Two

While practicing her new response to "How old are you?":  "Maybe I'm not two. Maybe I'm five just like Mary."

Soon enough, honey, soon enough. Let's take the years one at a time, though, because even that is too fast for your mama.

Crawling?

Not quite. Definitely on the move though!

Max's 6 Month Pictures

Once again Susan has blown me away. Now I need to buy more frames!

Also, is it just the mom in me, or does he look just like Natalie did at 6 months (with a few more rolls, of course)?

Natalie's Donut Birthday Party

We celebrated Natalie's birthday with a donut party yesterday. We all had a great time except for maybe Max who wasn't feeling too well. Natalie got all of the dolls, princesses, and cleaning supplies that her girly little heart could desire.

Natalie is 2!

Natalie started her birthday off right with a cupcake for breakfast. Then she had another, this time complete with candles and singing, after lunch. We spent most of her waking hours outside either at the park or at the zoo, so she had a pretty great day.

Stay tuned for birthday celebration part two tomorrow.

And click here for pictures of Natalie last year and the year before. We didn't even know what kind of spunk and adventure were hiding inside that sweet little baby. Blessed doesn't even begin to describe it.

Two Under Two

Well, folks, this is it, the end of an era. Tonight we're closing in on our last day of having two under two. We survived!

I have actually really loved having two under two. It has been a million times easier than I expected. That's not to say that it's been easy, but it has been manageable, and, on most days, fun.

Tomorrow it will seem a little less like we have two babies and a little more like we have a toddler and her little brother. At first this thought made me kind of sad, but this toddler and her little brother seem to get more fun with each new day, so I'm betting the best is yet to come.

"It's a Wonderful Day!"

Natalie often declares that it's a beautiful day when we go outside for walks, but yesterday she decided it was "wonderful" instead.

Max agreed.

Our Little Pumpkins

Today was Agco day at Papa's Pumpkin Patch outside of town. Agco employees got discounted (or in our case free) pumpkins. The $5 Agco coupon covered the cost of Natalie and Max's little pumpkins.

Natalie had a hard time choosing a pumpkin. They were all either too big or too little, but with the help of cousins Owen and Aedan, she finally decided on one. Max made a much quicker decision.

The one picture that I'm regretting not taking is one with the lady who weighed our pumpkins at the end before we paid. She just so happened to be the angel of a nurse who helped me through labor with both kids! I basically owe my life to her. She is amazing. It was really fun to see her again and show her how big Max and Natalie are. We absolutely should have taken a picture.

Missed photo ops aside, we had a great afternoon at the pumpkin patch!

Exercauser

Max is loving his borrowed exercauser.

Natalie thought she needed a turn too.

6 Months

Today is Max's half birthday!

His personality is really starting to blossom, and he is proving to be much more like his sister than we originally thought. Our once laid-back baby is now very much the opposite - curious and on the go.

At six months old Max:

• is quite the outdoorsman. He is almost always happier when he's outside.
• really wants to crawl. He spends a lot of his time on all fours fussing because he can't go.
• scoots backward on his tummy.
• loves to splash in the bath with Natalie. 
• likes pears and sweet potatoes. 
• prefers to be perched on my hip.
• is constantly chewing on a toy. Come on teeth!
• likes to cuddle and rock, which I love.
• is still the most smiley little guy!

He and Natalie are the best frenemies you would expect from siblings 18 months apart. Their relationship is mostly sweetness peppered with the occasional push. Max can't wait until he can reciprocate... but enough about the pushing. On to the sweetness... oh the sweetness! When Max sees Natalie for the first time in the morning or after a nap, his grin is as big as it can be, and when Natalie hears Max wake up she says, "I hear our Maxy!" and runs to him. Then she smothers him with hugs while saying, "He's so precious! Oh! So sweet!"

Picasso

Happy Hour

We love Sonic.

Donuts at the Park

Natalie needed a (second) snack on the way to the park this morning, and, frankly, so did I, so we stopped at the grocery store for donuts to take to the park with us. 

Homecoming Parade

Max was thrilled with his first parade. Natalie enjoyed it much more because she got a bag full of candy. She is not enjoying, however, the lesson in self-control that comes with a bag full of candy.

Ready to Move!

Max is getting closer to crawling every day. He doesn't stay sitting for very long anymore before he ends up like this. It's fun to watch him try to figure it out