Happy Half Birthday to Max!

A 2 for one blog day again! Max is 18 months old today! We had a nice weekend. Grandma and Grandpa were in town and we spent time with them on Friday and Saturday. They babysat last night so Mark and I could go out. They also got us our new sofa bed and I'm so excited about it. Its arriving in a few weeks. Now they'll be able to stay with us when they are in town. Its going in the basement. Now all we need down there are some shelves for toys and maybe a toy chest, and a gate. I'll put the tv from the office down there too. I'm thinking I will like being down there when I'm feeding the baby and I need to contain Max. Its actually not a bad room we just don't have anything in it yet except a bunch of toys. We went to Ava's 1st birthday party yesterday. I can't believe all these babies are so old already. Last year on Max's 1/2 birthday I made a big deal and had a little half birthday party for him. Grandma and Aunt Dianne were visiting us in Virginia Beach at the time:









The joys of being a stay at home mom...I remember stressing about not having all the right materials for a 1/2 birthday party and I went to the dollar store and got the balloon and everything. That was babyfood in a cupcake holder that I made look like a cupcake. I think it was rice cereal with sweet potatoes on top. Nice to have time to do that stuff..not anymore! Today my parents came over for lunch and played with Max for a little bit. Then I took him to run some errands. We ended up walking around the Quarry for a little bit. It felt like spring today! It was so warm. Here he is on his one and a half year old birthday:




I thought it was kind of cool to see the quarry like that with all the ice on it. It was pretty. But this weather made me so excited for the summer! Even though I'll be exhausted and I'll have two kids that I'll be dragging around on errands with me, it still beats beaing cold. I can't wait to take walks and just stroll around and be comfortable.

So at 18 months Max:
Is so big and tall
Loves to shake his head and his hair and get dizzy
Discovered his boy parts and grabs them in the bathtub
Loves pouring water over himself in the bathtub
Still likes opening and closing doors
Is starting to walk next to me holding my hand if I make him
I think he has 10 teeth but he never lets me look and its a fight to brush them every night so its hard to tell
Is finally eating better
Demands to listen to his music in the car and cries when I put the regular radio station on
Loves to dance
Is playing with real toys more and watching tv less-loves his train
Likes to kick and throw a ball
Uses a spoon to eat by himself and won't let anyone help
Says about 15 things but seems to be trying to say new words every day and puts a few words together like bye bye daddy. I say "things" because I don't know if "beep beep" counts a word or a sound or what. I think it counts as a word.
Understands everything we say and follows alot of 1 and 2 step directions
Loves going over our neighbor Lily's house
always takes his socks off
Has fun in school
Picks up letters from his alphabet board and likes to hear their sound and imitate them
Loves running in open space
Has such a fun personality but is still so sweet
Puts things under his legs to keep them for later and is kind of a horder
Is just learning how to go down the steps but still needs help
Doesn't reallly get the whole sharing thing yet
Takes one nap a day during the week at daycare but still sometimes takes two on the weekends
Sleeps around 8-6:30 or even 7 on a good day. Still up before 6 sometimes.

Its really a fun age but I am exhausted! I realized this weekend that not a day goes by when I don't have errands to run. I don't understand it. I could need something every single day. Like today for example I went to the grocery store and target and thought I got everything I needed. I got home and realized we don't have that much milk so I'll have to get some tomorrow. And I still am always on the lookout for other things we need...a picture to hang over the sofa, shelves for the basement, furniture for the babies room. It never ends. I always need to do something. I feel like I never sit down on the weekend. The work week is alot easier in some ways. Whenever I complain about things like this Mark say "just don't do it". Um ok, I just won't get food for Max for the week or unload the dishwasher or fold the laundry or empty the diaper champ. They aren't optional things. I guess thats what being a mother/wife is all about? Its hard. But I obviously wouldn't trade it.