Max's 3rd Birthday Party

Since pancakes (or "pampakes" as he calls them) are Max's 2nd favorite food right behind cake, he got his own giant stack of pancakes for his birthday breakfast. As you can see, he was very happy about it.

We sang "Happy Birthday" for breakfast so he could blow out the candles.

Then, we gave him his gift from us and Grandpa Tom. His very own truck. It's an F150 with a tailgate to haul stuff as well as a working radio. He absolutely loved it although he's a pretty conservative driver so far.

Playing a little baseball with Grandpa Tom before his birthday party.

Let the party begin...

We had a bug themed party since Max likes bugs right now. Some of our food included grub sausages, bug nuggets, caterpillar Cheetos, bug juice, butterfly pasta salad, and cupcakes with bugs on them.

The truck was a hit and the kids all took turns riding and driving.

Chelsea and Mimi

the goofball table

Lydia and Isabella

The Girl Table

 (Ellen, Tressa Kate, Morgan, and Ella Grace)

Hello Jack and Crew

Enjoying some snow cones in the clubhouse

Girl talk!

His favorite food...cake

He got a little overwhelmed with all those gifts to open, so his friends helped him out.

Uncle Eric and Chelsea gave him a remote controlled car. I foresee a lot of fun with this toy! 

Connie and Steve came to the party and brought Max a school bus. We love our sweet neighbors!

Best buddies riding in the tailgate of the truck together after a long day. They both look about zonked out.

Max and his Pal

Max is showing off his gummy worms while saying "cheese."

We had a great visit with Grandpa Tom

"Thanks for my gifts Uncle Eric, Chelsea, and TK!"

Soon to be cousins!

"Catch you guys later; we're going for a ride!"

We had such a fun weekend and party! I love this age Max is at and I know it's going to be a great year!

Happy 4th of July!

The 4th of July is one of the biggest weeks of the year for our family. We love celebrating this holiday with our friends, shooting off fireworks, and Max's birthday is the next day. This always makes for a busy and very fun week. 

This year on the 3rd, as well as the last several years, the girls took the kids swimming at Old Natchez Country Club while the guys played golf. Then the guys met up with us and we all ate dinner picnic style. This is one of the biggest events of the year at Old Natchez and it's so much fun for families. They grill tons of food and put on carnival style games for the kids. Our kids were to little to play many games. Instead, they just wanted to run up and down the hills and play with each other. Once it gets dark, the amazing fireworks show begins. They shoot them off from the golf course and everyone sits on their quilts and watches. Max absolutely loved the fireworks (thank goodness because Tyler and I love them too).

Rob swimming with the kids

Max, Tripp, and Jane just hanging out after dinner

Max, Tripp, Walker, and Lydia

I wonder what they were doing?

Watching fireworks with Daddy

Grandpa Tom came in town to spend the holiday with us. 

Grandpa Tom and Max

The next day the Hunter's had a really fun party at their house for the 4th. We all had such a great time! The food was great, the kids had fun, and the weather was perfect. 

Jess made "bug catchers" for all the kids so they could catch lightning bugs at dusk. It was so cute seeing all the dads out there chasing the bugs with their kids. 

I'm pretty sure Tyler had as much fun catching lightning bugs as Max did.

Showing off his bugs

Then we had fun with sparklers!

Happy 4th of July!

Summer Fun!

Here are some photos of what we've been up to this summer...

This is how I found Max when I went to pick him up on his last day of Mother's Day Out in May. I remember telling his teacher on the very first day that Max is a very light sleeper and he will probably never nap at MDO the whole year. She just smiled and said, "We'll see." She was right. On week 2 or 3 he was consistently napping along with the other 5 kids in his class.

What's better to play in than a huge dirt pile? Mom and Dad had a load of dirt delivered to their house and Max thought it was so much fun to climb up it.

Building a tower on a rainy day

We love to go to the park together. He has now graduated from the "baby swing" to the "big boy swing" and he thinks it's really fun to swing with me and go really high.

Aunt Hannah stayed with us one weekend. Max loves his Aunt Hannah and so does Lola.

Uncle John rode his Harley Davidson motorcycle from Wisconsin to Florida and stopped to see us on the way. Max is crazy about Uncle John and loved his "big bicycle." Uncle John was quick to correct Max and tell him it was a motorcycle, not a bicycle. So cute!

Tyler wanted to take Max to see Sesame Street Live, so we got tickets and made a family day out of it. He was mesmerized by the characters and loved it. 

After Sesame Street Live, we stopped by a homemade popsicle shop for a treat. Delicious!

Max picking blueberries off the bush

We've both really enjoyed gardening this year. He loves to help me pick strawberries, blueberries, cucumbers, squash, and zucchini. He gets very excited every time it's time to pick something. Too bad I can't get him to eat a single vegetable or fruit!

We met Allison, Walker, Meg, and Lilly at the zoo for a fun day of seeing the animals.

Max absolutely loves riding carousels, so he was very happy that the zoo had one for him to ride.

Three little cuties visiting the kangaroos.

Time for a train ride!