Max's 2nd Birthday

Uncle E was out of town for the party, so he came over ahead of time to give him his gift and spend some time together.

Tyler made Max eggs and chocolate chip pancakes on the morning of his birthday. Tyler took off work, so we had a nice family day together.

Making dinosaurs out of Playdoh (a gift from E)

Enjoying a homemade cupcake on his actual birthday

He loves his sweets!

Playing in the boxcars I made for the party

It rained buckets the few days prior to his party as well as the morning of the party, so we decided to celebrate indoors instead. Here are some photos of his car themed birthday party.

Max and Mimi

She asked him how old he is, and he said "two" with lots of enthusiasm, as you can tell.

He didn't quite understand that the presents were for him. I'll bet once Christmas rolls around, it will be a whole other ballgame.

Being the center of attention at a party is hard work, so he sat down on his present and took a cookie break

Everyone loves Playdoh, right?

Round two of singing "Happy Birthday" and blowing out the candle

As you can see, he did a good job.

Ellen, Scott, and Morgan

Time to open presents!! All the kids helped.

Max got lots of fun new toys including Playdoh, an Aqua Doodle, Matchbox cars and backpack, a lunchbox and backpack for Mother's Day Out, a car transporter, soccer ball and goal, dart gun, train set, sock monkey, bubble mower, and tee ball set.

Lilly loved playing in the boxcars!

Bye Mom! We're going for an afternoon drive.

Walker absolutely loves trains, so he was showing Max what to do with his new set.

Hey Max, don't you know it's never a good idea to lay across a train track?

Walker offered to test out the new bubble mower. I think he gave it his approval.

Silly Daddy!

Our First Family Vacation

We took our first family vacation with Max to Santa Rosa Beach and stayed at the Tashie family's condos. Mom wanted to take a big family vacation with all of her sisters and their families since we all only see each other about once a year. About 20 of us (3 generations) were able to make it, and it was a blast! We rented 3 condos and were there for an entire week. We played in the pool, hung out at the beach, grilled seafood, went out to eat and spent a lot of time just visiting with each other. The boys were even able to golf a few days. What a fantastic trip it was and we look forward to doing it again next year!

Max's first time in the ocean

Splash, splash! He liked letting the waves wash up over his feet.

I think they look so much alike in this photo

Pal and Max were big buddies and did a lot of exploring around the condos

Uncle E and Max

Taking a walk on the beach with Mommy

He loved swimming in the pool and preferred it to the beach. Over the course of the week he became much more brave. By mid-week, he was jumping off the side of the pool and also liked to swim without help. He also loved swimming with Dale, Claire, Joe, and Jack.

Watching the sunset and the waves

I think his favorite thing all week was running around and rolling in the grass outside the condo. He loved doing this every night and would entertain us all. He thought it was hilarious to do summersaults down the little hill and listen to us cheer him on. He and Grayson had a big time all week playing and chasing each other.

Enjoying a chocolate ice cream cone after a long swim

Max loved laying back in the water and being twirled around. He giggled so much, I'm sure his belly was sore.

Playing on the steps with his buddy, Joe

Mimi and Pal at Seaside

One of our favorite things all week was going to Seaside. We had dinner and then sat outside and watched a concert. There were several thousand people there and it was so much fun people watching, enjoying the music and nice weather, and eating ice cream.

Watching the concert with Mimi and Pal

Sweet family photo after a wonderful first family vacation