He is Risen!!

What an Easter! We partied all day : ) Max was such a trooper- with a combined total of 40 minutes of nap time all day, he ran around smiling and snacking his way through the day with family. As we drove home totally exhausted in time for Max's bedtime, Justin and I talked about how we were so tired but would never want it any other way! We are so lucky that we have so much family within driving distance of us. And what a better way to start teaching Max about why a certain day is so special, then spending it with family who love him and us?

First of all... I had to include several pictures from last Easter because I can't believe its already been a year since we took these pics! It was such a beautiful sunny day and we were still such new parents : )

Okay everyone move on and just get over that Max will never be that tiny again... : ( 

But its okay! Here is the bigger, just as handsome Max this Easter:

Max woke up to find his first Easter Basket/Bucket in the kitchen! 

He was so excited about the books, toys and new bib... 

Just kidding.. he was only excited about the orange grass! 

I'm sure he will discover the new books and toys in the bucket later this week : )

 Somehow we got ourselves dressed appropriately and to church on time! 

I was sitting in the pew BEFORE the service started- yaaay. Look at my handsome guys..

Me and my Snugglebunny

Look who i found sitting in the other service waiting for it to start.

Garon told me that he picked out his outfit himself at Kohls-what style! Love the purple.

Apparently Max was not too happy in the nursery because when I picked him up he was very concerned about life. As soon as he saw Uncle Garon, Daddy, Nana and Pop-Pop he obviously felt better!

Not everyone gets a hug from the Pastor! 

Max thinks Garon is hilarious.. as usual : )

After church, Max napped in the car as we took a leisurely Sunday drive through the back roads to Great Gran's house. We had the annual yummy Easter meal of sausage, sauerkraut and perogies which Max devoured! While we waited for lunch, Great Gran provided Max with some goldfish- hooray!

 So much excitement.. and so much drool...

"Wait.. let me just enjoy this moment with my delicious goldfish.."

Max gets to sit in this chair when he eats at his Pappy's or GreatGran's house, which is so special because many generations of children in the family have used it! 

He sits in it pushed right up to the table like such a big boy ; )

Aunt Meaghan takes such good care of Max at family gatherings! : )

Max thought he might need to try the mini key lime pie desserts... his Aunt Meaghan, GreatAunt Lavi and GreatAunt Jennie were happy to oblige! : )

After lunch we headed back to Bel Air to celebrate Easter with Max's Nana, Pop-Pop, Uncle Garon and GG (Great-Grandmother). Max napped for a few minutes in the car but that was it... no nap at Nana's house either! I don't blame him- who can nap when there are cute stuffed bunnies around?

"Hi Bunny, I see you.."

Love that happy face!

Max gives the new puppies some quick attention each time he is over.. he offers his finger for a little stroke of the fur and maybe a lick and then usually goes on his way. The puppies wonder when the giant is going to finally accidentally sit on them!

Once everyone was gathered and Max decided he didn't have time to rest, it was time for the Annual Hidey Egg Hunt! I think this was the first year that Garon had some real competition. 

Max found 3 eggs and Garon found 46. 

Facetime with Aunt Sarah in Denver!

Found an egg! 50 more to go.. 

This picture makes me laugh so hard!

 Garon is in full motion with his basket almost full. Max is clearly also very committed to the egg hunt. 

We hope everyone else had a wonderful Easter too!! 

Max's First (of many in his life..) Snow Video!

Thank goodness I just kept looking at the pile of snow things in our living room for weeks and never put them away... Max's snow suit and sled were ready for him! Justin was so excited to wake up and learn that he had a snow day with Max. We showed Max the snow out the window and he loved it. He kept running back to the window and laughing. I guess it does look pretty funny when everything is white!The county government opened late so we got to have a relaxing morning and then I headed to work. I came home on my lunch break to see Max play in SNOW for the first time ever! Have I mentioned how amazing it is to work 5 minutes from our house?? Thank you God for my awesome job!!

March Madness

Sorry guys, no basketball talk here. I'm just mad that it isn't warm and sunny everyday yet! 

Max has gotten a taste of the outside life recently and loves it.. I think he takes after his Daddy : )

Max has done a lot of practicing with his wheelbarrow, rake, shovel and other various max-sized outdoor tools. Look at me figuring out how to put a video in a blog post! A whole new world.. . 

 There is also time to reminisce about his birthday party.. oh the memories!

 It's still light out when Daddy gets home so Max likes to wait by the front door and try to escape when it gets opened. Daddy took him for a walk around the yard this particular day.. someone left him some brightly colored flags to examine.. best day ever!!

I think we will be spending a lot of time at the playground this year..

Mommy thought she didn't have to use the ladder and there was some difficulty getting set up..

 thank you to the little girl behind us for judging me...

Yesterday was such a sunny day, so Max and I bundled up and explored the backyard!! It was treacherous terrain but Max was committed to his exploration and was rewarded with an interesting fence, some leaves, a heavy rock or two, and a piece of mulch that Mommy sadly would not let him eat. 

Another Max-filled video:

Freedom!!

Mommy was the Explorer's Assistant

"This looks like it will need further examination later when Mommy isn't around.. "

"Treasure!!"

"We must press on!"

Because one birthday post is obviously never enough...

If you are reading our blog then you know us pretty well, so you won't be surprised to learn that we have hundreds of pictures documenting Max's 1st birthday! It's impossible to choose some and not others.. so here we go again with more birthday loooooove : )

Max greets his guests

As soon as the Holdridges walked in the door,
Max plopped down for some book reading and "sharing" with Caitlin!

Friends Forever.

Max greets some non-penguin guests.. his Great-Aunt Diane and his cousin Jamie!

 Max likes to keep an eye on Garon... 

The yummy spread- two kinds of homemade chili, mac & cheese, pigs in a blanket, chick fila nuggets, pasta salad, veggies, fruit, and a hot chocolate bar!

The kitchen always turns into a hang out spot! 

Siblings! 

More sibling love!!

 Max had such a FUN time....

we were so happy because you never know how much a one year old will enjoy opening presents!

And obviously his Mommy & Daddy had a lot of fun too... : )

It wouldn't be a birthday party without some love from Pappy...

 Buddies

Auntie Meaghan!

"Happy Birthday to Max, Happy Birthday to Max!"

We sang to him all week leading up to his party so that he would know it was a special song!

The cake adventure continues...

Thanks to Pop-Pop for crawling around on the floor with all the kiddies!

Post-nap shenanigans included playing with the balloons ..

..doing some laps around the living room..

.. and finally a ride around the house in his new wheels!

Did I mention that he napped like an champ for the next two days? I wonder why! : )