Kira is 8 months old!

Ever since Kira was born the months fly by!  This month it has been so fun to watch Kira's personality continue to come out through smiles, laughter, and the occasional (short lived) cry of displeasure.  Yes, it is true- Kira does cry.  But as of now she uses her tears sparingly, and for good reasons, such as- Max clocked her over the head for the tenth time and she just cannot take it anymore.  Sometimes she does not like the stroller or car seat, but after 30 seconds she is content.  Kira loves to feed herself pancakes, bites of fruit, and puffs (which of course Max has a born-again affinity for).  She also likes playing in all sorts of water- the pool, bath, fountains.  She babbles all the time and just loves strangers and anyone who will glance in her direction.  Nothing gets a bigger smile out of Kira than giving her one first. 

Eight month serenade 

Max came home from the hospital following his second lip repair surgery when he turned 8 months old.  Sadie came to visit and she squeezed this stiff/sore lip smile out of him.

Kira loved Frying Pan Park!  She stayed cool and clean in the shade, while Max  played on the muddy tractors.

Hang on tight!  Good thing this tractor goes 0.0 miles per hour.

Picnic at the farm

Max was so excited to see the pigs but he was bothered by the fact that there were so many bugs on them.

We got [goat] ears, say cheers!

The bunny rabbits were at the top of Max's farm-to-do-list, so he was rather disappointed when he found chickens in the rabbit house.  "The sign says rabbits!!!" he screamed as he pointed to the rabbit picture.  Luckily we found the relocated rabbits.

Kira's first carousel ride

Max woke up on the RIGHT side of the bed after nap!

Pawley and Theodore (Daddy's teddy)

Kira could have sat in front of the water sprays all day.  She loves it!

Kira will just be laughing in the stroller while Max scales this odd structure

Eight months of [mostly] sweet sibling snuggles

Rainy day fun

Despite the gloomy weather, we had a lot of fun all over the place today.

Max only woke up twice last night.  That statement is not sarcastic, because those two wake-ups were only minutes, as opposed to hours, like the previous night[mare].   Once Max was awake in all his glory, he demanded to do an "art project!"  He did not specify, "face painting", but that is obviously what he had in mind, as he marked up his face AND refused to clean it off all day.

Kira's first time at Chibis indoor playground.  She had a lot of fun; her favorite part was watching the big kids.

Post nap art project...

Special dinner with Jake and Kate to find out if Jake is getting a little brother or sister.  It's going to be a girl!  Pink icing laden cake was enjoyed by all!

It was way past Kira's bedtime, but here is hoping this double bath leads to a double sleep-in-past-6am

These bath giggles washed away all of the rough parts of the day

Graduation

Max went back to Miss Miranda's this afternoon for a graduation party!  Avery and Max serenaded the parents with, "It's a Small World", as they wore their mortar board caps and proudly held their diplomas.  It was such a cute celebration,  especially since they are simply graduating from a small, home daycare to a bigger daycare, but every milestone is special.  

Max was so proud!  He could hardly wait for mommy to open his report card, which could not have been more exemplary.  It seems that Max shows ZERO hints of his 'threenager' self at school.

Max felt much better this morning, after a horrid night of three marathon wake ups. Most notably, he was awake from 3:30-5:30am begging mommy to go to the farm.  He finally snoozed until 6:30am, at which time he woke up to make a list of animals that we will see at the farm.  This evening he remembered that he forgot to list 'rooster', which is clearly the early-rising animal that Max is most atuned to.  Max found the portable DVD player before bed and brought it to mommy while she was putting Kira to sleep.  "Mommy I need to look up what time the farm will open on this patio [ipad- that was actually a DVD player].

Kira loves broccoli! She is really enjoying feeding her self.  

In an effort to wear these two out, we headed to the pool for an evening swim.  We were the only people there, so Max was a bit bored, unlike the other day when we had a conversation that went a little like...

Mommy: "Max we can stay for 10 more minutes."

Max: "NO! FIVE!!"

Mommy: "Sure!"

Let's go swimming!

When we got home from the pool it was almost bedtime.  Max decided it was time to "go to work".  His mind never stops.  Ever.

Playground hopping

Since they wake up at 5...something, these two have plenty of time for morning walks and playground exploration.

Watching Max slide down the pole

Max climbed up the ladder, "I rescued Kira!"

This little tushy does not want to crawl

Someone came home from camp with quite a fever

Even with a 102 fever Max was back to his silly, snacking self.

Mirror, mirror on the wall

Kira is the cutest baby of them all!

Good thing Kira likes the pool...

...because Max is not getting out any time soon 

This girl loves pasta!

Max found three "Pawley" fish and one new pair of sandals.  The ride home from the mall took extra long due to traffic, but Max told mommy all about his day at camp.  When Kira tried to chime in (aka/ cry for a snack), Max replied, "What are you doing?  I'm talking with my mommy!"    He soon after demanded that mommy, "Stop driving! Press the button! (the ignition button) Kira is hungry!"

Dinner for two

These Brooks kids sure so like their peas

Back at the pool

Ahoy!  Captain Max had a great time on the lake with mommy's friends today.  He rode on a "floating dock" and threw bread at the geese while he screamed, "Right there!!! Come and eat it right there!" to the birds.

Kira loves her daddy

We look a long walk before camp and found a new playground 

Max learned how to slide down a pole

Kira had a great time swinging 

Look who has enough hair for a clip!

Happy Camper!

Max and Kira did not get the memo that they could sleep in during the summer.

Instead of walking to school...

We walked to Dunkin Donuts!

Max started camp today and loved it.  He had a lot of big decisions to make this morning....a bathing suit for now and shorts for later.  

While Max was at camp, Kira came to a meeting with mommy at her school.  She smiled and played for the whole hour and a half. 

After a much needed nap, Max and Kira headed to the pool with their friends, Sadie and Tessa.

Kira was a real sport watching Max jump off the diving board and go down the slide...

Actually, all of the girls spent lots of time watching Max indulge in water sports.  

Kira ate real food for dinner tonight.  She happily munched on peas and pasta for what seemed like an hour, but was probably not...