Happy Birthday Maxwell!

Today Max is 3 years old! We are going to celebrate in many ways. We are going out for donuts for breakfast, birthday dinner tonight, and birthday party tomorrow! He is so excited and aware of his birthday this year which makes it even more fun! We are giving him a vacuum and a letter placemat. Today Lars is going to Colton to receive the Oregon Science Educator of the Year award and the State Science Conference. I am very proud of him; he is an amazing science teacher! Our little Mason is now cruising and is desperately trying to keep up with his big bro! Mason is also feeding himself now; he can feed himself his bottle and finger foods (which he uses his new teeth to chew). I love October; it is my favorite month!

CRUISING!

Mason is cruising as of yesterday! Go baby Go! We think this boy may be walking before he fully masters the art of crawling.

Library Card

We received notice the other day from the library that Maxwell's books were overdue! He was so excited to get his library card and check out his first books last month, but apparently we forgot to include our email address on the application. We didn't know we had gone past the due date. Alas, Max had his first "account overdue"! Sorry buddy boy! We'll do better next time! Max LOVES the library! There is a play area he really enjoys and he gets very upset at the prospect of returning his books; good thing he got to check out new ones!

Beat Beat, We have the Beat

This week Mason has learned to clap his hands to the beat and shake his head back and forth. All Schindler boys are sick, Daddy, Max, & Mase! Max requests Kleenex frequently, but has still not figured out how to blow his nose. I was injured in my race and spent three days unable to walk, except with crutches. I went to the doctor and found out I have hip dysplasia, which is why I keep getting injured when I run. I will get an MRI on Wednesday to find out if I need surgery and what my prognosis is for the future. Max loves to play the piano and "take a piano lesson" with Mommy often. He can identify high, low, and middle C, black keys, and white keys. He also enjoys singing songs while playing the beat on the piano and listening to Mommy play songs too. His favorite songs are, "Farmer and the Dell," "Thank you God," "This is the Day," "Hickory Dickory Dock," "Three Blind Mice," almost EVERY nursery rhyme, and anything "Lady Gaga."

Standing with Teeth!

Yesterday Mason pulled himself to a stand and got his top front teeth! Wow, he is growing up fast!

The Summer Draws to a Close

During August I turned 31, baked two pies from scratch (for the first time ever), and canned 23 (1/2 pints) of wild blackberry jam (with my mom's help, of course). I successfully completed my first on-line graduate class, which was way too much work and way too much money, but I did learn a great deal. Lastly, I returned to work for the first time after having my little Mason. Lars made my birthday super special with homemade waffles, bacon, mimosas, a beautiful mother's necklace, cleaning the house, mowing the yard, and throwing me a big party with my friends and family!

Mason's top two front teeth are DESPERATELY trying to push through and they are almost there!! Mason is very mobile. He enjoys spending his days creeping all around the living room chewing on whatever he can get a hold of. He is also beginning to pull himself up onto his knees by himself. When we act as the pull device he can make it to his feet. He is VERY eager to get going! He is starting to voice is disdain more than before. He loves to sing and coo. He doesn't like to cuddle as much as before, but will still cuddle a bit during bottle time. He loves people and shows no fear. He is very adaptable. He poops a TON!

Both boys got their first colds of the summer the first week I went back to work.  This year they will be babysat by Haley, Juliann, & Debbie. So far, they love going over to their houses. I am grateful and blessed to have them to care for my babies.

Max informed me during lunch, "Jesus is coming to our home. He's gonna save us from fire and lions. Hurray Jesus. God is with me." He only goes to Sunday School once or twice per month, but he it is obviously rubbing off on him. We read a lot of Bible stories, pray, sing Bible songs, and talk about God with him often. Max LOVES to talk. He enjoys playing with his Daddy's old CD player, a cassette/MP3 adaptor, a monitor, a monitor cord, cell phones, his Leap Frog (email), Leap Frog (Fix the Mix), telephones, and remotes. He is obsessed with electronics and is fascinated by electricity, energy, batteries, and how things work. He also enjoys using his imagination. His imagination has developed incredibly this summer. He often plays "pretend" games with himself, his barn toys, his stuffed animals, electronics, and his kitchen set. He loves to play in the sprinkler and swim. He loves playing and rough housing with his Daddy. His favorite person is his Daddy. He also enjoys playing the piano, singing, reading, dancing, listening to music, doing somersaults, and watching TV and movies. His favorite movies is "Cars". He adores the theater and begs to go in it. This summer he has also begun to eat a lot more and is enjoying a wider variety of foods. He also loves having company over. Whenever we have people over he is elated and calls it a "PARTY!" He often asks where everyone is at and when we will have a party again. He is very friendly and has very good manners. He has some definite fears, i.e. the jets in the bathtub, the vacuum cleaner, and usually anything loud. He seems to have overcome many of his fears this summer. He is so smart and has a wonderful sense of humor (much like his Daddy's). Max is getting better at using the potty. He pees in it almost every time he has to go and rarely has a pee accident. He has pooped in the potty twice and struggles using the toilet for pooping. He is VERY close to being fully potty trained. He is a joy to have as a son!

Custard Pie

I baked my first pie from scratch yesterday! I feel very proud. It was my mom's favorite kind of pie, custard.