Lily's First Pigtails

Cousins

Max's Christmas Stocking

On the right is the stocking that my Mom made for me for one of my first Christmases. My brothers both have identical stockings (with their names of course).

Even though she had never knitted, sewn, or done anything like this before, shortly after he was born I asked Bobbie Jo to make one for Max. It took a few years, but I am so happy to be able to give this to Max.

Thank you SO MUCH Bobbie Jo! I'm sure he will cherish it forever!

Have a Merry Christmas!

-James, Bobbie Jo, Max, and Lily

Max and Lily visit St Nick

Orange Headband?

I guess the next level after Orange Belt is the Orange Headband (any way they can get another $50 'graduation fee' I suppose).

After reaching the level of Orange Headband, Max's 6 month Karate class is coming to an end. It's been a lot of fun, but too much of a time commitment. Maybe someday we'll start up again, or when he stops responding to me with "yes sir!".

There are not enough "Thank You's" in the world

When Bobbie Jo broke her arm at the end of October, we had a huge problem. She was in tremendous pain, slept a lot, and couldn't do much of anything. As she got better she was still under many restrictions and could not pick up Lily, or change the squirming goat's diapers. For the last 6 weeks Sharon and Camille have been alternating days so Bobbie Jo could recuperate, I could continue to go to work, and things could be as 'normal' as possible.

In the beginning the two of them kept our world in order, the laundry and dishes done, taking Max to school, and keeping Max and Lily entertained. As Bobbie Jo got better, they still came every day to help when she needed it.

Bobbie Jo has been 'on her own' for the last week, but these two OUTSTANDING ladies still stop by to help out, assist with getting the kids to school and appointments, and keep Bobbie Jo from overdoing it.

I would say there are few people in the world who are as lucky as we are to have the help that we have had. I have no idea how we would have survived for the past months without them. There are not enough ways to say "Thank You" and to communicate how much we love them.

Thank you so much Grandma and Gagi! You are both AMAZING!

We love you so much!

Post Surgery X-Rays

Look at all of the cool screws!

The Reinhardt Reindeer Antlers

Max - December 2008

Lily, November 2012

Adventure: The Stairs

Looking back at the blog posts, Max made his first journey up the stairs on November 28th, 2008 (We're Screwed).

Today, November 29th, Lily made her first Journey up those same steps. Max won by 2 days.

Daddy and Daughter

Crazy Eyes

The sticker someone put on her doesn't help either.

She's Standing

She pulled herself up and is standing now. Wow!

Little Jerk!

Damn squirrel ate the eyes off my pumpkin.

Happy Halloween

The Best of Friends

These two are so much fun to watch together. What a great Big Brother Max has been!

All Clear!

As I hit "Publish" on the last post I saw the surgeon wandering through the waiting room looking for me.

The surgery was successful, and they were able to reassemble the pieces with some additional screws, plates, and braces. I should be able to see her in recovery in an hour or so.

Do NOT stand on a folding chair

This phrase has been said to Max a thousand times by his mother.
On Monday evening, said mother decided to dust some furniture requiring a bit of a boost. The folding chair seemed like the perfect solution.

I received a call around 7:50 pm (10 minutes before the band I was about to see was scheduled to take the stage). Bobbie Jo was in tears, shouting "I think I broke my arm!". I rushed home immediately to find her lying on the floor in immense pain, clutching her left arm close to her body. She had been lying on the floor for about 15 minutes before she was able to get the strength to get to a phone to call me. Lily was crawling around downstairs, and Max was at the library with Gagi.

Minutes later Gagi and Max walked in the door. Max burst into tears seeing his mom in such pain, and I told my mom she would be watching the kids. Bobbie Jo and I rushed to the emergency room. We left the ER four hours later, with confirmation that she had broken her arm. One of the bones had been shattered where it meets the elbow. She was in terrible pain, and no amount of painkillers was able to help.

We left the house this morning at 5:30 am in hopes of getting an early slot in the OR. As I write this (Thursday at 1:30 pm), Bobbie Jo has been in surgery since 11:30 in an attempt to find all of the pieces, re-assemble them, and get her arm back in working order. If they are unable to 'put the pieces back together' they will put in a prosthetic "bone end".

The week has been nuts, but luckily we have our mothers who have pitched in to watch the kids through the various commitments we have had due to this accident. Sharon was even kind enough to do all of the laundry in the house.

We'll be very glad to have Bobbie Jo free of pain, and I know she'll be overjoyed to be able to cuddle with and hug Max and Lily.

I'll keep you updated.

Orange Belt

Today Max graduated from a White Belt to an Orange Belt.

Congratulations Kung-Fu Max!

Family Photos at the Office

My company, DPT, had a photographer in a few weeks ago so all of the employees could get family photos taken. Here are a few of our favorites.

Max's Wisdom - Lightning

Max warned me this morning, when I went out in the rain to get something from the garage, to be careful to watch out for lightning.
"If you get struck by lightning and get electrocuted, your skeleton will show"

Bucket Head

Does every kid have a bucket on his head as frequently as mine seems to?

Woody's Hat

Do they get any cuter than this?

A Day at the Fair

 

Getting this kid to pose for a picture is IMPOSSIBLE!

Sometimes there are photos that must be saved.

Max's (Second) First day of Preschool

Today Max started his second year at Canterbury Creek Preschool. The Canterbury Creek school that I knew when I was a kid, and where Max spent his first year is no more. The new location is beautiful and the new buildings are some of the coolest I have ever seen. We're excited that Max gets to be part of the first class in the new location which may teach his kids someday.

All tangled up

Family Vacation is Scheduled!

On February 24th 2013 (Lily's first birthday), we will drop her at Sharon's and Max, Bobbie Jo and I will fly to Disney World for a whole week.
We're planning on surprising Max, not telling him about the vacation (or our destination) until he figures it out on his own. Whether this will be at the airport, when we board the Disney bus, or when we enter the Magic Kingdom, we'll have to wait to see.

We're fighting our urge to tell him. We're pretty excited.

Lily Giggles

There's finally somebody who thinks that Daddy is pretty darn funny. Lily laughed and giggled for the first time last night. She has previously made some strange gruntish monster noises which seemed to communicate "I find your [activity] humorous". Last night, as I was making fun of Bobbie Jo's butchering of the Jaws theme, Lily actually laughed.

Big Brother, Little Sister

Lily's first food

Max's T-Ball game was canceled today due to extreme heat (heat index of 108°) so Bobbie Jo and Max went to see Madagascar 3 and left the Goat and I home together.

It was nice hanging out, just the two of us, and I used the opportunity to feed her first helping of cereal. She did very well and may already be on her way to eating a bigger variety than her brother.

It's HOT!

5/28/2012

Ladies Man