Perfection

Gosh, I just love this picture. He is seriously a perfect looking child, but then again I also have the mommy goggles on, but don't you agree?

Zoo Too!

We went to the zoo yesterday and I was able to renew my membership. We weren't able to go at all last month because our membership had expired. This time of year is the perfect time to go! School is back in session and the whole zoo is almost empty. So much more enjoyable for those of us pushing strollers around. Max had a great time. He loved the gorillas which he calls "Monkies". He FREAKED out when the gorilla walked up to us on the other side of the glass! I wish I could have taken a picture of that, but he was terrified!!
Anyways, some pics of the day
Checking out the new playground they built. It was AWESOME!!

Going through the tunnel

Maybe...

Up the big boy stairs

A sillouette of a gorilla sitting in a tunnel

Max was ok with the gorilla's until they started moving.

Run!

The Analyzing of Lunch

Max grew up yesterday. He is now a little boy to me. While he was eating his lunch, it became so real how independent he is. No longer that baby who I used to nestle in my arms for hours every day. He can do things on his own, think on his own, has his own ideas about the world. I feel a new responsiblity now. I know that I only have one chance to create a person who is free-thinking, compassionate towards others, and curious about the world around him. There is a lot of pressure when it comes to parenthood. Everything I do now, I have to analyze how it affects him and what the consequences might be with his understanding of it. How does he interpret the things that happen in the world? How do I explain the world to him?
Anyhoo, all that from some juice in a cup, a hotdog and an apple.

Sweet Moment

Max just did the sweetest thing today. He climb up into my lap and started patting my face gently and said, "Pretty." *swoon*

Found the Culprit

I now know why Max has been in such a bad mood lately. I just got back from the doctor and guess what, he has a freakin' ear infection!!!
I noticed some drainage coming out of his ears at the park today, so I called the pedi and they got him in. The doctor said there was so much puss coming out of his ears that she couldn't even see in them at all. Ugh. I can't believe it. I guess he's just suseptible to them even with the tubes. She gave me some ear drop antibiotics and a prescription for oral antibiotics as well. Hopefully he'll be back to his old self soon!

Worst Tantrum EVER!!

OMG!!!! Max has spent the afternoon throwing the biggest, worst tatrum EVER!! I'm at my wits end. I know that he isn't feeling well, but geez, it was SO bad!
I had to go to Curt's grandparents to do some laundry because our dryer has decided it doesn't want to work anymore. He didn't want to be there as soon as we got there and wouldn't let me set him down or anything. Finally we leave to go eat lunch and he throws a huge fit in the restaurant, so bad that I had to get up and leave with him because everyone was staring and he was SO loud. I didn't want Curt's grandparents to be embarrassed either. Finally Max went to sleep in my arms and slept all the way back to their house and about an hour on their couch. He woke up and the tantrum began AGAIN! He was screaming and wouldn't take anything I gave him. I took him outside of their house so I could just ignore them and not look like I wasn't doing anything about it and because I didn't want them to have to listen to him. He stood at the fench and screamed for a good hour. He kept throwing himself on the sidewalk and rolling around kicking his legs. It was horrible. I was trying to completely ignore him. But how long is too long, ya know? His lasted for a good hour, just crying and screaming. Then he walked up to me and starting hitting me! I was beyond frustrated. I didn't know what to do. Finally I just picked him up and told them that I was sorry and that I would come back for my laundry after Curt got home from work. I was sick with frustration. What do you do? I felt so helpless. Curt's grandma said that he was spoiled. Is he? We aren't aggressive discipliners. I don't want to spank him, but I don't want a bad child either. Does anyone have any ideas? It was not a good afternoon....

Bathtub

Sick boy decided that he was going to learn how to climb into the bathtub all by himself. Now I have to keep the bathroom door shut at all times! I don't know what I'm going to do when he figures out how to open doorknobs! Yikes!

Sick Boy

Our little guy is sick :( He has been running a fever, is really congested and now has a cough. I hate seeing him like this.


We really need to get him some new pj's, lol

Blankie Boy, when he is feeling bad he carries both blankies around

Miss Penelope

I took some pictures of our friends little girl, Penelope, while we were at the park the other day. She is such a doll, I can't wait till her Mom schedules a time for me to take some actual session pictures. She was born 5 weeks after Max.


When I took this one I couldn't believe how old she looked. I made the comment to Lauren (her mommy), when did our babies become little people?

Bernhiem Forest

On Friday we went to this local forest park here called Bernhiem Forest. It is sponsored by the Jim Beam Whiskey company that is made across the road from the forest. It's a beautiful place and there are lots of neat structures throughout the forest and statues along the trails. I had never been there before but Curt had gone when he was a child. I decided to try some nature portraits while I was there. Nature isn't my favorite thing to take pictures of, but I had some fun playing with them in photoshop afterwards :)
Here are the pictures of Max first and then I will post my nature pics
This was his collection of acorns that he loved to gather. He called them his "rocks"

In b&w

I love this picture!

In B&W

In the Visiter's Center they had some crayons for the kids.

He looks so much older here. I think my baby is now a young boy

Coloring

Probably the cheapest building blocks ever, but he loved them! I think we should make some!


This skull was sitting on the table with the blocks, weird

Mommy playing with the skull

Outside

And as we were walking, Curt found a lizard and had to pick it up. He's such a big kid! I love it!


This statue was really creepy, but very cool! I took lots of pictures of it, I used a midnight black action on the first one and then added a few things of my own


A walking bridge
Urban Acid and added saturation here

Duotone on this

My personal favorite

This tree's leaves were already changed for the fall

A branch

Newport Aquarium

Wednesday we went up to Cincinnati to go to the Newport Aquarium. We thought that Max would love it, but I think the big tanks were a little too intimidating to him, so we carried him through most of it. He loved the turtles though, and kept saying, "Turtle, Turtle."
Here are the pics from the day
Daddy and Max checking out the turtles

We sat next to this tank for quite a while. It was his favorite part

NEMO!!! He loves seeing Nemo and Dory

Is this not the biggest turtle you have ever seen in your life?!!!

Max and Mommy

The shark exhibit

In the tunnel

That shark was just laying there for a while, it was really cool

Petting the little sharks. They felt so icky, I didn't like it at all