1st Birthday!

My Maxy-Pie turns one whole year old today and I have such a mix of emotions bubbling up in my heart!  Maybe every mom feels this way on her children's birthdays?  I'm so thrilled to watch him grow so quickly and learn new things so fast but at the same time, I received a "Your Toddler: Week 1" email in my inbox today and I'm SOOO not ready for him to be anything other than a tiny baby!

I've been thinking about the 14th non-stop for a few days now.  Again, maybe every mom does this?  I kinda need to just write these memories down since everything about that day, the days leading up to it, and this entire past year make me smile.  And I don't want to forget any of it!  Prepare yourselves . . . this is sure to be long-winded and more-than-slightly weepy!!  (Totally understand if you want to skip the boring mommy-logue and just check out the pictures!)

Max was born early Wednesday morning.  The previous few weeks I had been driving myself and everyone else crazy with nesting and preparing the house for his arrival as well as those old enough to judge how grody the bathrooms and dustboards were (read: the mothers!!).  I asked Dave to replace the chain thingy that attaches to the toilet handle so that it flushed without running all day, and before I knew it, that 5-minute project turned into a gaping hole in the floor where the toilet once stood.  Um, the weekend before giving birth and family coming and I was stressed that everyone would need to share a bucket!  Luckily, Sam pitched in and helped and I didn't have to kill the hubs (or call a plumber).

Things under control and with two more weeks until my due date, I calmly reassured the hubs that no, his dad didn't need to come down yet as there was no chance of going into labor *quite* yet.  But Sunday night, after a day of what I thought was just extremely annoying gas pains, I totally freaked out and asked him to call his dad back and ask if maybe he *could* come down after all??  And being the awesome grandpa that he is, he was here by Monday afternoon.  I had meatloaf and oatmeal cookies ready for him as an early thank you!!  Tuesday afternoon Dave and I were at the hospital, fully expecting Max to make his debut (no contractions that I could feel, but I'll spare you the details of why we needed to go). On the way there, we decided on his middle name together.

While waiting for an l/d room to be examined (they were COMPLETELY full due to the full moon and it being the 13th?) we totally snuck some burgers and chips from the cafeteria since we were both starving!  So naughty, but lesson learned from having Sam on an empty tummy!!  After a quick exam and listen to the little guy's heartbeat, we were sent home with directions to call my doctor when contractions were 3-5 minutes apart.

That night I was feeling really uncomfortable and went to lie down after dinner.  With contractions 10 minutes apart, I went to soak in the tub, watching the crazy lightening from huge storm we were having outside.  This was at midnight.  At 12:30 when I started timing again they were suddenly only three minutes apart.  Dave and I called the doctor, let Grandpa know we were leaving and raced to the hospital downtown (as fast as possible with all those speed cameras along the way!)

We were checked in, strapped to the monitor and had lots of good numbing agents flowing through my body by 3:00 (you'd never know I had been bawling like a baby from the horrible IV insertions from this picture, right??!).  

I remember the nurse dimming the lights and telling us to get some rest but 45 minutes late I was telling her we were ready!  Three pushes and 30 minutes later, he was here.

And perfect.

All 6 pounds 14 ounces of amazing tiny-ness.

Five days early, just like his big brother.  Dave couldn't stop taking pictures of him.

I couldn't stop snuggling him.  I don't think a mother ever gets used to how little and wonderfully squishy a newborn is.

 

So much wonder in those big milky blue eyes.

Hi Dad.

Big brother meets little brother at last.  (Even then, Max only preferred to nurse lying on the bed next to me.)

Max slept during their first introduction.

But Sam was quite intrigued.

Grandpa and Max.

Then it occurred to me that Sam was much more intrigued with how the buttons moved the bed around!

So peaceful and adorable.

My boys.

My family.

And now you're a whole year old.  How is it possible that time can pass so quickly?  I hope you know we love you brighter than the sun shines and fuller than the fullest moon.  You're growing into a smart, snuggly, and terrifically funny little guy who can't get enough of his brother's attention.  My Max Henry.

The Zoo!

Sam, Max and I carpooled with Ramita and Eric from next door to go to the zoo this morning.  The weather was perfect . . . overcast and slightly chilly and the boys were so excited to get there!  I think Sam and Eric had more fun running around together than actually looking at the animals, but as long as fun was had, who cares!!

Checkin' out Big Papa Lion with his "little" cubs.

SOOO excited about the Amazon exhibit . . . pointing to his favorite ginormous fish.

More fish.

The whole tank of interesting fish and he's pointing out the tiniest white snail on the window . . . see it?

Ramita agreeing to give Sam a ride on the bear . . . and Eric then thinking it's a pretty sweet idea too!

Perfect timing!!  An actual orangutan on the "O-Xing!!"  This guy was posing (and peeing) for us.

 Although the Amazon exhibit was Sam's favorite (lots of freshwater stingray, HUGE fish, snakes, and real tarantulas for him to drool over) I loved seeing the orangutans over our heads.  One of them actually stopped to pose for pictures and let out what must have been 50 gallons of pee!!  Good thing he was over the gardens and not directly over our heads!!  Here's a video (can you tell I was excited about it??!)

It got VERY crowded so we left before lunch and the boys and I met Daddy at his office.  Sam LOVES going to his office and has been begging me all week to take him.

Stapling and staple-removing stuff.

It's a VERY serious job.

No interest in the ball . . . straight for the cables and cords EVERY time.

Daddy *thinks* he's being slick by standing in front of the cords after removing the boy 16 times.

So lucky I'm a cutie-pie!!

All this fun followed by a nice looooong nap (for everyone!!).  Can't wait to get on the plane and see the Granny's, Gramps' and Aunt Heather next week!!  :)

Who Needs Coffee?

When I get to wake up and greet the day with these cute little monkeys?  Sam, in taking on his new role as best big brother ever, has decided that when he wakes up, he needs to keep his baby brother entertained and happy.  Such a good boy.

 

Otherwise, poor Mr. Maxy-Pie would have to entertain himself solely by chewing the crib rails and/or squealing at his older brother while at the same time banging various body parts into the slats. 
 

Look closely . . . can you see the amount of *stuff* piled up in this crib?!!  I can promise you it wasn't in there while they were both sleeping!!
 

Sam likes to give his brother Big Panda, Dinosaur, Little Panda, Giraffe Pillow, and just about *every* book in his book box.  See that red bump on his forehead?  Probably from pre-stuff head-bumping!!  

It's so sweet to see how much Sam loves his little brother, especially since Max *adores* him!  And when I catch him doing something thoughtful for him it fills me with ooey-gooey heart-melting love so intensely that I just want to bite his toes off!  

My Thumb *Just* May Have A Bit Of Green In It!

Last weekend, during the beautiful weather, I took advantage of having Granny and Grandpa here and got all of the planting done.  Meaning, I have succeeded in FINALLY planting our yard with pretty posies way before my normal mid-summer deadline, which leads me to think only one thought:

Boo-ya Mr. Green Thumb Older Brother!!  My yard kicks your yard's butt!!!

I know it's only a matter of a few weeks before his yard is planted and fully beautified, so I'm taking complete advantage while I can.

Siberian tomatoes and pretty sad basil.

More Siberians.

Zinnias and a sunflower on one side of the steps.

Zinnias and smelly purple one on the other side.

Gorgeous hanging baskets!

Big improvement, don'tcha think?

Hot pink begonias along the bottom steps.

Lots of Sun Babies along the house!

And lots and lots of cuteness that is my Sam and Max.  'Cause if you've read this far you deserve a bit of that too!!

Right before he lunged for the camera.

Stopping only for a moment during his hard work to pose.

Keeping the yard looking nice is hard work.

 Thanks Mom and Dad for the plants!  Doing out best to keep them green and beautiful!!  :)

So Grown Up!

Believe it or not, my "baby" is wrapping up his first year of school.  Okay, so it's only nursery school, and only two mornings a week, but still . . . where does the time go?

Check out his adorable class picture.  My Sam's the tallest one in the back row, same as I used to be.  (And yeah, I totally took a picture of a picture which is why it's so fuzzy . . . at least I didn't get my thumb in the corner! )

For all of you Grannys and Grampas and Aunts and Uncles and Cousins who may have been hearing all about his school friends, now you have a face to go with the stories!  In the back row next to Sam is Seamus and Zachary.  Next row is Madeline, Maddie, Jackson (one of his *best* friends), and Hannah, and in the front is Ben, Zoe (who Sam has always insisted is quite naughty) and Coltrane (another of his besties).  Mrs. Dunmire is on the right and Ms. Robbins on the left.

This afternoon, while waiting with the mommies to pick up our big kids, Jackson's mom was telling me how he is always talking about Sam, and likes to end his Sam stories with, "He's a really nice boy."  This morning when Jackson's dad brought him to school he asked his mom, "Which one is Sam?  I'm always hearing so much about him." She told him, "Sam's the tall one who always acts so much older and calmer than everyone else."  Let's hope that since he'll always be the oldest in his class he continues to be such a role model!!  Love him to pieces.  We'll definitely have to get Jackson's phone number for some summer play dates!

May Already??!!

Yippee skippee Spring is here!  We've actually been lucky enough to have a few springy days here at the end of April instead of going from extreme cold to extreme hot like it usually does each year.  

Michelle and I took the babes to the park to ride the train and the carousel today.  They loved the train so much we rode it twice.  Max was the only one of all of us who *loved* the carousel. . . Sam actually picked to ride on the boring bench, Aidan wanted Mich to walk around with him and put him on different horses, and the spinning speed was *just* a bit too fast for us girls to handle so we were a bit nauseous and dizzy by the end.  Aside from that though?  It was so wonderful to just hang out and enjoy the gorgeous weather while watching the big boys dig and run around like lunatics.

The cuteness riding the train.

Watching where we're going.

HAD to sit next to Aunt Mich.

Aidan with Mom.

Seriously?  How cute is this kid?  And how much is he loving the swing?

Insists on wearing his cap backwards.

Climbing so high!!  (And making me SO nervous!)