A Little of This, and Some of That...

I've decided to let Max take over blogging for a bit. He clearly has a lot to say.... He prefers working on the "pew" (computer) in his jammies, if you haven't noticed. And as you can see, sometimes all of this "blogging for the masses" is hard work. He's feeling the pressure....

So he takes a break as often as he can. New trick? Playing ball outside with Daddy.....

Now that Max is almost 2, he has some new tricks up his sleeve. He's putting two words together ("Do trains!", "No Mama", "Walk Dada", "blue car"). Tonight he walked into the kitchen with a bucket on his arm, held his finger up in the air and said "back" to Sean and I, and then walked out. As in, "Hang on a minute, I'll be right back". Apparently when I say it, my finger is up in the air :) For the past two shopping trips, he has sat IN THE CART for the entire trip! For those of you who know my Max, this is a HUGE accomplishment. No trying to jump out, no reaching back and throwing things out of the big part of the cart. He was a helper. And smiled very politely at the check-out counter and waved, and said "Hi Man!". This morning he gave his little friend Si-Si a HUG! I love how they play together.....they were "cooking" in the kitchen side by side, and sharing blueberries at the table in the coffee shop. She is usually the one hugging him, but today he hugged HER (she was walking away to go potty....Max didn't understand why he couldn't go with her....he thought she was leaving for good....ohh the life of a 2 year old). He nearly knocked her over into the bookshelf with his love, but SiSi's mama caught them just in time!

To be honest, I had some dark and dramatic things planned for this post. My angst about Max's upcoming appointment with the allergist....my inner monologue about how this journey is not what we expected.....my sadness at having to see my little boy wake up from naps sobbing uncontrollably because he is hurting.....my frustration at not being able to fix things, having to spend our days at doctors appointments, begging them to take this as seriously as we do. But I got sidetracked, I guess. Sidetracked by all of the new, fun, hilarious things that Max has been up to lately.....

Like eating cereal out of Daddy's bowl.....or talking to himself while half asleep/rolling around in bed (last night it was "Drill....screw....go!" because he had been watching Daddy fix things in his room). I love the squeal that he lets out when he's only wearing a diaper and he throws himself on the bed and wiggles around in pure delight. It cracks me up that he has started grabbing his diaper and saying "poo-poo" and heading for the bathroom, even though he doesn't have to go, and we are nowhere near ready to potty train. Or maybe we are :) When he hurts himself he runs to me and says "Kiss" and then puts the injured place up to my face. Last night when I was trying to get him to go to sleep, he kept putting Louie (his HUGE stuffed dog) up to my mouth and saying "Oooooeeee (Louie)! Kiss, Kiss". How do you not laugh??

Of course, having a toddler with eating issues means that pictures like this just melt me. Eating a PB+J while kicking back on the couch....like a big boy...

He might still drink a bottle 5 times a day (don't piss me off or I'll tell you where you can put your opinion of that!), but he's also drinking from a real water bottle spout now...

And just because I feel like sharing, tonight for dinner he had chicken, red bell pepper strips with hummus, and avocado. HELLO WORLD, this was NOT A FISHSTICKS NIGHT. I will wholeheartedly accept my Mother Of The Year Award. For today, anyway.

San Diego Part 2: The Wedding!

15 years ago I found myself beginning a new adventure, at a college many miles from home, with a group of women that I had never met before. I was homesick, I was scared, and I had no idea what the next few semesters would bring. Suddenly, the semesters turned into years, and those years became a fork in the road that would send me on the journey that I was always meant to walk.

These women changed my life.

Jessi (the blushing bride), Anna (the soon-to-be blushing bride), Susie (my roomie, with Jack's little sister hanging tight in her belly), Me, and the always adorable Natalie.

Spending the evening with my "sisters", sharing the laughter and tears that can only come with having a combined history, and celebrating Jessi's new adventure as she became a Mrs, was in all ways, the perfect night.

The ceremony was beyond gorgeous. The sun was setting over the water as the lovely Jessi said "I Do" to her Australian prince Rich. They were 100% in the moment, with vows so real and so honest.

As the sun went down and the wind picked up, we gathered inside to celebrate the new bride and groom with good music, good food, and some memory-making.
Just in case anyone forgot, Max and Jack's folks still know how to party. Thanks to Max's Baubee and Zaydee, we were able to stay in LA all night, and get our party groove on with our good friends. Did I mention how THRILLED we were that Max had a "win" with Baubee and Zaydee and the bedtime bonanza?? Actually, Baubee and Zaydee won that round. Thank god. Mommy and Daddy needed 8 hours of sleep like nobody's business!
If I could tell my 18 year old self one thing, it would be this.

Reach out. Get to know these girls as quickly as you can. It will be the best thing you have ever done with your life, and someday, in the not so far off future, you will be celebrating weddings, babies, and life's biggest treasures with them. They will change your life.
I love you Cal Poly ladies!

San Diego Part 1: Family Adventures

We're looking pretty grown-up here, aren't we? I mean, Max is too, of course, but keep in mind that Cafe 976 was Mommy's favorite hang-out spot when she was 16....so yeah, back with a hubby and a toddler...that's pretty darn grown-up.

Max requested a double hazelnut white mocha, but they carded him and realized he wasn't quite old enough....

Fortunately, Zaydee was an even better Barista, and let Max make his OWN dang coffee...
Max found the perfect look-out spot at Baubee and Zaydee's house....Baubee taught him how to look out all of the windows for bunny rabbits, and every day you could hear him yelling "buuuuh?" for bunny.

My little guy, and a great big skyline....

We had so many other wonderful adventures that didn't get documented on camera (because I suck, that's why). We visited with Aunt Katie and Nana Nancy, and saw their new house and Katie's "big kid school". She showed Max off to all of her friends and teachers, and let him fake a presentation in the assembly area. We got to see Katie at dance class, and Max LOVED watching her "Go go go" and "jump!". He was fascinated by the music, the class full of 30+ teenagers, and the teacher with a mohawk :) Every time Katie would finish a dance move, Max would clap for her and yell "Yay! Kay-Kay, go go go!". We miss Nana Nancy and Aunt Kay-Kay....and hope that they can come up to visit us soon! And while we're on the subject....ahem....SOMEONE just got their driver's permit!!!!!!!!!!! WAY TO GO AUNT KATIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We are so proud of you!!!!! Max sends you a very loud, very excited "Vrooom-Vroom!!!"

Stay tuned for San Diego Part 2: The Wedding.....better known as "Baubee and Zaydee's Excellent Adventure with Max!"

Walking Backwards

Yep, Max now knows how to walk backwards. And so does his Mama, which means that before we get to pictures of our San Diego trip, we need to walk back in time a little bit to catch everyone up on what happened before we left....
We celebrated the lovely Mama Susie at her baby shower, honoring Jack's soon-to-be-born little sister. The beautiful (ahem...glowing!) Janette and I co-hosted a party for my Roomie, and spent an afternoon with Weiss/Campion friends and family, pampering ourselves at the nail salon and dreaming about what this new little one will be like. Sus, Matt and Jack....we are so beyond excited for you guys, and can't wait to meet your new addition (I'm thinking sometime this month :) We also had Aunt Katie visit us at Casa By The Bay. She was flat out AMAZING with Max. Really. She's a natural with kids, and Max LOVED how she would get right down on the floor with him and play at his level....

And I think she's the only one other than Max who can actually FIT...

...in the box!!!!

We were so lucky to have Baubee here too....she invented this fun train game that Max likes to play, where the train goes flying off of the shelf, and then they saw "Ow!" and then they check to make sure the people in the train are ok. They're always ok. Though it's a bit morbid, but oh well :) Max LOVES it.

And he loves showing off his puzzle prowess too....

OK....more to come soon. I'm stuck in bed with ice wrapped around my face, due to the Great Wisdom Tooth Extraction of 2011. Thank god for helpers....Sean is working from home, our amazing sitter is here helping every day, and my mom is coming back to town tonight. And Vicodin. Thank god for Vicodin. And frozen peas. And McDonald's milkshakes. Yes Kerry, I sipped one carefully from a spoon, for you :)

Five For Friday

1. San Diego was AMAZING. Though you wouldn't know that, because you haven't seen a single picture or read a single blog post about it yet. My bad. I promise to take care of that in the very near future, so that you can share our grand adventure with us.

2. Max's new word? "Groooosss". As in, poke his finger in whatever he's refusing to eat, push it around his plate, and declare it "Groooossss". As in, lean over and SPIT on the nasty piece of dried bubble gum he discovered on the sidewalk, and declare it "Groooossss". Really? What biological piece of being a boy teaches an almost two year old to SPIT on something?

3. I think potty training may be on our horizon. A far away horizon that you can only see through the fog, but still, you catch glimpses of it. Why? Because Max is trying to wipe himself any time he enters a bathroom. And because he can say poo-poo, and he grabs his crotch and "pretends" like he needs to go to the bathroom. I'm hoping that we can avoid this process until after Max starts sleeping through the night. And not vomiting. I mean, I can only handle so many things at once. But I have a funny feeling that this adventure may be happening sooner rather than later. The horizon is starting to become really clear.

4. BEST. MORNING. EVER. Today. Took Max for a walk downtown. He said "Hi" and "Bye" to the baby chicks/ducks at the Feed and Fuel. Then we sat together on a beautiful sunny patio and had lunch, while listening to a guy play his guitar and sing. Max sat on my lap, leaned back into me, munched on his bread, and just listened to the music. And every few minutes he'd grab my arm and wrap it around his tummy and snuggle in. These are the kind of moments that you dream of when you think about being a mom.

5. Restaurants? With a toddler? Um, yes! Max apparently decided that he would turn over a new leaf while we were traveling. The kind of leaf that sits calmly in a high chair or booster seat and eats an entire meal so that his friends and family can enjoy theirs too. No joke, the morning we ate a monster brunch, Sean and I actually finished before Max did!

So there's your Five for Friday. Keep your fingers crossed for Max to have good naps and good nights, and I'll surely be posting more!

Balancing Act

Want to know what sucks? Spending 5 hours at Children's Hospital yesterday. The 30 minutes that it took for Max to calm down after waking up from anesthesia. The PH probe that they insisted they place and then we insisted that they remove (oh, the nurses were pissed, but you really didn't think that we'd make you take it out after I overheard you say "I need all hands on deck to hold him down while I reposition it"??). Meeting the doctors in the hallway outside of the operating room and hearing them say that they found the same inflammation as last time. And then commenting that figuring it out is still "really tricky". Having a verbal little boy who kinda gets what's going on now, and was screaming "Ma-ma, CHOO CHOO!" (he wanted to go back out to the lobby and play with the big train) during most of the pre-op procedure, because he just knew that something really not fun was about to happen. But here's what's great....

This face.

The 37 second conversation that Sean and I had (mostly with our eyes) while he held a screaming, scared little boy and we agreed to ask them to take the ph probe out. Because we're his parents. And that's our job. The minute that the probe, the IV, the heart monitors, and all of the other random cords were out and off, and holding Max on my lap when he sucked down his first bottle in oh, 10 hours.

What else makes the happy list? Bubbles. The bubbles that the Child Life Specialists brought him when we were waiting for his pre-op meds to take effect. Oh glorious 50cent bubbles. You saved the day. And our sweet doctor, who I know loves Max just by how she looks at him and how she treats him. I wanted to hug her for making me trust her so much. She is a kind, smart woman....and a little "Grey's Anatomy", but in a good way. Also on the list? The anesthesiologist who figured out a way to put Max's IV in AFTER he was sedated. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. And whoever took the umpteen vials of blood while he was sedated? You rock. Because last time, he came out of surgery with two quarter size bruises, one on each hand. Which means that someone tried too many times, in both hands, before they got a vein. And this time, someone got it first try, one hand only. Thank you for knowing that just because my boy is sedated, he is not yours to practice on. What else is on the happy list? Hugging and loving my beautiful Max, the way his sweet swollen face looked when he woke up last night from a long evening nap, his "I have no recollection of what I just went through this morning, but I am ready to PLAY" attitude. The fact that my husband took the whole day off from work to be with us, when I overheard another dad in the waiting room say "OK, can I go see my client now?".

We might not have enough answers yet, but we have this.....

and Max seems to know exactly where we're going.

The Happy List

Years ago, when I journaled with a spiral-bound notebook and a blue pen, lying sprawled across my bed with some good "writing music" on (think angst rock, or chick power music....Heart, anyone?), I kept what I called the "Happy List" in the back of my journal. It was a few pages of random things that made me smile. Things like "the way my new shampoo smells", and "the sound of my baby sister laughing out loud". It would serve as a much-needed antithesis to the drama of my dating days, and I would refer back to it every time I needed a pick-me-up. If I had that list scrawled across the back of this journal, I might add some of the moments that we had this past week. Aunt Katie came to visit, and this girl is WISE. And KIND. And FUNNY. And so poised, and resilient, and beautiful. And DAMN she takes the most amazing photos. She captured Max in all of his "I'm exploring the world and it's my very own Happy List moment" way.... And she helped us to chronicle our adventures....because Mommy isn't usually on this side of the camera...

This little guy is a living, breathing, every second Happy Moment.

And he never stops taking it all in...

Shouldn't we all see the world like this?

Feeling blessed today to have had so much time with my family this past week. And feeling a little sad that there will be more medical tests and doctor things next week for our little soldier. But flipping to the back of the journal all the same, and shining some light on what matters most.

If you'd like, comment away and tell me what your Happy Moment looked like this week....