Party boys

Max and Ben partied like frat boys this afternoon; they are already reliving their daddies college days. 

Armed and dangerous!

Ready, set, go!

Max could not even see over the table, and he still made so many shots! 

Virgin beer pong 

When life imitates weather

What a way to end the week- gorgeous weather, a fun afternoon, and a super smiley pre-surgery photo shoot .

Can't wait to get to Miss Miranda's!

Residual photo shoot smiles

HOV lane

Mickey is in the car seat, but monkey doesn't fit in the car seat so he gets to sit shotgun 

Good morning school photo - Max's new tradition

Are you ready for some...[Insert any sport here]

Sunshine day

The weather and Max were completely opposite than they were yesterday. Sunshine and smiles all around!

When Max got to school he was in a great mood.  He must have been feeling as handsome as he was happy, because he requested, "Mommy, take my picture".  

Max said he was saving the seat next to him for the baby.  He really did.

This new stand at the farmers market had a friend for Max...and dinner for mommy and daddy (shhhhh).

Dreary day

Weather and behavior were pretty gloomy today.  But it's supposed to be sunshine for the rest of the week.

Max had a great day at school.  Rain, but no tears!

Is imitation really a form of flattery?

Max greeted mommy with the most wonderful "Good morning!", a sign that his first day back at school would be a good one.  And it was!  He only cried a few minutes, then proceeded to play, eat (shocker), and nap (actual shocker) on a cot for the first time.  He was in great spirits at pick-up, hugged Miss Miranda goodbye, and said, "see you tomorrow". 

At home Max worked on football drills and played baseball.  After dinner (or rather in lieu of dinner) he went upstairs because he wanted to put Pawley to bed.  He imitated mommy's bedtime script verbatim, from singing Tomorrow (standing in the exact spot mommy stands in), to walking out of the room, standing outside the door, and then opening it and saying, "get back in that bed!".  He nailed the routine and it was absolutely hilarious.  Unfortunately, the real bedtime tonight had tears instead of laughter.

Max later tried to put his pj's on over his clothes and then completely stripped down and put on his football underwear.  Luckily he did not have an accident, but he did not use the potty either. 

"I wanna go in there"

Ready for school!

Is Harry really out of commission again?  Good thing there is a picture of him, along with free cookies, to soften the blow.

Max's first complete running pass of the season

Book worm

Max woke up early this morning, and instead of yelling to come downstairs immediately, he climbed into his chair and read to Pawley.  Through the monitor you could see and hear him reading Elmo Counts; when he got to the page with The Count he hugged the book.  Tonight during Goodnight Moon, mommy forgot to read the author's name; Max quickly said, "wait mommy say by Brown [Margaret Wise Brown]".  

Smarty pants Max is also a back[car]seat driver.  When daddy makes a u-turn he says, "oh you went the wrong way!" and whenever the car is in a parking lot he tells the driver to find a parking space.

Happiness is Chipotle!  Max is full of joy and an adult burrito bowl.

Max picked out a new hat at Target.  His first choice was a bicycle, but that will have to wait until December.

Reading time with Pawley 

Know it all

Now that Max talks non-stop it is becoming more apparent just how observant and smart he is.  He knows mommy, daddy, grandma, and grandpa's names.  We never taught him the names, and it is hilarious when he yells out "David" for daddy.  He can even say "Marissa", which is impressive, considering all of those S's.  Max can also spell his own name (lucky guy only has to remember three letters) and can tell you that he lives in Virginia; grandpa, grandma, and uncle live in New York; and grandma and aunt Arielle live in Florida.   

Max has started to bring up the baby on his own and anytime he sees a baby he says, "mommy has a baby in the belly."  He asks to touch it and puts his hand on mommy's belly.  Body parts are something Max is becoming more interested in.  He sings and understands, "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes" with the best of them, but he also asks about and identifies other parts...

Tonight Max noticed daddy wearing a dress shirt (we were going out for our anniversary) and said, "Daddy don't go to work.  Daddy take your shirt off".  There is nothing that gets by the General. 

Max has been watching golf with daddy and has decided he wants to hit the "real golf ball" to the sky.  In reality this means under the deck.

"Mommy get up I want to drive.  Wait my feet can't reach the pedal!"

Thank goodness! 

Back-to-school haircut

Ice cream and I pads

Totally trucks

Max and Sadie tried out lots of trucks at Totally Trucks Day.

Max got soaked by the water truck 

Highlights of the day: Sadie saying, "I love you Max" and Max saying, "I want to hold hands with Sadie" 

Driving the police truck was fun...

...but getting locked up is even more fun!

Mail call!

Max put all of his friends on their spots on the blankey that Norma made him 

Max woke up and could not wait to see his Sesame Street friends

Max goes to Sesame Street!

Max left New York this morning, but on the way home he stopped at Sesame Place!  From 11:30am to 6:15pm, Max went on rides, saw shows, and met all of his favorite friends from Sesame Street.  Max currently has a love-hate relationship with The Count; one minute he says, "I'm scared of The Count," and the next minute he wants to hold his toy Count and watch Count videos.  He was so excited to go to The Count's house that when we stopped at a rest area he shouted, "There's The Count's house!"  Perhaps The Count knew Max was eager to see him, because he was the first character we saw on the way into the park. We also found him again later after Max spent the day trying to find him again.  Max was also excited to see Elmo (and a random astronaut) in Elmo's Musical.  He tried desperatly to open the front door of "123 Sesame Street", and was rather frustrated that no one would let him in.  When he met Oscar the Grouch, Max kept asking him to take his hat (garbage can lid) off.  He was a huge fan of Bert and Ernie and waited in line two times to see them.  Max went on nearly every ride; all of which were much faster and higher than any ride he has been on before, but he was not the least bit afraid.  The day was as fun as it was exhausting; Max passed out during the Bert and Ernie show and slept the whole ride home.  He is probably dreaming about all of his adventures on Sesame Street.

Who was more excited to meet Bert and Ernie- Max or his daddy?

The boys meet the boys

Hi Count!

Count! It's vunderful to see you again!

"There's Elmo!"

Oscar's flying garbage can

Higher and higher on Cookie's hot air balloon

The ice cream line was almost as long as the ride lines

"Take it [garbage can lid] off"

"Open it!"

The Brooks family on Sesame Street

Sky-high selfie on Elmo's Flying Fish

Knuckles for Big Bird

Cookie Monster's boat ride

Lots of lines, but Max was pretty patient

On the way to Sesame Street and on the way back to Ansdel Court

Animal planet

Max, the future astronaut, spent the day with animals of all kinds.  He went to White Post Farms in the morning and returned for an encore visit after nap.  Feeding a goat, petting a parrot, seeing monkeys, and riding the train made for a memorable morning.  The Rio parrot show was definitely Max's favorite part and afterwards he could not stop saying, "I want to fly like a birdie".  When Max returned after nap he knew the lay of the land by heart.  He insisted on going back to the parrot show where his wild dance moves got him chosen for an on-stage kiss with Katie the parrot.  He was much younger than the boy who was picked in the earlier show, so of course his mom was insanely proud (and teary).  Max was excited to see ponies when first arriving at 10:30am but he was too reluctant to get into the saddle until 5:59pm.  The farm closed at 6:00pm, but it was worth the wait to see General Border take a victory lap.  Max had a fantastic experience and left the farm with the perfect souvenir- an astronaut suit.

Max got some bottle feeding practice

Petting Katie the parrot

Max loved the monkeys

House hunting 

Look who got picked to go on stage!

This slide was SO high!  Getting up looked impossible, but Max did it all by himself and he certainly had a blast careening down.

The pony stopped to take a poop during his ride.  Max can empathize.

Mommy and daddy are so proud of their little equestrian

To the moon!

To the playground!