My Polite Little Man

Working on my manners (and showing a glimpse of my little temper in the process)...

I Love You Daddy!

Happy Fathers Day to the best daddy in the whole world! It was hard to narrow it down, but Mommy helped me come up with a list of ten things I love about you:

10.) You always let me have a prize when we go somewhere.

9.) You always give me sips of your yummy drinks and bites of your yummy snacks.

8.) You build forts for me with pillows and blankets.

7.) You throw me high up in the air and chase me around the house.

6.) You like to snuggle with me when I am sleepy.

5.) You make goofy faces and noises just to make me laugh.

4.) You like my sloppy wet kisses ("sugies") I give you.

3.) You always clap for me so I know you're proud of me.

2.) You love me more than anything else in this world and you show me that everyday.

1.) I could think of a million more things that make you the best daddy in the world.

Can I come to work with you, Daddy? I'm all ready to go!

I have some big shoes to fill if I want to be like Daddy one day!

Happy Father's Day, Blake! Thanks for being the most wonderful husband and father I could ever ask for! Maddox and I are thankful for you everyday and love you very much!

Mobile Trip

We went for a quick trip to Mobile this past weekend. Blake had to be there for work so we made a little trip out of it. It was great getting to see lots of family and Maddox had fun playing in the baby pool too (or climbing in and out of it mostly).

Daddy got him a new squirt toy too and he really had fun with that.

We also experienced our first big temper tantrum (actually there were two of them) too while we were in Mobile. I still am not really sure what set him off besides being told "no", which he is told all the time I might add, but he completely freaked out on us. He ran and slammed the door, started throwing things, all while screaming and crying. This lasted probably close to a half hour before he simmered down. I guess he was just a little out of sorts being in a different place and around lots of people he doesn't see all the time. Luckily he was like a different child the next day. I guess we must be getting those terrible twos a little early. Uh-oh...

Summer Fun!!

We have been having lots of fun times lately! This past week we went to the park a few times to play. Maddox can't do too much, but boy does he love to run around out there. As soon as we drove up this morning and he realized where we were, he was pointing and making his usual "ohhh" sounds. Today he went down the slide a few times (with me holding his hand) and he really loved that. He mainly just likes running around, stepping up and down on things, and running up the ramp and across the bridge. Unfortunately I still cannot get the kid to enjoy swinging. It might root back to the fact that he just doesn't like to be confined, but he screamed when I put him in the swing today. I tried pushing through for a minute to see if he would change his mind once he got going, but no luck. Last time we went, he did swing for about a minute and he was smiling the biggest smile, but that quickly turned into a very unhappy face. Oh well, maybe next time!

We have also been spending a lot of time in the pool lately. When I say pool, I mean our inflatable pool in the backyard. Maddox really enjoys splashing around in it. He typically just walks around in it playing with his toys, tossing things in and out and so forth, but he seems to have the best time!

Maddox wanted his chair in his pool. He reminds me of a little old man just chilling in his chair with his belly hanging out!

We actually swam in a real pool on Wednesday with our friends Niki and Whit. The boys had a great time and so did the mommies! Maddox really enjoyed splashing around in the big pool. The only problem was that he liked being thrown in the air and wanted to do it over and over again, which needless to say made for some really tired arms. Fortunately, Niki had a baby pool too so the boys were able to play in it a lot also. I think the highlight of the day was probably lunch though. Both of these boys love to eat! Too bad I didn't get any pictures of Maddox trying to mooch Whit's lunch (even though he had quite a yummy and hearty lunch of his own). Some things never change I guess!!

Maddox and Whit's play date...here they are playing together, or rather, near each other, ha!

There was a lot of clapping going on! I think Maddox is clapping for Whit here wishing him a happy first birthday (and probably thinking that birthdays mean cake)!

Whit sure loved playing with that sunscreen. Maddox also spent quite a bit of time just picking up the bottles of sunscreen and setting them back down on the table in different places. Why do we spend so much money on toys?

First Zoo Trip

Look out animals, here we come!!!

On Thursday, Jessica and I took Jackson and Maddox to the zoo. They had sooo much fun!! We had fun watching them too! Maddox and Jackson saw all kinds of cool animals like monkeys, giraffes, tigers, camels, alligators, flamingos, and more. We even got to see the zookeepers training the lions!

I think this tiger was eyeing Jackson's Chex Mix...

And I just think this picture is funny, because come on, who can really concentrate on their goldfish snack when I tiger is three feet away from their face? I'll tell you who...Maddox!

Very serious faces watching the giraffes eat leaves from the trees...

And here's one of the giraffes we saw. Check out his tongue!

Beach Trip!

We went to the beach for Memorial Day weekend and had a blast! Some friends of ours got married and we made a little vacation out of it. Maddox had soooo much fun! Probably because he got to spend 90% of the day outside at the pool and on the beach playing in the sand and probably because he got to stay up late every night, sleep with Mommy and Daddy, and he had his RaRa and Poppy there to spoil him rotten too! What more could he ask for?

Maddox and Jackson had a great time feeding the ducks with Poppy. Or rather, Jackson fed the ducks while Maddox tried to fathom why he was throwing perfectly good bread on the ground. As I predicted, Maddox ate his bread instead of sharing with the ducks.

Maddox had a great time playing in the sand. Last time we took him to the beach, it was pretty cold out so he couldn't really play in the sand like he wanted to. Fortunately he still loved the sand just as much as last time. In fact he didn't care that he was completely covered in sand pretty much head to toe. He was crawling all around in it getting filthy, but he didn't seem to mind it one bit!

As much as he loved the sand, we did have a few incidents where he faceplanted in the sand. He definitely got a mouthful of sand once or twice which couldn't have tasted too good. But surprisingly, it didn't seem to bother him too much other than the funny faces he made!

Maddox also loved the swimming pool too. It has been a while since he has been in a pool, but he had a great time. The condo we stayed at had a beach entrance pool so he had a great time just walking around in the shallow end. He seemed to enjoy just walking in and out of the pool the most. He also got out in the deeper water some with me and Blake and he had fun splashing around.We also spent a good part of our vacation pointing at the sky. We stayed right near an airport so there were several planes taking off and landing each day. It never failed that every time we heard one, Maddox would stop what he was doing, get a really serious look on his face and point at the sky. Sometime he would say "oohhh". He has been pretty fascinated with planes for a while now so this was a special treat for him!One other funny thing that he is doing now (that I suppose I am guilty of teaching him) is being very dramatic when he drinks. When he takes a sip of something it is now usually followed by a very loud "aahhh". This is mainly when he drinks out of a big cup, but sometimes with his sippy cup too. It really is so funny and cute to see. Here is a photo of him taking a drink from RaRa followed by his patented "aahhh".

And of course what vacation would be complete without a few cute beach pictures. I just had to get a few so we took Maddox out to the beach one night, only for about ten minutes while I quickly snapped a few pictures of him. It is pretty tough to get him to stay still for long so I had to take what I could get of him running around on the beach.

All in all, we had a great time and Maddox absolutely loved the beach so we can't wait to go back in a few weeks!

15 months old!

We went for Maddox's 15 month check-up last week. He weighed in at 26 pounds and was 33 inches tall. He has hit a growth spurt for sure! I am not surprised though since he eats like a champ! He had three more shots (which he of course was not thrilled about), but he was brave and made it through.

Maddox is changing and growing more everyday. He sure does have a lot to say lately...he is constantly talking. I can't make out most of what he is saying, but there are several words in there I can understand. Some of the words he is saying besides mama and daddy of course are ball, bird, plane, boat, woof woof (for dog), bye-bye, eat-eat (his favorite pastime), shoes, side (slang for outside which is where he would spend all day every day if possible). He has also started saying please and thank you. He doesn't always say thank you at the right times though. Sometimes he says it when he hands you something, but he has also started saying it some when I give him something too so he should have it down before too long. And I guess I am in for it now because who could turn down that sweet little face especially when a sweet little please is involved.

He is also giving out lots of "sugies" lately. Pretty much anytime you ask for one (and sometimes when you don't) he plants a big old open mouth kiss right on your lips. It is just about the sweetest thing ever. If you want one all you have to do is ask, because he is handing them out right and left lately! :)

Here are a few pictures from this past Mothers Day that I never posted (oops). We did have a great day. Maddox enjoyed running around outside and he carried around Jackson's drumstick pretty much the whole day. It plays music when you tap on stuff. It was a big hit...I guess we need to find him one of these.