A Day In The Life With Max:

I went around taking some pictures of the funny little things Max does throughout the day. Most messes are made before nap time, then cleaned up during nap time, then remade in the afternoon. So funny to come up the stairs and find the places he has been playing.

A Look Into My Life:

This is what my backyard looked like before 10 am this morning. It is beautiful here in California 70 degrees and I had to bust out some of Max summer clothes that are a little too big because I buy clearance and I thought he wouldn't be in shorts until he was a 2t...wrong wrong wrong. Oh well its so fun to watch him run wild in the backyard and today he had 2 of his cousins over so they demolished everything pretty quick. I am eagerly awaiting summer when we will put up a Max size pool and buy the little picnic table I have had my eye on. I anticipate many summer mornings with Max running and hopefully a happy sleeping baby in the swing.

These boys just love playing outside. After this we got out buckets of water and stripped them down and did water play. I wished I had snapped some pictures of that. Its so fun and easy to take care of them when they are happy and content. Now I just need to find Max a summer hat and remember to bust out the sun block! Happy Friday Everyone!!

I'd like to take a moment and...

Thank my dear sweet husband, who never reads this blog but deserves some credit. Recently things have been a bit rough and distant with me mostly due to the uncomfortable state I have reached in my pregnancy. Everyday with out fail this man gets up goes to work, goes to law school, comes home is kind and grateful, and understanding to me and Max. He puts up with a lot of my obsessive tendencies about money and cleanliness and still without fail rarely complains about the huge burden he carries. Law school is ROUGH on families not to even mention the actual students. I am over the top grateful though, that he has chosen a profession that will hopefully gain us some security in life as well as allow me to continue to stay at home raising children. Its nice to see a guy with ambition these days. Don't get me wrong he is not perfect, but after going to school together for almost 5 years and still 2 years ahead of us, he takes it with stride. I have so many friends with husbands who work full time and are pursuing advanced degrees while they stay home and raise children and I know they feel the same way about their spouse. It is a long rough and never ending road but I know 10 years from now we will look back and think how amazing it is we have come so far. Thanks Larry for working those long hours and burning the midnight oil, I don't say it enough but you're pretty amazing even though you leave socks on the ground right next to the laundry hamper.

Max at 20 Months:

One word to describe Max is...ACTIVE. This little 20 month old is giving me a run for my money. He is very physical, active, and has some wild moments. He runs, jumps, kicks, hits, throws balls, climbs everything, moves chairs to where he wants then proceeds to climb, gets into everything, laughs a lot, and is very smart. He has to be watched constantly or else he will be dead sooner then we would like. He loves to run outside and could spend hours wandering the backyard. He loves to go on walks, play at the park and go down slides. He recently tried to climb out of his crib and fell pretty hard (hopefully that will detour him form trying again). He loves to throw things, pretty much anything he picks up and he loves pressing buttons and putting his fingers in little holes. Recently he has really gotten into making his little animals go down his slide and wants to take them wherever he goes. He loves curious george and will watch a good 15 minutes straight of that show. He still only says about 6 or 7 clear words but babbles constantly. He likes to scream and change his pitch and he has learned to close and open doors (we are doomed).

He knows to go get me his shoes, the phone, and to get whomever I ask when its dinner time. He is very helpful at unloading the dishwasher dirty or clean, and still loves to hide things places and put things in other things. He can throw his own diapers away and brush his teeth. He loves bubble baths and flushing the toilet when no one is looking. He loves going to nursery and playing with other kids, he really thinks its cool when he sees someone his size. He is a good little eater most of the time and likes to peel tangerines and throw the peel in the trash but not eat it. He can help me weed and sort the recycling cans, but still wants me to wipe his hands when they get dirty.

I feel like he is constantly going through different stages and that he is out to get me. I love being his mom with all the challenges it brings. He behaves so differently for me then others but I know it is normal and to not take offense. I am so happy to stay at home playing with him and cleaning his high chair tray 100 times a day :) I love him so much, and I am excited to see how he acts with the new baby and being a big brother. I can't believe 20 months has really flown by!

Baby Update:

So I had a Dr. appointment Monday and after my fluid check (which looks great) I mentioned how I had been contracting regularly everyday not to many to worry me but some very painful. She decided to check me and said I wasn't dilated yet but was on the verge. I am only 33 weeks and really ideally I would like to make it to 37 weeks. We decided to make another appointment in 2 weeks just to check in before she left on vacation. I was totally okay happy knowing that this baby will be here sooner then later. Today though after lunch I had constant contractions for almost 2 hours. I was in a lot of pain. Luckily Max was napping and my mom was home so if anything was to happen I wasn't alone with Max. At one point though I was laying on my bed in tears just thinking that I was SO not ready for this and my poor mom was trying to help me through. Finally the contractions subsided and after taking a nap I woke up with a sore belly but the contractions were gone.

My Dr. called me and told me I did everything right but if it had been longer to go to the hospital. I guess I need to pack myself a bag just incase. I called Larry to let him know what had happened and he was a little upset at me for not letting him know sooner. I am always joking that if I don't get induced and I go into labor naturally he might miss it because he is gone so much and unreachable when he is in court. I think we better start thinking of plans of what to do if this happens again and no one is home except me and Max, I could just see myself driving to the hospital carrying my toddler with me. Anyways we will see what happens in the next few weeks. I would love to have this baby early but not to early and I really hope I end up getting induced and not having to second guess my body and then having this baby somewhere other then the hospital :)

Happy Valentines Day!

Here is my valentine from me to you!

How funny is that?Hope everyone has a fun great day. We aren't doing anything super special, but I did pick up a heart shaped pizza from Papa Murphy's and we surprised my dad with a valentine hand delivered to his classroom by Max. We would have done Larry as well but he was busy at the court house doing his lawyer thing :) We will celebrate this weekend just him and I along with my early birthday dinner (more economical!) I am glad I have a special valentine every year and now I have even more with my sweet Max and super soon new baby boy!

A Big Fat 32 Weeker...

I am 32 weeks pregnant and starting to feel this coming to an end...hopefully. Overall this has been a super easy pregnancy. I finally have a belly bump and feel little boy move a bit more. He is not as active as Max was which makes me wonder if my fluid is dropped in the last week or so? I don't have an appointment till yearly next week so we will check then. It will be interesting to see how big this boy is because I am similar size to last time I think (you be the judge) but I am crossing my fingers and praying he is little and I have a smooth delivery like last time. I think sometimes its more nerve racking your second time around because you know how great or awful it can go and its hard not to compare or have similar expectations. I continually pray that it is a smooth happy delivery like Max's, one can only hope. Anyways I am starting to feel a lot more contractions then every before. Nothing consistent but some are very painful and come late at night. Every time a painful one hits I get a bit panicky.

Having an unexpected pregnancy can be hard but its still such a blessing. I need to bite my tongue and be extremely grateful that I have the chance to be a mother and that my body is up for the challenge and willing does what it is made to do. I am getting excited to see what he looks like and what color his eyes will be. Max has big blue eyes which when one does the pundent square (aw biology) he had a 1 in 4 chance of getting those babies so it will be fun to see if we get a brown eyed boy this time. We have a name picked out finally (we think) and its beginning to feel a bit more real. I am trying to get Max to hold his baby doll more and to learn what a hat is which new babies wear and we are enforcing the no bottle rule (except for bedtime) because only babies need those not big brothers.

In reality there is no way to truly prepare a 19 month old for what is in store, but I want him to feel that he is still loved and very important to our family. Its nice to know I will continue to stay home with the boys and just continue to be a mom. So here is to the final couple of weeks. Who knows when this baby will come 5 weeks from now is when I had Max so we will see!

Oh here I am 32 weeks at both pregnancies:

Left Picture Baby #2 and Right Picture Baby Max :)

Sleep deprived.

You know you are a tired mom when you just realize you haven't left the house in 2 straight days. At least I've been outside in the backyard but in a car, driving somewhere other then my house, nope. We've been re-sleep training Max these last couple of days. I have no clue what is going on with him other then I have a suspicious feeling his 2 year old molars are making their way down into his mouth, therefore making him super grumpy and unwilling to sleep his normal 16 hours which this mom needs. So as he began to scream at the brink of dawn Sunday morning I knew there was no way we were going to church. Max and I went back to sleep at 8:45 in the morning as everyone else was leaving for church. Today was no different although only a little fight was put up for bedtime tonight so maybe he is out of his funk. Its funny (not really) how kids go through different stages multiple times for different lengths. I am just hoping he goes back to his good little sleeper ways before my life gets turned up side down with a soul sucking but lovable infant. Heres to a happy week, starting tomorrow because this Monday was a long one for me.

Midweek Slump.

There is something about the later end of the week that makes me so tired. By Thursday I have already exhausted lots of our usual activities and I am starting to feel the drain of no husband around night after night. I am feeling very BLA lately....I am in a slump. I need to crawl out of it and not feel so tired. Even diet coke is not helping. I will leave you with a picture of my cute Max. He has learned to throw tantrums lately and say the word "NO" with enthusiasm. Everyday seems to be longer then the next, I am pretty sure its just the pregnancy fatigue but I really hope I can snap out of it and start to feel normal again. This haze of fatigue is really getting to me, and I am pretty sure its rubbing off on Max and that is why he is so grump and screamy these days.

Max is a really good helper. Every night as I try to cook dinner he wants to be in the middle of it. Usually I end up tripping over the tons of bowls, spoons, and forks he has pulled out. I don't mind his help because he is usually happy clanging the pots and bowls and talks to be about his day. Sure it takes me 10 times longer to do anything...but really what else should I be doing? Its pretty amazing how much kids soak up and imitate what they see. He really likes to whisk like I do, and help me set the table. He is so cute and one day I will train him to be my good little helper.