More East Coast Adventures!

Last week Steve, Max and I returned home from Miami. This was Max and my 2nd time out there....and Steve's 4th. Crazy. We had such a fun trip though. Lots of time to relax and enjoy being a family. We went to the beach everyday - and what's wonderful about Miami is that if it's 9am or 9pm....the water is a beautiful 79 degrees. It was like swimming in a giant bath. Definitely had to keep our eyes open though. Steve was out in the water and out of no where a huge manta ray was swimming by him. The next day we saw a man catch a shark from the shore. THEN we saw a dead blow fish washed up into the sand!! It's scary to think that these fish are in waist deep water! Be careful!
Max had an awesome time out in Florida. I took him to the Palm Beach Metro Zoo. It was his first time going to a zoo and he LOVED it! His favorite things to look at? A rooster that roamed the zoo, flamingos and the swan that was bathing himself and splashing us! Lots of giggles and lots of babbles! I also took him on a 130 mile drive up north while Steve was working. I went on an adventure trying to find some fun things to do. We went to the Manatee Observation in Port Lucia and the Treasure museum in Sebastian. I should have saved our time.....so LAME! Now I have driven the Florida coast from Sebastian to Key Biscayne. Super cool. We hung out in Juno and Jupiter that day and had some fun in the sun after Daddy was done working. Some more fun things we did was go to the biggest flee market in the US - pretty cool. Visited an ancient Spanish monastery shipped over from Europe - very neat. We went to Viscaya - a huge mansion/museum on the ocean with beautiful gardens - it was stunning. Then we went to Lion Safari. This was awesome. You start out by driving through 7 miles of roaming animals. We saw Rhinos, Lions, Antelope, Zebra, Water Buffalo, Ostrich's, and tons of others just - roaming around. I thought Max would get a kick out of the drive but instead was more interested in the sticker on the visor....isn't that how it works though?? Great times though!!

Fun On The Trail

Had an awesome time the other day walking through and discovering some new parks in our area! Max really seemed to enjoy all the flowers and bugs!

California Dreamin'

A few weeks ago we flew in to California for another of Steve's business trips. I love that Max and I get to tag along - I love being able to go home and have Max see our families. So, while Steve was off working, fishing and golfing....I know - he's got it rough - Max and I spent time with the family. We did a lot of work around Keri's bridal shower....super fun....and tooled around Folsom. We had a really fun dinner with Steve's family over at his Grandma's house and also enjoyed some good food with my parents, brother, sister in law and nieces. We had a great time walking around the neighborhood, taking pictures in the backyard and enjoying the sunshine!!

I Love You, Goodnight

For my boys -
I love you like I love blueberry pancakes.
I love you like I love strawberry milkshakes.
I love you like frogs love flies.
I love you like pigs love pies.
I love you like mice love cheese.
I love you like vines love trees.
I love you like the wind loves blowing.
I love you like plants love growing.
I love you like boots love splashing in puddles.
I love you like bears love kisses and cuddles.
I love you like the moon at night:
big and round and warm and bright.
I love you, Goodnight.

The Airport Grandma Returns

Hooray! We love it when my mom comes to visit. It's been nearly 2 months since she has seen Max and boy has he changed. It was so much fun showing my mom all his 'tricks.' No, I know he's not a dog - but he has tricks! Rolling over, sitting up, babbling, grabbing at toys, laughing...he's amazing. We had lots of fun hanging out, talking and playing with Max. She was also generous enough....again....to let Steve and I have some dates. We got to go to lunch - and then we also got to go to dinner and a movie! Oh, the fun of it being the two of us again :) I love the three of us though - I can't imagine our lives without Max....it's like he's always been here. Yes...we did do the Macy's run although no huge sales. Still, lots of fun though. We also had a great time cooking for her - Steve is quite the chef! We can't wait to have her come up again!
We were supposed to be leaving for Miami....together...this last Monday. Well, I am home due to crummy weather - humid and thunderstorms. Max and I can't sit in a hotel all day, everyday. Steve left on Monday and won't be home for 9 days. We miss him. He has been doing lots of traveling lately - probably the longest he's been home in the last 3 months is about 2 weeks. He's rocking it though....he's amazing too. I guess that's where Max gets it from!

My Little Easter Bunny

This year Easter and Greek Easter fell on the same Sunday. Normally the Easters are seperated by about 3 weeks, but not this year! *It's a special year* Since we're all by ourselves up here - we had a lazy day - waking up late and taking pictures of Max in his 'so called' monkey suit that daddy loves. We later got dressed and let Max open up his Easter basket. The Easter Bunny filled it with his first sippy cup, bathtub toys, and the book "On the day you were born," which makes his mommy cry. We made a yummy dinner of lamb...as tradition. I also succeeded at making my first loaves of Greek Easter bread - which I have to say turned out great! And what fun! Now that Max is here I have to start learning how to do these important things. We also dyed red Easter eggs - mine didn't break - good luck for the year! I'll take it!
**Funny story** Max picked out his Easter basket all by himself. We were in Target and I was holding up all the Easter baskets for him. This was the only one that got a laugh and a reach. Needless to say it went immediatly into the basket!!

A Successful Food!

Today Max and I had our first success with solid foods. We have been working at this for the last 3 weeks with no luck. We started out with rice cereal, moved our way to sweet potatoes, peas and avocados. All with no luck. Max was not interested. TODAY though - he ate carrots - WITH anticipation! Who knew carrots? I HATE carrots - I probably didn't touch one my entire pregnancy. But - Max loves them......that makes me very happy!
I decided when I was pregnant that I was going to make homemade baby food for Max once he was ready. I homemake my dogs food every week - so why not Max's? It's actually a really fun experience for the both of us. I decide on the food that I want Max to try that week, make up a big batch and freeze it in baby food ice cube trays. Max watches me in the kitchen while sitting in his high chair. I tell him what I'm doing, point out colors of the veggies, etc. Then every night I pull out what I want out of the freezer for the next day and defrost it over night. By making his food myself, I know exactly what he is eating. It's not coming out of a jar that has been ready for a baby to eat it since 2009 and is good until 2011. Gross.
Hooray for carrots!