The Brown Brick Road

Capturing our adventures one photo at a time...

Updates!

Updates, updates, updates.

On Wednesday of last week Maxwell went to the doctor for his 1 year check-up.  Dr. Walley thinks he’s doing great! He even commented that his legs are long for his age and he might end up being quite tall.  We’ll see!  He’s now 30 inches tall (75th to 95th %), weighs 21 lbs, 11.5 oz (50th%) and has a head circumference of 19 1/4 inches (97thth %).  Whoa, big noggin!  No wonder some of those t-shirts are a little tough to get over his head!  Must be those big brains…

Maxwell really didn’t like the doctor’s office from the moment I had to hand him over to the nurse to be weighed. I think we might be having a bit of separation anxiety! He was pretty pitiful after having to get weighed and measured…

But then cheered up a bit…

Until Dr. Walley wanted to poke on him…

It only went downhill from there. The 1 year checkup is pretty tough with all the shots. Maxwell actually got so upset after the shots that he threw up…all over me. Lovely. And that was before he had to go get his finger pricked. Drama. Thank goodness Robert had gone to the appointment with me. I needed backup! But, it’s all over now and we’re happy to have a good report from the doctor!

On Saturday Robert woke up Maxwell with the AL fight song blaring from his computer. Game Day! We had some business to take care of before watching the game though…the business of buying a new car!  Fun!  We headed out to the Jeep dealership where Robert made a deal…

Maxwell waited patiently…

and FIVE HOURS LATER, we had a new car!

I’m so excited! It was quite an adventure at the dealership though. We got out there bright and early on Saturday only to find out they were having this huge “Eliminator” used car sale which included 3 cars on sale for only $79. There was music blaring from a Hummer parked out front, tons of people looking for a deal, and it was a zoo. Or maybe a circus. Either way, it was crazy and literally took us 5 hours to get everything done. Maxwell was so good the entire time.  Evidence…

and I think he’s super happy to have a new ride!

And, thankful to the DVR, Robert got home and got to watch the AL game in full. Roll Tide!

That’s all the updates for now! Tomorrow – updates from the first day of SCHOOL!

Happy Labor Day!

Hope you’re enjoying the day by not working!  I’m loving getting to spend the day off with my best little buddy…and get one last wear out of some summer clothes…

See ya later seersucker! Bring on the sweaters!

Happy Labor Day!

12 months old!

You might have already heard, but Maxwell turned 12 months old this week!  He’s just so much fun these days. He’s thhiiiiiis close to walking…all he needs is one small finger to hold on to. I think he’s just going to take off on his own any day now. He sprouted 4 teeth in the past 3 weeks alone.  wow!  He now has 2 teeth on the bottom and 2 teeth on the top.  He took them like a champ too with only 2 slightly cranky afternoons.  He talks all the time and is starting to associate sounds with things.  He definitely knows that Robert is Da Da and will do his own little grunting version of “Woof” every time he sees or hears a dog. Although Ma Ma is in his vocabulary, I don’t hear it often. But, last night I looked right at him and said “Ma Ma” and he said it right back to me.  Clear as a bell. It made this Ma Ma very happy!

Food is challenging these days – we’re somewhere in between baby food and real food. We’re trying all sorts of things…some are a hit and lots of things end up on the floor.  On the menu these days:  yogurt, waffles, all kinds of fruit, puffs, yogurt melts, crackers, avocado, Laughing Cow cheese, jars of baby food mixed with cereal, and, as of yesterday, grilled cheese! I’ve also experimented with pureeing whatever we eat for dinner if possible and he’s loved spaghetti and lasagna. Of course, as you saw, he loves CAKE!  🙂  He’s also still taking 3 bottles of formula a day.

Maxwell is still a great sleeper – 7pm to 6:30 am. We’re starting to push that bedtime back just a little and think he’ll start staying up until 7:30 or 8:00 soon. He’s still taking 2 naps most days – around 9:00 and 2:00.  I think that morning nap will drop soon too, especially when he starts going to “school” 2 mornings a week next week.

He still loves Nanner and trucks are still tops. Sesame Street is a new major favorite. Maxwell is a happy, funny, social little thing and I love that he’s mine!

Here we go with the last monthly photo shoot…

My perfect little angel…

Silly face 1…

Silly face 2…

I then told Maxwell a very funny joke…about a chicken crossing the road or something like that…and at first he didn’t quite get it…

But after I explained it he thought it was HILARIOUS…

Mouth open, eyes closed HILARIOUS….

Knee slapping, belly laughing HILARIOUS…

I am pretty funny.  🙂

We then took our picture with our bud, Little Al…

Little Al was a little tired that day and just couldn’t sit up straight. We forgave him though. He’s been a good sport these 12 months!

We then got in one more good giggle…

and called it a day. We had a birthday to celebrate after all!!

Happy 12 months Maxwell!

Want to see all the monthly photos in one place? Here you go.

Want to see the months individually?

11 month photos here:  11 months

10 month photos here: 10 months

9 months photos here: 9 months

8 month photos here: 8 months

7 month photos here: 7 months

6 months photos here: 6 months

5 month photos here: 5 months

4 month photos here: 4 months

3 months photos here: 3 months

2 month photos here: 2 months

1 month photos here: 1 month

Party on!

After the cake smashing, the party continued with presents. Lots of sweet, awesome, generous presents from Maxwell’s sweet, awesome, generous family!

Robert and I got Maxwell this little push lawn mower…

and this is how Maxwell reacted when Dad told him he could now help him work in the yard…

Guess Robert might have to wait a little longer to get his yard helper!

I also got Maxwell this fun giant card…

that roared like an elephant when you opened it…

and apparently scared Maxwell to death.

Way to go, Momma.  2 for 2!

Other presents were a much bigger hit, like this ball bouncer…

Tickle Me Elmo…

and this fantastic personalized chair throne…

Fit for a prince!  Maxwell’s favorite gift of the day though? That miniature red spatula in his mouth. It was a gift from GJ and Daddo and I don’t think he’s put it down since!

Maxwell thoroughly enjoyed the view from his throne…

and got a kick out of watching everyone else put his toys together for him!

By the end of the day, Maxwell had even mastered getting into his throne all by himself…

Oh so gracefully I might add!  🙂

Maxwell then got in some good snuggles with Aunt Jenny…

played, played and played some more with Katie and Anna…

and spent some quality time on Daddo’s lap.

Robert then kicked things up a notch and had some fun with the helium tank.  Lemme tell ya, Robert talking like a chipmunk is HILARIOUS.

(Kids, don’t try that at home!)

Despite missing his afternoon nap and being surrounded by lots of activity, Maxwell was such a happy guy all afternoon. I couldn’t have imagined a better way to celebrate my sweet baby’s FIRST BIRTHDAY!

See you all tomorrow with the “official” 12 months photos! Have a great day!

A Birthday Party!

First, thank you for all the comments yesterday! I love hearing from so many of you and know Maxwell will get a kick out of reading them someday too.

Second, how about a birthday party?! To celebrate Maxwell’s birthday, we just had some of our immediate family over for lunch on Sunday…that didn’t stop me from doing a little decorating though!  🙂  My baby boy is only going to turn 1 once so I wanted to make it special, festive and fun for all!

Like all 1 year olds, Maxwell loves balloons.  He also loves his friend Little Al (seen in our monthly photo shoots).  So, when I saw this invitation…

it all just fell into place.  Lots of balloons and lots of happy colors!

I ordered the Happy Birthday banner off of Etsy, made the centerpieces with candy and cardstock, and blew up all the balloons myself with a helium tank from Party City.  easy!

I also made banners out of all of his monthly photos to display on our mantels.  I think everyone loved getting to compare all the photos side by side and see how much he’s grown in a year!

The brick mantel had my favorite individual photo from each month and the living room mantel had all the Little Al photo favorites.

Maxwell loved having the fam in “his house” and getting to play with (almost) everyone. We missed Aunt Mess and Holland and Keath, Jen, Delaney and Nate.

Maxwell especially loved getting lots of grandmother love!

grandmother love

Along with the banner, I also ordered this cute birthday crown off of Etsy for Maxwell to wear. Let’s just say it didn’t go over so well.

Crown attempt #1…

Fail.  The grandmothers sure got a kick out of it though!  🙂

Crown attempt #2…

Fail. Oh well.

We knew we couldn’t have a party without feeding our guests well so Robert and I cooked up quite a feast.  Luckily I got to prepare my portion of the meal inside in the kitchen. Poor Robert had to sweat it out at the grill.  It was worth it though!

You know what comes after the birthday lunch don’t you? Birthday cake!!

A smash cake for Maxwell and cupcakes for everyone else.  All from Olexa’s and all really good. Like, ridiculously good. Yum.

Obligatory pre-cake family photo…

Thanks Jenny!

I had no idea how Maxwell was going to be with the cake but he quickly showed us all that he’s got his momma’s sweet tooth!

I couldn’t help getting in a little lick of that icing myself!  🙂

I then cut the cake up a bit for him and that’s when he really dug in!

A very happy birthday boy!

And a very messy birthday boy!

He even played patty-cake with his cake…naturally.

Love him.

We then tried for crown attempt #3…

Fail.

Little Al ended up wearing the crown for most of the party…

little al

Success!

(please note how Little Al has a balloon around his trunk just like the elephant on the invitation. I was quite proud of that! It’s the little things.)

Maxwell might not have liked his crown but he loved his cake and that’s what matters!

The party continues tomorrow with presents, presents and more presents!  It’s good to be Maxwell these days!  🙂  See you tomorrow!