Happy 2nd Birthday Max. Yes I'm a bit behind.

On March 21, 2009 my favorite little boy in the world turned 2. I can't believe he's already 2. Seems like just yesterday we were waiting for him to make his debut. Here are a some pictures of all his birthdays to date.

Snow? What? Where? IN GA THAT'S WHERE!!!!

For the first time in about 16 years there was snow enough to play!!! Enjoy the pictures.


Our humble abode all snowy and pretty.


Jerome's totally fabulous snowman.

Daddy love! Max is our sweet affectionate kid.

Peyton thought it was so cool to slide down the slide and remove all the snow.

Redneck sledding! :)

Building a tiny little snowman. Peyton later stomped on him.

Snow angels. The closest Jerome's ever actually been to being an angel. ;)

More redneck sledding.

Max's turn to redneck it. LOL

Sledding.

Little Miss Hollywood!

Peyt's first attempt at a snow angel. Little too firm here for it.

I'm not sure about this mom.

Really, it seems safer here.

SNOWBALL FIGHT!!!!!!!

Still not so sure.

Cheese. Much happier inside.

Princess.

We were pretty sure Gracie was going to burst b/c she refused to go out with the snow on the ground. She FINALLY went. Guess she just couldn't hold it anymore.

Looking at the pretty snow all safe and warm inside.

This is what it looked like when we got home from church. It got heavy fast.

The backyard when we got home from church.

One boy, one nose, one ROCK?!?!?!

As anyone with small children knows you can never be too surprised by the things they do. When I was pregnant with Peyton people would tell me stories about when I was a child and how wild and crazy I was. Fear set in knowing full well that any child of mine was going to be, well, wild and crazy. Turns out, she's not so bad. :) She and I have always had a wonderful bond and she's been like my little buddy since day one. She is a challenge in her own right but nothing like I feared she would be.

THEN CAME MAX!!!!!!!!!!!! He's been nothing short of a surprise since the day I found out he was in my belly. We wouldn't trade him for the world but he is so much harder than Peyton. He's harder in that he is ALL BOY ALL THE TIME!!!! It never stops. Ever. My cousin Kimberly has a little boy that is Peyton's age, Bryson. Bryson is an excellent kid, however, he is all boy. Kimberly "cursed" me with one just like him when I was pregnant with Max. I honestly though she had to be crazy. Really, Kimberly is it that hard? YES! So my apologies to Kimberly and Jeff for under estimating the boy! :) Max, is rougher, braver, and more stubborn than I ever imagined a small child could be. He falls down the stairs at least once a week despite my best efforts to keep it from happening. He is constantly smashing fingers in doors, drawers and anything else he can pry open with his little hands. Everyday when I pick him up from school his teachers always laugh at how "rough and tumble" he is. Tuesday was no exception.

When we got home it was business as usual. Dinner, baths, playing and then ready for bed. Except that it wasn't. We did dinner and baths but when I was dressing Max for bed I noticed that his nose needed to be sucked out. One nostril, no biggie, 2nd nostril, MAX WHAT THE HECK IS IN YOUR NOSE? "I no know". Little Dude had a rock stuck up his nose! Yep, a real plucked from the playground little rock. Being that I am calm and level headed in all situations I didn't panic at all. Yeah right! I was flipping out. Jerome went to get the tweezers and a flashlight so we could do our own extraction. That didn't work. I called my parents, my girlfriend up the street, a friend that is a firefighter, and THEN the pediatrician. Yes, really in that order. I took him to urgent care and had my parents meet me in case it got ugly(Jerome stayed home with Peyton). Good thing, it took, me, my dad, and a nurse to hold him down so the doctor could get it out. Thankfully Jerome and I hadn't done any damage and pushed it up anymore than it was so it was easily removed with the correct tool. Max came out totally unscathed and happy as a clam. We saved the rock and it is labeled and in his baby box. Now when I drop him off at school I have to tell him not to stick anything up his nose. BOYS!!!!

25 Random things...

1. Jerome and I dated for 8 months before we were engaged.
2. We were engaged for 8 months before we married.
3. Jerome is 8 1/2 years older than me.
4. When Peyton was a baby Jerome used to get up with her at 5am and watch Sports Center with her on Saturdays so I could sleep in. He was very happy the day she decided to sleep until 8am.
5. To this day Jerome still gets up with the kids on Saturday so I can sleep in.
6. Though I was born and raised in GA, aka The Peach State, I absolutely HATE peaches.
7. I truly believe Peyton will become a vet and Max will be an Ultimate Fighting Champion.
8. When I was in 7th grade I passed out at the doctors office, fell off the table and cracked my cheek bone.
9. There are days that I want to send the kids to daycare and crawl back in bed.
10. There are some days that I do.
11. Jerome and I never took a honeymoon.
12. Jerome's mom is from Naples Italy. Her whole family still lives there.
13. We really would love for our children to speak Italian so they can communicate with them.
14. Jerome was in the Marines when I met him. I'm selfishly glad he didn't re-up after we met. Although I'm very proud of him.
15. I would really love to buy my childhood home so we could raise our family there.
16. I'm sooooo sad that my baby will be in kindergarten in the fall.
17. I want to buy a treadmill but I know I will never ever use it.
18. I trained for a 1/2 marathon and then had to drop out b/c of a foot injury.
19. I wish I had six-pack abs.
20. I hate clutter but if you came to our house you'd never know it.
21. I think Lost is the dumbest TV show EVER!
22. I'm pretty sure nobody reads our blog.
23. I secretly wish we could have another baby. I tell people differently. I lie. :)
24. I would love to hire someone to clean my house.
25. I love my family more than anything and I'm so very proud of them.

Life is back to normal!!!!

We're all back to our routine. Peyton's back to school, Jerome and I are back to work and Max is back to his "school". Here are some pics of the last month or so to get you all caught up. Enjoy.


Daddy helping Max put out his reindeer food.

Peyton putting out hers.

I love to watch them play more than anything. It usually turns into a fight but it does start out nice. :P

Peyton's cookies for Santa. Baked exactly how he likes them!

Check out his shoes! Yep he likes to wear princess shoes. Oy!!! LOL

Happy boy on the way to the lights at Lanier.

Baking Santa's favorite cookie. Oatmeal Raisin.

Peyton's Christmas party at Bright Beginnings.

Peyton the ham.

The Jefferson Christmas Parade.