Our Christmas Eve Visit to Applebee's

Max: "I gotta go potty!"... {louder} "I gotta go potty!"... {climbing over Mom and louder again} ..."I gotta go NOW, it's coming out fast!"

Kevin: "Where's the bathroom?"

Rachel: "I don't know, I think it's over there."

Woman at the table next to us: "It's over there!"

[In the men's restroom]

Max: {whining} "No Dad, no"

Kevin: {whispering} "Oh man, these are gonna have to go."

Max: "No, Dad. It hurts when you touch me."

[After getting cleaned up]

Max: "Let's go Dad, this is taking too long."

Kevin: "Shh, we have to wait until everyone leaves so I can throw these out."

[Opening bathroom stall to leave, someone else walks in, closing bathroom stall]

Max: "Dad, why can't we leave?"

[Meanwhile, back at the table]

Kendall {with her grilled cheese sandwich on her head} : "Arrrrggg, matey... hee hee, ha ha {baaahhhggggg, extremely long, loud burp that I couldn't even imagine coming out of the largest, nastiest, grown man alive}"

[Kevin and Max return]

Kevin: "Well, he's going commando."

Note: Max is not pooping in his pants regularly anymore, we've been extremely sick around here, and this was a result of his ailment. We thought he was almost in the clear, but I guess not quite.

Chiefs vs. Broncos

(BIG shout out to the Kaiser's for babysitting so we could catch this game.)

Gingerbread Train

DEEP THOUGHTS by Max

"Mom, I want to watch 'Clyde and the Flighty Meatballs'."

Translation: 'Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs'

DEEP THOUGHTS by Max

Max: "I want Kinectimals."

Dad: "What are Kinectimals?"

Max: "Kinectimals, you are the controller."

Progress

You've all seen the photos of Christmas and Easter past with the horribly-awfully scary Santas and Easter bunnies next to a screaming, anxiety-filled Kendall. I drove with fingers crossed all the way to the mall hoping this was the year Kendall would see the same jolly, generous guy in red everyone else sees, and not the big, hairy monster she's seen in the past. It was definitely just as intense as before: clenched muscles, buried face in mom's shoulder, "no mama, no". This year was a little different, however. Santa scooted way to the left of the big green chair and offered the far, right corner to Kendall. With a little force from Mom, she agreed to sit and "cheese" for the camera with no tears. Of course, the blanky was not optional.

Honestly, I felt sorry for the camera lady, how do you center a picture like this??? No matter what you do, it's going to look like the photographer was intoxicated when they took it.

I love this picture. I didn't think a screaming kid and a smiling Santa could be topped, but I was wrong.

As you can see, Max is extremely relieved to have been able to give his requests directly to Santa. I don't think he really believed Freddy the elf would do the job right.

DEEP THOUGHTS by Max

"I'm rockin' out this. That means I'm doing a good job."

DEEP THOUGHTS by Max

Max: "Mom, how did Santa send Freddy (our "Elf on the Shelf")?"

Rachel: "Santa told him to come to our house and Freddy flew here like he does every night."

Max: {Looking confused at the box Freddy and the book came in} "In a box?"

Christmas Spirit

Take a look at Mr. Clark risking life and limb in the name of Chirstmas spirit.

You may think it a mere coincidence that his last name is identical to the first name

of one, Mr. Griswold...

I think not.

"Joy to the World!"

"Hallelujah!"

A little tree decorating action.

DEEP THOUGHTS by Max

Super Hero powers according to Max:

Dad - Dragon power

Mom - Snowman power

Adrienne - Pencil power

Max - Everything power

Kendall - Blanky power

Lily - Dog power, the power to bite bad guys

New Moves

KSU vs Duke

#4 vs #1

The outcome wasn't what we were hoping for, but the opportunity to see it live was well worth it.

(Shout out - Thanks to the Maximuk's and Haf for making it happen.)

Jump, Jiggle, and Jive - Year 2

Snugglers

During a recent visit for a doctor's appointment, Owen and Max wanted to snuggle.

DEEP THOUGHTS by Max

"I really need to take a rest, but my body doesn't want to rest."

American Girl Debut

While Max was at school, Kendall and I went to the mall to check out the new American Girl store. We walked around, looked, and played with dolls and clothes for an hour. She was in heaven. BUT, Mom and Dad are very sorry honey, as great as those dolls are, you have to be at least 4 or 5 to have expensive tastes.

2 Going On 12

I'm pretty sure Kendall is convinced that she is a teenager. She ends all requests with "now", she's quit calling Max by his name and now refers to him as "buddy", she's into accessories, make-up and shoes, she goes from screaming like a maniac to completely calm and obedient in 2.5 seconds and all she has to say about her tantrum is "better" while flashing a completely crazy-looking smile accompanied by a nervous laugh. This weekend she had the opportunity to work her way in with the big girls at Adrienne's party. Instead of playing with the other little kids, she squeezed herself into a spot at the birthday table. She sat, content and quiet, spoke only when spoken to, hoping that no one would notice the drastic height discrepancy. If she starts using tight as an adjective for everything, I'm getting her a therapist.

Lord help us!

Adrienne's 12 Birthday Party

11 girls

pizza

cake

gifts

(all consisting of Aeropostale clothing and iTunes gift cards... oh yeah, and some "tight mints")

skating party

sleepover

=

LOUD, but fun

DEEP THOUGHTS by Max & Kendall

(Max likes to be the first to greet Kendall in her bed when she wakes up in the morning and after nap. Here's what happened this morning.)

Max: "Good morning, Kendall."

Kendall: "Daddy!"

Max: "I'm Max."

Kendall: "Oh, Max, right, Max."

DEEP THOUGHTS by Max

Mom: "Max, thank you for being patient. You did a very good job of not interrupting while I was on the phone."

Max: "You're welcome. Can I tell Mrs. Murdock that I was patient?"

Mom: "Sure. Do you like Mrs. Murdock?"

Max: "Yeah."

Mom: "Why do you like her?"

Max: "Because she's pretty."

Mom: "Aw, that's nice, you should tell her that."

Max: "No, you can't tell her, ok? It's a secret."

2010 School Pictures

DEEP THOUGHTS by Max

"Mom, do you like Toy Story or Young and the Restless?"

Pics of Max

Another free picture slideshow by Smilebox

Since Max was having a skin issue on his face the day we took the family pictures, Tera agreed to come hang out Friday afternoon and grab some shots of Max. This was intended to be quick and casual, but we ended up having a lot of fun, maybe too much. Many outfits and a few hours later, we came up with these.

Max... you're a silly boy...

Adrienne Is The Coolest!

Adrienne's 12th Birthday

We were very fortunate to have Adrienne over her entire birthday weekend! She started the weekend off with MANY hours in front of the computer Friday night playing Mines with Dad (from dinner until the official start of her birthday at midnight!). We started the morning off right with a yummy breakfast at Adrienne's (and everyone else's) favorite breakfast spot, Price Chopper. After that, Adrienne and I hit Oak Park Mall so Adrienne could take care of the birthday money burning holes in her pockets. We raided Abercrombie, Claire's (where Adrienne found the hairpiece of all hairpieces), and the shoe store. The girl cleaned house and we had a blast. After the mall we hit Small Cakes so we could enjoy a little birthday dessert before dinner. We picked up Adrienne's friend, Chloe, on the way to dinner at Sumo where met the rest of Adrienne's family for some Japanese cuisine. After dinner, Chole stayed over and the girls did their thing. It was a great weekend!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ADRIENNE! HOPE YOU HAD A GREAT DAY!

Cheer Banquet

Adrienne would be the cheerleader with the "Best Laugh" and the "Best Cheer Attitude". GOOOOOOOOOO ADRIENNE!!!!!

{insert split jump followed by high kick here}

Kendall's First Haircut

The rat tail was getting a little out of control, so we finally took Kendall in for her first haircut (the bang trim given by Grandma without permission while babysitting a year ago did not count, that's all I have to say about that.)

Fall Leaves

2nd Annual Maximuk Halloween Party

DEEP THOUGHTS by Kendall

(after falling off the step-stool, pointing to her arm)

"Mommy! Owie, neck!"

DEEP THOUGHTS by Max

Adrienne: "Bye, Max."

Max: "Where are you going?"

Adrienne: "Shopping for my birthday."

Max: "Where, at the grocery store or Wal-Mart?"

Mother Gooney Bird

Halloween at BATS

The Costumes 2010

Miss Ming-Ming won the 3rd place costume prize at the Bass Pro Shop contest.

(No, this wasn't her prize.)

Max's Preschool Halloween Parade & Party

KC Pumpkin Patch & Corn Maze

It's A Crime

that these kids get expensive toy after expensive toy, when all it takes to entertain them for several hours is a rolled paper napkin holder with a smiley face drawn on to look like "Map" from Dora.

Our Little Gymnasts

So proud of those awesome green participation certificates!

Family Pics

Make a digital slideshow

DEEP THOUGHTS by Max

"Kendall, do you want to play... and not fight?"

Kendall's 2nd Birthday Party

The birthday girl

the treats

saving some animals

friends and cupcakes

presents

cousins

Happy 2nd Birthday to Kendall!!

KSU vs KU On The Hill

With a 59-7 Wildcat victory, there really wasn't much to see. Good thing we didn't buy tickets!

I almost felt bad for the speechless KU fans who wanted to use the tired, old comeback "Wait 'til basketball", but couldn't after the news of K-State's pre-season ranking at the top of the Big 12.

I'll probably regret this, but it just seemed too appropriate. For those 2 or 3 KU fans that I like, please forgive me.

Kendall is 2!

Pancakes with candles for breakfast

Off to gym

Home for lunch and a yummy Small Cakes birthday cupcake

After nap we met Daddy at Build-A-Bear

and a carousel ride before leaving the mall

finally, dinner at Red Robin where Kendall got this cool hat and a song

(guess she didn't like the hat)