Merry Christmas

Hope you and your family have a wonderful Christmas!

-James, Bobbie Jo, and Max

Chicken Nugget

Max has been a bit finicky with his food. He's only 2 months shy of his 2nd birthday, yet a large portion of what he will eat still comes from baby food jars.

We've gotten him to eat some things (bagels, PB&J, american cheese), and he's cool with most fruits (tried an orange for the first time this weekend), but he just won't eat "dinner-type foods".

He's seemed interested, but just won't eat any of them.
NOTE: Yes, we've tried hot dogs, pizza, nuggets, and all of the food that kids just "love". No luck until today.

Today, I got Max to eat 3 McDonald's chicken nuggets (I think that it helped that in order to get him excited we sang a "Chicken Nugget Song" all the way from Micky D's to the house). He dipped them in honey, made an enormous mess, and enjoyed every last crumb.

I need to start working on a "Hot Dog Song"!

The annual "Where did 20XX go?" post

WOW! Where did 2009 go? It's been a quick one. Christmas is Friday, and New Years the Friday after that.

2009 was very busy. Max became mobile, and got into everything. He grew from a baby into a little boy. I've juggled school, work and parenthood, while Bobbie Jo juggled even more along with taking care of two very needy boys. Sometimes I wondered how we were going to make it through it.

2010 will be a big year, we're excited to see what it will bring.

For the second year I will be flying to Las Vegas on Jan. 1 for the Consumer Electronics Show. I'll be gone for 8 days, returning on Jan 9. Bobbie Jo's folks have graciously offered to watch Max both weekends (THANKS A MILLION!!).

Jumpin' on the bed

Kiddies-
This is what happens when you jump on the bed.

Forehead + footboard = OUCH!

Playing in the Snow

On Saturday I bundled Max up for some adventures in the snow. He'd never played in the snow before and I wasn't sure what to expect.


He was quite apprehensive, he doesn't like walking on uneven ground. He was happiest sitting in the snow and pointing out things for me to throw snowballs at.

He kept his hat and mittens on the whole time, so I'd say he did pretty well. He'll be running around in it in no time.

A Max Primer

I never understood how parents knew what their kids were saying. Now, I get it.

For those who may need to care for our child, I have compiled a list of Max's words and their normal English translations.

ä-pōō-ä - airplane
bŭp - puff (puffed snack thingy)
bĭk-ēē - Craisin (cranberry raisin), or Mickey (Mouse).
doo-doo - Spiderman*
dä-doo - Cheerio
dee-tee - Sesame (Street)
duhmp-ŭp - "Jump Up", his favorite song
gä - flag
gä-gōō - cracker
gä-gōōf - color, draw, or write on something. Or crayon, chalk, or pen.
moo-nee - (Handy) Manny, a tv show.
non-ee - naughty
tŏp-īte - stoplight (or sometimes stop sign)

These are the words that will most frequently trip people up. Most other words (eat, elmo, cookie (snack and monster), juice, (m)ilk, pee, poop, book, etc.) mean what you think they would mean.

I will update this list as necessary.
Hope this helps.

-j

*My next post will explain the origin of "doo-do".

First Snow (sorta)

As I was getting ready to leave for "Poker Weekend", I got a few pictures of Max seeing snow for the first time (he wouldn't have understood it last year).