Max-An Update

Here is a Max update for no other reason than I enjoy my hoarding of pictures and documentation of life. With a personality that NEVER allows me to sit (true story) I have found 2 things that will force some form of relaxation: blog posts and reading. I do not really have "time" to do these as I should probably be in bed, but I choose to document/hoard over things like watch TV (cringe all of the cringes), sleep (what adult is not working on less than 6 hours of sleep??) or work out (I probably should choose this one occasionally.) I need to tell future Melissa that life was not all enjoyable and blog posty; these documenting posts are the result of less sleep, so YOU ARE WELCOME!

Anyway, here is an update on our Ferg. 

I love when I get picture updates from Brandon each month when I am in Nashville for work. This one of him just having a snack at Anderson's football game just stole my heart. That little grin. 

Max is so, so, so enjoyable to parent. He is silly, laughs a lot, gets excited about little things and just really appreciates life. (He also cries/whines all of the time, but that is a story for another day. Today, I need you to focus on that smile. )

Also, that hair. 

Construction at Noni's.

Pumpkin painting-he looks lost here, which is also a pretty accurate portrayal of his normal life.

He loves to ride his bike, which makes trying to get him into the house from the garage every time we come home a huge nightmare. 

This was one incredibly rare night when he actually wore pajamas. One of my FAVORITE things about little kids is pajamas and both my kids have entirely too many pairs of them and they BOTH refuse to wear them.

GG took Max to visit Uncle Curtis at work where crying ensued. 

Kidding! Apparently, Max was enjoying himself until GG asked for a picture and then the fake drama appeared. 

This one is my favorite. Hilarious. 

Also, Curtis is painting this mural! Is this not crazy?? How talented is he?

This really just sums up Max. He is ALWAYS in some kind of uniform-usually SWAT, police or army now, with fire very sporadically in the rotation. Also, just marching along to the beat of his own drum. 

C "Show & Tell" was a Cardboard Car that I brought home from a Manufacturing event at work. A robot actually made that, which he thought was so cool. 

Noni took him to a cook out in her neighborhood where he continued to keep everyone safe. Also, shout out to our village!

My goal is to completely get rid of all of the toys in my house by 2017 and replace them with disposable things. 

Not only does he not sleep in pajamas, but he insists on wearing his uniform of choice AND shoes/boots. He wears clothes underneath because, as he told me, he "has to be ready if there is an emergency and they need me."

Since I had to work, GG took this guy to his school's festival and he had so much fun! 

We are so grateful for the grandmas around here!

I am sure this will come as no surprise, but the clothing battle is clearly not one that we choose to fight with this kid. 

Brandon took him to a party at Putt-Putt and he won the claw machine! I have a good 32 years on him & have still not managed to accomplish that feat. Perhaps, if I tried it as Ninja Cowboy I would have more success. 

I just cannot do a Max post without including his favorite person in the world-Reese. He ALWAYS wants to buy everything that is girly in any way for her and he talks about her multiple times a day. Their cousin friendship is literally one of my favorite things in the entire world. 

Because, maybe-just maybe, we chose his name based on how it would look on a pumpkin. 

Oh, there's our guy! While he is awesome, he sure does his fair share of crying/whining/demanding/refusing to give in situations. But, I think it is because he is 3. 

Adeline sent him a "Get Well" card with a fire truck on it when he got his stitches and he was so happy about it. It was so sweet. 

One of my favorite things about him is his proud/smug face and I sort of captured it here. 

He was singing "Rocky Top" on a bounce house. Just a little more proof that we are raising this baby right. 

A few  random videos of Max:

Talking to Max

Max running

jumping off of the bed

A few funny Max sayings:

He was eating a package of Sour Patch Kids and he said, "Mama! I get to eat persons!"

"I need a haircut because my hair looks like a sea urchin."

We were going into one of the bathrooms with the Koala bear changing table sticker thing on it and Max said, "Mama, this bathroom is for big persons, little persons and bears."

And, this is why I now have PTSD at Chick-Fil-A

Other titles for this post:

"Mama! Stitches starts with S!"

The only time that Max was not excited to see a Firetruck. 

Now I know that head wounds bleed a lot. 

Fair warning: more than one of these pictures might gross you out. 

The evening started innocently enough. When I picked Max up at school, he could not wait to show me what he picked out of the treasure box-a parachute man. I mean, he was SO proud of it and wouldn't set it down. 

We went to Chick-Fil-A to eat dinner before going to Anderson's church class and Max was so excited to play with his parachute man on the playground. 

Unfortunately, the chair on the playground did not like that idea. 

I saw him hit his head-on the chair. Seconds later, I saw the blood pour down his face when he moved his hand from the cut. 

All of this happened in a span of 5 seconds but it, of course, seemed like a lifetime. 

All of the mamas on the playground were on it in full force, bringing me napkins and towels for the blood, getting our stuff together and, most of all, looking terrified (there was a lot of blood) but also concerned. I think every Chick-Fil-A employee called 911 on their personal phones, which was pretty sweet. Even though I was frantic (shocker) I did have enough sense to NOT go in the ambulance. You're welcome, bank account.   Also, one disappointment of the evening was that Max did not even care when the firetruck arrived. I tried to explain to the firemen that he really does love firetrucks and thought he was a fireman for a year, but I am not sure they believed me. 

Also, Brandon managed to make it to us in an actual impossible length of time from where is job is located. This is an amazing thing because our family generally does better in situations like this when he is involved. 

Once we made it to the hospital, there was so much snuggle time in my lap while we waited for 5 hours for the actual stitches. 

Who is this grown up boy?

Also, flashback to his first stitches incident
(remember when we thought 4 stitches was a big deal? Ha ha)

Noni picked up Anderson at the hospital & took him home since we were there so late. 

As always,  thank goodness for FaceTime. 

"Mama, let me show my brother my rail!-Anderson, this rail is here so I won't fall."

*Too bad the rail was not also on the playground. 

I have to include this because one day he will want to see the details.  

Just bless this baby's heart. Seeing this makes me so sad. 

But, seeing this makes me so happy! Look at our baby just rocking his Ninja Turtle bandaids. 

To be honest, Max's 2nd round of stitches made me so grateful for so many things: modern medicine, TEAM MAMA, grandmas, this boy's face, another good story to tell Max at bedtime*, Brandon's ability to make situations feel calmer and our leaving the hospital with just stitches. 

*The very next night Max wanted me to tell him a story and I went with this one. When I got to the part about the fire truck pulling in he got really excited, so at least this experience was not all for naught.  

Anderson-an update

This kid keeps losing teeth when I am out of town! Seriously, he's lost 3 out of 4 of them when I was not here. To be fair, the one time I had to be the tooth fairy, I totally screwed it up, so this route might actually be better. 

He actually pulled the other top one at Noni's house when I was in Nashville last month. So gross.

 I am so glad that I was not there to witness that business. 

Noni & Bop went to eat lunch with Anderson at school and he was, of course, in Heaven. 

Anderson basically tolerates the idea of going to festivals and such out of love for me and a loyalty for Max but, despite his cynicism, he usually does end up finding something fun to do at them.

Every now & then I get off work on time to do things like hit up the library before we get Max. I have not read this book yet, but will keep everyone posted if it is life changing.

Curtis is in the process of completing this amazing mural and GG took Anderson to see it and he loved it!

Seriously, how amazing is this?

So many adventures.

Anderson went with me to another AE game where he got to go in the locker room and serve as ball boy, which meant he was in HEAVEN. Seriously, he had a birthday party at Jump Jam before it and he made us leave early so we wouldn't miss kick off. The football obsession is a real one.

Fall/Fall Break

This year we got an ENTIRE WEEK off for Fall Break! I think this means that Christmas Break doesn't start until Christmas Eve, but I can't worry about that now. An entire week meant that we had enough time to balance all of the chores/errands that we typically need to fit in during breaks AND do all kinds of fun stuff. 

Here is what I learned during a week long break: I enjoy working and I enjoy my kids. 

 I like my job and I think it is the perfect career for me. I love where I work & what I do. But...if I could create the perfect situation, it would change a bit. I would keep my current job for sure. And, I would adjust the hours to where I get to leave by 4:30 every day and don't take work home. Then, for my third wish, I would ask for every Friday off. Life is just easier when I am not trying to balance the day job WITH the night job. But, I also think the extra work is what gives me the perspective to appreciate the time off when I have it, right? 

Anyway, on to the break!

The DQ down the street from opened up (replacing our BELOVED KK) and we have finally made it a few times. I am not going to lie, I miss the doughnuts. DQ is always packed, the employees are NOT friendly, it takes almost 30 minutes to get ice cream and, perhaps worst of all, they literally have 1 napkin dispenser in the ENTIRE place. They are an ICE CREAM place. 1 napkin dispenser.

 I cannot. 

But, my kids sure had fun during our half hour wait to become super sticky. 

We hit up some kind of fall/first responder festival with the Brimers (of course we did) and Max was in his element!

I did not get any pics of all 5 of them, but got this one with 3 of them watching a smoke demonstration, so just round up and pretend they are all in there. 

Clare & I have made it a mission to find free lunch/entertainment for our kids every weekend. 

Stay tuned. 

Seriously, Max in his fire uniform (it is NOT a costume, Mama!) putting out a "fire" has got to be one of the cutest things ever. Also, Anderson will really step it as the big brother when it involves helping with things like this. 

Apparently our kids were so cute that the Farragut Press needed to include this HIGH QUALITY shot that week. Seriously, could she have at least cropped just Max & Lucy? But, I do love the fact that Clare & I were captured. And, to top it off, the caption listed us with the same last name-sister wives! 

Over Fall Break weekend, we went to Atlanta to visit the Sterns and we took advantage of their aquarium membership. It was super crowded, but very, very fun!

It. Was. Amazing. 

I know that this will come as a shock to everyone, but Anderson is OBSESSED with animals. He is actually going to be a scuba diver for Halloween because he wants to be a Marine Biologist/Football player when he grows up. So, to take him there was really pretty magical. 

Also, that giant thing up there? That is one of 4 whale sharks that live there!

 FOUR WHALE SHARKS!

Also, manta rays* and all kinds of other stuff. 

You know when you get an actual smile from Anderson that he is somewhere pretty amazing. 

*Max: Anderson, what can Manta Rays do to persons?

Me: They can sting people. 

Max: I am asking Anderson, Mama. 

Anderson: They cannot sting; they don't have stingers. 

Me: On Google trying to prove I am right and realizing that I am wrong. 

Yeah, baby. Anderson is right. 

Yet again, thanks to Stine's membership, we got to get front and center for the dolphin show! 

While we were waiting to go in, we had a little candy picnic in an aisle. 

Also, they have an actual dolphin show that basically blew my kids' minds. You can't take pics or videos in there, but trust me when I say, it was really amazing. 

Penguin tunnel. 

Angry face in a penguin tunnel. 

And....the highlight of the trip was when Anderson got to touch starfish! This particular moment was right after Max had thrown that poor little guy across the area and Anderson was trying to put him back in place. 

#Bullinachinashop

That night we watched our VOLS almost beat A&M in OT and we had some flashbacks to our Rocky Top days. Over 2 decades of friendship are in the books!

How much do I LOVE UT?? I mean, how can you not? Our team has shown so much resiliency over the last few years (decade??) and this season is proof to keep working hard. I mean, clearly we were killed by Alabama, but they don't technically count because they are beast mode. And, I think I would rather lose than to have to look at Lane Kiffin's face. As for me and my house, we will stay VOL fans despite the years of heartache. #GBO

Speaking of love, how cute is this guy who has such good handwriting that he is always nominated to  do anything that requires writing? Aunt LoLo made a giant cake (4 layers!) for Pappaw and Brandon did such a great job writing on it. 

We are so lucky to have such an awesome Pappaw in our lives and were happy to be able to celebrate his birthday together!

Sisters & their Daddy. 

You know that we cannot have a break that does not include a trip to Ijams and this venture proved to be pretty enjoyable, as usual. We spent 5 hours there and, while we did not catch many creatures (Anderson was SO disappointed,) the weather was perfect and we visited some new places. 

Max insisting on wearing his camo gear, which actually made it pretty tricky to see him when he was running ahead. 

I feel so fortunate to have these boys, this time off and these times outside. I never went outside before I had kids and I am grateful that they require it because it is pretty magical stuff. 

To be fair: it was hot, we were gross, everyone was hungry, Max was in a camo outfit...I mean, nothing is as picturesque as it seems, but I love nothing more than an extended outing and, overall, the kids really did have a blast. 

Also, in a move that surprises nobody, Max fell in the quarry. 

Not every day involved extended hours of fun because I had a long list of errands that we needed to complete over the week, too. But, I did try to balance the errands with fun stuff like swimming at the Y, trips to Noni's, a visit to Dicks', etc. 

Anderson does not actually like Batman, but he LOVES football, so he was trying to convince me that needed these receiver gloves. 

Spoiler alert: he did not get them. 

On the last day of break, we met Nicole & kids at The Muse & the Zoo. 

It proved to be pretty fun time. 

These two & their love for each other will continue to go down in history as one of the greatest things ever. Please remember that at this point in the older cousins' relationship, they could not even be in the same room together without someone bleeding. 

Anderson was obsessed with trying to recreate this drawing in the art area. He really loves drawing and just like his interest in Math & Science, I cannot help him in any way. Thank God for Brandon. 

Lily's enthusiasm over some electricity activities was pretty cute. 

We didn't see many animals at the zoo because our visit was short, but the Komodo Dragon actually realized that Anderson might be part reptile and kept following him through the glass. They had a pretty lengthy staring contest and I think Anderson won. 

On Saturday, we hit up a pumpkin patch for the annual fall tradition. 

Also, Taylor Swift, it is never "getting cold out." If you can please rewrite those lyrics, that would be wonderful. Thanks. 

The highlight of Anderson's trip was when he caught a giant grasshopper. He really is getting too old for the festivals/outings that I like to hoard, which is a bittersweet feeling. I love older Anderson for many reasons and will be happy in some ways to leave the little kid events behind, but I also like an outing. In so many ways, Anderson has always been a mini-adult. 

Look.at.this.guy. 

#babybrotherlevi

Pleasantness. I can't get enough. 

Reese is the cutest child on the face of the planet. Even the goats love her. 

He does enjoy himself a little more than he cares to admit. 

We had such a great break!