Weekending

Our weekend looked a little like this.

(I'm counting the weekend as starting on Thursday...sort of like being in college all over again...when you go out on Thursday nights and then maybe don't go to class on Friday....). 

Grandpa Jim had to go back to Oregon on Thursday morning (we miss him already!)

It was so fun to see Max and him interact - the two of them content to push trains around for long periods of time, check out new I-pad apps, draw silly pictures, watch Mickey Mouse Club House, and generally just be adorable. 

Thursday evening was the Pirate Island preview party for staff at the Zoo. 

Papa Rob brought Max to the Zoo, we all met up, and walked down to Water's Edge for 

some pizza. After dinner, we gathered up everything and headed to the boat ride entrance. 

There is a huge sign over the entrance with pirates sitting on top...here's where the trouble started.

The pirates would shoot off their cannons and water would mist everywhere

and they would grumble weird pirate talk, and also, did I mention they look like zombies?

Either way, Max was having no part of that business.  We tried, we really did.  

But, the closer we got to the boat, the harder he would cling to us, and then 

the parrot squawked in his ear and it was basically game over. 

We hauled the stroller over the boat ride and walked out...while

Max proclaimed "bye bye pirates".

Friday I spent the day at the Springfield Flea Market with my parents.

This is a tradition we've been taking part in together now for about seven years (I think). 

It's an indoor/outdoor flea market - and the junk is just about everywhere. 

But, if you are willing to bargain (I'm not, I make my parents do it for me!) - you 

can get some pretty sweet stuff. 

 

Came home and we hustled Max into the car for a dinner at Chipotle!  Yum!

Then, we drove to Lowe's to look at and then purchase our annuals for the front yard....

plus six sugar snap pea plants. Ever since our trip to Oregon last summer, I could not stop thinking about growing sugar snap peas (like Grandma Sugar)! I could wander around in the garden center for hours, but it turns out Max would rather splash in every single fountain - so we

wrapped it up pretty quickly and got home. 

Other Friday night happenings included watching Papa Rob mow the grass 

from the safety of the front porch and then the deck. 

Max also conned me into a popsicle before dinner!

To we fair, we split it so I didn't completely spoil his dinner. 

We also conceded to a last minute park visit to burn off some bedtime energy.

This was a new to us park and Max was loving the stepping stones, 

swinging bridge, and small hill to run down and jump off the end step. 

He also had a very dirty diaper while there and we changed it in the car, 

and I taught him to say "it's a doozey".
I 

Saturday morning it was off to work for this mama!

We had our official family day for our grant funded programs (Chase Classroom Safari and Head Start Seedlings sponsored by PNC Bank).

I decided to make it more fun by instagraming every detail. 

The details included all my co-workers, the hotdogs I consumed for lunch, 

the promotions animal visitors, Pirate ambassadors, and all other 

shenanigans that happened. 

After Zoo Day was over, I zoomed back home to tag Papa Rob into work. 

We both don't normally work Saturdays but as the Zoo was expected to have

record breaking crowds - the warehouse needed to be fully staffed up and ready for any emergency! 

I woke Max up from his nap and he immediately wanted to put on his

Mickey Mouse took belt!  Rob said he was pretty into it all morning - even wanting

to nap with it on.  After some negotiating between the two of them, Max relented

to let Rob take it off and lay it just outside of his crib. Such a funny boy!

 





Auntie Stacy let us come over for a visit in the evening (I kind of invited us over...but hey, that's what Aunties are for!) Max hauled out all his toys and continued his fascination with Stacy's cat Dot.

Dot is definitely more tolerant than our cat (Miss Pecan) - but he still hisses from time to time.

Auntie Stacy and Max ran around in the rain...built lego sculptures...shared some animal cookies...all the while I browsed through some of Stacy's clothes.

 

We finished up our visit with dinner at Wendy's where Max gave a rousing rendition of the Pledge of Allegiance (you have to follow Stacy on Instagram to see it).  Side note: The little stinker said it perfectly in the car on the way to Wendy's and Stacy managed to capture it on video and then somehow Max deleted it! Gah!

 



 

On Sunday Max and I met up with our friends Amanda and Ronin.

Ronin and Max go to school together and Max loves him!

We brought donut holes, apple juice and towels (to dry off the playground equipment)

and the boys had a blast!  The danced around, walked all along the stepping stones, chased one

another over and around the playground slides, used the swings...and finally

we convinced them to settle into the wagon so us mama's could catch up! ha!

 



 

                                     

Finally we finished off Sunday by planting all those annuals (geraniums)

in the front yard.  The nap time hustle was in full effect.  I had rolled up all the old tulip leaves, weeded, and then planted even through a few rain showers!  You have to make the most of that long afternoon nap to get things done. Grandpa and Mim arrived during the hustle - and helped us finish up everything.  Thank goodness!

 

Dinner at Jason's Deli...watering the plants...repacking the diaper bag...and

finally off to bed to begin the week again!

XoXO



A party you DONUT want to Miss!

So...there is a newly minted two year old running around the Hauck's Nest...you may or may not have heard ;)  To celebrate this momentous birthday - we decided pretty early on to have a donut themed party.  It was kind of a no brainer given Max's love for donuts!  I went into the party this year determined to keep it more low key than his one year old party (where I spent many late evenings stressing about musical notes, favors, the weather, and how to fit everyone in my tiny house). I think I was quite successful and if you don't mind, I'm going to hit you with all the details below.

First up - no matter how big or small the party - I love a good theme!  

We had already established donuts as our theme (in particular, Krispy Kreame), so with a little

help from Pinterest and Etsy, I was able to find the perfect invitations.  

Working with the seller on Etsy was a breeze - I just provided her with all the details

and she formatted it into a digital file.  The digital files ended up being free

because she did not meet her three day promised turn around time (even though I could have cared less) - but hey, I do like free! The invitations went out a quite early help accommodate all of the grandparents what would be traveling from out of town. I also ended up purchasing the plastic cups to go with the corresponding stickers and the green straws were free too!

Then, I literally did NOTHING until about a week before the party. 

I hit up Party City for all the paper goods and giant balloons (I'm obsessed with those

number balloons and plan to have one at every party until Max is like 18). 

Rob and I also worked to put together a donut garland I had purchased from Paper Source. 

(If you are going for a low key party, do not purchase this garland, it was a pain in the butt to make). 

Saturday was really Max's actual birthday - so we got up like we 

normally do (around 6:45).  We ate breakfast (eggs and toast) and then 

played until about 8:45. I unfolded all the Krispy Kreame hats that I had pilfered from the store on our various visits, put on a tablecloth and arranged the cups for orange juice. Mema (Rob's mom) put on a pot of coffee and Pops iced down the champagne (for mimosa's!). Papa Rob left to get three dozen donuts from Krispy Kreame and a 40 pack of Tim Bits from Tim Hortons...meanwhile I quickly (and I do mean quick - it has four ingredients) prepped a breakfast casserole and popped it in the oven. Our door bell rang just before 10 and it was grandmim and grandpa with the fruit salad. 

I set all of this out and the party began!

The birthday boy was in heaven with all his guests and helped us 

blow out his candle.  There is really no good place to put a candle in a donut (because it was shaped like a number two and kind of bulky) - so I ended up just holding it while everyone serenaded him. It should be noted that Max was wearing his special donut tee and I was wearing my "donut stop believing" tee as well - I told you I loved a theme!) 

(from left to right: Max's tee, mama's tee, and the one I wish I would have bought Papa). 

We were so fortunate to have all his grandparents, a great grandparent, auntie Stacy, and even god parents there to celebrate with us!  He was loving every minute of the attention being showered on him. He ran from person to person...literally looking over his shoulder to see if you were going to "get him!" . We did end up letting him open his presents. Some of them were hard to wrap (like the easel, tricycle, and train table) - so we just kind of hauled them out and Rob had put together some of them beforehand. He received so many wonderful gifts - a t-ball set, cabooses/engines/train gear, Mickey tshirt, Thomas the Train blanket, Mouse -ka-tools tool belt, and cutting board with fruits and veggies.

I have to say his favorite is probably the big train table (I knew it would be!).  It's currently serving as our coffee table in the family room but we do plan to move it up to the living room/play area soon! 

All in all the day was great!  The time went by quickly and everyone was so respectful of his nap time.  All the guests had left by 1:15 and Max was worn out!  He went right to sleep (after declaring he did not want to wear his pants) and we had to wake him up around 4! 

Thanks to everyone for coming out, sending your birthday wishes, and generally just 

being the best friends and family to us over the past two years!  

We love you all and wait to share more of Max's antics over the next year!! 

(last) weekend

So, last weekend.  There was a big fight.  There was a Derby.  And there was some much enjoyed adult time at the Hauck's nest. It all started on Friday night - of course we grabbed our normal large pepperoni pizza from the Papa's and ate on the deck. Then, we couldn't resist the gorgeous weather and strolled the neighborhood while Max narrated all the bumps we hit. Our neighborhood (which has its flaws) is especially beautiful  in the spring.  Crab apple trees, magnolias, and dogwoods are blooming - tulips and daffodils out in full force, and it just makes me so happy. 

Max didn't know it but he was headed to Dayton with Papa Rob after his bath.  

This works so well because he usually falls asleep in the car and can just be transferred to the pack and play with no problem.  

The plan to go to Dayton was hatched because my old park district (where I spent many summers in college working and honing my awesome outdoor education skills) was having their annual "Big Rig Gig".  I mean if that doesn't have Maxwell Hauck written all over it, I don't know what does. 

Little man loves himself some diggers, buses, trucks - basically anything that moves. 

So, when Max woke up Saturday morning, Papa Rob and him went over to Oak Grove park to see some of the vehicles!  Sadly, I was at work for the morning.  But, I have to say that Papa Rob stepped up his picture game.  He sent me pictures (unprompted!) the whole morning!!  

Max enjoyed exploring the fire truck!

 

Not only did Daddy take Max to the Big Rig Gig - they even had a park visit

and a trip to Wendy's for nuggets (of course). The slide with all the rollers seems to be Max's favorite...it's like a tiny massage :)

 

Meanwhile, back at the Hauck's Nest...Mama finished up working - and shopping -

and it was on to one fine dinner (when Papa returned) on the patio at Kraft House Number 5. This place is right in the heart of downtown Powell but not conducive to toddlers - so

we took advantage of Max continuing his stay with Grandpa and Grandmim.

My new favorite beverage is the Moscow Mule. Love the copper mug and ginger beer!

 

Sunday we slept in and it was so, so, SO glorious. Then we skipped all the responsibilities on the

to-do list and headed instead to the Columbus Flea.  We browsed all the antiques, clothes, records, and jewelry...and Papa Rob bought me a ring for Mother's Day. 

 



 

On the way home we stopped at DiBella's subs for a quick lunch

and as you can see Max was pounding some donuts at Tim Hortons

and having not too shabby of a time himself.

 

The lovely weather over the weekend made it ideal to head on

down to Learning Tree farm (in Dayton) and check on all the farm babies.

They had baby goats, and sheep, and even chicken!

I love that he loves animals!

 



 

I feel like if Max could have written us a letter last weekend it might have read

something like:

 

Dear Mom and Dad,

I'm having the time of my life,

Grandmim and Grandpa take me on all kinds

of fun adventures and cater to my every whim.

I'll be home in a week.

Send more pajamas. 

 

My response would have been:

Dear Max,

My house looks the cleanest it has in a long time.

I took a nap and feel rested.

Miss you!

 

hahaha!

Max finally did return home in time for a Columbus Zoo photo shoot :)

The Zoo needed some pictures for the Pepsi vending machines and such -

so we were more than happy to bring our little child model out

for giraffe feeding and camel rides.

 

I thought he would be afraid to ride the camel

but he kept saying , "it bumpy mommy!"



 

It was a great weekend - sorry the update is so late :)

Be back real soon with Max's official birthday party update.

You DONUT want to miss it.

haha!

XOxo

24 month update

Age: 24 months

Stats:  Such a BIG boy! When we went to the doctor about two week ago for his fever, their scale said 30 pounds 9 ounces and 35 inches tall.   Our official two year well check isn't until May 11. 

Clothing: 2T tops and bottoms (with a few 24 months pants/shorts too). The pajamas

are still my favorite, especially the shortie pajamas. So darn cute. Size 5 diapers.

Size 7 shoes – a new pair of sneakers, a pair of sandals, and two pairs of “Natives”. (Which I LOVE – and are a step up from the dreaded crocs).

(bath time...sometimes a struggle sometimes he loves it)

Favorite Foods:  strawberry toast, waffles, granola bars, donuts, eggs with cheese, applesauce, strawberries, pineapple, smoothies, turkey, pepperoni, tortillas, guacamole, chicken nuggets, fish sticks, mac and cheese, yogurt, cheese (of any kind), pizza, spaghetti (rotini noodles), peppers, snap peas (crunchy!), ranch dressing, fruit snacks, pirates booty, vanilla wafers, popsicles, and ice cream.

(his first time at Greek Express...wanted mommy's hummus)

 

(fun at El Vaquero!)

Favorite Words: “I do it ALL BY MYSELF” (favorite phrase), “watch chuggington”, “get up”, “I want to go outside”, “play in the garage”, “what’s that noise”, “cover me up”,

“play in the sand”, “daddy rock me”, “mommy hold me,” “I love ME!”. 

Honestly – these are just a sampling of the phrases we hear pretty regularly.

I feel like he’s very talkative for his age (but obviously have nothing to compare it to).

Just love hearing his little voice and the way he describes things!

(loves to go high in the swing!)

 

( playing at Miss Jessi's house)

Favorite Activities: still loves singing (take me out to the ball game, and here comes peter cotton tail), playing in the garage, riding on the truck toy in the garage, swinging, playing in the sand/water table, watching Chuggington, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, or Tickety Tock, eating outside, going for strolls in the neighborhood, riding on the back of mommy’s bike (in his seat with a helmet, of course!), drawing with crayons, using play dough, and trying to press all the buttons on the TV remote.

Least Favorite Activity: Getting out of his pajamas in the morning, and when you tell him “no” – he has a bit of tunnel vision when he wants to do something.  He is hard to distract or redirect from his idea. (You have to admire his determination, but this can also be extremely frustrating).

(playing in mommy's classroom)

 

(strolling in the neighborhood)

 

Favorite Things: Visiting parks, overnights with his grandparents, Auntie Stacy, Ice Cream and Popsicles in the evening, playing in the sandbox, trains, music class with Wee Joy Sing, going to the Zoo, lunch at Wendy’s, riding bikes at school, building roads with lots of bumps on the them and taking his trains and cars over top of them, Legos, I-pad, the book “Chicka Chicka Boom Boom”, and helping in the kitchen!

(adventures with grandmim and grandpa!)

 

Signature Moves:  loves to try and put on his own shoes in the morning and socks at night, wants to eat outside at every meal, dancing to the hot dog dance, wanting his messes on his high chair to be cleaned up immediately, telling us who he wants to rock him at night (more often mommy than daddy but sometimes he surprises us), trying to climb the tallest ladder at the park (with help from daddy), saying “I’m a big boy” when asking him if he’s a baby, letting you know if you forgot the pillow, socks, or blanket at nighttime, loving nuggets from Wendy’s, saying “make a lap” when it’s time to read books, being very specific about who he wants to do what (i.e. mommy do it, daddy do it etc.), trying to push his own stroller, taking all the food out of his bag when we go to dinner, sitting in a booster seat when available, loves pizza fridays, and points out all diggers, trucks, buses, and cars while driving.

Mom’s Proudest Moment:  Routinely answering all the questions (granted he is the oldest and there are only three kids) in his music class with the correct answer. (i.e. what does the cow say?”

Dad’s Proudest Moment: Doing such a great job on his birthday...greeting and playing with friends and family! His excitement is contagious!

(baking brownies with mim)

Other Milestones:

-Made his first batch of cookies and brownies with Grandmim

-Expert “frog tickler” (AKA using a stick to poke frogs around the pond)

-Can sing all of “take me out to the ball game”

-Counting and identifying numbers

-Recognizes buses at yellow - and everything else too! Haha!

-Climbing, sliding, running, walking, hopping like a pro!

-Identifying pictures of animals, people, etc. when you ask

-Knows his name and how to spell it

-Will tell you that he is going to be “two” – for a LONG time he would say “three”

-Will tell you his favorite tv show is “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse”

-Handed out birthday treats at school

-First visit to Greek Express

-First ZooTots class (didn’t go super great…didn’t understand why mama was working and not playing with him)
-Can more or less say the Pledge of Allegiance...so patriotic!
 

(some springtime artwork!)

i like lists

In the spirit of Friday (hooray!) and the freakin' weekend (double fist pump!) 

here is a quick list of some awesome things happening at the Hauck nest. 

-Sunny days with time in the evening for swinging!

-Green grass to play in and flowers blooming in the front yard. 

-Doing my part to make sure the Heart of Africa region at the Zoo is up

and ready to go (this weekend) by feeding the giraffes and riding the camels. 

(Sometimes it's easy for me to get caught up in the drama of work

but then I think to myself, you fed a GIRAFFE and oh yeah, 

sometimes cheetah cubs come and play in your office and it sort of puts things

into perspective). 

-Good hair days even when you have to take your showers in the evening.

-Dinner on the deck with Popsicles for dessert. 

-Not having to haul the high chair onto the deck because your toddler 

is big enough to sit in his own chair

-My Salwater Sandals (a present for my birthday) and it finally being

warm enough to wear them. 

-A fresh batch of pictures from Costco ready to be scrapbooked!

-Max loving the sugar snap peas we served at dinner last night 

(he said "it's crunchy mommy!). 

-Papa Rob getting some sand for the sand/water table.

Max loved pouring, scraping, and dumping the sand.

Then, we put him to work with the broom and dust pan cleaning it up!

It's never too early for chores, right?

-Delicious wine leftover from the weekend and brought by your in-laws.

(It was a Bogle Chardonnay - same wine served at our wedding!)

-A new stack of books from the library (will be sure to do a book report soon!)

-Instagram - 4 x 4 squares of pure happiness!

-Doughnut wrapping paper from Paper Source - the perfect

paper for Max's birthday presents. 

-Finding the cutest wedding shower invitations on Etsy for a good friend!

I love planning all the little details that go along with showers. 

-New seasonals in ZooKids who are working hard to get everything ready for summer!

-Papa Rob bringing home the cutest stamps from the post office. 

-Kicking off a new little project for the month of May, where I write one person

a little note every night. I love snail mail!!  

-Meeting this camel named Goober.  Learning that Max is old enough for camel rides 

at the Zoo this summer.  (Sidenote:  Did you know that all the Chewbacca noises from Star Wars

are actually camel noises??!)

-Friends who want to learn more about essential oils!

-It's practically maxi dress season. #gimmeallthedresses

-Kid Scents oils now being sold individually from Young Living.  I bought

the Sniffle Ease and Sleepygize. They are pre-diluted and great for kiddos! 

Previously they were only available as part of the kids scents kit, and it would go in and out of 

stock all the time, but not anymore!

-Playing Hide and Seek with Max in the yard - which involves him telling me where

to hide and then counting to six and looking for me. 

-Speaking of the yard - things are starting to green up around here.  Almost all my perennials are peeking out of the dirt.  My clematis, bleeding heart, and lily of the valley should all bloom in May!

-Max's Mickey Mouse shirt - love it, love him. 

-New music downloads for jamming in the car! 

-The current weather forecast says sunshine for days....

As you can read - there is not much to complain about around here. 

Just making a list like this helps me keep my attitude in check! 

Happy May everyone!

xoxo