Max – Two Years

We saw Dr. Brewer on Monday for Max’s 2 year visit.
Just a quick reminder for myself of Max’s stats at 2 years old…

24 lb

34” tall

 

I was so proud of Max for being a brave little boy.  We’d been sitting in the waiting room for quite a while, and Jensyn needed to nurse.  I tried to hold her off, but eventually, she ran out of patience and I fed her.  Of course,  that’s when we got called back for Max’s appointment.  The nurse (who we see EVERY time we’re there, so she’s familiar and trusted person) took it in stride, took Max’s hand, and went to weigh and measure him.  He bravely went all by himself until Mommy & the other kids could join him!

Max had the nasal flu vaccine…poor kid didn’t know what was coming, and he jumped a bit.  He didn’t seem to mind it, though.  I remember Alex hating it last year and saying he’d rather have a shot!  (Alex & Jensyn will be getting flu vaccines at Jensyn’s 6 month visit in October.)

We talked a little about Max’s speech and vocabulary.  She said he should have a vocabulary of at least 50 words, and at least 50% of what he says should be understood by most people.  He knows way more than 100 words; his vocabulary is growing by leaps and bounds lately!  Since he only uses a handful of consonant sounds, though, understanding him is a bit of a challenge!  So, we’ll give it some time.  Hopefully he’ll improve in the next 6 months or so!

We’re also trying Activia yogurt to help Max’s digestive system.  It’s a good thing he likes yogurt.  So far, he’s devouring the stuff :)

And that’s about it.  He’s happy, healthy, full of energy and mischief…and he’s got a clean bill of health.  I wish that meant we didn’t have to go back until he turns 3, but knowing my children, he’ll be back for an ear infection or two this winter!

Grandma & Grandpa time/Freezer Corn Day

Jensyn had her 4 month well-baby visit a few weeks ago, and afterwards we went grocery shopping and out for lunch with Grandma & Grandpa S. 

Mom and I shopped with Jensyn while Dad took the boys to visit the toy department.  Afterwards, he took the boys up front for rides on the Sandy, the penny horse.   Jensyn at Alex’s “fave-wit westawant”…

We also had our annual corn day at my parents’ house.  31 dozen ears of corn shucked, washed, cooked, blanched, bagged, and frozen.  That’s a LOT of corn!  (105 two cup bags and 3 eight cup bags)  It’s an exhausting day, but it’s also very fun to have this time to chat and hang out with the family!

 

Jensyn & I went home that night, but the boys stayed to spend a few days with Grandma & Grandpa.  Grandpa shared these pictures with me of chocolate pancakes and sleepy kiddos…

Thanks for lovin’ on our kiddos! :)

Branson, part 4

Before we left, I was looking online for ideas of what we could do in Branson.  I saw zipline adventures, and it really stood out to me.

Since getting pregnant with Alex, I really haven’t had a chance to anything adventurous.  I’ve been in “Mommy Mode” for far too long!  Even just thinking about a zipline made me nervous, but it also sounded like a LOT of fun.  So, I told Keith that I really wanted to make this happen…and he agreed.

Kevin & Leanne had also been thinking about doing this with their family, so we all went together.  I’m SO thankful for wonderful grandparents who kept all three of our little ones for us, giving us the chance to do this.

It was SO MUCH FUN!

Your first jump is a practice jump that is barely off the ground.  It’s just a chance to get a feel for how it all works, and even that made me a bit nervous.  (You know, because it would hurt so much to fall 10 inches to the ground, ha!)  I’m glad they do that, though, as I doubt I could have braved the next line without having tried and trusted the equipment.

The next practice jump is up a tall, spiral staircase.  You stand on a wooden platform, get hooked up to the line, and JUMP.  I wasn’t about to chicken out, but it took a whole lot of courage to jump for the first time.  I think the thrill of flying through the air like that convinced me that I could do it again.

By the end, jumping was no big deal…and it was FUN!  The rope bridges?  Not my favorite part.  But the flying through the air was amazing.  I can’t wait for an opportunity to do this again!

 

Branson, part 3

The reason this whole trip happened was that Keith’s parents wanted to take Kyle & Jessica to see Sight & Sound Theatre’s show “Noah”.   Well, Keith & I really enjoy Sight & Sound performances.  We’ve been to the Pennsylvania theater twice, so when Keith heard that his parents were going to the Branson theater, he commented that he’d like to go along.  Kevin & Leanne said that they were interested, too.  Suddenly, a small trip turned into a big family event.  We’re so glad! :)

If you’ve never heard of Sight & Sound Theatre, you’re missing out.  These musicals are retellings of familiar Bible stories, and they are AMAZING.  They are so real, you almost feel as if you’re in the story as it’s happening.  The costumes and sets are beautiful, there are live animals, and the actors are excellent.  There’s nothing low budget about these productions.  

Kevin, Leanne, Keith & I went to the afternoon production while Keith’s parents watched all of the grandkids.  Then we swapped out the little kids while Keith’s parents took Kyle & Jessica to the evening performance.  Later in the week, we went back (with our kids) to do the Behind The Scenes tour of the theatre.

You can’t take pictures at the shows, but we got just a few pictures when we took the backstage tour.  Kyle was chosen to try on a costume and show how the actors do their “quick changes”.

  My boys liked this replica of the theater stage…

This was not my idea, and I wasn’t too fond of the idea…but Keith took Alex on a wave runner for the first time.  It ended up being a great experience for him, but it sure made me nervous!

Kevin told me when they got back to the condo that there was NO WAY Keith could convince me he took it easy on Alex.  Just take a look at that c-r-a-z-y hair on my boy! It’s standing straight up in the air!

My boys discovered RideMakerz, a shop at Branson Landing.  The best way to describe it is to say it’s kind of like Build A Bear Workshop, but you build a car instead.  It’s not cheap, and we almost didn’t do it.  Then Leanne gave us a coupon card for a really nice discount…and that did it!  We returned the next day, and each of our kids built their own car.  Alex put together Mater, and Max made a Lightning McQueen.  You put it together yourself (with the help of an employee) and then add magnetic pieces and sound chips.  You can make a monster truck/car or turn it into a remote control vehicle, but we just kept it simple.

 

The boys were SO proud of their cars that they HAD to carry the boxes themselves!

As were were heading home, we stopped off in Rolla to meet up with a scrapbook friend of mine.  We had lunch at Applebee’s with Lizzy before heading on to St. Louis for the night.  (Duh!  I forgot to take off my nursing blanket before Keith took the picture…)

We stayed in the same hotel on the way down to Branson and on the way home.  The boys really enjoyed the pool.  This was Jensyn first time in the water, and she liked it as long as we held her close.

 

Branson, part 2

A second go-cart and arcade trip on another day…

Dinner at Lambert’s, home of the “throwed roll”…

  

Dinner at Hard Luck Cafe…

 

Hanging out at the condo…  

We spent some nice evenings down by the pool, but Papa is the one who thought to bring the camera down one night.  He got a couple cute pictures of the grandkids.

Max had a love-hate relationship with the water.  Sometimes, he was very brave.  Other times, we could barely get him in the water.  He loved jumping in, and if you were lucky, you got warning before he dove at you! ;)

The four biggest grandkids…