Thanksgiving, Christmas and Baptism all in ONE?! WHEW!

Well, we went to WM for Thanksgiving this year. It was a FULL house. We have more to be thankful for this year than ever. Kelly, Max and I are truly blessed!! I really hate that our families don't all live in the same town so we could do all of our holidays together. I love Kelly's family and was sad not to see them this Thanksgiving but REALLY look forward to Christmas.

We were gone for 5 whole days! You won't believe how packed my car was - I almost needed a U-Haul! My mom, Allen, sister and brother came into town from Florida. It is always so great to see them. I can't believe how big Zach is getting. Max really liked pulling Zach's hair and he LOVED Allen - maybe it was all the food Allen gave him or the plant Allen let Max pull on - either way, Max loved Allen. First we went to lunch at my dad's and then that night we had dinner with my mom's family. We let Max taste some table foods for his first Thanksgiving. I attempted to give him peas, mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes but he didn't like them at all, however, he did enjoy the dressing off of Allen's plate and the chicken nugget Allen tried to give him. Thursday night we met some friends and heard my dad's band play at the Red Rooster. It was fun and I learned a new word - Maxalicious!! How great is that? My mom (and the McLemores) were SO maxalicious for watching Max while we went out!

On Friday we went shopping - I know - not the greatest idea but the crowds weren't really that bad. It was tons of fun. My mom, Sara, Gayle, Rachel, Zach, Max and I loaded up and headed to Memphis. We shopped and had lunch at Huey's. But the Razorback's big win over LSU was the definitely the icing on the cake for our Friday - well maybe not for my sister!
We also exchanged gifts with the Florida group since we won't be together for Christmas. Max really enjoyed opening presents. My sister got him the CUTEST set of keys and he LOVES them! And my mom got him a fun steering wheel toy.

Then on Saturday, we went back to Memphis so Rachel could get her ears pierced! Afterwards we all went to church and attended Caleb's baptism. Max was SO good at church!! He didn't need a snack or anything to silence him. He was so quiet! Maybe we should start attending Saturday night mass rather than Sunday morning. Dinner was GREAT! I just love being with my family. Max had lots of goodies at the dinner for Caleb. He LOVES Ritz crackers - but let's be honest, what's not to love? He likes rolls too (just like his mom)! His new favorite game is to pull on fan or attic strings hanging from the ceiling. He had lots of fun pulling the fan string and turning the lights off at the party (thanks Clay for that new game)!

Max, for the most part, was so good while we were gone. However, night time was TERRIBLE!! We didn't bring the pack and play so he slept in bed with Kelly and I. Each night, he got worse and worse! He just wanted to eat all night. Needless to say, he (me too) was VERY happy to be back in his own bed today. Let's hope we didn't have too much of a set-back. The McLemores (my family too) are just WONDERFUL for helping me SO much with Max this weekend.

So, I've started sewing. I made my brother Zach a T-shirt for Christmas - with LOTS of Wendy's help. Over the Thanksgiving Holiday I made some stockings for our family. I have much more ownership of the stockings. I had SO much fun but couldn't have done it without my aunt Gayle's guidance and help.

Below are just a few pictures, ENJOY!!

First Present to open!!

That sweet little face just melts my heart!
He thinks presents (paper) are FUN!

Mmm, these keys are almost as good as my mom's

Max still likes to move around in his bed!

Zach's T-Shirt

Kelly's (You can't really tell but the silver embelishments are money!)

Tabitha's

Max's

Bye, Bye

Well, we've been waving bye-bye pretty steady for over a week!! It's different from before - now you can almost get him to do it on command - well, when he wants to cooperate. It even sounds like he is saying bye-bye with the motions. It's so cute!! Now he kinda does his own version of Woo Pig Sooiiee (even though the Hogs just play with our emotions). He only raises one arm and just makes a humming noise that resembles woooo. It too is absolutely adorable - well, again, when he does it! Also, I think we're taking a break from teething because my sweet angel baby is back to normal! We're sleeping from about 9:00 to 6:30 - he eats at 6:30 and then sleeps until about 8:30. I love it because he snuggles with us in our bed from 6:30 until Kelly and I get up. On days that I go into the office, I actually have to wake him up - not complaining, I WELCOME that problem! (I haven't written about it because I didn't want to jinx it but we've consistently been back on track!!) I'm sure Max feels like it is just paybacks because on days I work from home Max is the one to wake me up. It's so sweet. He just rubs on my face (well some days he pinches my face or pulls my hair). It's GREAT! We've also weaned off the right before bed feeding and he puts himself to sleep, well for a month or so now!! I just can't believe how big my baby is getting!


He LOVES feeding himself!! Meal times have become even more fun. My favorite part of the day (well it's a toss up between bedtime and morning) is watching him bathe and get ready for bed. He is SO cute!! and SO happy!!! I can't even put into words how I feel! He is definitely just the cutest, sweetest and most animated during those two times. His face just beams with pride and his smile is gigantic as Kelly carries him around. Just ADORABLE!! I want to always remember it!


Today, he and I are going to Texarkana. I have court down there on Monday and Max gets to spend the day with Aunt Allison! I don't know who is more excited?!! Wish them luck! I'm so grateful because I haven't spent a night away from him and am not quite ready yet, (I know it's so silly, but I can't help it) so I'm very glad he gets to go with me. Thanks Allison!!


Hope you all have a Happy Thanksgiving!! We have so much to be thankful for this year and just can't wait to spend it with family. Take care and hopefully we'll have lots of fun pictures from Thanksgiving.

Hugs!

Eight is Great!!

So, Max recently turned 8 months old! I just can't believe it! Not much has changed since his 7 month birthday except he got 3 more teeth in a month's time for a grand total of 6 teeth!! He is rolling ALL over the place and gets EXTREMELY frustrated at what I believe are crawling attempts. This weekend he actually started rolling over in the bath tub. It was so funny and too cute! We've had had lots of fun since Halloween. Max voted for the first time and enjoyed his first election night. We went to dinner with Uncle Chris and Lauren - good times! (It was also the 6 year anniversary of when his mom and dad starting dating - WOW!) This past weekend he went to WM for a Clara's and Charlie's birthday party where he had a GREAT time. The rest of the weekend he spent at Sugah's house while his daddy was deer hunting. Kelly got an 8 pt. We went shopping on Sunday and Max got the cutest new coat! Here are some new pictures - he is still just the cutest (roundest) little thing! Enjoy and have a wonderful week!

Bath time is still SO much fun!!

Blackberries are his FAVORITE!

First Election (November 4, 2008)

Modeling his new coat - So DOGgone Cute!