Thursday, June 19, 2014

Mid Week Report

I admire people who can blog once a week and so eloquently sum up all their activities so concisely; it's just not me. I am wordy, and when too many events pile on top of each other it's better for me just to break each post down into a few days... hence this mid week report. The nice thing this time around is I get to start with: 
~Father's Day~
I woke up in sheer excitement for Travis's gift, of course he slept in; so I had to wait. 
Maddix joined me in our anticipation and helped me set things up; aka, the bike. 
This year we were able to get Travis a hybrid road bike/mountain bike. 
We wheels it out and set it up, then waited. I've been able to 
keep it a real surprise. He's wanted one so bad,
and he had no idea, No idea! 
Que Travis waking up
He says, "morning"
Que Maddix
"Dad! Dad! Come see your new bike! Are you excited? We got it for you! And it's outside
/:[
Sigh. 
Travis was so excited.
He went out and took it for a spin, 
All the while I was thinking, "Well at least I can still
surprise him with the other presents, ya know, that will be good.
Travis returns from taking the bike for a spin. 
Que Maddix, the worst secret keeper ever,
"Dad come see the other presents,
they're inside!"
Boo. 
After this funny, somewhat fail of giving him gifts; just kidding with was a total success, he loved
them all! We went and had breakfast with the Johnsons and I think we gained a few 
pounds from that meal alone. Unfortunately I didn't get a single photo of 
any of the dads. Only one of my niece mooching from my plate:)

After church we then had a Mexican Fiesta with my Dad and Wendy's family. Once again the food was too good, there was too much, and I had no self control... none. I may never
forgive Wendy for leaving that pan of Chocolate Tres Leches... mmm.
Okay, all is forgiven. 
Happy Father's Day
After all the work and energy and cleaning that went into a weekend of parties, when Monday came I said, "screw it" and no cleaning was done. What did happen was a lot of time
spent on the floor playing with Maddix and Aaron, 
Snuggle time while we read books,
a trip to the library, 
family naps,
non stop laughing,
real quality time together,
movies together with everyone, and
absolutely no cleaning, no errands, and no check lists
... this has gone on for three days.
I don't regret it:) 


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We fell asleep reading
together:)


Maxfield Family Reunion

This year we held the Maxfield Family Reunion at my grandparent's home;
which is where I live....
.... bring on the stress to get the house sparkling clean and the yard
in prestine condition before all the spies,  I mean relatives arrived and collected data to return
to my grandparents about how everything looked in their absents;)

I think everything turned out nice and it was SO much fun to get all the cousins, second cousins, spouces, etc together and have some fun. 

Highlights: Doug whipping out his guns and inadvertently forming a man's circle, multiple rounds of speed (of which I won all the one's I was in Hooah!), and the cotton candy/popcorn/snow cone machines my dad brought to the party; good times:) 
This was Maddix's first time playing
real games with the big kids
(and he was winning)

We love our U. Scotty

I love these faces:)

Ridiculousness, but they're so much fun

The man circle and their guns
Cotton Candy!

Soon to be step sisters.
These girls are so sweet, I'm glad they could make it!

This man is NOT sweet...
but I'm still glad he made it;p

Some of the Littles

A few more of the gang. 
Of all the photos this is my favorite. These are my grandma's brothers
and this picture just says so much about them:) 

Our door adventures

Who can stay in when the weather is calling us out??
Last week I wasn't feeling the best (well for a few weeks) and ended up taking a day off of work. Taking one day off ended up being in the middle of my two days off, and created four days off in a row. So in that time we went to the pool, and it was so fun to go with my family for once; I swear they don't do much ;)
 And then one day about two minutes before swim lessons began, this boy followed a bird into a mud puddle. The result was he slipped and was covered head to toe in mud.... luckily there was a faucet I was able to wash him off in. Sometimes...
 And then last Thursday I played in a tournament Softball game and had a blast. I may have gotten too into it when I forgot I was wearing shorts and slid into third to beat the throw. THAT result:
 Oh I also got beaned in the leg by a wild throw:
All in the name of Summer Time Memories

Doggy Days

              As I mentioned before, we were lucky enough, blessed enough will you, to have Nala stay in our backyard while my mom fertilized her lawn. My grandparents are extremely anti-dogs and so it was quite an honor.
Just chewing on her bone
This is where she stayed at night:)
We were going to stay out with her and
"camp" but I got sick... again.
              We absolutely love it here and the only thing that could possibly make it better is if we could have our baby girl with us all the time; however, being all together again for the first time in three years is what we look forward to about New York. In the meantime, we really just enjoyed having our little girl with us; and no one enjoyed it as much as Maddix. In fact, the whole time Nala was here I never once had Maddix ask me to play out back with him because he was bored, and they were a little adventurous together also.


                 A few times I peeked my head out the window to find the boy and Nala missing; together they had courage to cross the yard boundary and go next door to visit with the neighbor and look at his horse:) I loved it. It reminded me of a scene straight from the Andy Griffith show: Just a boy and his dog in a simpler time.
Playing in the neighbor's
water:) 

Out playing with the horse
next door
Pure Joy

Friday, June 13, 2014

Baby Update: 11 Months (Next one's the BIG one)

I just read my 10 month post for Aaron before I got started on his 11month one and I can't believe how many things seem different about Aaron in month 11 than they did in 10; he's like a little adult now. He has sass and personality and seems to know that he is almost 1 year of age and has decided to "grow up, be a man," vs being just a sweet sit still little baby. 
Sleep: Still fantastic; however, instead of putting his head straight to the blanket and going right to sleep, he now looks at me with full recognition that I am abandoning him and leaving him forever, each and every time he goes to sleep, then he cries. His cry is sad and full of betrayal. Thank HEAVENS it's only for maybe 2 minutes then he goes straight to sleep. 
Sleeps straight through the night, even despite Maddix coming in the room and singing/talking himself to sleep each night. 
In the mornings Aaron has started waking up at 7:00am and against Maddix's will, talks and yells at him until he wakes up. They then spend that hour playing together:) They stay in their room until about 8:00. 
Maddix will dump Aaron's toys in his crib then get out his own toys (just about the only time of the day he'll even play with his toys), or even cuter, lately Maddix has decided to get his blanket and stuffed animals and climb into Aaron's crib with him; it's too cute. I know I shouldn't let him do it, and that he's probably breaking the crib, BUT when I can hear the giggles down the hall coming from my boys who are bonding and creating memories, I just can't get myself to go end it. 
The hour in the morning they spend together is their best hour of the day as brothers. I love it. I hope they become best friends some day. 
Weight: This boy has finally switched to whole milk, and off the formula (Hurray!) and now seems to be growing quickly. Before he was puking up 1/2 his formula he would eat but now he keeps most of it down, not to mention he must consume all other food around him; he is an eating machine already! He's upwards of 20-22lbs and feels like he's getting bigger. He now reaches in drawers he couldn't reach before, and when he clings to my leg to be picked up I swear he is grabbing much higher than before. 

Likes: 
Favorite food is Watermelon
Wrestling with the boys
talking to his brother from his crib
Eating his bottle while balanced on the stair (that one frustrates me)
Loves crackers of any kind
Camping
Nala, he can almost say her name
loves playing chase/being chased
Obsessed with the pool; he just wants to throw his face under water every second we're there
Loves his Mommy... that's right this month has been month of MOMMY! Move over Travis, there's a new favorite in town!!!!!!!!
Eating at the table with the big people
Eating in his swing on the balcony
Going for walks/runs/bike rides
Being picked up from his crib
The play dough drawer in our hall
Throwing things in the toilet!
Loves any room he's not supposed to be in/same goes for cupboards
Soccer! If there is a soccer ball in the room he WILL begin dribbling it; it's quite impressive to watch.
Playing catch. He giggles uncontrollable as he rolls it back to you like it's the silliest game ever.
Rubbing heads :) Recently he decided rubbing noggin's is pretty hilarious.
Occasionally likes to drag his head across the carpet until he runs into a wall.
Loves all people
Always goes straight for the nightlight to tear it out if I forget to unplug it
Loves when I sing to him at night
Likes sitting in the swing at the park, it makes him comatose.
Loves to scream/gab/ramble/hum/sing/whine/etc to test out his voice and hear himself.  

Dislikes: 
Waiting for the bottle, as always. 
Anytime his food runs out. 
When brother gets too rough and knocks him over
When I don't pick him up he yells at me, literally. 
In that playtime in the morning if Maddix leaves the room for even a second Aaron goes ballistic! He loves playing in the room with his brother, BUT if Maddix leaves then he is NOT HAPPY!
Hates getting his bum changed, or clothes put on, seriously. It's a whiny fight ANY time he gets put on his back. 
Doesn't like being held and cuddled against his will and MUST wiggle to the ground. 
He will walk over to where I am and he's not getting his way, make sure I'm watching then flop himself into a pouting position and cry. And he has a wicked curled under pouty lip like you've never seen. 
Not as big a fan of the shower as he once was; now he just seems annoyed of tired of it faster. 
Doesn't like being left behind, it's a reminder that his legs are so little and he's not big yet! 
Doesn't have patients or focus to sit still and read books; breaks my heart.
Being ignored for even a split second. 

Anything Else: 
Just after the 10 month post Aaron decided to officially walk. Now he runs!
He has eaten down the stairs twice this week because he doesn't want to crawl down them like a baby, he really wants to go forwards, then falls. 
He likes to blow kisses to Maddix before bed. 
Aaron is in this mischievous stage where every room, every pile of laundry, ever put away toy, every cupboard full of breakables, every rock not for eating, and every clean piece of clothing MUST be explored and it must not be left how it was fun. Oh, that includes going through the garbage can. Also includes "cleaning" items by dunking them in in the toilet; yep, that's a thing now. 
Under the sink was his favorite spot at Gma Lori's the other day
Just goofing around; nothing new:) 
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That's one small step for man, one large step for
babies everywhere... not forget the steps
and lets just run

Why yes I do enjoy riding in
shopping carts, who doesn't?

Loves LOVES being with the boys



Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Summa' DaYs Be LoOkiN' like ThiS

Sometimes I write captions like "So many things, so little time..." 
But truthfully it's more like, "You want me to remember what happened four days ago? Four hours ago? Umm...." 
So I just blog through pictures, yep because if I didn't take a picture, then I probably won't remember it happened  :) 
We said goodbye to my co-worker, Nathan. I've
worked with Nathan since the day I was hired at Chuck-a-rama
and believe me when I tell you there is no one in the world that is
more of a real life Dwight than his Nathan right here.
Best of luck Dwight! 

And this kid can finally dunk his head!
This is a huge accomplishment if anyone knows
Maddix.

My in-laws made it to watch Larisa and I
sub in a softball game... funny, they were doing the same thing
8 years ago, only then who knew I'd marry into the family. 

Maddix got to attend the Lake Days with Gma Juliene
and cousin Porter. He had a blast and came back with
a fireman hat, skull 'n' bones tattoo, and a bag of candy!
Best day in his book. 

This guy has mastered the rock climbing
wall at the park next to the pool.
So smart

 Priceless Father/Son time during scripture reading

Maddix didn't want his time with dad to be over yet,
so he decided to study with him.

And then there is the ever "scary"/ fun time in life
where we learn how to drive stick.
My brother actually did a pretty good job. 

Go permission from Gma/Gpa to bring Nala out
while my mom fertilizes the lawn.

First Srawberry of the season from our own patch.
Dang birds keep eating them all before we get to them!
So not in a picture but was very fun was also a walk we got to take with my father-in-law yesterday at the River Trail. We always enjoy ANY time we get with him. Highlights of the walk were definitely when Maddix ran his bike off the path and laid it out into a pile of leaves and slid down into a tree:) and also creating seats on top of spread out mail so Vaughn's work pants didn't get dirty, while eating gummy snacks and watching Maddix throw rocks in the water! 

We also enjoyed a little time with my siblings at my mom's, a quick trip to Costco Just me and the boys, then getting to watch Kung Fu Panda 2 with Maddix and Aaron while cooking dinner. 
Aside from being pretty sick these past few days off work, they were still quite enjoyable. 

Tuesday, June 3, 2014

Happy June

Happy June Everybody
I can't think of a better way to start off this month than by having three 
days in a row off of work: Attending church with the family, it was awesome.

It was fast Sunday and as Maddix watched all those the children going up to bare their testimonies he just bounced in his seat, begging to go up!
I asked him, "what would you even say?" His response:
"I'd tell them about Jesus!" 
so up we went. 
My son is getting so big! We got up there and he looks into the mic and whips his head to me and says, "What's next?" Everyone laughed and then Maddix bore his testimony, 
"I know Jesus is my brother, I know God is in Heaven, and I love my family. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen."

Another first for Maddix happened yesterday when he attended his first ever swim lessons!
He did really well... except for the several times he ran away from the instructors, yanked on the rope they said not to touch, and kept going down the slide that wasn't supposed to be played on.. yep he ran circles around those high school kids. 

Yesterday really was just a fun day!
10:00am: Went for a 5mile run
11:15: First ever swim lesson for Maddix
12:00: Lunch
1:45: Swam at the scera pool where Maddix went up/down the little slide 1000 times
and Aaron wanted nothing more than to ram his face in the water!
3:00: Went to cousin Keili's where they ran in the sprinklers, played in water on the tramp, and then made us smoothies out of Keili's kitchen set:) 
4:40: headed home; Aaron passed out in the car, and Maddix could barely move. 
One quick shower for Maddix then
5:00: How to Train your Dragon, snuggled in a blanket with snacks, fresh cold water, and warm Pj's. 
Aaron got in his pi's and crawled around, laying down everywhere and yawning;
Both boys ended up going to bed early! Thanks Dad for watching the boys the rest of the evening so that at 
6:00: we could go boating! 
NOT a great picture of me, but I really enjoyed being able to get out on the lake and get to know these two girlies. Thanks Scott and Tom for having us all out on the lake! We thoroughly enjoyed it. 
I actually pulled off a few good jumps. It felt so good to
get behind the boat again!

And this guy, after landing some wake clearing jumps
decided to attempt over and over a flip on the board;
he was getting so close but then usually provided us with great crashes in the end:)
Believe me, he's feeling it today! 
Such an awesome way to start the month of June. 
Bring on the rest of summer!!!