December Memories

Well hello hello there!  It seems the month of December has nearly passed with only three blog posts to show for it.  While I have not been blogging regularly (and for that I'm sorry!) ...it doesn't mean that we haven't been having any fun.  The opposite actually.  So much fun!  So many new memories. 

I apologize for the amount of pictures crammed into one post - but I want to catch you all up before the new year and hopefully more regularly blogging occurs :)

 

So...in the month of December, we three Haucks...

Enjoyed Wildlights Family Night at the Zoo

and Max even got to ride the carousel for the first time.

While he looks a little unsure in the below picture -

he definitely loved it!  He had a permanent smile on his face

the whole ride :)

 

 

Once again the grounds crew did an amazing job lighting up the whole Zoo!

The lights are absolutely brilliant and every year I swear there are more and more :)

 

Of course we had donuts!  Max even discovered his love of this

donut pillow (pictured below) and now two of them reside at our house.

Max will frequently pull them out as cushions to sit on.

 

 

Max was also able to send off his letter to Santa

(with a little help from Mim and Grandpa).

I'm pretty sure the letter included

trucks, trains, stickies, and Daniel tiger.

 

 

Papa Rob put up lights!

Our house looks beautiful!

 

Max spent a weekend a Mim and Grandpa's .....where he

ate like a king (don't believe me? See the reindeer pancakes and bacon below??)

#spoiledrotten

 

We dressed in all of our holiday best - this included lots of

Christmas shirts, holiday jammies, and pom pom hat!

 

We had a super fun visit with Grandpa Jim!

He flew in from Oregon and got to enjoy lots of 

holiday adventures with us...including the Franklin Park Conservatory,

Oakland Nursery Santa Visit, Wildlights, Alum Creek Lights drive through...

and lots of quality time with his favorite grandson!

 

And of course - he got to enjoy donut Sunday with us :)

 

Even though we talked up Santa (who Max calls 'ho ho") quite a bit,

and looked at pictures in books - Max was still not having any part of

siting on Santa's lap. He was content to watch Santa from afar...he just

never wanted to be left alone on Santa's lap.

 

Death grip on the cookie he received after sitting on

Santa's lap for 3.2 seconds. He literally held onto that cookie

the entire time we were at Oakland, the whole car ride home,

and right up to his nap (where it was practically crumbs).

 

I FINISHED the quilt for Max. 

I know, I can barely believe it either.

And truth be told - I couldn't have done it without Auntie Stacy.

She sewed all of the scary, hard parts (read the batting and quilt top)

before I even arrived!

 

I had to put the below picture in because let's be honest - it's classic.

This was take two at the Alum Creek lights for Max and Mama.

But, Max loved it (and was actually awake this time).

Auntie Stacy however, did not love it and this was the face she made

upon seeing the giant flash coming off my camera while trying to commemorate this lovely ride. .  Sadly I did not take any more pictures of the lights because my camera promptly died

after using so much energy when producing the brightest flash in the world.

 

Dinner after the lights was at Jason's Deli, where Max refused to let me

help him with his ice cream.  He instead took enormous bites and declared ice cream

to be his new favorite food group

 

The Sunday before Christmas, Auntie Stacy and I went to the BEST

yoga class in the world.  It was appropriately named "Gentle Non Scary Yoga" - and

turns out it is for old people (but I didn't know that at first) and I can't wait to go back.

I was loving it so much that I fell asleep in the last pose and woke up snoring (how embarrassing).

After yoga, we made cookies!  And then Papa Rob and Max came over for pizza!

Best kind of Sunday :) 

 

I organized an ice skating/ugly sweater party at work to celebrate the impending holiday!

My own mother was able to provide sweaters for practically all the skaters (#soproud)

and turns out the "glice" rink is actually really terrible. As in - the skates hurt our feet,

the glice was weirdly oily on top, and it's way different than real ice skating.

 

Holiday manicure! what?!

I couldn't resist a little candy cane nail for the holidays :)

 

We celebrated our little Hauck Family Christmas on Tuesday December 23.

It was mostly us giving Max presents to open and him tearing through them.

He would say "out" (like hurry up and get this present out so I can play with it),

and "open" (as in, if you don't open this present ASAP, I'm going to through a giant tantrum).

 

He loved the quilt! (and, look at my face! haha! I'm super excited too :)

 

The below picture was on Instagram.

It pretty much sums up Christmas with a toddler.

Max was running here, there, and everywhere -

attempting to play with all the toys...never wanting to slow down for a picture.

Rob was cooperative only

because he knew it was important to me (hence the fake smile)

and my "this Christmas is so great" plastered on smile.

#nailedit indeed.

 

Christmas Eve at my Mamaw and Papaw's house.

One of my favorite parts of Christmas.....seeing my cousin and his kids..

visiting with my aunt and uncle.

My grandmother fretting about the food and if there is enough (there is).

My grandpa asking everyone if they got enough to eat.

Max was having a ball running all over the place - warming up to my second cousins (Tyler and Avery) and trying to avoid hugging my Aunt Carolyn (she desperately wanted a hug).

He loved helping to hand out presents.

We put him in his pajamas around 9 and he passed out on Papa Rob.

So much fun to be had!

 

While sugar plums were dancing in Max's head....

Papa Rob was busy playing Santa  and setting up Max's play kitchen :)

He was up until almost 1:00 in the morning!

 

Christmas Day at my parents house.

 

It was such a magical experience watching Max open

presents on Christmas morning. He really caught on to how to

unwrap presents ....but we are still working on patience.

Holy crap are toys hard to get out of the packaging!

 

It was a wonderful December!  I'm so happy to have created so many

memories with our little family and starting traditions that I hope to continue

for many years to come. It's true - children make Christmas truly awesome.

xoxo

19 Month Update


Age: 19 months

Stats:  27 or 28 pounds and 34 inches long. He’s so tall now we are considering turning his car seat around. I know you are supposed to keep in rear facing as long as possible but he looks so scrunched and uncomfortable. 

Clothes:  Wearing 18-24 months stuff in tops and bottoms. His 18 month pants are getting a bit snug in the waistline so we’ve slowly been upgrading to 24 month pants. The problem is just the pants are still a bit long so we’ve had to roll them. The cutest thing in his closet right now though are his two piece Christmas pajamas. Size 5.5-6 shoes Size 4 diapers

(Christmas jammies!)

Favorite Foods: bagel, pancakes, eggs, donuts (now with sprinkles!), peanut butter and jelly, string cheese, applesauce, bananas, pears, red bell pepper with hummus, freeze dried blueberries, crackers, cookies, sweet potatoes, chicken, mac and cheese, raisins, fruit leather, clementines (we prefer the cutie brand), smoothies, spaghetti, guacamole, tortilla chips, and COOKIES

(so fun to introduce him to some home town donuts!)

Favorite Woods: he’s vocabulary has expanded so much – it’s hard to keep up – though some words are harder to distinguish than others.  And he’s super into repeating things (which makes for some entertainment).  Lately he’s been saying ho-ho (for Santa), tree, tree on, stickies, bagel, coloring, singing (because a nativity at my parents house sings), “I heavy”, socks, shoes, jacket, hat, pant, blankie, open, help, on, chugga chugga, tiger (for Daniel Tiger), sheep, sleeping, mote (remote), snack, I want to eat, cat, doggie, move peeky (it’s what we say to our cat Pecan), all done.

*it should be noted that when we are done watching an episode of Daniel Tiger, we say he’s “sleeping”….which has nicely transitioned into other activities that we don’t want him doing – we just say “they are sleeping”. Ha!  We’ll see how long that lasts.

*he started saying “I heavy” because that’s what we sometimes say when we are carrying him around. As in, “Max, you’re heavy”. 

*He has also started calling Rob and I “daddy” and “mommy” instead of dada and mama (insert sad face here).

(heading out to spread some Christmas cheer!)

Favorite Activities:  hooking all of the car pieces together to form a train, covering his animals up with blankets, helping to put things in the trash or recycle bin, putting stickers EVERYWHERE, eating snacks, pulling off his socks, puzzles (with the big knobs), watching Daniel Tiger, looking for lights on drives, drawing with chalk on our chalkboard wall, riding horsey style on any available back, sitting in the chair in his room while you read to him

(playing bus)

(reading with Auntie Stacy - he always picks the fireman book!)

(investigating the snow with his buddy Ronin)

(working on his Advent Calendar - he says "pom pom" 

and it is the cutest ever!)

Least Favorite Activities: slowing down for a diaper change, staying in the stroller once you let him out, remaining at the dinner table once he’s finished, and being without his beloved pacifier.

(art time at the table)

Favorite things:

“Go Trains” book

                            Plastic vehicle set (contains airplanes, cars, diggers, and some wagons)

                        Farmhouse Set

                        Tent/Crawl tunnel

                        Stickers/Art Supplies

                        Snack Trap

                        Seeing the donuts go down the line at Krispie Kreme

(trying on a really big Santa hat)

Signature Moves:  pointing at any and all letters and going “ABC”, if you say one, he will say “two”, if you say ready – he will say “set”, sitting in his chair and saying “up and down”, lifting up your shirt to point to your belly, attempting to carry around all his blankets at once, saying “cheese” while his tongue goes to the corner of his mouth, not being happy till everyone has put their coat away in the closet, making the funniest faces when he’s going poop, bringing you his own snack trap when he’s ready for a snack, getting more possessive of toys at school, sitting on the potty (occasionally), wanting to brush his teeth and wash his hands, putting up a fuss when getting in the bath and then not wanting to get out, asking if it’s windy/rainy/snowy out, and giving kisses under the kiss ball (mistletoe). 

(on the carousel at the Zoo!)

Mom’s Proudest Moment: I just love hearing his little voice.  He always seems to have so much to say.  I also love seeing him so excited about the tree every day! He likes to turn it on and so far hasn’t been too bad about the ornaments J

Dad’s Proudest Moment:  Being understandably scared of Santa....but tolerating him in the end because he got an enormous cookie afterward!  

(um...no thanks Santa!)

Other Milestones:

-Eating well with a spoon

-Can use fork but sometimes you have to load it for him

-Starting to sit longer for a TV show (so far we’ve only introduced Elmo and Daniel Tiger

-Wildlights family night and Santa Visit

-Oakland Nursery and Santa Visit

-Live Nativity in Dayton

-Ever expanding vocabulary

-Definitely interested in the potty (at the moment, I’m sure that could change)

-Did a weekend away in Dayton with his grandparents

-2^nd Thanksgiving J  Ate bread, applesauce, cheese, and tried the turkey but spit it out.

As we enter this crazy Christmas season - we are continually grateful for the wonderful sense of wonder Max has brought to our lives.  He is the first to point out if it's snowing, the Christmas lights he sees on houses, and is quickly becoming the Christmas cookie monster :)  

We love you so much Max!

xoxo 

JOY!

 

We are full holiday mode around here. 

The tree is trimmed. The halls are decked.

Our stockings were hung with care....

and the Christmas shopping is almost done!

Thank goodness!

 

Since we are such happy little holiday elves I thought it was

the perfect time for some holiday crafting. And by

perfect time I mean Papa Rob had left the nest for a last minute

grocery run and I had all the supplies ready to go.

Clearly, I had thought this out real good. 

But all I had to say was "Max do you want to do some art?"

and he was in!  He said "yeah" and then held

tight to the precious stickies I gave him.

 

Now, please note:

I'm by no means a crafting expert and in fact I stole this idea from another

blog I read...but I knew that 1.) I had most of the supplies 2.) Max would

be super into it 3.) it would be quick!

 

We began with blank canvases that I bought on sale from Michael's.

I had leftover stickers from scrapbooking that we used to adhere

to the canvas.  They spelled out "joy".  (I like to keep it real simple folks).

 

 

Then I put some red paint on a plate and gave Max the brush. 

He spread it around to his hearts desire.

 

 

We cleaned off the brush and then put green paint down on the plate.

Our little artist just loved spreading that paint around!

 

 

The only confusing part for him was me saying "put the brush in your hands" - which

he took to mean, put the paint on your hands...but who am I to stifle his creativity?!

We finished four canvases and set them out to dry.

 

 

Later, after he went to sleep, I pulled off he stickers and you can see the white outline of the letters.

Some of the paint seeped through a bit...but I still think they are quite charming. :)

 

Here's the deal - we have four canvases. So, we are going to do a little give away.

The first three people to figure out how to comment on this blog post - I will

mail you one of Maxwell James Hauck's original pieces of artwork for your tree.

(I hot glued ribbon to the backs and turned them into ornaments).

 

We think they will be the perfect addition to your Christmas tree!

Now comment away friends!

xoxo

 

p.s. I will mail them anywhere!

p.p.s. you can probably google how to make a comment

p.p.p.s. I will still love all of you and continue blogging even if no one comments!

Thanksgiving 2014

Thanksgiving week really started on Monday with my Education department at the Zoo's annual

"Turkey of the Year" lunch.  What is this fantastic event you ask?

Well - it's the time of year where we all come together to remember all of the

stupid, idiotic things we've done all year. My job in this event is to essentially plan it.

I tell everyone what to bring ask people to sign up for food, plan silly centerpieces,

and then organize the troops.  At the conclusion of lunch we narrate and re-enact if necessary all of our escapades and then we vote on who the "turkey" should be.

You get a turkey trophy and everything!  Thankfully I was not nominated this year (what happens in ZooKids, stays in ZooKids is always my motto).

 

 

As the week progressed I started to feel more and more sick.

Which essentially meant that I landed at Urgent Care Wednesday morning.

Diagnosis?  Bronchitis and an ear infection. Awesome.

They loaded me up with antibiotics and I headed home to my

feverish child.  Thank goodness Rob was also able to take the day off

and hold down the home fort.

 

 

In between all the crazy - I did manage to put together a delicious

salad and made pumpkin chocolate chip cookies to take to our

Thanksgiving in Dayton.

 

 

We drove to Dayton on Wednesday evening (after bathing Max and loading

up the car)....and once we got there - we went right to bed.  All of us.

I wanted everyone to be well rested for the main event!

 

(Max woke up looking especially adorable in

his two piece Christmas jammies)

 

 

 

 

 

On Thanksgiving Day, we all gathered at my parents house.

My mom delegated all of the food tasks....and we even got a

smoked turkey from City BBQ...which I would highly recommend.

It was tasty and lots of leftovers :)

Auntie Stacy made the pumpkin pie and the stuffing.

Poppy brought the booze and rolls.

We brought the salad and alternate dessert.

My mom made the vegetable and jello salad (a Cloud family favorite)...and you know what? 

It seemed to work pretty well.  No fuss - we just enjoyed the day together.

 

You can't tell from the pictures...but we also watched the Macy's day parade,

Max played with the grocery cart and all it's contents over and over again,

we searched for Max's "elf"...whose name is Nick, watched football,

took some awesome naps (Rob, Max and I) while others played cards, looked at Black Friday ads, snuck back in the kitchen to steal from the cheese tray, ate second dinner with our left overs, and even hit up Carters at 10pm for some great deals (50% off, then another 10%...)!

 

This year, more than any other year, I felt a staggering sense of gratitude.

Thankful for my healthy, talkative, curious little boy - whose smile charms my pants off.  For my husband, who talks me off the crazy town ledge pretty regularly and who helped me decorate our house for Christmas in the two hour span of Max's nap.  My friends whose encouragement and cheer mean the world to me.  And my family...those in Ohio, Oregon, and Arizona...I'm so privileged to be surrounded by your love.  Thank you for your graciousness, you candor, and your acceptance.

 

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!