The Gillettes Visit!

We were so lucky to have the Gillettes visit us recently. I feel so fueled and happy when I get to spend time with my friends and, even though I talk to Kim almost daily, it's no substitution for getting to be with her, play games, talk, watch Quinn playing and interacting with Max, and just loving them all! It was so wonderful to be together again and I'm already looking forward to the next visit.

We squeezed in so much on the trip and were horrible at taking pictures to capture it all (or, well - I was horrible) but here's just a glimpse at some of the fun that was had.

The boys had a grand time jumping on beds together. Max tried SO hard to keep up with Quinn but doesn't quite have the leg strength for jumping yet. The outcome, I must say, was pretty adorable!

Just a small glimpse of them playing in the house together. They really enjoyed their time together, I think!

We visited Ortega park, which has a small water component. Quinn was thrilled, Max... not so much.

Max spent most of the time either wandering off away from the water or in someone's arms.

Quinn spent most of his time drenched in the water!

We finally were able to get some fun shots of the boys together by playing a bit of, "Ready, Set, GO!" a running game where everyone holds hands.

The boys each have such a unique personality and it was amazing to see them together. They can play and interact, and be so incredibly different and wonderful in their own ways. I love these boys!

And I love my friend who also loves my boy and me and my whole family! I'm so glad that no amount of distance has changed our friendship.

Come again soon, Gillettes!! You're always welcome!

18 Months

I can't believe that Maxton is already 18 months! The past few months have been SO much fun as he is rapidly becoming quite the little boy who is full of curiosity, mischief and joy for life.

This kid is ALL boy. He has a love for the outdoors, exploring, sticks, rocks, bugs, animals, dirt, and anything he can throw! He loves balls, blocks and cars at home, but mostly prefers to just be outdoors.

Witness the joy a stick can bring him.

When we are home he is OBSESSED with Elmo on TV or the ipad. He says Elmo quite well now and requests him often. We try hard to keep the TV time to no more than an hour day, but I think at this point we may be bordering on more like an hour and a half. I wish I could say it allowed for some productivity, but really he just wants mommy to watch Elmo with him rather than clean the kitchen or get ready for the day. I'm working on it - haha!

His vocabulary has taken off and I'm finally feeling less worried about his speech. Last time I counted we were at roughly 30 words, but he's added at least 3 in the past two days alone, so who knows where we're at now. His favorite words right now are Elmo, Daaaaaaady, Mama, doggy, eat, cracker, cookie and night night when he's tired. We also hear a lot about cars, airplanes and food and water (mostly Gracie's food and water as he gives us fair warning that it's out and he's going to get into it by running to us and bringing us to the said food and water with a look of great concern and quite the pointer finger working madly - hey, at least he warns us).

This past month we switched to cloth diapering and are really liking it so far! Sure, it's a lot more laundry, but it's manageable. I wish I could say I have some cute fluffy butt pictures, but nope, I don't. Sorry! I can show you this cute one though!

At Max's 18 month appointment he weighed 27 pounds and was 31 inches tall. He's a big boy with an even bigger heart. He fills our days with adventure and bliss. Little man has me wrapped around his finger because his smile is so freaking contagious that I'll pretty much do anything to see it. Lucky for us, he smiles all the time and easily. I just love this boy more than I can even describe in one blog post.

Baby B

It's been SO long since I even blogged! Yikes! It's time to get caught up and update you all on our sweet baby B brewin' in there.

Here's Baby B at roughly 12 weeks!

I'm now 21 weeks (insert mini panic attack here) and despite one minor incident where I thought I had either a UTI or kidney stones (neither of which I have, thankfully) all has been so...easy. Max's pregnancy was anything but (although I still had it easier than some) so I've been very thankful that Baby B is making it easy on me.

And again at almost 19 weeks.

We were scheduled to find out the gender at our 18+ week anatomy ultrasound, but I got this weird fit of uneasiness at not knowing when I was 15 weeks and decided to get an elective ultrasound at 15 weeks 6 days to find out what kind of cargo I was a towin'. And, just like Max, this one is NOT shy. Showed the goods right away.

And... just in case you couldn't tell.

Yup, it's another little BOY! We're thrilled! I immediately got excited about having brothers and watching them grow. I just know they'll be amazing friends and the anticipation of starting our life as a family of four is starting to grow. I still get really nervous at the idea of TWO kids running around and managing nursing sessions with Max's ever growing curiosity at everything around him (read that as Max's constant trouble making) but, for the most part, I'm just really anticipating more love, joy, friendship between my boys, and a tad bit of insanity that all of us mothers need to make it through. I intend to rock it out.

My best friend Kim is also pregnant and due just a few weeks before me with a sweet, albeit nameless, girl (hah - just poking fun, Kim!). She was just here with her wonderful family visiting and we snuck in a very, very short photo shoot to capture our bellies. I'm on the left and she's on the right. I'm 20 weeks and she's 22 1/2.

It's always so fun to go through pregnancy with a friend and this is our second time going through this journey together!

I simply cannot believe that the whole pregnancy is over half way done now. I'm getting big, I'm peeing frequently, and soon I'll be banned to flip flops due to the inability to bend over to strap or tie shoes. Ahh, the joys. I'll try to keep you guys updated on our little guy in there.