Mothers Day Party!

       I am so happy, lucky, blessed, (insert other great adjectives here) to have in-laws that are so wonderful and loving- Justin's Dad Ed, his step-dad David, his siblings Matt and Meaghan, and especially my mother in law!! I love her for many reasons, including that she raised a great man, my hubby! And now we get to watch her be a Grammy to Max which is so fun : ) We got to celebrate Mothers Day with her last night with her parents, David, Meaghan and Matt. Just look at these cuties..

             The weekend started with Max spending the night at Grammy and Thirdpa's house. Max usually gets to have a sleepover with them every month and I'm not sure who enjoys it more.. Max, the grandparents or the parents. They take Max on all sorts of adventures, and introduced him to Batman!

He is always worn out by the end of the day from all the fun..

One last Batman snuggle before heading to bed.

Ready to help make breakfast! 

Look at that face... food is a very serious thing to Max.

           Sandy and David brought Max back to us on Saturday afternoon and the whole family gathered to celebrate Mothers Day. Max brought me a beautiful azalea bush for Mothers Day- He's such a good shopper! Before everyone got here, the skies opened up and down came the torrential rain! We lost electricity and watched the rain from the warm dry house. Max was so intrigued by the pouring rain and wanted to go outside which of course I thought was silly. Now this is why little boys need men in their lives... because Mommies aren't always as fun haha! 

Max laughed and laughed! Then he was finished when he realized how soaked he was : )

The water shenanigans continued... 

"Oh look at this puddle/lake at the bottom of the driveway... yes i think that looks fun."

"I was right.. its fun!"

"Mommy, do you see what is happening right now?"

After the first of several outfit changes of the evening, we sat down to eat fajitas by candlelight. Justin prayed for the meal- thanking God for his Mom and asking that the power be restored. Several minutes later..Voila! Power was back and we could see our yummy food again! Nothing better than family and good food...

Max thought they were soo funny.. 

hiding and being shy, then peeking out with a smile to make sure that they were still smiling at him!

I love my boys..

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!!

Professor Maxwell!

      No, this title is not referring to our genius of a son. But speaking of the little cutie pie, Max is already over 14 months old and still living large! He is running around, babbling loudly, eating everything he can get his hands on, reading lots of books, still sleeping like a champ, and learning to express his pleasure and displeasure in new ways. He is so much fun and loves to laugh and giggle. Thank goodness for spring time, because Max is ready to be outside each and every day. He can't get enough of running around the porch and yard... we are currently working on going down steps. It's a challenge and way too time consuming for his normal speed of life.

       Last weekend Justin was away on his annual Man Trip for 4 days of fishing and manly bonding. Max and I missed him so much but we certainly weren't going to sit at home doing nothing! Justin's family has a tradition of going to The Hunt Cup every year. I went for the first time two years ago and it was amazing. For those of you who have never seen a steeplechase horse race, it is quite an experience! The Hunt Cup is a 4 mile course across beautiful hills, with 22 fences for the horses to cross. We tailgate and picnic all afternoon, and then cheer on our favorite horses either right at the fences just a few feet from the horses or up on a hill overlooking the course.

        Justin's great grandfather, Francis P Harbin, was a horseman. He left Braddock Heights with his horse and enlisted in the Calvary in the 1^st World War. He maintained his interest in horses for the rest of his life. The only child of his who absorbed this love was his son, Justin's Granddad, Edwin E. Harbin. As a child, Ed was taken with his father to polo matches as well as such events as The Hunt Cup. Ed passed his love of horses to his family and Justin rode his first horse when he was around Max's age. Right before he passed away several years ago, Justin and I went to the Manor Race with him and Justin's Dad. It was my first steeplechase, perfect weather, and a day we will always cherish! It was not overlooked that Justin's Granddad must have been so happy to see the 5^th   generation of Harbin boys at the Hunt Cup this past weekend. To end the perfect day, the horse Professor Maxwell won The Hunt Cup!

Aunt Meaghan knows the way to Max's heart... food : )

Max loves hanging out with family!

Soaking up the sun with Great Gran and Aunt Jennie.. 

Thank you to Gabby and Matt for playing with Max so much!

Pappy took Max over to see a real horse for the first time! 

Our favorite horse was named Professor Maxwell! 

He came in 3rd in last year's Hunt Cup but we had a feeling he would do better this time ; )

Max was in awe of the horses but wasn't sure why he wasn't allowed to touch them.. 

Stylish.

 My favorite picture of the day.. Pappy and Max

"Hooray! Professor Maxwell run the Hunt Cup! Is it time to eat again yet??"

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!!