December Fun

This is one of the first years that I can recall where we didn't spend the entire month trying to get ready for Christmas (decorating, shopping, wrapping, etc).  I think that's for a few reasons.  We started early this year.  As soon as Thanksgiving was behind us, I started planning.  We ordered almost EVERYTHING online, which helped a LOT.  I guess when you don't have a lot of time, you just do things more efficiently, I'm not sure.  But I'm sure that we were determined to enjoy December with the kids and I think we did a great job of it.  Yes, I did have to do some last minute shopping on 12/23 but it really wasn't bad!  So, let's see if I can recall all the fun we had...


Let's start with the obvious!  We went to see Santa!  And the kids did great!  We did not venture to the land of the "Legendary Santa" at CMoR.  We opted for the mall where there were 2 other children in line in front of us and the whole thing was over in about 20 minutes.  It was glorious!  Last year, we thought we'd do the Legendary thing and they told us the line was (literally) 3 -4 hours long when we arrived!  I think there are better ways to go about it (tickets and teas and such they offer), but neither of them really like Santa much yet, so this was perfect.  Jack was not a big fan but did cooperate and even told Santa that he wanted superhero legos.  Max screamed but then was pleasantly intrigued by the little green frog the photographer waved above her head!  

Dillyn went with us...which was a lot of fun...and she's such a good sport she even took her turn on Santa's lap! :)!  Jack is happier here because Santa had already handed out the lollipops! :)!

Next up was the great Christmas sing-a-long at the kids' school!  I cannot tell you how much I love this event.  They have the neatest lady, Miss Elva, that comes to teach music class once a week.  She went to Yale and holds a JD in addition to a school counseling degree!  And she comes every week and teaches them fun songs and brings instruments and they just think she is the greatest thing ever.  So at Christmas every year she comes in the evening and they just sing all the holiday songs for the parents that they have been learning all month.  It's not a show, it's just Miss Elva and the kids sitting around singing songs.  No stress, just FUN.  They invite everyone to sing along and it just always reminds me how much I love our school and how grateful I am to be able to send them there.  

Miss Elva tried to get Max to sing, but he was much more interested in the Green Bird toys.  And Miss MegAnne.  She entertained him the whole time so I could watch and take pictures.  She's Jack's old teacher and that's just how things are there...they just all play with all the kids and love on them whenever they get a chance.  And this is why the Lion Boys LOVE going to school!  

Then there was pajama day at school...so much fun!  Jack chose the lion jammies that were Emory's and we couldn't resist putting Max in Jack's Christmas jammies from last year.  They were too big but he looked so cute.  At school they thought he looked like Hugh Hefner! :)!

Jack's friend Emerson and his family invited us over one morning to decorate gingerbread houses too!  That was SO much fun!  Jack and Emerson were in the same baby room at school and have really become good friends in the past year or so. We often see Emerson and his family at the Farmer's Market on Saturday mornings and his baby sister is just a few months younger than Max.  They are great folks and we were really excited to be invited over!  Emerson's mom made the houses from scratch and the kids decorated them.  They loved it!

We also went with Grandma to Lewis Ginter to check out all the lights.  They were really cool and I think we'll be sure to go back in years to come.  Jack LOVED it.  It was pretty chilly, but it was still fun.  

 Grandma bought me this really cute hat to keep me warm...

Kenny said it gave him a glimpse into the future as to what I'll look like with white hair.  Somehow I only packed one pair of gloves for the kiddos, so Max had to wear mine...but he didn't mind!

In addition to all of that fun, we also had a really nice visit with Joe and Anna who were home from Prague for a bit and had a fun happy hour with Altria folks.  I finally met up with my girlfriends for dinner and loved every second of being with them.   We also were thankful that Kenny survived another round of cuts at Altria and were overwhelmed with joy to hear that some of our very best friends are expecting a baby this summer!  More on that later...we really couldn't be more excited for them!  It was one of the most wonderful Christmas seasons I can recall.  We really soaked it all up and enjoyed all that the season had to offer.  Stay tuned for a post about Christmas itself...it too was wonderful!

15 months old

With the exception of an ear infection, month 15 was smooth sailing for us!  And even the ear infection was no big deal really.  It was a great month with lots of smiles and fun!  

I feel like they look like brothers but not so much alike anymore.  Here's a link to Jack at 15 months.  Though that could just be that their personalities are so different that I have a hard time seeing them in the same light.  Max is more laid back in a lot of ways, but mostly because he's afraid of nothing.  He's much more aggressive and willing to try anything than Jack even is today.  It's not always a good thing though - as we heard that he bowled a few kids over at school last month.  We're working on it and hoping he doesn't turn out to be the bully.  I think he forgets that not everyone has a big brother to be rough with...

Not everyone has a big brother to be sweet with either! This month brought more of Jack wanting to play alone in his room and wishing that Max would leave his toys alone.  However, for the most part, they still get along great and entertain each other really well.  

This month Max gave up his ball obsession for a dog obsession.  He LOVES them and never misses the chance to point one out.  He even learned to woof.  Just like Jack's first woof, it's more of a big exhale than an actual woof, but it's pretty darn cute!

We had the house painted this month and Max really liked watching them at any chance he got.  The main painter had a child just a bit younger than Jack and another just a bit younger than Max so he was pretty good at entertaining Max too.

He continues to eat and sleep really well.  Occasionally he'll get up in the night but it's not the norm anymore at least.  There's not a lot he refuses to eat though berries and yogurt are still his faves.  He also loves pesto pasta like his big brother and muffins!  His 15 month stats were*:

weight - 23 lbs 2 ounces (25th percentile)

length -  30.5 inches (50th percentile)

head circumference - 19 inches (90th percentile)

*we can't seem to find the little sheet the doctor gives you with this information on it so I'm working from memory.  I know the percentiles are right but the actual values may be off slightly.  

It's interesting how the check-ups are so different with the 2nd child.  I always felt like we were being tested somewhat when we went with Jack.  Like she was checking to be sure we were doing our job to the best of our ability.  That's not a bad thing, at all, especially with the 1st baby.  From the very start with Max though, her approach has been a bit different.  She admitted very early on that the schedule for checkups with second babies in the first few weeks and months is a bit more relaxed and even now, she didn't ask us nearly as many questions.  At any rate, she did ask what our concerns were and I told her the paci...because he's VERY attached and I thought perhaps it was delaying his speech a bit.  Even though he doesn't have it at school all day, so I know he has the chance to talk if he wants to.  She immediately dismissed it and said that we'd worry about it when he was 3.  She said she really likes pacis and thinks being able to self-soothe is a really important skill and he's clearly good at it, with the paci.  She thinks mental health is just as important as physical and says if he needs the paci for his (and our) mental health, to let it be so.  So...I'm no longer concerned! :)  Of course, not soon after his check-up, he started needing it less and less anyway.  He still wants it from time to time, but he also spends a good deal of time without it. He also got a bunch of molars this month which I think explains some of the dependence on it to start with.

He loves to sweep.   Or rake.  Sweeping can entertain him for quite some time though.  Kenny was raking one last time in late November and Max thought he could use some help...

He just loves doing whatever he sees you do...

He giggles and grins ALL the time.  He will fuss if he can't find his paci or you aren't responding to what he's "asking" (like his squealing as he stands under the cabinet with the muffins in it) but for the most part, he is one happy fella.  He loves exploring new things and places and dancing to his own beat.  

We just love you to pieces Max Oliver and love seeing the world through your eyes every single day.  Keep smiling sweet pea, keep smiling!

Thanksgiving

Yes, I realize we're just a week away from Christmas, but I am just getting around to the Thanksgiving post.  We've been having a lot of fun getting ready for Christmas...more on that later, hopefully by Valentine's Day at least! :)!

So, Thanksgiving....The O'Donnells arrived Tuesday night so we got to see them after school and work on Wednesday.  It is always so much fun to see how the kids have changed and how differently they play together every time we see them.  I failed to take the camera, but I could watch those cousins play together all day every day.  Poor Grandma's house was wrecked when we left, but they sure had fun.  Aunt Stephanie had the very coolest dinosaur tails made for the boys, which provided all sorts of entertainment!  

THANK YOU Aunt Stephanie - once again your creativity and thoughtfulness won us over!  


Thursday we spent the day at Grams and Gramps' house enjoying good company, filling our bellies with amazing food and being so very thankful for this wonderful little life we're living so full of good health, good fortune and good fun!

 

Friday we decided to try something new and we organized a scavenger hunt around the neighborhood for both sides of the family.  It took about 15 minutes to plan and turned out to be a LOT of fun.  It helped that the weather was PERFECT but it's definitely something I hope we can do again next year.  Everyone involved seemed to have a good time, from the youngest to the oldest!

For record-keeping purposes, we had 3 teams, each led by one of the older kids (Emory, Ellie, and Jack).  There were 4 people on each team and Max and I were helpers for all teams.  We had about 10 items to find and another 10 to photograph and everyone had one hour to complete the task.  It worked out really well and seemed to all come down to ONE item that was tough to find - a feather!  

In the end, I think Jack's team won, because they did find a teeny tiny feather. 








Emory's team might have cheated been really creative and showed up with a stuffed Hokie bird from Jack's room as their feather entry! :)

Ellie's team did great too!  It all came down to that tough feather!

After going through all of the items and declaring a winner, we had some lunch and headed back outside to play in the gorgeous weather!  

It was a wonderful few days filled with family and fun - couldn't have asked for a nicer Thanksgiving!