fall fun

we have had a busy couple of months enjoying lots of family visits and spending some much needed family time with just the three of us. we finally have a weekend ALL to ourselves so i am taking just a moment to update our blog with pictures. max's 2nd birthday party was so much fun. i still cannot believe he is two years old. it has been the most amazing two years of my life and i cannot imagine life without my sweet, funny, incredibly smart and loving little boy. i feel more complete and happy getting to be his mom than i ever have before. at two years old max holds complete conversations (and listens to everythingwesay). he thinks people on the phone can see him and see the things he sees (i.e. "look mimi, a digger!" while talking to her on the phone or "maxy cook hotdog, sassa (aunt sarah)" while feeding her a hotdog through the phone). he adores diggers, building towers, garbage trucks, rocking the metal chickens in our backyard, pacis (i know, i know), cuddling, toy story 3 (but mostly woody), stickers, pretzels, tofutti cuties, and chipotle riceandbeans, and whitecakemilk (that's what we call his almondmilk).

max had his first sleepover last weekend. he spent the night with josh, sarah, and johanna at their house. he took a shower, helped give baby jo a bath, slept in bed between his aunt and uncle, helped sarah cook his pancakes, and i am sure was spoiled to his core. i missed him tons but i had no doubt that he was having so much fun and being loved and cared for just as he would be at home. sarah is so good about always cooking him  meals that are dairy free so i don't have to do any extra work when he is at their house for meals. she's the best!

we spent last sunday at a farm with scott's family. max loved the animals on the farm. he helped the farmer feed the goat corn out of his hand, he fed the donkey, llama, and bunnies. he rode the ponies and the tractor hayride. he loves being outside around any kind of nature and wildlife. i love that about him. he has no fear of any animal, he loves them and wants to touch them, hug them, and take care of them.

for halloween this year max was the cutest dog there ever was. we went door-to-door all through our neighborhood with our neighbors, robby, melissa, luke (2), and ella (9months). they were so adorable ringing doorbells, saying "trick-or-treat" and "thank you" everytime. i was nervous about all the candy and not being able to read food labels to detect the presence of milk. max sucked on a box of nerds so long that he got it open and began eating it without me knowing. luckily they were safe and he loved them. he also ate some skittles for the first time and loved those even more. i hid the candy since he has a bit of an addictive personality. i want him to stay healthy and mostly junk food free for as long as possible.

johanna

my brother and sister-in-law/oneofmybestfriends welcomed their baby girl, johanna rae, into the world at 10:16 am on july 8th. she weighed 6.5 lbs and was 20 inches long. they are the most loving and amazing parents already. not a big surprise since they have been the most special aunt and uncle to max. josh and sarah have been waiting for this baby for many years. she is going to be the most loved, hugged, kissed, spoiled (in the best way), and well-dressed little girl there ever was. we are all so in love with her. she is perfect. she is the luckiest little girl in the world to have the mom and dad that she has. johanna has completed josh and sarah. it has been a long and heartbreaking journey to get to this happy ending but i know it was all worth it to them if it meant it led them to her. we love you johanna rae, forever!

johanna rae, her mommy, and her daddy

gigi, grammy (mimi is what we call her...well, max calls her), and jo

grandaddy and johanna

aunt jeanie and johanna

max and "baby go" he calls her

 my favorite picture of her precious face.

 great auntie judy, josh, and jo

 these are the first time max held her the day she came home.

he wants to hold her and kiss her and cuddle her everytime he sees her.

  

tractor ride

my dad could not wait to take max on a tractor ride through his yard while we were in ohio. we even went on a long ride to see real tractors in the fields surrounding his house. max rode all the way through a field to a river along its's edge. he loved it. he wanted to sit on my dad's lap on the way back and drive with him. he only wanted to go if aunt jac rode with him.

popsicles

max loves eating popsicles. here are a few i took of him (with my phone) eating his loaded with antioxidants (so they say) all natural fruit popsicles. at least he's eating a healthy one when he asks for them alldaylong.