Refrigerator School

When I was yet a wee little thing, I seemed to have a fascination with all things imaginary (so I'm told), particularly, things that had to do with the life I so badly wanted to be living, but that I was still too young for.

When I was about 3, it was the life of my older brother and sisters that I coveted. They all had what I wanted. They were the privileged. They got to go to school. Not only did they get to go to school, but they got to get there by bus. And to top it all off, they got to have friends, a desk, a pencil box, sack lunches, and field trips (I'm not quite sure where they went; we literally lived miles from the rest of civilization).

Determined not to be outdone, I formed my own school...in the refrigerator. For as long as my mother would let me (and as long as the milk would stay cold), I would pull up my desk in the open fridge, and so began my early tutelage.

As we gathered for dinner, my sisters and brothers would all begin to expound on the happenings of their day at school, only to be outdone by my school day. While they had to settle everyday for a yellow school bus, it was not uncommon for me to ride a black, purple, or pink bus to school. While they had the same teacher and friends everyday, I had a myriad of choices; some days Mr. Catsup was my teacher; other days it was Mrs. Milk. I was always selective about the friends I let sit by me, apples and oranges. Unless of course we were on the outs, then lettuce was my playmate.

I had forgotten all about my refrigerator school days until the other day when I saw Max doing the following.

Although it seems that for the time at hand, Max is mostly interested in consuming what is in the fridge rather than reading and spelling with all of them, I am already having happy thoughts of saving hundreds on preschool.

Like Father, Like Son

DISCLAIMER: Ryan told me that if I posted any of these pics of him running (I couldn't resist; the XANGO headband was just too much) that he would black mail me. But he has no idea how to blog so I'm not too worried, except for the fact that he will see this.

On occasion Ryan will bring home all kinds of useless Xango swag from work. But a few weeks ago he seemed particulary excited about this little item, so much so that he brought home 4 of them--the XANGO sweat headband.

Ever since he saw his daddy wearing them to run, Max has taken a particular interest in wearing headbands. He will bring them to me when he finds them and have me put them on his head and he wears them around all day.
I suppose there are worse things my boy could want to wear. He seems pretty happy about this particular new trend in our home. Maybe Mom will jump on the headband wagon!

BLOGGING SHORTCOMINGS

After perusing blogs and hence the personal lives of both people I know, and some I don't (you've all done it), it is apparent that what you're currently reading, listening to, doing, working on and loving are all vital blogging information. My apologies for shorting my blogging audience of such obvious and essential information.

Currently reading:
Currently Listening To:Doing This:Working on This:

Loving This:

FOOLED

April 1 made a fool out of someone in our home yesterday...my husband would say that fool was me because anyone who participates in such a lame tradition is a fool in his mind. I say that is only because people with such sour attitudes are the ones who end up getting fooled! Our family loves pranks...thanks to my mother. One time she went out back in our alley way in TX and left one of those fake bloody appendages that you get at Halloween sticking out of the bottom of the dumpster...and I'm not even sure that it was April Fools Day. Yes, my mother is to blame for all of our insanely ridiculous but rather amusing antics. My husband happens to hate all things ridiculous or even remotely surprising so it is especially fun to fool him. Yesterday I called him at work and this is how I made a fool out of him...

Me:"What is Max's happiness worth to you?"

Ryan:"It's worth a whole lot."

Me:"Then you won't care what I got him today."

Ryan:"What?...More clothes?...Because that doesn't make him happy, that makes you happy."

Me:"Nope. I was at WalMart and this cute little family was selling these adorable puppies for $20. They have floppy ears and Max went nuts over them."

Ryan (after a long pause):"Tell me you didn't buy a dog."

Me:"Oh honey but it's papered and has it's shots and everything and Max just loves it."

Ryan:"You bought a dog. You really bought a dog."

This conversation went on for about 10 minutes with Ryan getting ever more silent and me explaining how much it would mean to Max. Anyone who knows my husband knows that the purchase of any pet, including fish, would constitute the need for serious conversation...of which would consist of his rationale of all reasons why we shouldn't have pets followed by negotiations of taking Max to the Zoo or Aunt Jolea's if he needs to be with animals.

Yes, there was no better way to fool my husband. Just as he was no doubt searching for the appropriate way to tell me to take the floppy eared mutt back to the WalMart parking lot, I reminded him of what a gullable fool he was on April Fool's Day. He didn't even care. He just said "Oh good. At least there's no dog." Today however he has reminded me more than once just how lame April Fool's is. Which makes it all the more fun for the fooler...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SARAH

MISS SARAH KATE TURNS 3 YEARS OLD(...YESTERDAY)
i don't know when her mother will get around to blogging this important event, so albeit late, i thought i should share this monumental occasion with the blogging world. our little red headed princess is now a mature 3 years and counting. i love you sarah kate!
(also, a very late happy 8th birthday to seth who turned 8 on St. Patricks Day; we are looking forward to your baptism day buddy!)

Addie Jo

My darling little sister Carrie has been sending me all sorts of cute pics of her baby girl Addie, and I realized that while I had announced her birth on the blog, I haven't posted any pics of my adorable niece.

Addie on Easter

Already accessorizing!
Even though she is a spitting image of her dad, Addie has her mom's style and spunk!

I love you Carrie! Hopefully soon we'll actually get to see you guys!

15 Months Today

How time has flown by. You have brought so much joy to our lives. We love you MAX!

EASTER MORN

I was really excited for Easter this year because I wanted to start some new traditions.

Ryan didn't have many Easter traditions as a child (although he does remember coloring eggs) so playing the Easter Bunny has become even more of a thrill for me! We also started the tradition of doing an Easter French Toast Brunch. It was a big hit! Ryan caught on pretty quick to it all as I was very surprised when there were 3 baskets in our family room! We have been sharing one iPod and it really belongs to him, so I suppose the gift was as much of a gift to him as it is to me. Now he can take his iPod with him when we works out at his on site gym at work.

I really want our kids to have fun memories as they grow up. I can still remember the 8 easter baskets lined up in the family room every Easter. I remember always getting lots of treats, a surprise of some sort, and a chocolate bunny. At some point, we always watched the Easter Dream as a family. Hopefully I can help create memories and teach my children why we celebrate these days in a way that will bring happiness for years to come!

EASTER ROCK HUNT

Max participated in his first Easter Egg Hunt in Tooele on Saturday. Every year, Grandma J. puts on an Easter party complete with delicious assortment of food (in which we always overindulge) and an egg hunt for all the great grand kids. He had no idea what to do. Still not quite sure what it's all about...I think I'll try to eat it.

Forget this...the rocks are much more interesting. I think I'll hang out in this rock bed for the remainder of the hunt.After the hunt, all the great grand kids gather inside and we discover who found the "special empty egg", symbolic of the empty tomb.

This year Camilla found the special egg.After the hunt, all the kids had fun playing with their bouncy balls Grandma J. got for each one. Max wanted to be right in their with all the kids. We had a great time, despite the lack of enthusiasm on Max's part for egg hunting...as long as there are rocks and dirt, I think we will be fine.

Wreaths & Cherry Chocolate Cupcakes

Last night my good friend Michelle invited myself and two of my favorite other gal pals, Jolea & Emily, to make some these awesome wreaths. She taught all 3 of us the proper plucking of greenery, bunching technique, and how to successfully operate the wreath binder. The results were just amazing! In true Michelle fashion, these chocolate cherry cupcakes were awaiting us, the presentation as sweet as the cupcakes...and honestly, I don't know which I enjoyed more...the cupcake or the wreath making. The finished product
What happens when three moms get away for a night without their children
Thank you Michelle...my kitchen door has never looked so great!

Aunt Michelle and Uncle Dean

Before Max was even born, he had already become the adopted nephew of two of our favorite people...Aunt Michelle who lives in Provo and Uncle Dean, who hails from Boston. This past week Max had the fortunate opportunity of hanging out with both of them. Max took his Aunt Michelle for a belated birthday lunch on Wednesday and caught up with her on all of life's adventures since we last saw her...we heard about her travels, her new friends, her marathon training, and her busy job! She in turn heard all about Max's new teeth, his new found vocabulary and mobility, and how much he loves his daddy and uncles. As Max and Mommy were perusing the new merchandise in Aunt Mickey's store, who should drop in but Uncle Dean, who had just flown in from Boston! What a party in was at the CC&F!

Then on Sunday Uncle Dean came to our house for Sunday dinner. Max was just a few months old the last time Uncle Dean was in town so he had to show off all his new skills. Uncle Dean was so nice and brought him a new pair of PJ's and a BYU basketball. The PJ's were of course sporting the baseballs and bats as Uncle Dean has high hopes of Max being a "lefty" and making it big in the MLB.

Even though Max has 12 biological Aunts and Uncles, we couldn't be happier that these two are a part of our son's life. How lucky he is and how fortunate we are to have such great friends!

PLAY DATE

Last week Max and Mommy had a play date with a few of their favorite people. Our good friend Amy was up visiting from Arizona, so Sharon, Emily and I loaded up the kids for a lunch play date at Amy's parents home in Orem. It was so fun to catch up, especially with Amy since I had not seen her in so long.

Max and Andrew are only a few weeks apart so it was fun for them to finally meet. We compared mommy notes and got Sharon's take on what life is like as you add to the family. We discussed sleeping schedules, allergies, staying at home, our childrens' weird habits, and husbands...my how our lives have evolved!

I told all the kids to look at the camera on the count of three, and Livy took it a step further. 1..2..3...FLASH!Max was excited to finally have some boys around to play with, although I don't know how Sammy felt about it.

What a fun time we had!

Mighty Mischevious Max

Max has been tagged by his cousin Avery, who lives in Idaho Falls.

Max came to us on Christmas Eve and we like to say he is very punctual because he was born on his due date. We thought we would make it through Christmas as there were no signs of an impending arrival, but as we now know, Max loves to keep us on our toes.

Max was 8 lbs. 10 oz. and just kept getting bigger and bigger. He was such a good baby, not fussy unless he really needed something. We held him, and held him...which has since led to his very poor bedtime habits which we are still trying to break him of.

Many of you know that Max has a very interesting "soothing technique" for going to sleep. He has to pick...mostly eyelashes, but the occasional Adam's apple or eyelid skin will do. We have no idea how to break him of this.

Like his cousin Avery, Max is mischievous. He is into everything. His favorite things to destroy are mom's cupboards, books, and anything and everything in the bathroom. Daily restoration of a once well organized and clean home is imperative.

Since having Max, I firmly believe that gender specific behaviors are God given and specific. Nature will take over most children if you just let it be. No one taught this child how to crash, fly, dump, hit, or drive almost every toy, but ever since he could make the sounds to resemble the aforementioned verbs, he turns every item into a plane or sword or what have you. This little boy is truly all boy. The only use he has for dolls is for picking their eyelashes. He has recently discovered how yummy rocks and dirt tastes and loves being outside.

Max mastered the walking thing at about 13 mos old and since then he thinks he owns the place. His current vocabulary consists of "Hi, Daddy, dog, ball", quite the masculine vocabulary.

Some of Max's favorite things are playing with kids, especially his cousin Easton, and playing with his uncles Mark and Jeff and his Daddy. You can tell what his mommy does all day because as of lately, Max's new interests are the broom, vacuum wand, and disinfecting wipes. He also loves the bath, so while he loves getting dirty, at least he knows how to clean up. Max also loves music and to dance...he has quite the little booty bump.

Our life hasn't been the same since he came. He is developing quite the personality and figuring out how to test Mom and Dad. We love him so much and can't imagine life without our MAX!
MAX TAGS GRACE MOORE, BELLE BLAIR, AND JHETT HAMBLIN!