Kindergarten

Max is in all day school and he is really loving kindergarten. Which is good considering that the first two weeks were a major adjustment. I figured since Max had already been in a school setting for a while now it would be smooth sailing. But it was one grumpy and temper tantrum filled time and we are excited to be adjusted now. Max LOVES his new teacher Ms Conlon, and I have to agree that she seems pretty great. Unfortunately since Jeff works at night he couldn't make it to Back to School Night but it was very informative and I was excited to learn that Max will get to be in the Special Olympics at the end of the year. Plus I have been sooo excited to pack school lunches. I am slightly obsessed with Bento lunch boxes. But I'm being a little more down to earth than some ideas I found on Pinterest. But it gives me something to strive for, haha.

Little Chef

        

Max has always loved to help in the kitchen, and it seems like lately he has loved it even more. He seems so at home there and wants to help with every aspect. I bought him his own little knife (plastic), and he loves to wear his apron that we decorated. I have also noticed that cooking has been a good way to integrate therapy. After a long day at school it is really hard to get Max to sit down and work on something. So doing it while we are cooking seems to be a good way to sneak it in. I think I might just have my very own little Bobby Flay on my hands!

Fun Time and Fireworks

So I know that you can all tell that I am a little hap hazard with the blog. I have been tossing around ending the blog for the a little while. I'm just having a hard time pulling the trigger. I still love to put our lives down and look back fondly. So for now I've still got the blog but it will probably still be every once in a while. And while so many things are going on it is actually still a lot of the same things. We are all working hard and getting the ball rolling on a new school year. Also I know a lot of people have asked about the genetic test that was started a year ago. Unfortunately they called over the summer to tell us the results had been pushed back to the first of next year. The results were supposed to be in April but it is a highly involved test where they are checking Jeff, me and Max's genes. Hopefully it will give us a diagnosis so that insurance will cover additional therapies for Max. So when I find out I will try to tell inquisitive minds. But for now I have to play a little catch up and give you a glimpse into our July 4th. Jeff doesn't like the 4th of July parade and we were worried that Max wouldn't last the whole time. Lately he has been getting a little overwhelmed with crowds so he stayed home with daddy and I went with one of my best friends Abby. It was fun and I got to watch my nephew march for the first time which was fun. My family ended up coming and sitting with us, and it was a pretty day outside because of the nice breeze and mild temperatures for Oklahoma in July. Of course you can't have the 4th of July without a cookout, so after the parade I met up with my boys and we want to my brothers house for burgers and a swim. And of course the grand finale... Fireworks! Edmond has the best fire works EVER. and this year was no different. This was actually the first year Max really watched them. He got a little cranky toward the end. Then again it was 2 hours past his bed time. It was a great day and awesome memories were made.

And we topped it all off the day after meeting Papa for breakfast, yum!

Hungry Hungry Hippos

Max has a new favorite game and I'm sure you just guessed it, it's Hungry Hungry Hippos. I forget how much fun kid games are sometimes. Max got the game a while ago but we finally busted it out this summer. And what was great is it forces Max to use hand eye coordination, and he can actually beat Jeff and I every once in a while. Mind you he controlled two hippos but that is neither here nor there. It's so fun to watch him sometimes because you can really see him trying to figure things out. And when he does it's even better. He lights up and yells "mommy I did it look" and I can't help but get just as excited as he is. 

Impromptu Summer Fun

When I got home from work today I noticed my poor flowers were in desperate need of water. Max wanted to come out and help so I sprayed his feet for fun. And at first he still had on his pajamas thanks to daddy so I ran inside when I realized we were going to get really wet and grabbed his swimsuit. When it was all said and done all of us were soaked and Max was enjoying some yummy ice cream! 

Throwback Thursday!

It is so weird sometimes to think there is a little person out there that looks just like you. Some days I swear Max is almost my mini me and other days I think he looks and ACTS just like his daddy. Because Of Max's cognitive delays he is acting more like a 2-3 year old. He is trying to be so independent but it's getting him into some trouble too. I'm happy to see it but I'll also be happy when we are out of this phase. I don't know how many more times I can hear "no mama never again" or "ugh I do it!" And to think I thought it was adorable at first, ha ha. But honestly I'm happy to see these changes because it just means one more thing that has him catching up to his peers. So apparently bring on the sass!  

Here's a picture if me when I was 4 or 5. I think Max and I look the most alike here. 

Clearly Maxwell knows just how to ham it up like his daddy. How is it that Jeff practically looks the same but I look nothing the same? Hmm go figure. 

My sweet boy. A perfect mix of his mommy and daddy. He has my coloring, mouth and chin. He's also mister personality, plus everyone he meets is instantly his new friend, and he can have a flair for the dramatic just like mommy. But he has his daddy's pretty eyes, he is starting to get daddy's nose, and of course those expressive eyebrows. Plus he loves spicy food just like Jeff, and can be a bear if you wake him up wrong. But just like Jeff he is so chill and not afraid of anything. He's my little daredevil.

Happy Daddy's Day!

I can tend to the Queen of last minute trips and this weekend was a prime example. I realized that at work I had off Saturday so on my day off on Thursday I decided lets have fun this weekend and take a road trip. So I called work and made sure I could take off Sunday and booked a train ticket for Max and I for the first thing Friday morning. Where did we go you may ask, of course, we went to Texas to visit my sister and her family!!! My sister and I are really close and we love spending time with her. Max is constantly talking about Aunt Jenny, Uncle Brian, Eric, Coleton and Emma. He has even made sure that I know that he wants them to come to his birthday party. Clearly I have created a Jenny & Family loving monster! But let’s be real it could be worse. Since it was Father's Day weekend Jeff came down first thing Saturday morning since he still had to work Friday night. I love going to Texas because there is never any pressure to do anything. We might shop, get pedicures, craft or even just lounge. Heck we did it all this trip! But most off all being with my family makes me remember what is really important to me. So here is to a relaxing weekend and a good Father's Day. Jeff got his 52 ounce Rooster Booster that you can only get at Quick Trip, which we don't have. And my sister took Max to church Sunday so Jeff and I went to breakfast alone and perused Central Market which is always fun. As soon as I get home it seems like I can’t wait to get back. Which is thankfully sooner rather than later.

 Max has been on the train before but he was to young to remember it. He really seemed to love it. Even though the trip took a little over an hour longer than usual he was a champ.

Max and one of his favorite people, his cousin Emma!

This picture says a lot! Max stopped napping at a young age and rarely ever falls asleep like this. He is afraid of missing out on something. But when he is cuddled with his Aunt Jenny he cant help but get comfy.

Last Day of Pre-K

For Max's last day the school did a field day and Max had a 4th grade buddy. I was so adorable and I loved seeing the picture of Max with his helper. I know he loved it too. Next year we are moving to kindergarten which is all day and I am having some mixed feelings about it. But overall I think it will be a good thing. So now we are working hard in summer school and doing other fun time activities for the summer. it's strange but summer school is in the afternoon this year. It's an adjustment but it should help Max get used to going to school all day.

Ya Take the Good, Ya Take the Bad

I know I tend to go a while in between blogs and that can either be viewed as a good or bad thing. Either it's bad cause you miss me, which I cant blame you due to my high awesome factor. OR it's good cause it means I don't really have anything to report cause life has been pretty low key. I have realized I don't take near as many pictures as I used to now that we have had so many firsts. Work is calming down in one way and getting busy too as the weather gets warmer. However, as I'm sitting on my couch writing this I'm cuddled under a blanket cause it's 36 degrees outside. I figure it is one last blast of winter before tornado season picks up in high gear and we will soon see triple digit temperatures. And in true Oklahoma fashion the high tomorrow is 76, go figure! One of the many good and bad things about being an Okie is the weather changes on a dime. So apparently the theme for this post is the yin and yang of life. But of course the main reason any of you come here isn't to listen to me it's to see pictures of my favorite little boy. So even though I don't have a ton of pictures right now I haven't made my Easter post yet and here it is.

In true night before Easter fashion we colored eggs. And we did it with whisks for part of the eggs again this year. I don't know who came up with that idea but they sure are a smarty!

The finished product. Daddy got artistic and made the four tone egg, of course I made mine fun with polka dots, and Max was very into orange this year.

Max woke up bright and early and this was the first year he actually understood that he was supposed to look for Easter eggs. 

 Max was SOOO excited that the Easter Bunny brought Band-Aids!

It was a good Easter and we were so excited because we thought the Easter Bunny only hid eggs inside the house but when Jeff took him to his Nanny's so they could go see family we found more eggs in the yard (courtesy of my sweet co-worker that lives down the street). It was the cherry on an already good day.

Throwback Thursday!

I'm sure my family will love this picture. I'm so cute how could you not?!?! Im pretty sure this is a picture of my family at church when we lived in Ponca City. I'd say I'm probably 6 here. And apparently my family likes to embrace every style trend from the late eighties. Ha ha!

School Pictures & Lemon Verbena

Max is on Spring Break this week, but as usual he is sick with a cough and fever. I know you all are very shocked. I don't know why he catches every bug but I swear I need to figure out a way to boost his immune system. Apparently we need more orange juice in the Brown's house. Or better yet Maybe I should grow an orange tree! To bad Oklahoma red dirt doesn't lend itself to growing them Other than that not much is going on here. Jeff and I are taking a week off from work and I cant even tell you how excited I am! We are having a nice little staycation. We'll get some things that have been forgotten at the house done and some fun outings. But mostly I'm excited because Jeff and I never really spend any time together especially as a family. Because we both work opposite schedules and days off it doesn't make for much face time. We both see Max quite a bit but it will be nice to be all together for a week. Plus Jeff will be able to go to Max's first baseball game, which that starts back up the first week in April. We are also about to start swim lessons again. Wish us luck that Max doesn't drink to much water and throw up in the pool again. I say they should quite making lessons right after dinner so I blame them, ha ha! I noticed that I had not posted Max's new school pictures and his class picture so here they are for your viewing pleasure, and a few miscellaneous pictures from the past 2 weeks.

Last week was Dr Seuss week at school and to top it off they made green eggs and ham. Max loved mixing up the eggs but as you can see he didn't know what to think about them. Max is not a picky eater but eggs are one thing he is very hit or miss about and it's usually a miss.

Who doesn't like a buffalo ride in downtown Oklahoma City? If you are from here or have been here you know that all around downtown it is like a Where's Waldo of buffallo. It's pretty fun spotting them cause they are all different.

Jeff and I went to a friends wedding recently and we made a night of it. Since Aunt Andrea was watching Max we went to dinner too. We never go out to eat on weekends cause Jeff hates crowds. I forgot how much I don't mind waiting when an hour for a table when I don't have a cranky 4 year old with me.

 My favorite boys!

Before I realized how sick Max was we attempted the zoo Monday. Poor kid just didn't feel good.

Snow Day!

I can remember as a kid when you would wake up to a cold morning of snow or ice and find out that school had been canceled. It was the best! Max's first Oklahoma style snow day happened a couple weeks ago. There is an old saying we Okies like that goes, "if you don't like the weather just wait 5 minutes." And it really is so true. School was canceled because the roads were considered hazardous and buses couldn't get through. But by 10:30 the roads were fine. It happened to be my day off and I had errands to run. Since Max had no school he got to come too! Overall a fun day and the snow day helped break up my usual day off catch up of grocery shopping and laundry. We let Max actually walk the store since it wasn't busy until he got tired. He ha had a blast in the freezer section! Plus he helped make cookies and the best part was we ate cookies and had hot chocolate while we watched a movie. I don't think I could ask for much more than that.

Since we were already up we cuddled and watched TV while we ate a Pop Tart.

I told you he loved that freezer section!

I have found the BEST cookies recipe ever! I can share if you want, just let me know.

Oh yeah, and we smelled cookies too. Haha!

R-Word PSA

I came across this from the r-word campaign. I've talked about it before and I really think they do great work and I thought this was a really good PSA.

Date Night

I had an awesome date a couple weeks ago! It was with one of the most handsome men I know and he has an adorable laugh. I'm sure that you are thinking Jeff and that's close but no it was Max. My girlfriends Christie and Abby wanted to take the boys to this place called Elevations. It's a cool trampoline park that they had been to before but it made me nervous when they went so we didn't go. So this time when they asked I said sure why not! They had a separate area for kids under 6 so it made me feel a lot better about Max falling and getting run over. We even saw one of his friends from school and I got to meet his mommy and that was nice. The boys loved it and we will have to go again for sure. Since we were already meeting at 7 I figured why not make a night of it and take Max to dinner at Lotsa Noodles. Jeff doesn't like to eat there so it worked out great and it was TASTY too! It was a good break from the norm especially cause it was a school night.

My Valentine

I spent Valentine's day with one of my favorite boys Maxwell! Jeff had to work so it was just the two of us and we had fun. Jeff and I  went out the Saturday before so don't cry for me we got in our time too. I was lucky to be on my days off because I was able to go to the Valentines party at school for Max. We were on juice duty and my sweet husband made sure his boy and his class had cold juice since I was just going to leave it out, so kudos to him for thinking ahead and putting it in the fridge. Jeff and I both made it to the party and Mac was really excited to see us walk in. Max gave out little goodie bags filled with candy, cookies and toys. and Of course Max got to pick out Valentines. I was not at all surprised that he picked Buzz Lightyear. I used to love picking Valentines out as a kid and give them out to all my little friends. I realize Valentines Day gets a bad rap for being "all about gifts" and how "it's a made up holiday from the greeting card companies" but I like it. I like any holiday and this one is no different. Jeff and I don't go big but we do go on a date and I think it's nice cause a date night is just enough fluff. We also got Max a little something. A little gift bag with  different odds and ends and of course a little candy too. Just a little something so he knows how special he is to us. And this year we let Max pick out gifts for Jeff and I and they were perfect just like him. So even though I didn't get to spend it with both of my boys I definitely felt loved and I know they did too.

We gave Max his gift before school to start the day off with a bang! I love this sweater cause it has little professor patches on the elbows but unfortunately we had to change just before we left for school.

Max at his party at school.

Lemon Verbena

Jeff and I's phones finally bit the big one. We had the original Windows phones and while I'm sure they are great phones for some people but the attraction wore off after just over 2 years. So we made the switch to iPhones and I think I can safely say that I am in love! The camera on my old phone was a joke and I now find myself taking pictures of everything now that I have a better camera. so now I have a ton of pictures and videos that don't really pertain to anything on my phone. And the videos have a very Blair Witch Project feel to them but they make me laugh just the same. Here are a few things from the first 2 weeks I have had the phone. It seems I like to take a lot of picture around bed time since Max always seems to be in pajamas, but oh well.

Nothing like buying in bulk at Sam's Club!

Only in Oklahoma can you have sunny skies one day and a snow day they next. I know bad weather was coming so I made sure we made a trip to the park for some sunshine before we got cooped up inside.

Max got quite and went missing while we went and saw my friends Jessica's new digs. This is where I found him, haha! This was also actually taken with my old phone a few weeks ago but it was just to cute to pass up.