Color of the Week: Red

Red is for Louisville

While planning our upcoming trip to Italy, I made sure to consult all the pertinent schedules - work, school, and personal calendars for myself, Jason, my mother, his mother, my sisters, and so on. However, there was one schedule I forgot to check. I accidently planned to be gone during the Final Four. And of course, the University of Louisville is ranked the overall number one seed this year. And of course, they are going to end up at the championship in Detroit. And of course, I (and our babysitter) will be overseas, leaving Jason on baby duty and unable to attend. I believe this may cause a small rupture in our marriage. Actually, I've been told (by my husband) that it could cause a deep and permanent rupture. In fact, I have been instructed not to come home from Italy if Louisville does indeed make it to the Final Four. Thus, Max and I are torn - should we root for Louisville to win this weekend or to lose so that Daddy doesn't feel that he missed out? Oh well, Go Cards! 

Red is for Painting

On the paper. On the table. On his hands. On his nose. On his tongue. On his face. On his pelt. On Mommy. Get the picture?

Red is for Elmo

Maybe it was William whispering to Max about his favorite character or maybe it was the marketing saturation, but Max has recently discovered Elmo. I thought we were safe because Max doesn't watch tv yet, but somehow Elmo manages to permeate the entire child culture. For his birthday, Max received a box of Elmo books to which he gave absolutely no attention. Yet, suddenly they  have become his favorite stories and he is constantly bringing them to us to read. He even danced a little jig and started laughing hysterically when he found an Elmo book this morning. It's Elmo mania! Personally, I was rooting for Cookie Monster, but I guess that Elmo isn't so bad...for a red guy.

Shalom

Max partied like a Jew at ShalomFest '09! The annual festival promotes understanding and relationships between Greenville's Jewish community and other faiths. What better way to introduce Max to the Jewish religion? He loaded up on goodies including Hanukah cookie cutters and a dreidel, and even had his name written in Hebrew! Unfortunately, he was a little young to stay for the "Jesus was a Jew" lecture, but greatly enjoyed the music and dancing.

No doubt Max will be spiritually confused with a Catholic-Baptist background and a mother who is obsessed with Jewish history, but I hope he will internalize the lessons of ShalomFest and strive in his own way for peace between all religions. Although one must wonder: is it wrong to take your child to church and temple in the same day? 

Shalom and Peace be with you.

The Bachelor

Max has been surrounded by scores of beautiful women lately. At a loss on how to choose the right girl, he embarked on a series of dates to help him make up his mind.

Max escorted the lovely Howle twins out for a romantic dinner on the town. He decided to take them both at once in order to form a comparison.

Naturally, the girls were closely chaperoned by their older brother Major to ensure that Max did not overstep his boundaries.

Max's table manners are going to need some work if he wants to get any second dates. So gauche.

Female celebrities add a particular air of excitement to the dating world. While joining Max for a drink, Maddie attempted to keep the paparazzi at bay with her disguise.

Max also took a sunset stroll with his newest admirer, Abby. She may be young now, but in a few years she'll be a knockout (and probably the same size as Max). 

However, the only lady who could hold Max's undivided attention was the graceful swan of the lake. Keep trying, girls, and one day you too can snatch his heart.

Sweet Sixteen Months

Dear Max,

I truly believed you would be the kid who would take 2 naps until you were in kindergarten - you really love to sleep. Alas, the joke's on Mommy! After five consecutive days of skipping your afternoon nap (not the way to go), I admitted that you were ready to be a big boy. However, you picked the worst possible time to transition. The "Week of No Napping" occurred right before the last minute relocation of an engagement party to our house and only a few weeks before Mommy and Grammy leave for Italy. Not the ideal time for changes. You have actually adjusted to one-a-days more easily than Mommy....it's a work in progress.

The most expressive part of you is your eyebrows. You can convey all sorts of emotions with the tilt of your brows - mischievous, happy, angry, judgmental, scorn, approval, and so on. However, we are proud to report some success on the other communication front! Max, you are making progress on saying new words, although consistency has not yet arrived. Your biggest achievements: "Tiger" (although we aren't sure if you were referring to Frank or the pelt because they were both present), "Duck", "Broom", "Together", "Thank you" (according to Grammy's interpretation). There are the old standbys as well, including the ever important "cat". That one you definitely have down! Is it so you can report Frank's misbehavior? 

Max, you love drinking from a straw and trying to use a fork to eat (i.e. play). Your eating habits vary wildly - one day you will gorge on so much food I wonder how your body can store it all and on other days you will barely nibble at your meals. Not eating oranges (your favorite fruit) seems to signal that you are getting sick. Yo-Baby yogurt, bananas, oranges, sweet potatoes, turkey, cheese, bread, and lots of milk are your daily staples. A girl would kill for your metabolism because no matter how much you eat, the pounds do not come! Of course, you probably walk 6 miles a day just circling the house non-stop.

Although the snow was fun, we are ready for spring flowers and outdoor time! Thank you for keeping us entertained every minute of every day!

Love, Mommy

Ed-ventures with William

What do you call a 40 ft tall child, a fire truck, shrimp boat, and a blizzard, too? An Ed-Venture, of course!

After a long absence, Max and William (and their mommies) were reunited for a trip to the Children's Museum in Columbia. While waiting in the extremely slow line for tickets, Max and William sized one another up. Friend or foe? Obviously, Max liked what he saw because he leaned over to lay his head on William in the ultimate gesture of Max-approval. Fast friends!

While some of the exhibits were too old for the boys, they managed to find plenty to explore. Sally and I tried to get a few words of conversation in while chasing the maniacs all over the museum. William was brave enough to slide all the way down through "Eddie"'s body.....40 ft from head to toes! Meanwhile, Max was interested in Eddie's internal body parts.

Both boys loved the small play area with a shrimp boat, tent, and pretend tree roots, although Max was the most fasicnated by the second story window where he could watch the cars go by. Down at the World of Work, Max uprooted carrots and looked for eggs while William took a turn at milking the cow!

The new buddies loved the fire truck and giant tires of the cars. Vroom, vroom! Aunt Sally helped the boys climb the slide in Snowville and I caught them at the bottom - teamwork! The biggest hit of the day? Climbing the carpeted stairs. We drove all the way to Columbia and paid for museum tickets so that our kids could practice climbing the stairs!

After all the excitement, Max pooped out earlier than William and was definitely ready for a nap. He was asleep before we left the parking lot of the museum. We can't wait for more exciting ed-ventures with William and Aunt Sally in the future!

Over the River and Through The Woods..

..To Grandmother's House We Go!

Our house has been party central over the past month as we helped several lovely brides and grooms celebrate their upcoming nuptials. Adult Party Time = Baby Party Time at Grammy and Grandpa's! Not surprisingly, Max adores going to stay with his grandparents. Could it be the non-stop attention? The bonanza of forbidden food? The toys that magically remain at his fingertips without the hassle of being put away? Or perhaps it is just the complete love and devotion that his grandparents have for their sweet boy.

Another bonus of making the journey out to the country is that Max's cousins are constantly around for play time. There is a large age difference between Max and Josh (9) and Darin (8), but I have been amazed by how good they are with him. Both boys are considerate and gentle with Max and show endless patience as he toddles behind and climbs them like trees. They will even allow a little cuddling...a vast improvement from a year ago when Josh was too scared to touch Max! 

 Everyone loves sleepovers with the grandparents - especially Mommy and Daddy!

Bravo! Bravo!

Max has developed a serious addiction - to applause. Naturally, as parents we have encouraged him to continue certain positive behaviors by cheering and applauding. Little did we know that it would become the gateway drug to more serious problems, like the desire to be the center of attention. All the time. Suddenly, Max needs applause for everything. Putting toys in the basket. Placing a book on the shelf. Following a direction. Taking a bite of food. Getting in his car. Sliding down the slide. Walking. Blinking. Breathing. He is a clapping machine. He waits for his audience to show proper reverence, then claps his own hands, and finally helps you clap your hands if you did not do it with enough enthusiasm previously. He is pretty impossible to resist when he claps, laughs gleefully, and smiles with pride at his own actions. The Max is meant for a larger stage. Watch for Max's name in lights - coming to a theatre near you!

Let It Snow!

Just when we thought Max wouldn't get to experience snow this year, March brought forth snow showers!  

Our neighbors dropped off a snowsuit for us to borrow....it was too small for Jason, so Max got to wear it instead. A perfect fit and it's plaid, too! We were forced to create an impromptu sled since we were unprepared for snow in springtime. After playing last night and this morning, we are snuggled up in the warm house to enjoy the rest of our snow day!