Where Has the Time Gone?

Wow! I wrote the draft for the last post quite some time ago, but didn't post because I hadn't uploaded any pictures. Feels like it was just a few weeks ago, but it was over a month ago!
Having a two year old keeps us so busy! It seems like we've done so much but hardly anything at all. Max's cousin Ellie has spent a few weekends with us. Max loves having her here to play with and she is so good with him. She likes to read to him and chase him around and there is nothing Max likes more than running around and being crazy. He is one energetic little boy that fights taking naps and going to bed like a champ!
Max is so amazing. He is learning new words every day and even talks in complete sentences sometimes. His favorite question this week is "What is Daddy doing?" He asks me this whenever Eric isn't in the room or when I pick him up from school. He is still loving trucks and every morning he tells me that he is looking for a mixer. We bought a bed frame for his bed, so he has been so excited to climb up the stool into his high bed. He is even starting to sleep better and longer in his bed by himself. We are still venturing into the realm of potty training. He just isn't showing any interest and I don't feel like pushing it right now. We'll see where things are after the holidays and the new year.
We had a light dusting of snow last night and today. When we got home, we went outside with his shovel and played in the driveway. He thought it was a lot of fun when I would scoop up snow and then throw it on him. We had a fun time.
We decided not to put up the big Christmas tree this year and I felt kind of bad that I've been in a bit of 'bah humbug' mood. So, I made Max a little felt tree with ornaments and we decorated it this evening. Didn't seem to hold too much interest for him, but at least it's a little bit of holiday decoration for us!
In the interest of getting the update and more pictures out there, I'm going to get busy with the upload, so here you go...

Snuggled up with Ellie...Max loves sleepovers with his cousin!

Cousins! Sophie, Ellie, Nicky and Max on Thanksgiving

These two look like they are up to no good 

Rolling down the hill at Grandma's house 

Eric loves terrorizing the girls

Sophie and Ellie

Nicky and Max

Max and Ellie drawing on the dry erase board

These two just make me smile

We made jell-o play dough and had so much fun!

Ellie's creation

Max and his Christmas tree...he looks so proud!

Keeping an eye out for Santa! Happy Holidays, Everyone!

Happy Birthday and Halloween

We've been pretty busy in our house this month. Max has been growing and learning and we have just been busy with work and trying to keep up with a very curious 2 year old. A little updating...I was informed in August that they were going to move Max up to the 2 year old room on September 1. My first reaction? Tears. I don't know why it upset me so much, but it was just another step towards my baby growing up and becoming more independent. Plus, I grew very close with his teachers and didn't want to say good-bye to them. The move went well for all involved. Max handled it like a champ and has been improving with his behavior ever since (we were having quite a bit of trouble with biting). Since moving into that room, he has become quite the chatter box. His vocabulary is growing larger with every day and he is so curious about his surroundings and what is going on. I love that about him. So, he uses a regular cup when he sits down for meals. Only has a sippy cup to carry around with him or have in the car. He really likes to drink out of a straw and is getting better about not tipping the cup towards him. He eats what we eat, for the most part and does really well with a regular size spoon. He has started to use the potty. He won't tell us when he needs to go, but we will sit him on there and sometimes it just happens to be the right time. We try to catch him before he goes #2 (we can tell when he gets really quiet and starts scratching his neck) and we have had one successful poop on the potty! Probably too much information, but it makes me feel good that he is not freaked out about going potty on the big potty. I think it also helps that about half of his class goes on the potty at school. OH...he is borderline obsessed with washing his hands. It is quite impressive to tell him to wash his hands and watch him climb up on the stool, turn on the water, get soap, rinse and dry his hands. He is such a little man! You have to be careful with the soap though or else he will just start squeezing it and before you know it, we have a bathroom covered in foam! He has taken a liking to a little stuffed cat that he has dubbed 'Kitty Cat' and will not go to bed without it. It is really cute to see him attached to something, but so far, he plays with it and sleeps with. He has not yet demanded that we take it anywhere, so here's hoping it doesn't turn into an obsession. He continually tests his boundaries with Mommy and Daddy. He loves playing in the dirt, anything to do with trucks or constructions sites, can't get enough of the Cars movie or Wall-E, and is so energetic that it makes me tired just watching him.
Halloween was a lot of fun! I had seen a picture online a few months ago of a Wall-E costume some parents had made for their son out of a box and found materials in their home. Knowing how much Max loves Wall-E, I decided that I would be making his costume this year and that's what he would be. Well, a few weeks before Halloween, I went on a field trip with Max's class and his teacher asked me how his costume was coming...I hadn't even started. Then, at his birthday party, several people asked what he was going to be for Halloween. My response, "Possibly whatever costume is left at Target on Sunday night!" Well, I got to cutting and putting together the body on Sunday and around 1:00 on Monday morning, I was crawling into bed. His costume turned out cute. Didn't have the wheels on there, but I didn't want to make the box too heavy for him. My original plan for the eyes was to carve them from styrofoam, paint them and attach them to his bike helmet, which I was planning on covering with foil. Well, Sunday night, I decided that would take too long, so I put my sewing skills to use, cut up an old t-shirt, printed out a large picture of Wall-E, traced the eyes on some grey fabric and attached them to a little stocking cap I made with the t-shirt. It turned out really cute, I think. I had to bribe Max with Skittles to keep his box on when we went trick-or-treating with his daycare. He was so cut though. Would only take one piece of candy from each person. Even if they held out more than one piece for him, he would only take one. He loves tootsie rolls, skittles and smarties! That night, he put his costume back on and went around the block in the neighborhood. He had lots of fun and really enjoyed seeing all of the other kids in costume. We went home to help Daddy hand out candy and every time I would put the bowl down for trick-or-treaters to get some candy, there would be Max's little hand from the other side trying to grab some too! He was very aware of the candy bowl and figured out how to get up and get it. We had to move it out of sight quick.
Needless to say, we are having a great time growing together as a family and I'm looking forward to the holidays and being able to visit our family and friends in Texas this December. Here are some pictures...

Growing Up!

We've been pretty busy around here with a lot of projects and just keeping up with a toddler on the go! The girls at daycare told me about a week ago that Max was going to move up to the two year old room on September 1st. I'll be honest...I cried...all the way to work. Time is just moving so fast. It's so different from last year at this time. I felt that when he was in the baby room, there was a lot of change over and there were different girls in there all of the time. I also felt that he was ready to move on and get into a room with more structure. Well, a year later, we have had the same teachers since we moved in and Max has really thrived in the room. I am amazed at how much he has learned and grown and I am sad to say good-bye to his teachers. They love Max so much and it shows. I know that the teachers in the two year old room are going to be great as well, but it is hard to say good-bye. I'm not worried about Max...he seems to handle change a million times easier than I do. It just means that he is growing up and I feel that time is flying by too fast. Here are some of my favorite pictures from the last month. Work is taking off for me as we start a new season. Max and I get to go home to Texas in September to celebrate my Mom's 60th birthday. My parents will visit us in October for Max's 2nd birthday and this year, we will get to spend Christmas in Texas with my family. It will be so much fun and I know that this semester will go by fast with how busy we will be. So, enjoy the pictures!

I guess he figured if the cats could climb up there, he could too.

I just think that this is a funny picture.

So, the kid loves CARS. This is how he was sitting and watching it the other day.

Then he decided that it would be fun to play with the soap in the bathroom...
he didn't like the way it tasted, I guess.

My silly little guy

We are getting closer to getting his room finished. We added a book sling and wall art.

I thought he looked so cute in these jammies tonight, I had to take a picture!

No, it's not that cold here, but his eczema is so broken out we greased him up
and put the long sleeves and pants on to keep that moisture in. A couple of nights
like this and he should be pretty cleared up!

Max's New Do!

Look at that cutie! He got a hair cut this week and he looks so much older. Such a little man and so handsome without hair hanging in his eyes. I was sad to see the shaggy hair go, but I am already used to his shorter hair and in LOVE with his cuteness even more...as if that were possible! He had a fun time this evening sitting in his new IKEA chair and coloring!

Puppies and a Big Boy Bed

Max is getting so big. He is talking more and more every day. The cutest thing is when someone sneezes, he'll say 'besh you'! My heart melts a little each time. This past week was a warm one, but Max and I cooled off at the pool one day. He had so much fun and went to bed super easy that night! We might have to have more evening trips to the pool in the coming weeks! :)
We recently upgraded to a king size bed, so we sold our bedroom furniture. Well, the lady came to pick it up today, so we finally were able to start moving Max into his new room. I want to paint it, but can't decide what color...any suggestions are welcome! We just put the mattress on the floor for him right now. He seems to sleep better in a big bed, so I'm hoping that this will be the beginning of getting him out of our bed every night. He took a nap in the big bed this afternoon and I have to say, he went to sleep for his nap so much easier. Usually, it takes us about an hour to get him to finally give up and go to sleep. This afternoon, it wasn't that hard. We laid down, read a few books and his little seahorse played lullabies. I fell asleep and when I woke up, he was snoring beside me. Didn't take a really long nap, but enough so that he wasn't grouchy this evening. It was not as easy get him to sleep tonight...Eric had to tag in, but he is snoozing away now.
I am so amazed by how much he is growing. His temperment and behavior has gotten a lot better. He does continue to test his boundaries, but he knows when he is told to go to his step that he went too far.
This weekend, Grandma and Grandpa Wilbanks stopped by and had some puppies to show us. They were so cute and Max had fun petting them. At one point, he pulled the basket over and lifted one right out of there. He loves dogs and has to go say hi to every one he sees. So, that is the update for now...puppies and a big boy bed...and here are some pictures!

Summer is moving along...too fast!

 I can't believe we are already in July! We have been having some fun this summer. Swimming, grilling and just being outside. Max loves it. He just likes being outside. We have gone on a few bike rides and he enjoys ringing the bell as we ride through the neighborhood. He does like to grab on to my arms though and I have to tell him no and show him where to put his hands (we have a seat for him that mounts on the front of the bike).
We just finished a week of visiting with Grandma, Papa and Wyatt. They drove up from Texas and were here for the 4th of July. We went to the wonderful Ely Pancake Breakfast and watched the parade in Coralville, swam with our neighbors and grilled out. Max passed out that evening and Eric had to work, but the rest of us watched some neighborhood fireworks and had some fun with sparklers. It was a great visit. Wyatt and Max had a fun time. I missed seeing Doug, Mary and Cora though. Maybe next time, they can all come up.
Here are a few pictures from this summer so far. As always, I'll try to post more frequently, but I can't keep any promises!