Just my luck...

Ben was feeling really generous the other day and offered to wake up with Max that following morning, on his day off, so that I could sleep in AS LATE AS I WANT. I wish I could stretch it out all day long but somehow my sleeping in habits have vanished since Max came along. Anyway, what a nice guy. We stayed up a little later than usual watching a movie because hey I get to sleep in right! I think I slept a little more soundly that night because I knew that I didn't have to wake up at 6 o'clock in the morning to make eggs. Like clock work Max started talking away at 5:55am and I woke up and thought to myself 'Ha he's awake and I get to go back to sleep'! I look over at my other sleeping baby and he was SOUND asleep, not even a hint of 'I think I heard the baby'. It was ok, Max was not crying yet so I just rolled over and figured when Max started to cry I would nudge Ben and then he could go get him. I must have fallen back asleep cause I woke up at 7:05 and Ben was still asleep and everything was quiet. Why was everything so quiet? Is Max ok? Did he fall back asleep? Something by the way he never does. I went to go check on him and lo and behold he had FALLEN BACK ASLEEP!! WHAT! On my morning off he falls back asleep! He slept until 8:30...so did Ben..and so did I. It all worked out great but why can't that ever happen to me! Just once!

Blue Springs with Ted and Sarah

On Thursday we all went to Blue Springs Park. We bought some tubes and put our sunscreen on and hiked up river to float down the river. We bought Max a special bodysuit (seen below) for the occasion. I have always been really against these little suits because they look so dorky, but my imagination kept getting the better of me and I kept picturing Max jumping out of my arms while we were floating down river and sinking to the bottom. Then me being the vertically challenged person that I am, I could see myself not being able to touch the bottom to save him and you can guess the rest. Anyway, I gave in and got the dork suit so it would be harder for him to possibly drown. It was so much fun to float down the river. Max loved it he totally just chilled in my arms which was a nice surprise for me cause I thought he would be all over the place hence the dork suit. He just sat back and was so excited to be on the 'boat'. The trees were so tall and covered with moss and it was just green every where. It was super hot again so the water felt so nice and it was so clear. It wasn't to crowed either. Ben and Ted attacked each other and Sarah and I just relaxed and floated down the river. It was so fun that when we got to the end we had to go again. It was a lot of fun and we left just in time for the afternoon thunderstorms.

Beach Day

On the top of Sarah and Teds to do list was the beach. Yesterday we drove down to New Smyrna to spend the day surfing, boogie boarding and playing in the water. We had a lot of fun and it was such a nice day. The sun was out and there was a nice sea breeze. First thing was first, we rented a surf board and hit the waves. They were perfect for beginners (and me). Max loved running around in the sand and coming out in the waves with me. After an hour of playing Max and I went back out in the waves to cool off and he fell asleep on my shoulder while we were standing in the waves. He was one tired little guy. I was offered some shade under someones umbrella and I sat there while Max took a hour long nap. It was so nice of those ladies to share their shade. We would have roasted other wise. Sarah and Ted were pros on the surf board. They got up a ton. We took our small grill and grilled some hot dogs for lunch. In Hawaii we could always spot a tourist because their skin was the color of a tomato. Well the same goes for Florida. Even though it is summer, and Ted and Sarah did put on sunscreen, they still got burned. It was lots of fun and I am happy to report that the shark attack that happened yesterday did not affect any of us. Phew!!

Gator Land with Ted and Sarah

Yes we are still alive...I can't believe how fast time goes by sometimes. It has been a little rough lately with Max, he is getting two new teeth (do kids get molars this young? Cause that's what they look like). He is a good sleeper but he has been restless during naps and night time since these teeth decided to come in. During the day he is just really needy and sad so needless to say my blogging time or free time has been spent sleeping or just relaxing. Actually I think it has been a combination of that and that there hasn't been anything really going on. But now I finally have time and something to write about! Uncle Ted and Aunt Sarah are here to visit!! I am way excited that they are here. I grew so attached to these two when Ben and I were staying with the Tylers. They were so fun to hang out with and I miss them!

Today we went to Gator land. There were lots and lots of huge crocs and a stifling heat wave. The first thing we did when we got to the park was see a wresting show. Can I just say that even though I am not partial to reptiles and non-fuzzy/cute animals I felt really bad for these guys. I couldn't watch the show without feeling sad for these animals. They have a few crocs swimming in a moat that encircles a sand stage where they are wrestled for our entertainment. The wrestlers get in the two foot deep water, grab the crocs by their tails and heave them up and out of the water onto the sand and are then poke, prodded and wrestled. Anyway, enough animal rights talk. We all had a lot of fun walking around and looking at all the crocs and really bad tourist tank tops. They also had other animals there. They had lots of beautiful colored parrots, a petting zoo(no crocs involved) and even a splash park which was heaven sent since it was SOOO HOT! We climbed to the top of a tower that over looked a river spotted with crocodiles. They were HUGE! I had a brief moment of fear at the top when I imagined myself accidentally loosing hold of Max and him climbing over the edge into the river and me jumping in after him and then finding him but not being able to hoist him up to someone and then eventually being eaten by crocodiles. (Can you image my dreams at night?)

At the top of the tower we were able to get above the tree line a little and see a big storm that had been looming for about an hour coming our way. As soon as we got down it dumped! It was like someone had popped a water balloon above our heads. Everyone was huddled under the cover walkway including two peacocks waiting for it to pass. It didn't pass and we got drenched going to the car. At least Max liked running in the rain. It was a fun day just hanging out. Max loves to have Ted and Sarah around. He was very confused when he woke up in the morning and they were here but after a couple of minutes he climbed into their laps just like old times.

Again?

Now that Max can walk around and go and pretty much do what he wants, with a few exceptions, he is so busy. There is so much that captures his attention that the saying 'so much to do so little time' certainly applies to Max. For him to do everything he want he has to go full speed ALL the time. I don't mind keeping up but it is the falling over and over that I hate. Some days are defiantly better than others, but on this particular day he fell numerous times and he seemed to keep falling face first onto everything. The law of attraction could be at work here, I don't know? His poor little lip turned into a poor huge lip! Once on the concrete outside, again on the table and then last but certainly not least the carpet inside. I don't know where his hands were but they weren't in front of him that is for sure. Sad little guy. Yesterday he managed to scrape both his knees within seconds of each other. So much for a night time walk. Do you ever notice that when your trying not to hit something or drop something that's exactly what happens?! This is the story of my life. Stuff like this always happens to me and I get so frustrated at how clumsy I can be sometimes. The earliest memory I have is when I was learning to ride a two wheeler at my elementary school playground. I had finally gotten the hang of it and I was riding around in circles while my dad took a much needed rest. Well I decided to ride over and show him how good I was at riding. I headed right over to the jungle gym that he was sitting on and slammed right into it. I remember my dad yelling 'brake, BRAKE'! It was like a magnet I couldn't do anything. Speaking of magnets, excuse me I have to laugh out loud here, I remember this one time when I was roller blading with my best friend. We were going home to my house and that ment lots of steep hills. We were nearly to the end of one hill and she couldn't brake hard enough to slow down. Panic struck and she slammed right into a huge wall that was a window to a restaurant. Being the good friend that I am I laughed at her, sorry Annie. But seriously how would you like to be the person sitting on the other side of the window eating your sandwich?

Smocking 101

Here is my first smocked outfit. Ann (Ben's mom) was so nice to show me how. She has a little machine that pleats the fabric. Then you watch a lot of Jane Austin movies and follow a pattern. It is really fun and I have another that I am working on for Christmas. He wore this on Sunday and I thought he looked so cute! This other one was an Easter present from Grandma Ann. Cute huh!

Rain Rain

The past few afternoons we have had some awesome thunderstorms roll by. Max and I got stuck in the rain one day and got very wet. It was lots of fun to teach him what rain was. He kept singing water, it was cute. So the next day when it rained he wanted to go outside and play in the rain again.




Don't you wish you were little again! I love the rain, I remember playing outside in the rain with my brother Mike. We lived at the bottom of a really big hill so the water would come rushing down the gutters. We both would sit or stand in the gutter and let the water run over our feet and play human dams. It was great.