Max's LiL Birthday Celebration!

We had a last minute family Birthday get together for Max Saturday night! I wanted to be a little further along in the pregnancy before we had people over to the house. So...we invited the fam over for a little cake and ice cream! Didn't want Max to totally miss out on everything with his 2nd birthday!

This adorable and super YUMMY cake was made by my friend Melanie Powell! She has a little business called Maddlily (you can check out some of her other cakes at maddlily.com)! She was so sweet to do this last minute for me!

A pic of the side. The cake was just so cute! I picked strawberry flavor because that is probably Max's favorite!

Max was very excited that it was HIS cake and of course that it had TRUCKS on it!!! He especially like all the blue trucks!

Here is a little pic of the decorations and cake together! Not much but still very cute!

And how adorable is this banner!!! My friend Amy came down Saturday morning and surprised me with it! She did such an AWESOME job! I told her it is time for her to sell these!

Some close up pictures of the banner! Max just LOVED it! He kept talking about all HIS trucks! Thanks Amy! You really know how to make someone feel special!

After most of the family got here we sang "HAPPY BIRTHDAY to MAX!"

He had candles to blow out this time which he LOVED!!! He kept saying "my cake" and "i blow candles out"! This was so WORTH it! Max was so excited about everyone singing to him and getting to blow out the candles! Sometimes it is just the little things that make us so happy!

Uncle Michale served the cake to Max first and he was saying "look orange truck!"!

He quickly told his Uncle Michael that he wanted "a blue truck!"

So....Uncle Michael gave Max both blue trucks off the cake! So sweet! Max was SO HAPPY!

He kept saying "I got 2 blue trucks!!"

After a little cake and ice cream we started opening presents!!!

He got a fur-real duck from Aunt Nicole, Uncle Taylor, Ethan, Wesley and Sam!

He got his very own brown Mater from Uncle Michael and Darren! He calls it "my mater"!

He also got a truck carrying case that is Disney Cars! Along with lighting McQueen, The Judge, and another car.....sorry I don't know all the names to these toys! Ha! I need to watch the movie a few times first! Thanks Uncle Michael and Darren the little brown Mater was a hit!

Max was cracking everyone up on how he would pull the tissue paper out and throw it! He was like a PRO at it! Check out Laney and Linley's faces! They thought he was hilarious!!

Max got these powertools from mommy and daddy! One of the tools is a dust buster...and if you guys know my son....he is a clean freak like his momma!! HA! If you look close Max was holding his brown "my mater" pretty much the entire time!!

Max got a leap frog writing letters game, puzzle, and some toddler TRUCK sheets from Nana and Papaw! I can't wait to put the sheets on his bed when we switch it back over to a toddler bed! The sheets are so stinking cute!

He got a flashlight and movie from his Auntie Pam and Uncle Phil!

Here is a spread of everything he got! He got some very cute t-shirts and playdough from his Grandmother and Granddaddy! Max got the leaf blower from his buddy Cooper a few weeks ago! He has loved playing with it! A big THANKS to everyone for all the goodies Max got! He LOVED everything and has been playing with it all!

And can I get a DRUM ROLL please.......

Here is Max's BIG present from Mommy and Daddy! Max's very own BLUE FORD F150

just like his Daddy!!! And of course I had to put a few goodies in the trunk! There is a sticker book, three books about trucks, a hardhat, and a trusty tape measure! I should post the

pictures of Craig putting this puppy together! It took him about an hour and he LOVED every

minute of it!

Nana took him out of the room so we could bring it in the living room. It was so AWESOME to see Max's reaction! I think he was a little shocked!!

He looked at us and said "BIG TRUCK"!!!

Then he kept saying "max's truck"!

He was just so HAPPY about his truck....made Craig and I very glad that we got it!

We took it outside so he could drive it around for a little while!

He was so good about sharing it! I was very surprised! He let all of his cousins have a turn in the truck! I was so PROUD of my little boy!!! And he never got upset! He just watched them all drive it around! What a GOOD little boy!!!

Another turn for Max....that is one HAPPY boy!

I just love this picture of him driving away!

And last pic....a family shot! These are not so easy to get these days but I didn't think this one was half bad!

So all in all it was a GREAT lil family birthday party for Max! I think he really enjoyed getting to have some Birthday fun with his family! Thanks everyone for coming! It really meant a lot to Craig and I especially since we did it kind of last minute! We are so blessed to have such great family support! God is SO GOOD!

On....on a side note about the truck....we had to PEEL Max out of his truck that night! He is pretty much OBSESSED with it! He has been in it non stop since Sat! He even takes our keys and uses them to "start" the truck! He will lock it up when it is time to leave his truck too! We can honestly say that his truck was a good purchase! Don't have to worry about this toy sitting unattended!!!

A lil 4th of July fun!

My brother n law Gregg, sister n law LuLu and their beautiful girls Laney and Linley came over to grill out with us Sat July 3rd! We had a GREAT time together!

Here are the kids enjoying a popsicle on the backporch! So cute!!!

After dinner my parents and Craig's parents joined us to have dessert and then go watch the BARTLETT FIREWORKS!! But first we started out with a few sparklers that Gregg and Lulu brought for the kids!

Let me just tell you these sparklers are NOTHING like the ones we played with as kids! They kept going out and didn't even work half the time! UGH!

Max still found them rather cool....boys and fire....lol

I was surprised how much he enjoyed it.....because his cousin Laney who is a year older didn't want anything to do with them! She tried a few times but them decided she didn't like them!

Time for the fireworks! It is so nice that we can lay out in the yard and see them!

Thanks Bartlett!! Notice my son is still attached to his weedeater...LOL!

I wish everyone could have been there to see Laney's facial expressions! They were PRICELESS!!!

She kept saying "they gonna get me"..."they gonna get me"...

Then Laney was hugging on Max...just in case he was scared too....Max told Laney "I okay Laney, I okay....we all started cracking up! Too funny!

Sitting with Mommy!

Max wasn't as into the fireworks as he was last year....well at first anyways...

Max and Daddy watching the fireworks together.....so serious....

Here is sweet lil Laney being silly again! She said "too loud"! I asked her if she needed ear plugs and she said "yes"! ha! ha!

Sweet sisters laying together! So cute!

Max really got into the fireworks by the time the finial hit!

WOW!!!

Max kept saying "oh wow!"

So beautiful!

It was nice to be able to share the fireworks and fun with some of my family! Can't wait till next year when I can enjoy it a little more!! It will be hard to believe that next year our lil girl Emery will be sitting there with us enjoying the fireworks! SO EXCITING!!!

Max got Tubes!

Here we are bright and early headed to LeBonheur East Surgery Center for Max's surgery to get tubes! We had to be at the surgery center at 7am! Max didn't seem to mind that we woke him up at 6:30 and threw him in the car! Such a good little boy!

We didn't have to wait long before we headed back to triage!

Max was a little bit nervous. He didn't want to leave our arms, so he wasn't too excited about getting his weight and O2 saturation taken. He warmed up quickly once the nurse gave him the okay to play with the scale! And of course he had his trusty "b" and "sassy"!

Okay so how serious do my boys look! LOL! I told him to smile and he was like this is not a time to smile....ha! I think Craig was a little nervous!!! Max really didn't want to get down after we changed him into the gown.....he wasn't quite sure what was going on!

We had to go check out the squirrels and birds everyone had been talking about! It was actually pretty cool to watch the squirrels and birds eating and playing!

Max finally got down to play with his buddy Noah that was getting tubes too! Thanks Noah for making Max realize it was okay to get down and play! Noah seemed so calm and really was having a good time!

Noah got called back pretty quick so they really didn't get to play...but Max seemed to enjoy all the fun things they had for them to do!

I mean seriously how cute does he look in his gown and footies! Trust me I hope to NEVER seem him in this attire again but he does look super cute!

It wasn't long before we headed back too! Max got to go through the "bunny tunnel" before going back to surgery. There were lots and lots of toys to pick from! Max first grabbed a bottle of bubbles, took out his pacy or "sassy", and attempted to drink them! HA! I guess he was a little thirsty! He actually ended up picking a little golf club set! Then we gave our hugs and kisses and the nurse took him! He went to the nurse without a problem, we were very surprised!

As soon as the doors shut and Max looked back to realize "hey where did my mommy and daddy go...." that is when I heard my sweet little boy's cry! Poor baby! I felt so sorry for him! I wanted to run back there and be by his side so he wouldn't have to be scared....:(

About 10-15min later we were holding our baby boy in recovery! Dr. Naidu the ENT said everything went great! Max was very disoriented and upset after surgery. He was crying off and on for about 45 min. Made his mommy and daddy so sad! I hated to see him so upset! However, we got discharged pretty quick and we headed home! Once home Max ate some crackers and drank some sprite. He just hung out on the couch with me for a little while....

Then....he was UP and PLAYING!! It was great to see him up and moving around so quickly! I am just amazed how kids bounce back so quickly like nothing ever happened!

He played with his new golf set for quite awhile!

Our lil golfer!

Max got his play on and then went down for a nap! He slept for a little over 3hrs! He was a tired little boy! He woke up very happy! He was pretty much normal the rest of the night. We are so very thankful and blessed that God took care of our son during his surgery! The entire experience really was a good one and I pray that we will not have to do the "surgery" scene with Max again!

Max is a BIG 2 year old!

Here is our little boy over the past 2 yrs! Check out how much he has changed! Our little boy is growing up so fast before our eyes....

Max at just 1 week! I can't believe how SMALL he is! He is wearing his take home outfit which was a preemie size!

Max at 3 months!

Max at 6 months!

Max at 9 months!

Max at 1 year!

Max at his 1st bday party! One of my favorite pics of him!

Max at 15 months! Our little book lover!

Max at 18 months!

Max at 20 months! Another one of my favorite pics...showing off that he is going to be a big brother!!

And Max at 2 yrs!! Busy..busy...busy...

Another shot at 2 yrs! I couldn't get any great chair pics...imagine that...but I thought this one really shows how BIG he is now! His little legs are almost to the end of the chair!!!

Just unbelieveable how much our little man has changed in the past 2 yrs! He is truly a blessing to our family! I will post his 2 year stats after his 2 year checkup next week! Check back soon!