Motivational poster created on flickr

Trains and Beef on a Cold, Cold Day

Sunday we went to a Train Expo thing they were having here at the convention center. We thought it would have more for Max to play with and see, but it was really more for train hobbyists. They did have anything Thomas the Train you could imagine and they had a gazillion different track sets you could buy, so that was cool. Plus we were able to get some track clips for Max's set. We didn't stay too long, because Max wasn't feeling too well and he just wanted to go back to sleep in his stroller. Here are some pictures

I only took two train pictures, it was neat to see all the different railroads and villages set up. Some of them were VERY elaborate!


An old man doing balloon animals for the kids

Max got a blue dog. He looks thrilled, no?

Wearing his train shirt and being a very tired boy

Back in the stroller

Walking around the building

Back in the car. It was SO cold here yesterday! Sometimes it was only 0 degrees. Cold, cold, cold! So we bundled Max up in his carseat.


Stopping for lunch. Looks appetizing doesn't it? Max tore Curt's sandwich apart looking for all of his tomatoe slices.


Look at all that BEEF!!

Super Hero PJ's

I got Max a pair of pj's the other day at the Disney Store for only $4! They are having a super good sale right now if anyone is interested. Anyways, he thought they were SO cool and had to put them on as soon as we got home. They are from the movie "The Incredibles" which he LOVES! So as soon as he realized what cartoon they were from he had to watch it with his pj's on. It was cute! That's the first time he's ever paid attention to his clothes!
I love the fact that they have a six pack on the belly!


Doing Super Tricks

Don't you like Curt's fancy slippers, hehe

Not exactly a Super Fit

My First-Born

this one was cute and different - had to do it, lol...


1. WAS YOUR FIRST PREGNANCY PLANNED?
Not at all

2. WHO FATHERED YOUR CHILD?
my husband Curt, there's no denying him, Max looks JUST like him, lol

3. WHAT WERE YOUR REACTIONS?
For the first few days I was very upset because I was still in college and Curt and I weren't married. But I knew that everything would work out so I got excited after a few days and starting thinking about baby names!

4. WAS ABORTION AN OPTION FOR YOU?
Not at all

5. HOW OLD WERE YOU?
22

6. HOW DID YOU FIND OUT YOU WERE PREGNANT?
I had gone to S.C. with my mom and sister to visit my brother and I was supposed to "start" while we were there. The day I got back to Louisville, I made Curt stop at Walgreen's to get a test just so I could stop worrying about it. I KNEW it was going to be negative. But boy, did I get a major shock!! Tip for others taking a pregnancy test and you don't think you are ready for a positive, don't take the digital test. There is nothing more shocking than seeing the word, "PREGNANT" staring you right back in the face! HA!

7. WHO WAS THE FIRST TO KNOW?
Curt

9. WHAT WAS YOUR DUE DATE?
january 8 or 10, 2005

10. DID YOU HAVE MORNING SICKNESS?
OMG, YES! Although I wouldn't call it morning sickness, it was more like ALL day sickness. I had it for the first 5 months.

11. WHAT DID YOU CRAVE?
Nothing really. I wanted Little Debbie brownies sometimes, but I wouldn't say I craved them

12. WHAT IRRITATED YOU THE MOST?
People wanting to touch my belly. That was weird.

13. WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CHILDS SEX?
boy

14. DID YOU WISH YOU HAD THE OPPOSITE SEX OF WHAT YOU WERE GETTING?
Not at all

15. HOW MANY POUNDS DID YOU GAIN THROUGHOUT?
about 35

16. DID YOU HAVE A BABY SHOWER?
Yep

17. WAS IT A SURPRISE OR DID YOU KNOW?
We found out the sex at our first ultrasound. I don't think we could have waited the whole pregnancy

18. DID YOU HAVE ANY COMPLICATIONS DURING YOUR PREGNANCY?
Not really, I had a lot of back pain in the end

19. WHERE DID YOU GIVE BIRTH?
Louisville

20. HOW MANY HOURS WERE YOU IN LABOR?
I never really went into labor. I got sick from an infection, and they had to induce me because I was running a high fever and Max's heart rate kept dropping. But from the time I got to the hospital and had him it was a total of about 13 hours

21. WHO DROVE YOU TO THE HOSPITAL?
Curt

22. WHO WATCHED YOU GIVE BIRTH?
Well, I didn't really give birth, but Curt was there and a bunch of doctor's

23. WAS IT NATURAL OR C-SECTION?
c-section unfortunately

24. DID YOU TAKE MEDICINE TO EASE THE PAIN?
Yep. I got an epidural because my contractions were induced with pitocin. OH my word do those HURT!!!! But I would have needed medicine anyway because I ended up with a c-section.

25. WHEN WAS YOUR CHILD'S BIRTHDATE?
january 5, 2005

27. HOW MUCH DID YOUR CHILD WEIGH?
7lbs 7oz

28. DID YOUR CHILD HAVE ANY COMPLICATIONS?
Nope, he was perfect!

29. WHAT DID YOU NAME HE/SHE?
Max Riley

30. HOW OLD IS YOUR FIRST BORN TODAY?
He just turned two this month. I can't believe it!

Oceans and Carebears

I love my son's world. Any world where medieval dragons and '73 Firebird Trans Ams can coexist sounds like a wonderful place to me. The imagination of children is so awesome to observe. In their minds anything is possible. I miss that about being a kid. One of my favorite games as a child was sitting on my parent's bed and pretending it was a giant ship and having to save all the helpless people (my collection of stuffed animals) in the ocean. My sister and I would play for hours on the bed, throwing my grumpy carebear into the sea and having to rescue him from the most dangerous sharks, who sometimes took the shape of my older brother. I remember when I felt too old to play pretend games. That was a sad time for me. I wanted to go to Neverland with the Lost Boys and stay young forever. I would soon learn as you get older the amount of reality that hits you comes with a great sense of stress and obligation. I want to protect Max from that for as long as possible.
So today I sat with him on the floor. I drove the shiny red firebird and he stomped on it with his dragon. It was wonderfully blissful and it's moments like those where I am able to return to Neverland.

2 Year Appointment

Max had his two year appt today!
His weight is up, I knew he had a growth spurt!!
He weighed right at 25 lbs (up from 21 lbs at his 18 month) and was 33 1/2" tall.
The doctor said he is doing great with his growth, motor and verbal skills. He asked questions about how he interacts with other children and how he does socially. He did say that one of the best toys to get a child at this age is a tricycle or something he can learn to pedal. We have one already, but I thought that was neat that he suggested that as a toy. He does want us to take him to his first dentist appointment this year and we should introduce the potty to him, although it's ok if he isn't potty-trained anytime soon.
He observed Max for a while and then said, "He's just different than other two year olds. He acts older, like a three year old." I'm not exactly sure what he meant by that, but I'm guessing its a compliment.
They pricked his finger to check and see if he was enemic (he's not), but boy did he hate that!!! He SCREAMED while they were getting blood from his finger and then screamed for about 5 minutes as we waited in the waiting room for the results. I'm sure he scared all the kids waiting out there.
Overall it was a great appointment. We talked about lots more, but those were the highlights.

January 5th, 2005

Today is a big day for my boy. It's the day he officially becomes a kid and no longer a baby. Today is Max's 2ND birthday! I know! I can't believe it either?! So much has changed this pass year with him! I don't think I have ever laughed so much in one year as I have this pass one! He brings us an infinite amount of joy! Yes, of course he has hit the terrible twos, and has had some memorable meltdown moments during his second year. But it's the laughter I remember the most, and there has never been a shortage of that.
He has become such a beautiful and great person. I know that there is not one single thing in my life that I am more proud of than that little boy. When Curt and I first found out we were having a child, two years and 9 months ago, it wasn't too long after that that the sheer terror of becoming a parent hit us both. How were we going to be able to have a child and not mess it up?! That seems to be the pattern of kids lately. It's their parents' fault that they are delinquents, overweight, addicted to drugs, pregnant or all of the above. Now we were about to be given a child to ruin. The thought scared the bejeezus out of both of us. But thankfully, I feel like we've at least gotten off to a great start. Lucky for Max, we get comments pretty often on what a great kid he is. My favorite compliment of all is when someone tells us that he is a cool kid. Of course he is going to be cool, he is his father's son. He likes "Star Wars", motorcycles, and his favorite character is Dory. He walks around with a backwards hat and my sunglasses trying to be the hippest toddler on the block (which in this neighborhood, he most certainly is). He has become the epitome of cool. And he is well-behaved, a feat I'm not sure how was accomplished. He couldn't have a more un-disciplinary set of parents than Curt and I. But he listens to us, for the most part, and that makes me happy.
I'm sad to lose the baby in him though. I doubt he'll ever really not be my baby boy. This morning as I was sitting on the computer before he woke, I heard him call for me in the bedroom. He had woken up and realized that no one was around. I crawled back into bed with him and he curled up against me and I wrapped my arms around him. I sung "Happy Birthday" to him softly as he drifted back to sleep. I could have laid there all day, snuggled up with my baby boy. But he eventually rolled back over and wanted his space back. I can respect that. I want my space too a lot of times. I know that later as nap time comes around, he will crawl up next to me, and we'll snuggle and maybe I'll let him watch "Nemo" or "Cars" today as many times as he wants. I'll give him a small cupcake for lunch and I'll sing him "Happy Birthday" at 2:03pm, the precise time he took his first breath two years ago. I probably won't be able to see him while singing, because I'm sure that there will be tears filling my eyes. They are happy tears though, wonderful and beautiful tears. Tears of accomplishment. Tears that celebrate life.
Always find time to celebrate life. Today I will be celebrating Max Riley's.
Happy Birthday Baby Boy!!

Finally!! First Haircut!!

Well, I wouldn't technically call it a real haircut, more like a little trim, but we'll be official and call it his first haircut. Curt wouldn't let me get a real little boy haircut yet, which is fine, I'm happy with the little curls. But he had a rat tail and it was starting to look shabby. So I took him in today since tomorrow is his birthday. My friend Casey cut it and she put it all in a little card that says, "Baby's First Haircut", which I find funny because he isn't a baby anymore, lol.

He didn't like the cape at all, nor did he want to sit without me. Thankfully a lady there offered to take pictures.

Discussing what kind of doo he wanted.

You can do whatever you want if I get suckers. He didn't stop crying till he had grabbed 5 suckers out of the basket!! FIVE!!!

You're not messin' with my curls are you? The chicks dig those!

The little bits of hair. This is all that she cut off. Not much, lol!

All done

Max has his own personal stylist now, lol.

See ya later!

I'll be back in about 2 more years!!

You a real man?

Last night while Curt was drinking a glass of lemonade, he was playing with Max and putting it on his belly. He would ask Max, "Are you a real man?", meaning, could he stand to have a cold glass on his belly, lol. When Curt would ask him, Max would lift his shirt and then Curt would put the cold glass on his belly. By the time we thought to get it on video, Max was pretty much done playing, but he does do it once in this video,

Here is another random video of Max playing with the light