

Saturday we went to see the puppies. Max has never seemed to be afraid of dogs but I wanted to see him with the puppies, ask questions and see what the adult dogs are like. Here is a video of the pups...



I have agreed to do this for various reasons and I am really hoping that I don't regret it. James has promised that he will be the one to take care of the dog along with many other promises of how fun it will be, how much Max will love it, and how much it will not be a pain in my life. That I guess remains to be seen.

This is what the puppy will look like all grown up.

My time without a pet will soon be coming to end. We will be getting the puppy when it is eight weeks old which will be in about a month. I am sure you will hear much more from me about this then.

Max's 1st Birthday

The Cake

The Party

The First Taste



The Grin

The Hesitant Touch

The Head

The Plate

The Mess

The Bath

Opening Presents

A book from Grandma. (Thanks!)

Fridge Phonics (Every Letter Makes a Sound!)

The Exhausted Boys

Steps, Stats & Shots

Max took three steps this morning. Not huge to anyone else but us, but you all know how exciting it is when it is your own child. I cheered him on while wondering where my baby went.

Today was his one year well baby checkup.
Weight: 20 lbs
Height: 30 inches
Cuteness: Unmeasurable! :)

*Notes: DTaP in left leg: No bruising, no crankiness, just cuteness walking.

St. Patrichs Day

I had fun decorating for St. Patty's with a whole bunch of dollar store finds.
Max had a blast watching me put it all up and seemed to love having things hanging all over.

We had breakfast for dinner (James makes the best pancakes.)
Next year I plan to do green pancakes, green eggs and ham and Lucky Charms.

Max actually loves his little headband and wore it for our walk.
We had to stop several times to put it back on for him.

Our little family looking very silly.

Mini-Holidays

I decided that we just aren't celebrating enough. So I decided to find out what holidays are out there that are not commonly known or celebrated. I found this site: http://holidayinsights.com/moreholidays/index.htm which lists all random and bizarre holidays and gives some background. I thought it would be fun to list the weekly holidays since everyone can use more holidays. This week we are trying our hardest to enjoy Sunday as Natl Goof Of Day and Wednesday we will be having waffles for dinner to celebrate Waffle Day.

The whole thing came about because things did not go as expected with St. Pattys or Max's Birthday and I wondered if I should stop trying to make a big deal out of the holidays so that I am not so disappointed when things don't go as expected. In talking it over with James I came to realize two things:

1. Life happens. Duh, right. Still. I needed a reminder that I need to be able to approach things with excitement but also with the ability to accept and adapt when circumstances get in the way of my expectations.

2. I was saying that maybe I should do less which is when James stopped me and told me that he really likes it when he comes home to the fun and silly decorations, meals and activities. He said that if he is going to choose between a regular old Tuesday and a St. Patty's Day party he would rather have the silly fun. And as Max gets older it will be more and more fun to do those silly things. So, I decided what we needed was not less holidays more MORE holidays.

Thus, the Mini-Holiday. Holidays are opportunities for changes in the routine. And with Mini Holidays I think it could become routine to have fun silly moments in the day. James and Max will never know when Mom might have a silly dinner or activity to surprise them.

Here are some of the Mini-Holidays I plan to celebrate:
~ Peanut Butter and Jelly Day
~ Plant a Flower Day
~ Learn about Butterflies Day
~ Bubble Bath Day (This one is especially for me :)
~ Take a Walk in the Park Day
~ Caramel Popcorn Day
~ Siblings Day
~ Pig in a Blanket Day
~ Armed Forces Day
~ Eat Your Vegetables Day

Some of the holidays we will NOT be celebrating:
~ Tell a Lie Day
~ Be Nasty Day
~ Blame Someone Else Day

In case you are wondering; I didn't make any of this up. I realize these are not "real" holidays but I intend to take every opportunity to have a little fun, to teach a little boy, and to enjoy life a little more.

Uncle John

It was tons of fun to have John visit. Max finally got to meet his famous (or shall we say infamous) Uncle John.

They hit it off.

Taking John to the airport.

Saying goodbye.

Max's Paper Towel Toy

Just another example of why they don't need toys...

He enjoyed seeing how far he could put is arm into it.

Goodbye Harrison

Before Kimber left for Peru we chatted about her taking the cat home with her. It seemed like a great solution for me as I have not enjoyed him since Max was born. And with her family he has kids to play with and give him affection.

Here we are saying goodbye.

Car Dealers

We are trying to sell our truck because it would help things out since I lost my job. Well we got a letter from the dealership saying they would be interested in taking the truck back as a trade-in. We seriously considered trading it in for a small economy car. So, we went to the dealership and began the simple process which ended up taking hours. We wanted them to start by looking at the truck and telling us what the trade-in would be but they insisted on having us pick a car and test drive and bla, bla, bla. Anyway, they came out with a ridicouly low trade-in and numbers trying to get us to buy the more expensive car because somehow that would make things work out better. They are so sleazy...saying things backwards, avoiding answering questions, trying so hard to keep you there until you are too confused to make a good decision. Luckily James and I knew exactly what we had in mind. Even luckier it turns out, Max got very fussy and we left.

The thing about it is that if they had offered us what they finally ended up trying to keep us there with, we would have taken it. But because they started so low and everything took so long, we left to take care of Max. At that point we began re-thinking and realized that even with what they finally offered us (which was exactly what we had said we would do) it wasn't worth it to us. It would definitely save us money in the short-term, but long-term would make things harder for us. Ironic that they lost the sale because they tried to low-ball instead of just being fair from the beginning.

As annoying as it was, I don't feel that it was a wasted experience. We learned what we were willing to do and what we really need. Because of the experience, we came home and re-listed the truck for sale, with a lower price and with much more details. We have gotten lots of interest and have a few very interested parties. Hopefully, we will be able to sell the truck soon.

Sick

Max has been sick this week.

Poor miserable little man.

No more medicine Mom!

Watching Super Why.
He is such a mover, but for much of the day he just laid on the floor.

(He is feeling so much better but now Mom has it. :(

Spaghetti Max

A first...

He likes my spaghetti.

He likes it lots!

Max's Gigantic Water Bottle

Max has always loved playing with water bottles.
Recently he discovered the large water bottles we use to get our water.

Even with one this big the first thing he did was turn it upside down to take a bite.

Yardwork

We had such nice weather this last week that I was able to spend a few days working in the yard. I have a renewed desire to make our yard nice. It will take quite a bit of work, but it is really just a matter of accomplishing many smaller jobs, each of which makes the yard just a bit nicer. I am grateful that the nice weather has allowed us to get an early start. I want to have things done before summer so that all we have to do is basic maintenance.

We found a little hoe for Max.

He really enjoyed being outside and we were able to accomplish much.

Home Made Drum

Before

After

I decided to make use of the formula can since Max likes to play with it so much. We, okay I, had fun cutting, gluing and decorating. I look forward to projects with him.

Max's Books

I put Max's favorite books on the bottom shelf where he can reach them.

One of his favorite things is to pull all the books onto the floor in a big pile.

He loves his books! Even at 11 months he definitely has his favorites.