Last Days...

We are in major baby-prep mode, this will probably be the last post before he arrives - and the last post starring just Max Manuel!
In honor of Max, I wanted to share this video, as it shows one of my FAVORITE things he does. He is very very into reading (such a Randel) and has memorized a few of his books. It's really amazing how much he knows - especially the difficult Dr. Seuss ones. You forget he isn't reading, just reciting from memory. And since he can combine it with his other favorite activity, nose-picking, its a real win-win :)
I got him to read his Time for Bed book on camera, it's a cute one, especially with his little inflections and "jokes".

Trick or Treat!

Max had a great Halloween - he was Buzz Lightyear...didn't care much about the costume. But as soon as he realized he got candy, he was very gung-ho.
They held a party at his school - see pix below. NONE of the kids seemed to enjoy it (this pic is the ONLY time he smiled). I guess it didn't really make sense to them why all their friends were suddenly unrecognizable and they were supposed to gather around, sit still, and take pictures.
He did enjoy all the presents they gave e-o, though - no candy (thank you school), fun stickers/bags and toys that kept him entertained for a few days!
Halloween night we went trick or treating with our friends Jess, Chris, and Sofia (the adorable bumble bee below). Surfiside was PACKED even with a rain storm and it was so much fun walking through the streets seeing tons of people and letting Max sprint up to the doors for candy. We all had a great time and Max told everyone he got to eat FIVE candies!

Nap Time Review...

A few weeks ago, I was shocked to hear Max singing a song in his crib I'd NEVER heard before. "A is for apple, so juicy and red...B is for Baker who makes all the bred". (Actually, the apple is "yuicy"...he has a Cuban teacher). He went all the way to H, perfectly sounding out the letters and recalling what they stood for.

Listening to him talk to himself as he falls asleep is one of my favorite things in the world. You can tell he is reviewing, downloading, and trying to fully understand the things he's recently learned/done/experienced, etc. We just read a Dora book before nap that translates English words to Spanish, and this is what he is saying from his crib right now:

• The name "Max" is the same in Spanish and English
• How do you say Elephant? El Pollo? No, that's not right.
• Dada is spelled "D-A-D-A"
• Mama's name is Becky

Yesterday, I had to tell him it was his last minute of painting, then he had to take a nap. A few minutes later in his crib, I hear:

• "Bunny - this is the last song we are going to sing, then it's time for nap"...and he proceeds to make up words to his alphabet song "L is for Lawrence the Lion who lost his voice".

I got some of the alphabet song on video...it's better in person. Nevertheless, I think it's pretty cute.

Football

Football season is upon us, and Max is already into it. He is a major Jets fan, of course (back-pack, sippy cups, clothing, etc) and loves cheering about the Jets (see video).

In fact, this weekend he and Charlie went to get us bagels and the guy at the store (a Jets fan) gave him a Jets teddy bear, which he decided to bring to show and tell at school today. (The teacher must think we're a bit over-the-top with the Jets thing)...

Last night, he got a special treat and got to watch game highlights (while eating Gogurt). As you can see, he has obviously been listening to Charlie watch football - we had no idea he had picked up this "phrase". A bit redundant, but was pretty funny to hear him come out with this...

Tina/BBQ

Still running behind on the blog, but don't want to miss posting such cute pictures! We were so lucky to have a super fun visit from Aunt Tina. Max knew she was here JUST for him and took full advantage! And I took advantage of all the help she offered - all that rest time, how spoiled I was! Major activities included:

• Pool time/snack bar almost every day
• Asking Tina about surfboards and skateboards - her topic of expertise, he decided
• Doing "hang loose" together
• Waking up each morning and asking where Aunt Tina was and when she was coming out (what, you don't wake up at 6:15 am)?

We also hosted our first BBQ, which was very exciting. Charlie finally got his own grill and we even have outdoor furniture -woohoo! Not much indoors, but patio is looking good :) Uncle "Eyi", Sofia, Chris, and Jess came over and it was a fun time! Max and Dad did some side by side grilling (in their matching Jeter shirts) and Max and Sofia did some side by side cooler-diving.





Wouldn't be a party without an appearance from Nick Nolte...

School!

So, we are on our 8th day of school (subtract for holiday and two sick days already) and Max's progression has gone as follows:

• First Day: Didn't quite know what was going on, walked into school no problem. At pick up, he cried when he saw me and said "I couldn't find you at school!". Heartbreaking.
• Second Day: Definite tears when I dropped him off (there was a hysterical kid next to us which didn't help), Amanda picked him up and he reminded her that he couldn't find me at school. Although he does keep telling us that when he cries, Ms. Aly gives him a hug and he feels better.
• Third/Fourth Day: Begins crying as we pull into school saying "No School! Mama no go back to work". Nuclear meltdown at drop off, crying and holding on to me. Mommy meltdown ensued (i.e. crying hysterically, calling Charlie and saying I hate this school, what did we do, our baby is miserable, I just cried all over the only shirt that fits me, etc.), immediately followed by a picture from teacher of Max playing happily.
• Time off for weekend & cold, and I made Charlie drop him off for Day Six. A couple of tears Charlie said but nothing major.
• Day Seven: Same as Day six when I dropped him off
• Day Eight (today) - happened to be "pizza day", which we talked about all morning. Get to the gate, Max asks to wear his back pack, walks away from me towards class room - doesn't look back. I hear him saying the words "Pizza day" as he ignores my "bye Maxie! Love you Maxie!" and he waits to hold the teachers hand through the door. Ahhhh, I've never been so happy to be ignored in my life.

So, I think school is good and he has now adjusted pretty well (as long as every day is pizza day). He has gone from saying he doesn't want to go to school in the morning to talking about how "its good to play at school", telling us about the other kids, asking to bring toys into school, and saying he isn't going to cry anymore.

Meanwhile, the teacher says he is awesome and extremely smart (no surprise). Some of her anecdotes:

• She explained to the class that zero means nothing. Max then pulled her aside and said "Ms. Aly, what does 1 mean?". She was very impressed, said no one has ever asked this before. Dear Max - 1 means the number of sane parents you have.
• She laughingly told me they had a "horrible" conversation, wherein Max asked her loudly HOW DOES SHE MAKE POOP, then how does mommy make poop and how does Dada make poop. She couldn't believe she had to keep repeating "they pull their pants down, sit on the toilet, etc.". (I can't believe this is the first time she's been asked this question, meanwhile).
• Max apparently has started peeing on the potty at school cuz the other kids do it. He has done it twice at home, mainly by his own push. New potty training style: completely ignore the issue and let him figure it out.

By the way, he still reiterates that he can't find me at school...I wonder where he is looking?

As a side note, I feel HORRIBLE that my CT wrap-up included no mention of Phoebe and Shaun, especially since Max has SO Much fun with them and talks about them both quite a bit. On that note, last night Max asked me if he has to "share his food with Aunt Phoebe and Uncle Shaun?" Random? I think this stems from a joke Jimbo made that he'll ONLY share with Max and no one else. Either way it was funny to hear who is on his mind....

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL PICS (for all those requesting pregnant pics, here is my "enormity"...

Family Love Part 2

We had such a wonderful trip home to CT - I only wish we could have stayed longer. Made me sad that we don't live there and get to see everyone more often. But in a short 3 days we saw extended family and lots of friends - all who we miss A LOT!

Max has been talking about all of his cousins, Grandma & Jimbo, Claudia, Luca, and George, and Aunt Suzie quite a bit (he often tells us he took a plane to "connetitut").

Highlights of the trip include:

----Max's First haircut!! Thanks Grandma...his stylist.

----Max loving on baby Henry (and talking about he and Baby Grayson A LOT after we left) - good to know he likes babies. Side note: the other day I told him he was cute and he said "Baby Grayson so cute"! haha.

---Playing with Luca - especially when Jimbo took them out into the rain to run around, then promptly left them. Thanks Dad.

---Reading stories with Grandma & Jimbo (and getting Jimbo to fall asleep while telling the Three Bears).

Some lovely pics from our lovely trip...

Giving Baby Henry a Kiss...

COOKIE CUPCAKES (Thanks Stew Leonards....you've changed his life).

Family Love Part 1

We've been so lucky to have extended family time this month (and more coming up - Aunt Tina, we're ready!). First, Grammy visited us for a wonderful week...Unfortunately, she saw a true Florida summer (sunny mornings, rainy afternoons), but of course the Energizer bunny didn't let it get her down ;)

Max had so much fun and of course especially enjoyed getting SPOILED with gifts. He is now obsessed with his truck (below), sprinkler, and water table. We haven't had much time with the sand box yet, as we always have rain warnings, but I'm sure when we break it out there will be another round of obsession! And the daily baseball practice was unforgettable.

Wish I had taken more pics, but the joy is quite evident below and thank gosh we had Grammy to "kid-ize" our new yard...

Artist in Residence

We are so lucky to have our new babysitter - Amanda. She is great with Max, connects with him, plays with him, and even likes Lincoln.

As an added bonus, she is an artist and photographer. She sent me a bunch of Max pictures over the weekend that she took and edited. I thought they were pretty darn cute!

Beach Bungalow...

So, we're finally IN our new house! Woohoo. Lots of boxes everywhere, not a single room 'finished' (and it seems it will be a while until we get there), BUT we are so enjoying the extra space, the feeling of owning our first home, and we love, love, love the neighborhood so far.

Max and Lincoln are both quite taken with the yard - Max ran outside and said, "Mama, can I touch the grass?". We can't wait to get a grill and some furniture out there for dinner parties. We've already had two couples we know from the neighborhood just stop by to say hello. So cute!!

Some pics...will share more when we have some decor :) xo

CAMP!

Sorry about the delay....been a busy month! Ohio family reunion (pics coming soon), CLOSED ON OUR HOUSE, packing for move, Maria leaving/new nanny starting, and now - Max started camp.

I couldn't sleep all night thinking about the big goodbye this morning - he has never been away from home without a "caretaker" (i.e. Me/Charlie/Maria/family), so I didn't know how he would do. And charlie kept saying I had to be tough if he cried and not drag it out, so I was a bit nervous.

After much preparation, packing various items, and discussing camp ALL weekend (and how he would see Zachary), the drop off went something like this:
"Bye Mama. I Wuv U...Can I play with this big airplane now?".
Mom, meanwhile, was on the verge of tears. But I stayed strong!
Needless to say, he loved it. Barely noticed me leaving (or coming to pick him up), sang the whole car ride home, told me what he did (Yoga, drove a big car, got a cookie). If all stays the same from here, camp will be a big success. Some pics of his first day - the second one is him saying "CHEESE"... just not at the camera.

Vacation!

Last week we returned from our wonderful vacation in the Keys. It was so nice to get away and MUCH needed (is it ever not needed?). When we first planned our trip to Hawk's Cay we were told all about the wonderful kids camp and babysitting services. We thought great - maybe we'll put Max there a few afternoons so we get some time to really relax. But Max ended up being SUCH a pleasure - full of fun and happiness (he also seemed to want to relax) it just wasn't necessary. He has developed a sudden fear of the pool (NO DUNKING!) which we are addressing, but otherwise he loved every moment - walking around, talking to people and socializing, hanging out in our villa - playing with the sliding glass doors was his favorite thing on the entire vacation + walking on the rocks outside ("I get those bugs!"), playing on the pirate ship, helping some nice 14 year-old twins with their life-sized checkers game (SO cute, every time one would jump the other, they'd call "Maxie, Maxie" and he would go pick up the piece) going up and down the stairs (with one small fall), floating in the pool with us, seeing fish and Dolphins ("Olphins"), ICE CREAM, and more. Just a wonderful week we'll never forget.

The view from the back of our villa....

He had his first fishing trip and first time on a boat, which was pretty darn exciting. Kudos to Charlie for driving and landing us! The video below of Max fishing is pretty priceless (I keep asking him what he thinks of the boat because five seconds before he said "Mackie WUV the boat"). Some pics too, of course.

Playing with the "shrimpies" (our bate...for the record, we caught nothing)

Admiring Dad's casting technique....

Dancing up a storm to the dude playing cover tunes of Grateful Dead and Bob Seger. He is a classic rock fan...