2 year check-up

We took Xander in today for his two year doctor's appointment. As usual, he charmed all the ladies and impressed them with how cooperative and patient he is. He is still in the 90th percentile for height at 35 5/8 inches tall, and in the 50th for weight at 29 1/2 pounds. Xander has his own doctor bag, so we practiced with him the night before and in the doctor's office. I think it helped him to not be afraid when she was checking him out. He had to get his finger pricked, but he was too busy to even notice. After Xander's nap, we got on our swim suits and had a pool party and picnic in the back yard. It was a beautiful day!

Stripped down to his diaper, he waits for the doctor to come in. It was a bit chilly in the room, so he put on his hat to keep warm. :)

Ready to dive in

Getting daddy good!

Taking a break

Juicy watermelon. Yum!

Chris FINALLY got the sandbox set up for Xander. He is not big on playing with dirt and so it has taken some coaxing to get it done. Here, Chris is trying to enjoy digging in the sand with Xander

He looks pretty excited about it, don't you think?

Saying goodbye

We said farewell to my parents today as they head off to visit my siblings. It was so hard to see them go. The time goes by so fast and it is never long enough. But it was nice to see them again and I am happy that they got to be here to celebrate Xander's birthday with us.

Grandma playing trains with Xander.

A little snuggling on the couch before they go.

Getting Xander to sit still for one final photo. It was naptime, so it was not easy to do.

Trip to the Science Museum

We went to the Science Museum with my parents today. It was really busy with a lot of end of the year field trips, but we didn't plan to stay long anyway. I figured my dad would be interested in the stuff there and he seemed to have a good time. Xander was very patient and tolerated it well, even though there wasn't much for him to do. After we were done, we walked to Wild Tymes for a bite to eat. It was a perfect day for outdoor dining and the food was very good.

Dad checking out the bones

a leisurely stroll

At Rice Park

Chris checking out Xander's big boo-boos that he got at Rice Park. :(

Xander turns 2!!

It's Monday, May 29th and our little boy is now two years old. It was such a good day (even if it was 90 degrees outside). Here are some photos below - from the time he woke up until bedtime. Thank you to everyone who came to his party and helped us celebrate Xander's special day.

Getting a little excited about his birthday presents and balloons

He started ripping the paper off all by himself. He didn't need our help this time around!

Xander checking out all the balloons on the fence in the front yard. It was so hot that it didn't take them long to start popping. There weren't many left by the time the party was over.

Checking out his new playhouse. It could really use a window air conditioner! :) It was so hot inside it, but that didn't stop him from playing in it.

Cooling off at his new water table.

Yummy cake!

The Wiggles cake. His favorite part is the car that came off of it. It has been played with most of all. Go figure.

Another shot at blowing out his candle. This time he did it without any help from daddy.

Wrapping up the day with a nice bubble bath and some bath finger paints. The birthday message I wrote on the shower wall ended up looking a bit eerie!

My big boy - asleep at last...

Grandma & Grandpa B come to visit!

My mom and dad came to visit all the way from Florida and apparently brought the heat and humidity with them! We decided to take a trip to the zoo on Saturday and it was so hot! Xander started to wilt just minutes after we got outside and it made him very tired. But he hung in there and we had a fun day.

Taco Night!

Xander loves Taco Night! We should actually call it Taco Salad night, in his honor :) It all gets scooped out of the shell and mixed around.

How appropriate that he should be wearing his Dora bib! Hola!

Petting Zoo

We took Xander to the Fridley ECFE garage sale today. There was nothing but junk there, but at least they had a petting zoo. Xander was in a shy mood and didn't want to have much to do with any animals that were bigger than him. He was really into the laid back chickens that let him pet them a lot. He also liked the bunnies, but they were very skiddish and he only got to pet them for a little bit.

The Time-Sucking Yard!

We seem to be spending all of our time (and money!) lately working on the yard. It was really bad when we moved into this house and we just put off fixing it since then. Well, this is the year we decided to tackle it. We had the fence extended around the front yard, had a concrete patio poured on the side and along the back, dug up shrubs and are putting in flower, herb and veggie gardens. Phew! Bit off a lot this year and so far the progress is slow. Made worse by the renegade squirrel that is eating all of our stuff!

The new little rock garden that we put in to deal with an awkward slope in the front yard. We planted a beautiful new rose bush with tons of buds just waiting to open. Damn squirrel ate them all off! And destroyed the only bloom on it. Grrrr!

Xander running on the new patio. Hard, cold concrete? Maybe. But I see it as a blank canvas, just waiting to be filled in with color!

Xander loves digging in the dirt. I hope he will learn to stay out when I put the plants in here. I am going to try to keep a place for him to dig somewhere in the yard. I know that the sandbox won't be good enough. He loves to look for rocks and bugs - but then what kid doesn't?

Getting ready to kick back in a sunny spot. When Chris took him out for the first time onto the patio, he looked down at it and declared "sidewalk chalk right there!" He apparently sees it as a blank canvas, too!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Today we celebrated Chris' 27th birthday! He took off work early so that we could go out to lunch and spend some time together before he had to go to class. He picked Famous Dave's in Maple Grove. Yummy! Xander got him a really cute card and even colored on it for him. He also gave him a Best Buy gift card. I got two tickets to see "Hamlet" at the Guthrie Theater on it's final weekend of being open. :( I managed to get some of the best seats in the house!

Daddy thanking Xander for the card.

New Toys!

I know, it is so close to Xander's birthday and here we are buying him big toys! But we did find some really good stuff on Craigslist.com and just couldn't pass them up. We couldn't store them and wait for his birthday because we just didn't have the room. That, and we were too excited to not give them to him!

Xander would sleep in this car if he could! It was in such good condition and so clean, that we decided to keep it indoors for him to play with. Clashes with the decor, but makes him very happy. We "park" it in the living room at night. :)

Putting in a bit of petrol!

Xander's not a big sports nut or anything, but he could use a little help in the eye-hand coordination department. So, we thought a basket ball hoop might be good for him to have. This one might end up outside to play with on the patio. We'll see.

Easter Sunday

We decided to stay home this year for Easter. We used to drive around to visit family for holidays, but now that Xander is getting older, we have this urge to be home. We invited great-grandpa to come have dinner with us. Xander is starting to remember him a little more, so we want them to spend as much time together as possible, so he can get to know him better.

Easter bunny was good to Xander. Here he is with his new bicycle helmet and some sand toys, including the all time favorite - the wheelbarrow

Great-grandpa reading a book to Xander - What a beautiful sight!

Checking out his new climber that grandpa Jimmy picked up for us and great-grandpa delivered to our house.

Easter egg hunt! Now, I loved doing this as a kid and have lots of wonderful memories, but it is even more fun to watch your own little one do this, especially for the first time. He was so excited and was squealing when he would find one. I took so many pictures and Chris remembered to capture it on video!

Warm Weather Is Here!

And with the warm weather comes playing outside and projects around the house. We have been super busy working on our yard. Chris has been putting in the posts for our chain link fence in the front yard. I have been digging up all the weeds, lava rock and half dead shrubs around the yard. Also, I've been busy with contractors and estimates for our patio we are having put in. We are also spending as much time as possible playing outside with Xander. He has so much fun running around the yard, we can't wait to have the fence completed so that we don't have to worry about him running in the street.

Since so much has been going on that I am finding it hard to post on such a regular basis. I will try to get better! But in the mean time, here are a bunch of pictures that we have taken over the past couple of weeks.

Happy Easter all!

Hugs for Max