And now, some more pictures

Chris may want to add something later on, but for now, we hope you enjoy the photos!

A thought

About a week ago, I was having lunch with some friends & Jessica asked us this question, "what are the three most important things in your life?". I had several things that immediately came to mind, but only said, "Max" out loud - not "family", or "Chris", or any of the other things that are really important to me.
That really bothered me on several levels. Did I only say 'Max' because I feel my own importance is now inextricably linked with his, so therefore he was the only thing I could say out loud? Did, by not saying 'Chris' or 'family' out loud, mean they were not important to me? Max had been ill so I think I was feeling particularly "Mama Bear" that day. He (him?) & my protection of him, were foremost in my mind.
But what about my other important people?
My friend Barbara did not say her husband's name in answer to the question & when asked why, she said she felt it was a given because they had been married so long.
Hmmm
I realized that in the hustle and bustle that has become our lives lately, I have been so wrapped up in getting from one place to another, then getting something done once I get there, that I haven't stopped to take time to think about what I'm doing & who I'm doing it for.
Every once in a while, it is really important to stop and think about that.
Then, once you are done thinking - say it out loud. Don't think it's a given that your spouse, or the rest of your family are really important to you just because they have been there for so long - be sure and tell them so.

Happy Thanksgiving

We had to get a new camera because the old one crapped out on us. We will post more new pictures later, but I had to share this priceless one from our day yesterday.


Hope you and yours had a wonderful Thanksgiving

update

Max is doing so many new things lately, it's hard to keep up with all of them!
Language: All of a sudden, Max started using sign language. We were amazed! So far he uses "more" and "eat" quite fluently. Now, each time he makes a gesture with his hands, we kind of wonder if he is signing something that we don't yet know. I'm busy studying up on the information on this website though & will hopefully be able to teach and/or reinforce some other words he might be learning. http://www.babies-and-sign-language.com/index.html
In addition to the sign language, we are trying to teach him some things in Spanish. It's two fold- teaching him what things are - like the word 'moon', but then assosicating the picture in the book wth the moon in the sky and using the word 'luna'. When we say 'moon', he points to the sky, so I think he's starting to grasp it.
His English vocabulary is growing as well. He says: Hi, Bye Bye, Bath, Up, Down, Duck, Dog, Picture, eye, truck, Dadda, outside, pasta, bite, ball, yum, truck, shoe, rock rock (for rocking chair). Other words that we can recognize (that maybe others could not) are: airplane, bird, teddy bear, home.

He is running - literally. He is one fast little dude and enjoys pushing his cart through the house, as well as running around the kitchen island (and around, and around, and around).

He has also become a bit independent at meal time - indicating the food that he wants & then wanting to feed himself with the spoon. He also likes to have his food on his plate now, rather than just on the placemat.

Anyway, probably boring information to the cyber world, but I'm sure the grandparents enjoy getting a little glimpse at what he's doing.

Halloween and early Nov

Sorry it's been so long since the last post. I started a new job last week and life is moving at a much different pace.

Here are our Halloween pics. Max was a pumpkin this year. We had lots of trick or treaters come by and Max waved at every single one of them.