Just Dance with The Parkers

Max has found a new family to love him.  The Parkers.  Max has been playing with all five Parker Children a lot over Christmas break.  He is LOVED.  And it is mutual because we love them back.
Jake Parker is an artist like Will, and Alison is a super Mom.  They have five beautiful children.  They moved to Provo last year, and I have their oldest son Tate in my class.

Max and Penny

 Last night, we went over and played Just dance.  (See Video)
We are excited for more adventures with the Parkers.  Max is excited to see Penny again!

News in the Strong House

1.  Max is sitting up like a champ.  He loves it.  He would rather sit on the floor with toys than in our laps now.  Even on Sunday he sat in the pew in between Will and I rather than in our laps.
2.  He sits up in the tub, this still make me a little nervous...
3.  He has TWO teeth!
4.  On 12/26 Will and I tackled sleep training.  He screamed - oh boy did he scream - for 7 hours straight.
5.  On 12/27 he fell asleep in his crib at 10:20.  He didn't scream.  Hopefully this will continue.  Prayers are welcome!
6.  Will and I have been watching the PBS show DOWNTON ABBEY.  It is amazing and if you are not watching it, you should! 
7.  If you are holding Max and say "hug" he will give you a hug.
8.  I am LOVING Christmas Break, and am going to HATE going back to work.  We are praying that this is my last year at Canyon Crest, but we will tackle that road when the time comes.

Baby's First Christmas 2011

Max had a wonderful first Christmas.  He was showered with gifts, smiles, hugs, and tons of wrapping paper.  He is such a fun little Man and soaked up all the attention!

Waiting for Santa to Come

Christmas Eve at the Mcguire's house.  They are close family friends, and it was so much fun to spend the holiday with them.  I played Kinect that night for the first time.

The Big Black Chair at the McGuire's house.

Hudson McGuire and Max

Putting on his ADORABLE Christmas PJ's.

Eating the PJ's

Mom - Santa is coming TONIGHT!  You have to be kidding me!

I love my PJ's from Natalie.

The back side

The butt flap

No more pictures please mom - I have had enough.

Christmas Morning 2011

What is this paper...

I love it!

Max got Will ZELDA for Christmas

Toys!

BRIO from Uncle Brandon

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

What a perfect first Christmas!  

December 25, 2011

Making Cookies

Max and Will "helped" me in the kitchen last night.  I was making simple sugar cookies with Hershey Kisses.  Max enjoyed chewing his baby bjorn the whole time, and Will enjoyed laughing at him.
Overall it was a fun family night - and I loved being "helped" by my two handsome boys!

"Mom I am so over this cooking thing - can I please go watch Pocoyo.  Or take me to the Parker's house...."

DUKE

Growing up there are things that were staples in my life.  Duke Basketball was one of them.  My family LOVES Duke, but no one loves Duke like my Brother.
He had more Duke gear than anyone I knew.  He had signed posters from the players, and loved watching all the games.  We were HUGE fans!  Duke was a vacation destination, and visiting the campus was like a dream come true for my brother.
We had THIS game taped and would often find my brother watching it in our basement. (Did you know ESPN calls this game the number one college game of all time?)

This school year I have a wonderful family in my class with the last name Larsen.  Doctor Larsen did is residency for DUKE and got to travel and be on the floor with the team.  On back to school night when I heard this I was so excited I couldn't get over it.  I told him about my families obsession with Duke, and Bobby Hurley. 

For Christmas Jake Larsen, the student in my class got Max this incredible Duke Warm-up.
Made me so happy and even tear up a bit.  So many memories of my childhood came flooding back!

6 months 12/18/2011

Max is 6 months old!
We measured and weighed him and he is 22 pounds and 28.5 inches long.
He is our chubby little man.
He can sit up on his own, and is LOVING it!
He loves to watch Pocoyo and the Muppets.
He enjoys solid food, but his preference is still his bottle.
He is still super snuggly.
We are going to tackle "Crib Sleep Training" over Christmas Break - he has been sleeping in THIS since he was born, but he is getting way to big for it.
He is getting used to all the 5th graders when he comes to school with me on Fridays.
He likes to watch Will play video games - we are into Paper Mario right now. (Thank you Andrew and Michael for loaning the game to William)
Max is getting much better at holding things and passing them from hand to hand - he will reach for ANYTHING and EVERYTHING - then putting whatever he grabs directly into his mouth.
Max smiles and laughs ALL the time.

Will and I are the luckiest parents.

We love our little man so much.

Happy Half Year Max!

It must be Santa!

When I was a child I WAS A TRUE BELIEVER!  Wow, did I love Santa.  I loved Christmas, being with my family, and the thought of Santa.  I also loved "believing" when I knew it was just a story made up to make Children smile.  My parents told me Santa wasn't real, but told me not to tell my borther.  I took this very seriously, and loved helping my brother believe in the magic of the Man in the Red Suit.   To me believing in Santa was a part of Christmas, not all of Christmas.  It made it magical and it made Christmas morning exciting.

Taking Max to visit Santa was really fun.  I don't know what came over me, but I started tearing up as I handed him to the man in the Red Cap.  

Max didn't cry - he did smile a few times.  

Merry Christmas Santa!  I hope Max has fond memories of you. 

So proud of Max

Mom and Max

 Max is sitting up all by himself - and he loves it.  Life just got 10x better for him!

Recent Happenings

Max is sitting up!  It has been so fun watching him balance and get more stable on his own.  It is also a bit overwhelming because I am thinking sooner than later I am going to have a little mover on my hands.  He is also very chatty and loves to tell us about his day - he giggles and laughs up a storm.  I love coming home to him because the smile on his face is priceless.
He also is picking up some of the baby sign language we are teaching him.  I love baby sign!

Looking good in Orange

Princeton T-Shirt

Sitting up on his own

We LOVE Spiderman in the Strong House!

Thanksgiving 2011

There is nothing like New Jersey in the Fall.  There is nothing like the fall leaves, the cold humidity, the smell of the air - everything about NJ in the fall is beautiful.  So much different than Utah.

Max and I traveled back to NJ to visit my Dad and Brother, and to spend a great holiday week with them.  Will had to stay behind in Utah to work, and his was missed a lot.  Max and I had a wonderful time, and made tons of GREAT memories.
Enjoy the pictures - I was picture happy so there are a lot!

Max meeting Uncle Brandon

Grandpa and Max, this was the first night we were there.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Grandpa "tossing" Max

Watching Thanksgiving Football

Uncle B and Max

Grandpa got Max this awesome Jump-a-roo and Max LOVED it!

Visiting my Mom's memorial Bench on the Delaware River Canal Trail.

This is EXACTLY where Washington Crossed the Delaware on that famous Night. 

Grandpa and Max

My favorite picture of the trip!

Visiting Grandpa at work - Max slept right through the tour.

My Dad's business partner Rich and Max. 

Uncle B got Max this awesome Outfit to wear to the party.

Janet Watson and Max, love this lady very much!

Godmother Sarah and Max

Flirting with the ladies - and Mike Nardi.

Proud Uncle Moment

Max and all of my brothers "Boys" - Missing Grant.

Darling

At the Phili Airport on our way back to Utah and Will. 

 Thanksgiving in New Jersey 2011