Max's First Christmas

Max embraced Christmas.  He loved all the lights and decorations we saw, I can't tell you how many times we drove past a house all lit up and he exclaimed 'wow'.  He was introduced to Santa Claus and quickly started calling him 'Ho Ho'.  Just as quickly, he understood that Santa Claus gives you presents.  On more than one occassion and out of necessity I tried to remind him that Ho Ho only gives presents to good little boys.  Remember he's rapidly approaching three years old and has all of the attitudes and behaviors that goes with it, you can't blame me for trying. 

Max enjoyed Christmas and all of the events leading up to it.  Santa Claus visited him at school, he received gifts from people we visited and he met Santa at the mall.  On the Sunday before Christmas we went to NJ to spend the day with my brother Tom, sister-in-law Maria, niece Stephanie and nephew Jonathan.  My brother Richard, sister-in-law Maureen and niece Tanya also joined us.  We had a very nice day.  While we were eating dinner, Jonathan told me that the fire engines were coming with Santa Claus and that they throw lollipops to the kids.  We had to go outside to see this, these are three of Max's favorite things; Ho Ho, pops and fire trucks.  The fire trucks came, lights and sirens going, Santa Claus sitting perched on top of the engine and the firemen throwing lollipops on the ground near us.  Max watched in awe.  While driving home that night Max repeatedly exclaimed, 'Ho Ho - pops - oh no!'  I was hysterical laughing, I guess the lights and sirens were a little too much for him.  It still makes me laugh.

We spent Christmas Eve in NJ with my brother Richard and his family and friends.  I spend every Christmas Eve with them and it was very nice to see how excited every one was to meet Max.  He enjoyed the many types of M&M's Aunt Maureen had available for him and stayed awake for quite a while when we got home.  In a couple of years he'll understand that he has to go to sleep so Santa can come.

On Christmas morning when he came out and saw the presents under the tree he wasn't quite sure what to make of it but when I told him that Santa Claus came and left presents for him he got right into it.  He opened each present then wanted me to take it out of the package.  He checked each thing out then moved on to the next.  I had the video camera running the entire time, it will be fun to watch.  After going to Christmas mass, Max took a much needed nap and when he awoke my brother Richard, sister-in-law Maureen and nieces Tanya and Jenny were here.  We had a very nice day. 



Max meets Santa at the mall.



Max and our friend Alexis wearing reindeer ears and ready to be Santa's helpers.

Torre enjoying her Christmas presents.

Max playing with his Christmas present from Aunt Maria.

Max enjoying a Christmas cookie.  Our good friends Cyndi and Dan in Canada sent us a basket of Christmas cookies to celebrate our first Christmas together.  It was a very nice surprise.

Max loves wearing Ho Ho's hat, he wore it to school a few times.



Our Christmas tree after Santa came.




Max talking about life with my brother's cat.



Max wearing his reindeer ears.



Our first Christmas picture together.








Thanksgiving in Virginia

We were very fortunate to spend Thanksgiving in Virginia at Aunt Maryanna and Uncle Fred's house.  I got to see my cousins, some of whom I haven't seen in years and Max met some of his cousins for the very first time.  We spent time talking, eating, cooking, playing and enjoying each other’s company.  When we were all together, there were four boys ranging from two to eight years old; Max, Luke, Ryan and Erik.  They had a great time playing together through out the week.   Thanks Aunt Maryann and Uncle Fred for inviting us, we love you. 

The Thanksgiving feast!

Max with his cousins, Ryan Erik and Luke.

A sunny Thanksgiving day.

Max and Uncle Fred.

I love wearing my sunglasses.

Hmmm, anything good to eat in here?

Max and Luke.

Max & His Best Friend Torre

When we came home from Russia, I didn't want to overwhelm Max with a dog on top of everything else that was new and exciting for him.  My friends were kind enough to keep our dog Torre at their house for a few days.  One night while Max was sleeping I went and got Torre.  Torre came into the house, went into his room, sniffed around, layed down and went to sleep.  She has been by his side ever since.  Torre is such a sweet and gentle animal; I knew she would be great with him, I didn't realize she would be by his side from the minute she met him.  She is truly a very special dog.  Here are a couple of pictures of the two of them together. 



Max and Torre playing hide-n-seek.



Occassionally we watch our friend's dog; her name is Abby.  'Abby' was one of Max's first words.  He called Torre Abby, he called the deer he saw in our backyard Abby, all animals were Abby.  Then he said his first two words together and they were 'bye bye Abby'.  From Abby he started calling Torre puppy, just recently he started calling Torre by her name, it needs a little work but Torre is no longer Abby.  Here are some pictures of Max, Torre and Abby.

Max starting to move in on Abby's bed.

Torre is always near by.

Abby gave in and let Max have her bed.

Max enjoying Abby's bed.

 

A Snow Storm for Halloween

On the day before Halloween we had a major snow storm in the tri-state area.  We got about ten inches of snow, trees were down, power was out for days and there was damage everywhere due to the weight of the snow.  Fortunately we were still able to enjoy Halloween.  Max loved Halloween, he loved getting dressed up and especially loved the candy people were giving him for no apparent reason.  I loved trying to get Max the cow to say Moo. 

Max had a very busy day.  In school there was a Halloween parade followed by lots of goodies for the kids.  After school we met some friends at the local mall where they had trick or treating for the kids.  Then, on our way home, we went to the local community center where they host a halloween party every year.  It was so well done and Max had a great time.  He played games and got candy, he danced and got candy, he smiled and got candy, I think you get the picture.  On our way home we stopped at a friends house so they could see his costume and of course they gave him more candy.  Then we came home and gave out candy to the trick or treaters, another new experience for Max which he thoroughly enjoyed.  Some pictures from our Halloween excursions.



Ths snow storm on October 30th.





The Halloween parade at school, Max is the cow leading the way.



Enjoying the goodies after the parade.

Apple Picking

We went apple picking twice this fall.  Max enjoyed picking apples, running around the maze, picnicking in the apple orchard, playing with friends and eating the apples.  Unfortunately I lost the pictures from the first apple picking trip because the card in the camera went bad.  Here's a few pictures from our second apple picking excursion. 

Max enjoying walking around the apple orchard.

Max, did you pay for that apple?

Max and his friends at the apple orchard.

Max finally found a dog smaller than him!

Now it's time to pick some pumpkins.

Time to rest after all that apple and pumpkim picking.

Renissance Faire

The summer Max and I experienced a lot of new things together.  One of them was the New York Renissance Faire.  It was a very hot day but Max took it in and enjoyed all of the new experiences.  While we were there Max got to see his Aunt Maria who works at the faire and our friend Lorraine.  We also took a ride on a camel, played some arcade games, watched a bird show and enjoyed ice cream. 

At the bird show, Max loved watching the birds fly.

Max was determined to fish out a duck, success!

Getting ready for a camel ride.

Max wondering why someone else is on our camel....

Here is a link to the Renissance Faire web site for those who might be interested: http://renfair.com/ny/

Family Day

Max attends Strawberry Day Care.  They had a family day which was very similiar to a carnival for the kids.  Some of the kids put in shows, there was food, games and a bouncy house.  Everyone had a lot of fun.  Max loved the performances by the older kids; he was fascinated by them.  At one point he stood up and started to do the dances they were doing, it was great fun to watch. 

Max enjoying the show and joining in.

Max in the bouncy house.

Animals... Up Close

Andrew Simmons, a wildlife expert was doing a show locally so we went to see the animals.  I think Max really enjoyed seeing the animals; we were so close to them that he sat very still and took it all in.   After the show they did a raffle and Max won the 'medium' tiger, good thing he didn't win the big one, it was bigger than him!  

Here's a few pictures from the show.

An eagle.

An owl, I think we woke him!

I don't remember if Mr. Simmons said this was a crocodile or an alligator, I do remember that he said it had a bad attitude!  He was hissing at us.  

This lizard needs a manicure!  He was actually in captivity becasue one of his claws was broken.

 Mr. Simmons holding a big python!  He tried to feed the snake in front of us, but he wouldn't eat.

A four month old lion cub.

Max with his tiger.