We had a wonderful time with 2 of my oldest and closest friends that came in town, Amy & Vinnie. I'm sure you can tell which kids are theirs in the picture (mine are the 2 that glow in the dark). We went to the zoo and then had a little bar-b-q. It was so great to catch up with them. I had not seen Amy since their wedding 8 years ago!

I think I have known them since 1988? I'm not sure. I found a few older pictures than the one below, but I really liked this one that had all 3 of us in it. I'm sure you can pick us out and see that we haven't changed a bit!

There's a little Stevie in all of us. Atticus spotted these sunglasses hanging up and screamed until I put them on. He then wore them for HOURS!How about that sunset?

a recent family photo

Buzz, Woody, and Slinky Dog do everything humans do. For instance, right after Max returned from helping Slinky Dog go potty, Slinky Dog needed something to eat and drink. Then they all went to sleep in Max's old toddler bed in the basement.

Max loves to help mow the lawn...so much so, that even if Dad starts before Max is ready, he'll just head on out in his boxers and boots.

Atticus likes to bring to me one sock or one shoe to put on him, and then he wears it the rest of the day. But first, he goes and stands by the door waiting to go somewhere. Apparently, we only wear shoes when we're leaving the house.

4th of July

We had a great Fourth of July! We started off the day with a little bike ride, and as you can see, Buzz, Woody, and Slinky Dog had to come along.

Look close...Woody is peeking out.

Then Atticus got his long awaited turn.

Don't even try to look close. He was too small to even have a little head pop up in the window.

Then we went to the backyard for some pool fun.

We started off with a few toys in the pool.

Everyone went down the slide.

Max began to put balls in the pool.

Even though Atticus didn't mind, we did have to put a ball limit on Max.

Then we headed out the backyard and across the street to the park. We saw several great fireworks shows. Both the boys LOVED it! Our neighbors continued the fireworks into the night, and that was quite entertaining for Max. The next night, he asked us to, "pay pop pop". That meant to pray for more fireworks. So, we prayed, but told him they were all gone. BUT, of course, our neighbors did continue the celebration after all. About 10 that night, he came running into our room yelling, "Pop Pop!" I think he saw that as an answered prayer.

Since Max requests total privacy when going potty, Atticus is not allowed in the bathroom. Atticus hates this and usually stands at the door crying until Max comes out. Since we don't have a bathroom in the basement, Max has to use the "portable potty". Atticus was thrilled to see one he could sit on! Max kept saying, "Atticus, pants off." It really bothered Max that Atticus was sitting on the potty with his diaper still on.

Utensils!

After some crying and pointing, we realized Atticus wanted Max's spoon. So, we gave it to him, and he actually did great!

Atticus says several words now such as mom, dad, car, ball, all done, and no no. However, he says 2 full sentences and it is hilarious. One is "There he is", and the other is...
"I got it!"

The Posse

This is the Posse. From left to right, Buzz, Woody, Pilot, Tyrone, & Pablo. These people go EVERYWHERE with Max. In this picture, he has them watching Dad mow the grass. I can't remember if I've posted about the Posse before, but the story continues.

The Posse has grown in number from its original size (as seen in the top picture). It now overflows out of the yellow box. It has the originals plus cars, balls, and most importantly...letters and numbers! Don't worry, if one of the 106 letters happens to fall out, Max will let you know! Now the box-instead of just the Posse-goes EVERYWHERE. There are usually toys falling out of it because it is so full, but the box goes to bed with Max, downstairs with Max, to the basement with Max and even out to the sandbox. Never ever try to sneak a few toys out of the box to make it lighter for you to carry from floor to floor (of course, he's not going to carry it)...the kid will know!

Random Pictures

It is so hard to get a good picture of Max these days. He doesn't want to stop what he's doing to smile for the camera, so I was excited to get this shot.Atticus LOVES playing on the stairs.

"We're having another Atticus?"

Max loves his cowboy hat. It must be a size 5T because I don't know how he can still fit in on his head.

boots and underwear

I love this picture-even though there is a little chocolate on his face.

Atticus' favorite toy to walk behind.

He hit himself in the head with this hammer right after I took the picture.

Atticus, on the other hand, will stop and pose for a picture anytime!

Walking!

Atticus started walking 2 days after his birthday. We were playing upstairs, and I walked in his room and he was walking across it. It was crazy.

After a couple of weeks, he left the crawling behind. Surprisingly, Max loves that Atticus is walking now!

Max's room is still the best room in house in Atticus' opinion. He loves it when Max isn't in there, and he gets the green chair all to himself!

The boy's favorite thing to do these days.

Max and Atticus get their pushing toys and chase each other around the room. It is really cute. Max has been so sweet to Atticus lately. We were playing outside yesterday, and Max even went up to Atticus and pulled a leaf off of the back of his diaper for him. Too sweet. When they go to the basement, Max goes and finds the lawn mower (Atticus' favorite toy), and brings it to him so they can start chasing each other.

A little late.

Atticus turned 1 last month.

He loved his cake, but he had an ear infection, so he wasn't too cheerful. The ear infection was a first for us, and after all the sleepless nights, I hope it was the last.

He had cake all over his face. We cleaned him up, but forgot about the nostrils.

He does have some crazy hair.

A little family picture.

Atticus loved opening his presents, but

it was his party, so he could cry if he wanted too.

What you see here is a 1 year old that is 6th% on weight, 25% on height, and (big shocker) 90% on head. Yes, my kids have an excessive amount brains-at least that's what I'm hoping is making their heads so big!