Max's 3rd Birthday

 Max had a fun birthday weekend! On Sunday we had family over to celebrate with us (Great Grandma Bradshaw celebrated her birthday with us too). Even Grandpa and Grandma Croft and Andy made it down from Idaho after dinner.

Here's the birthday boy checking out his presents. He got spoiled with a Hot Wheels race track, train set, 2 firetrucks, a Blaze monster truck movie, Cars shirt and multiple toy cars. Noticing a trend?

In fact, the birthday boy even got a Cars cake. He was so excited!

 Trust me, he was excited. Excited as he could be for being a little under the weather.

Loved this photo of Max with cousin Colton and Logan.

 The next morning on his actual birthday, he woke up to the tradition of birthday balloons.

 We also have a tradition of a special birthday breakfast. He requested pancakes and eggs.

We had to send Logan off to school and Benj to work, but enjoyed a fun-filled day at the zoo!

Note the new Cars shirt.

Oh, how I love this kid.

One more tradition - birthday dinner. He wanted noodles, so Olive Garden it was. Good choice Max. As you can see, he was pretty happy about it too.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAXWELL!

Max Turns 2

 We had so much fun celebrating our new 2-year-old this weekend!

It's become tradition to surprise the birthday boy/girl with balloons when they wake up.

Max loved it and the older two loved surprising him.

Max came downstairs and immediately fell in love with his new ride.

After riding around for awhile, he opened more gifts - sippy cups, dinosaurs, and a Mr. Potato Head.

He especially loved his dinosaurs.

And LOVED getting candles on his birthday waffles!

After breakfast we took the kids over to the pond to get some photos (I'll save those for another post) and then we went to Logan's soccer game. After lunch and a nap, we headed to our main activity:

KANGAROO ZOO! 

The kids declared it one of the best places ever.

We ate dinner at Chili's where the birthday boy enjoyed a good meal . . .

and even better dessert.

Safe to say Max had a great day. Happy birthday buddy!

Maxwell Dean at 18 Months

 So, I blinked and suddenly this boy isn't a baby anymore.

Suddenly he doesn't need me every moment. He wants to be one of the big kids.

Some things about my Maxwell: he thrives outside. Whenever he's in a grumpy mood, we head to the backyard and he becomes a mellow, happy boy.

 This kiddo loves balls. They are the first thing he notices and "ball" was one of his first words.

Speaking of words, he also says Da-da, Ma-ma, No-a (Norah), hi, no, uh-oh, up, mo (more), baa (bear), bubba (bubble) and my favorite da it is (there it is). Most other things come out as da-da, including Logan's name.

Max also makes great animal noises and knows how to point to his nose, eyes, ears and mouth.

His favorite game is peek-a-boo. He loves going to nursery - I get to see him when I go in to do the music. He doesn't have a great attention span and doesn't hold still for very long.

 He eats better than the other 2 kids and is growing like a weed! Favorite foods include scrambled eggs, cheese, oranges and blueberries. He takes 1 long afternoon nap and is the best sleeper ever! So thankful for that!

Sunday I took a few photos in his handsome vest and bowtie. Look at that dimple!

Playing peek-a-boo!

This kid can run and climb up anything. He loves getting into the fridge or dishwasher if they're open. He's also crawled into the dryer before. He constantly has bumps and bruises.

He is attached to his teddy bear and blankey. He loves to snuggle with them first thing in the morning, which I love since he's usually always on the move. He also gives great kisses.

He loves our neighbor's cat who visits us frequently.

As busy as this time is, I try to stop and savor these precious moments with these precious children. I feel so blessed.

Happy 18 months baby boy!

Poor Little Max

 This poor little guy is at the age where he is constantly falling or bumping into things. The worst was when he fell and hit his eye on the corner of the TV stand.

 I took him over to Bryce's house (my awesome sister-in-law who's a nurse!) and she glued it back together. Max's cousins, Cameron and Colton, kept his attention with a cool light saber toy. The glue started coming off after a few days and by then his eye was nice and purple. It will probably leave a scar, which makes me sad. His perfect little face!

Right around Christmas, Max started getting all 4 of his molars. He also caught a cold in the middle of it. He was not a happy camper. He abruptly stopped nursing and well, eating much all together. I got really worried about him and was thankful after a week or so, he had his appetite again. One thing he didn't want to do was nurse. So we made it about 15 months.  It's always a bittersweet time for me. I'm glad we're moving on and I have my body to myself (I've been nursing or pregnant for the last almost 4 years). I get emotional thinking that my baby is getting older and doesn't need me (in that way) anymore. I really have enjoyed nursing all my babies.

Although sick, I didn't mind the snuggles. I'm glad as I'm writing this that he's back to his happy self.

Here's hoping to a healthy beginning to the new year!

Max Walks!

 After Fall Break back in October, this little guy decided that walking is his preferred method to get around.

And now he's suddenly a toddler!

He's busy, busy, busy trying to keep up with his siblings. I can't believe how fast this kid is growing up!

Max's Birthday

 We celebrated Max's birthday the moment he woke up. Logan and Norah came into his room with balloons and put them right in his crib. We immediately opened some presents when we got downstairs. He got a big ball from his siblings and a dinosaur toy from Mommy and Daddy.

 He had a lot of help opening his present. Luckily he didn't seem to mind!

After presents we had a yummy pancake and eggs breakfast (Max's favorite). 

Once dressed, he played in his crib for awhile.

 After a day of playing, we ate at Red Robin for dinner. Max thoroughly enjoyed his fries and bites of hamburger.

On Saturday we had a little family party. Ball themed for obvious reasons.

 Yummy spread of food.

 Max with Grandma Croft

Grandma Bradshaw, Grandma and Grandpa Croft

Norah waiting patiently for her food.

Cousin Chase, Max and Daddy (we missed the Krogues and Sam, Jenni and Marlee!)

Uncle Andy

Opening presents after dinner

Max got a fun catepillar toy, push popper toy, snacks and pajamas.

 Next it was cake time! I thought Bowmans did a great job on the cake!

 Seeing "Happy Birthday!" Max was very intrigued by the candle.

And diving into the cake!

And loving every bite!

Norah enjoyed it too - ha!

I think Max had a pretty good time!