Sitting Up Boy

Max is getting really good at sitting up on his own. He'll sit there for 20-30 minutes, if he's in a good mood, so just be thankful that the video is only 3 minutes long!

He has not mastered the getting into and out of the sitting up pose yet and when you lay him down his legs still stick up in the air, like they're stuck in that position! He's been drooling quite a bit - as evident by the shiny chest - and when you don't close your mouth, something's bound to dribble out! I think his second tooth is not far behind.

Anyone Want to Play a Game?

And nooowwwwww, get ready, 'cause it's time to play everyone's favorite new game show.....

Guess.....What I'm......Picking!!!!

That's right folks! This fast-paced game was invented by none other than our very own Sam Brown, in the van the other day. The rules are simple: A child sits in the backseat and picks some part of his own body, while shouting, "Mom! Let's play 'Guess What I'm Picking!'" The mother/driver is the guesser and she must not look in her rear-view mirror, or she will lose her turn. According to Sam, there are only two options (thank goodness): nose or ear, so you have a fifty-fifty chance of guessing correctly. The game lasts as long as the child wants or until the mother tells the child to stop.

And what does the winner receive?
Well, get your kleenexes or wipes ready, folks and tell them what they've won, Bob!
On second thought, maybe they don't want to know.

More Easter Pictures

Here are some fun Easter pictures that my sister Laura took that she was kind enough to share with me:

Patient waiting:Sheer Amazement!Quiet Concentration:On Easter day we (Mom and Don and Larry and Vicki) had a yummy lunch at McC's house: a roast and lots of good side dishes. You might think that Will did a fairly good job of cleaning his plate, but really he's only just begun. He agreed to try one shred of meat - which I'm sure he really didn't, and 2 slices of quick bread. Afterward, I'm sure he was STUFFED! Laura took some pics of our boys in their matching shirts. Why is it that she got lots of pics like these: And only a few like these?!:

Yep, there's no gettin' around it. That Sam has one big ole noggin.

Here are a few more pictures that I took of our Easter Egg Hunt (brrr!):

Don't get your arm stuck!
Dividing up the "loot":
Funny balloon animals:Pay no attention to the Grandpa in the background. He only APPEARS to be sleeping.

Miss Suzie Homemaker:

Bunny Cake (which we almost forgot to eat, sorry Larry and Vicki) and its proud maker:

Contrary to popular belief (well Sam, anyway) the ears were not made out of bacon.

Grandma Vicki and Max:
It was a good day!

Tooth News

The tooth fairy brought Will $3, because those front two teeth are very important.

This is How I Know What Love Is...

This is how I know what TRUE love is: Jesus Christ laid down His life for me - and he also did it for you! Happy Easter, everyone - may you know the true meaning of Love.

He is Risen!
He is Risen Indeed!

Some Cuteness

Chompers.......

Something about this next picture reminds me of Will:

Sitting up big boy, not sure if he can do it:

What's that you say? I'm seven months old? I should be able to sit up on my own by now?

Well why didn't someone tell me that sooner?!
Hmm....I'm still not sure if I can do it, but I'll try.
Look, there I go! I'm doing it! And I'm very proud of myself. Pay no attention to those toy boxes propping me up.

UGH!
Too...
much...
pressure...
on...
my....
tummy!
No wonder you haven't taught me to sit up yet.

Max's New Face

Max really likes to suck on his bottom lip:
Maybe it feels good to put that pressure on his new tooth.

If You Insist...

Stop messin' with me, Mom! I'll show all these fine people my new tooth when I'm good and ready.Well, maybe just a little peek.
Oh, alright! Geesh! If you insist. Now leave me alone already!

Quiet Week - Relatively Speaking

This Spring Break week has been pretty quiet. We've got Max and Sam headed in the right direction now that they've been on their antibiotics awhile. The McC's were feeling recooperated from their flu and came over on Thursday for some Easter egg dyeing. We colored 3 dozen eggs, which everyone complained was not enough, although not a single one of those kiddos are planning on actually EATING any of those hard boiled eggs!

While we were getting things ready for the eggs, two girls came knocking on our door. They had seen the signs that Will and his neighbor friend Alex had put up all over the neighborhood the day before. They wanted to know if this is where the license plate sale was! Remember their entreprenuerial endeavors from last summer? Well, they're back at it again! So I quickly yelled to Will that he had some customers and he went out and showed them is "wares" and one of the girls bought a little "bumper sticker" for 25 cents! (Evidently prices have increased since last summer.) When Will came back inside Noah said, "You mean they paid you REAL MONEY?!" So Noah was all gung-ho to get in on some of that action and they set up shop for awhile in the driveway, but I don't think they had any more business. The week was otherwise pretty quiet. Damon took Friday off and we went to see Horton Hears a Who. We really enjoyed it! There were no inappropriate innuendos or anything objectionable, as far as I remember - unlike so many other kids movies lately. We'll have to buy it when it comes out on video.

Sicko Kiddos

Took the kiddos to the doctor today and here's the diagnosis:
Max has an ear infection and will be doing albuterol treatments with our nebulizer for his wheezy cough. So he's starting on amoxicillin. Sam is starting on a second round of antibiotics from cefprozil to zithromax for his continuing cough, wheeziness and sinus infection that has not gotten any better. Will is fine and hopefully stays that way. We are trying to have a very low-key Spring Break. Hopefully we'll be good to go by Easter!

Max's First Tooth

Max has his first tooth just barely starting to break the surface of his gums! It's on the bottom and Damon discovered it last night as he was letting Max chomp on his finger and he felt something sharp. You can just barely see it peeking out. It doesn't seem to be bothering him at all (yet!) I would take a picture, but you really can't see anything yet. We'll have to wait until it comes in a little more. I won't mention to you all that when I called my mom to tell her the news that she seemed to already know about it because he was chomping on her finger at lunch. We just won't talk about that.

Fine Arts Night

Will had his school program last night: Fine Arts Night. Here he is all ready to go with his brother:And of course we had to take a "Cool Dude" pose:

Each grade sang a few songs and we all had to move in shifts through the gym, because only one grade of parents fit at a time. It was so crowded! The first song was about all of God's creatures singing in the choir, some sing low and some sing higher, some sing out loud on the telephone wire, and some just clap their hands, or paws, or anything they got now. (It's a catchy little tune!):

It was a cute song, but had a LOT of words to remember! Did you notice that Will had to take a break and breathe and lick his lips?! Whew!

For the next song they slowed things down a notch and sang about the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

Awesome message!

The last song was about the Great Outdoors:

In the library there was an igloo made out of milk jugs:

After the songs, we headed to the art room and got to see some of Will's artwork. Every year the kids do a self-portrait. Remember this from kindergarden? and this from first grade? Well here is this year's:

The moment Sam saw it, he burst out laughing saying, "Will's got pink lipstick!" We tried so hard not to laugh! We knew Will was already self-conscious about this drawing. He said he didn't like it, and in fact said, "You're not going to put that on your blog, are you?" But I couldn't resist! So just don't say anything to him about it, OK?!

Max, the Escape Artist

Damon plopped Max in the swing for a few minutes while we were all getting ready to head out the door. He forgot to strap him in. We both happened to leave the room for a few minutes and when Damon came back, this is what we found. At first glance, you might think he's trying to climb IN, but you'd be wrong.

Max was exceptionally pleased with himself.

He's getting good at twisting himself out of just about anything. He's so wiggly, you can hardly hang onto him sometimes. And forget him sitting nicely in your lap. Before you know it, he's sliding and twisting all over the place. It's a good thing the swing sits only a few inches off the ground. I can see crib escapes in our future.

Sam Cracks Me Up

This afternoon Sam asked me to help him get a video started that he wanted to watch. I was feeding Max at the time, so gave him verbal instructions on how to turn the dvd player on and get the tv to the right channel. (Watch this backfire on me, and now he'll be watching movies anytime he wants to!) He actually figured it out, and I heard him say, "Wow! You helped me! You're a beautiful person, Mom!"

The other day I asked Sam if he wanted to help me make some banana chocolate chip muffins. He said, "Yeah! Now you're talkin' my language, baby!" Except he said 'baby' like this: 'beh-beh!' Where does he come up with this stuff?! He's full of funny or sweet little comments all the time, but I rarely remember to write them down. I'm going to have to start getting better about that.

Sweet Lovings

Emily, If You Liked That Last One, You'll Love This...

and this....
and this....
oh yeah, and this...

It Won't Be Long Now...

...and this boy will be crawling. Then it's "watch out world!" (Or more precisely, "Watch out, Will and Sam!")

Pay no attention to all the silliness in the background. They're up to their usual shenanigans.

Where Did All This Cuteness Come From?