FiRsT day at MDO!

So Max started a Mother's Day Out program at Bartlett Baptist Church on Mondays only! This Monday was his FIRST day!

I had Max's teacher take these pictures for me after he went into the room! Such a BIG Boy!

So here I thought Max would get upset when I dropped him off but he did GREAT! He went right to the teacher. He was the first one in the room and he just ran off to explore his new area!

I was the one who started bawling as I was walking out without my sweet little Max. Now to give me a little credit I had been up all night working so I was very tired. Oh who am I kidding I would have cried even if I was rested! I guess it just hit me like a TON OF BRICKS that my little boy is growing up so FAST! I mean seriously he just went off like he didn't even need me! I know he still does....trust me I know....but I just felt so lonely and sad after dropping him off.

When I went to pick him up the teacher told me he did AWESOME! He was very good and he even took a nap! I couldn't believe that Max laid down on a nap mat on the floor and took a nap! He has never done that before. I was so PROUD! On the way home I just kept looking at him thinking to myself he is getting so so BIG! I truly need to cherish the moments with him because I know I am going to blink and he will be graduating high school! Oh that makes me so SAD! Sometimes I wish I could just STOP time or at least SLOW it down!

Max is 18 months!

Our sweet little Max turned 18 months the day after Christmas! Can you believe he is already 18 MONTHS! I can't! Time is truly FLYING!

It is always hard getting pictures of him in his chair so I just got these this past Monday! LOL!

The only way I got him to STAY in the chair was to get him reading!

Good thing he LOVES to read!

What a SWEET lil smile! Don't you just want to kiss him!

Okay so we went to doc last Wed for our 18 month check up! Max was weighing in at 25lbs 12oz which put him right under the 50 percentile. He is measuring 34inches! WHAT!!!! My sweet lil boy is almost 3ft tall! He is in the 90th percentile for height. I mean seriously my son is over half of my height already! LOL! Everything else looks great! He is hitting all his milestones for 18 months and more!

He is wearing 12-18 month in some things and now 18-24 month in some things. He is still in 6 1/2-7 size shoe. He is still in size 4 diapers.

He is really a smart little boy! He is trying to say anything you say! I can't even list all the words he is saying these days. My favorites are "ahh meee" for awww man, "nack" for snack, "wa wa" for water, "awpun" for open

He is in the typical toddler food stage....he may eat something one day that he will not eat the next. It is crazy trying to figure him out. Most of our bad temper tantrums are over what we are eating at lunch or dinner. He is a GREAT breakfast eater. Things he will eat no matter what: fruit especially grapes and blueberries, spaghetti, and chicken tenders (depends on brand). Of course he will also eat junk food too LOL!

He is still OBSESSED with ELMO!

He stills gets into EVERYTHING and VERY BUSY! But at least now he is understanding NO.

He will follow simple commands like go get your shoes, go get your cup, lets clean up....

His favorite toys: balls, phones, keys, puzzles, climber toy he got for Christmas, shape sorter, little people farm, and of course all his ELMO toys.

He is still OBSESSED with BOOKS! The boy LOVES to read and be read to! I just love that about him!

He likes to count things. The funny thing is he never starts with one....he starts everything with two...lol!

He can name pretty much all the main body parts.

He can name and say the sounds to most farm animals and a few other animals too!

He knows the letters A and I. Except the funny thing is he thinks the letter I is the same as your eye! Too funny!

Max is such a blessing and so much FUN to be around! His little personality is definitely shinning through these days. He is ALOT like his mama "drama king"! LOL! We have our ups and downs like any day with a toddler but in the end it is ALL worth it! I just never knew I could LOVE him as much as I do! God is so good!

Fun at Chuckie Cheese!

We went to Chuckie Cheese last week with some friends! Lets just say Max had a BLAST! This was our first time to go now that he is big enough to actually enjoy it!

He rode a lot of the car rides! His favorite was the chuckie cheese car! I think we rode that one 10 plus times!

He thought he could play ALL the games! LOL!

Chase took Max on the big boy truck ride! It was quite hilarious! The truck cranked up high and tilted side to side!

Back to the kiddie rides!

Max is pretty much fearless! I think he will try anything!

Although he wasn't too sure of the horse ride.....we didn't finish this one!

Loved the virtual tour ride!

I showed Max how to play skee ball and he couldn't make it all the way to the top so he decided to take matters in his own hands.....he just walked right up and threw the ball in! TOO FUNNY!

We had a GREAT time at Chuckie Cheese! Can't wait to go back again!

Hanging with Cooper!

Last week we watched Cooper for Todd and Amy so they could go to a movie and out to dinner! They returned the favor the next night! So nice to have great friends that live right down the street with a child the same age! God is so good!

Made spagetti for dinner since it is something they will both eat right now! LOL! They did really well...didn't make too much of a mess! We headed off to bathtime after anyways!

After bath the boys were wanting to go outside with Craig! I loved how they waited at the door for him to come back! So cute!

Had a little puzzle time! The boys are getting so good at finding were the pieces go!

Aquadoodle FUN! I learned very quickly that I need another pen so they can play with this together! Don't worry I have already gone and bought another one!

The boys really had a lot of fun together! They would run and jump in the ball pit! It was so great watching them play so well together!

Best buddies!

They even took turns sliding! I couldn't believe it! Our boys are growing up so FAST!

Cooper slides down the normal way!

Max slides down either head first or feet first! I love seeing how they do things different and how some things they copy each other!

And on to the next thing.....

Elmo microwave and Elmo doctor kit!

We truly had great time hanging with Cooper! Thanks Amy and Todd for our night out! Hopefully Max was as good for you as Cooper was for us! Can't wait to trade off again!

Christmas with Cher and Chuck!

The day after Christmas my sister and brother n law came to visit with their babies! It was so wonderful to share the holidays with them! I was so happy they came down!

Max opening his gifts from Aunt Cher and Uncle Chuck!

Roxy and Polo opening their gift from us! Dog treats and poop bags! Wahoo!

How cute are these doggies!

Chuck opening his gifts from us! Tervis tumblers!

Of course I had to make some initial towels for the Rhoads family!

Roxy showing off her skills!

Max helping Aunt Cher open her gifts!

Once again thanks Cher, Chuck, Roxy and Polo for making the trip up! We enjoyed getting to spend some time with you all! Oh and thank you for our gifts! We love everything!

Christmas at the Maxwells!

We got over to the Maxwell's (Nana and Grandpa's house) around 11am! We didn't visit long until Max found what Santa had left him at their house!

Nana helping Max open his Santa gift!

So cute!

Elmo books! I must say I got a little teary eyed here! Max use to play with these books at Hannah's house all the time! I have tried to find them at the dollar store and have had no luck. My mom had NO IDEA that I was looking for these! How wonderful that she found them! Max just LOVES these books!

A Christmas snack!

Max took to Darren this visit! Max and him had lots of playtime together! Thanks Darren for being such a good friend to Max! You are a natural!

My big boy! Turns 18 months day after Christmas!

Worn out from all the morning Christmas fun!

And his daddy too for that matter......LOL!

Christmas lunch! Poor Max was asleep while we were eating! He just couldn't make it!

After nap time it was time to open gifts!! YEAH!

Max got some really cool Tupperware toys from Uncle Michael and Darren! Check out the cool train and truck!

Baxter and Tiffany liked their new toys they got! Especially this toy bone! Guess we should have gotten two of these!

Uncle Michael liked his tervis tumblers we got him!

Dad aka Grandpa loved his shirts that I monogrammed for him! I monogrammed his business logo on some solid polos!

Max opening one of his gifts from Nana and Grandpa!

He got the little people amusement park! SO MUCH FUN! He loved playing with Hannah's when she lived here!

I think Daddy and Uncle Michael liked it as much as Max! LOL!

He got an Elmo doctor kit! How cute is that!!!

He fell in love with this toy quickly!

A sit and spin!

Max trying to big and tough! Check out that face!

Mom aka Nana loved here shirt I made for her! Embroidered a raggy heart on a black shirt and we got her the Jillian Michael's biggies loser game for the Wii!

After gifts we ate again! Time for Christmas dinner! Max of course didn't eat anything but a roll!

A halfway decent family shot! Wahoo!

What Max got from the Maxwell family!

What a WONDERFUL Christmas we had! We are so blessed! I am praying that one year we will be able to get all the Maxwell family together! Christmas just doesn't feel complete without us ALL together! We love and miss all of you! Thanks Mom, Dad, Michael and Darren for a great day together! We love you!