and his first word is...."DAD"

Said in a husky little voice with much emphasis on the last D. He spent Monday evening crawling all over Matt saying it over and over again. He's very proud of himself but Matt is even prouder. I'll try to get a video of it.



other achievements:

• Can stand alone, until he realizes he's doing it - then he sits down fast.
• Climbs the stairs in a few seconds flat
• Sleeps 11 hours a night consistently - finally back on track after Christmas break.
• Has 7 teeth
• Can command a 55lb dog
• Can make a defiant face after breaking the Kitchen Aid blender - just in case you think he may feel bad for his mistake.
  

Destruction prevails

I often find myself hoping that no one will drop in on us unexpectedly. Usually most of the contents of our bookshelves, drawers and cupboards are spread about the house. It is amazing that 15 minutes after waking up from a nap Max can have pulled back out all the things I just spent his entire nap putting away. He loves to have books crash all about him and then to sit in the mess he created for a while. Sometimes we hear him yelling from the kitchen and when we go in he is inside a near empty cupboard while the rest of its contents are strewn about the floor.





appreciate also, the ginormous stream of happy drool in this last photo.

Last Sunday the kids from my primary class at church gave me a painted vase with lollipops in it. That afternoon Max unpainted it with his mouth.


Then, realizing his mistake, he headed upstairs to clean himself up







Then a brief break while he plans the next adventure

Winter on our farm

We often take drives in the Kentucky countryside dream of buying an old farm and bringing it back to life. For any of you who have seen me before 7am, or witnessed me try to lift anything more than a milk carton, you know that the reality of me lugging hay bales at day break to feed the animals is unlikely- but we like the idea of it. So no, this farm is not ours but we do know the people who own it if that counts for anything.

toy of the day

Our friend's Jeremy and McKenzie Ware used to laugh at their little boy Channing for having a "toy of the day." It was pretty funny to see him carrying a truck or dinosaur EVERYWHERE he went. Then the next day it would be a different toy that would go everywhere. Well Max has apparently taken this idea from Channing but he chooses the strangest "toys". Some days it will be a recharger for the phone, others a toothbrush or Richards collar. He will crawl around and play with many other things but all the while be gripping tightly to his toy of the day. In the photo above his choice for the day was a miniature ornamental gourd left over from Halloween. He wouldn't even put it down to get in the bath - just look at that grip.

Fun with Food

As you may be able to tell from his photos Max enjoys his food. His favorite food so far is mini Kosher dill pickles. We originally gave him a bite just to see what he would do. He puckered up his face and then kept asking for more and more. When other foods don't tempt him you can always rely on a pickle to keep him busy. Sometimes when we need to get something done without Max's help we put him in his high chair with some pickles and enjoy peace for a while. He also loves grapes, grapefruit, oranges, and bananas.
This is Max trying his first boiled mini carrot. I think he felt tricked. Now he loves them especially if they are cooked in the crock pot with gravy. I'm a little afraid he's in love with salt already.



Max also discovered noodles - and even better that noodles are fun as well as food, especially when Richard is involved.