We’ve had a wonderful and busy weekend so far. Saturday Max went to his first concert! Our friends Angel and Eric introduced us to the children’s band “Caspar Babypants.” Their lead singer happens to be the former lead singer for the band The Presidents of the United States of America. They sing really fun, clever kids’ music that won’t make the grownups crazy when it gets stuck in their heads. Caspar Babypants was performing a free concert at a local bookstore and a few of our friends were going, so off we went. Here’s Max waiting for the show to start, enjoying a Starbucks breakfast sandwich (one of his favorite things):

The band, rocking out:

Then things really got crazy:

Enjoying the tunes:

Max’s friend Cambryn and her mom Kacie. The bookstore where we were has a big department of University of Washington gear, so Kacie had to represent for WSU:

Eric and Emmeline (and Angel in the background ):

After the concert Jeff and Eric waited in line while we let the kids play a bit. The flip sticks were a hit:

Then we got autographed CDs and photos with the band:

Then it was home for lunch and a nap, followed by more fun….we headed to Laura and Dave’s house for their famous shrimp and goat cheese pizza. Soooooo yummy. Before dinner we hung out outside for a bit. Max loved climbing up and down the deck stairs:

Taking a break with the ladies:

Maxwell discovered he could push one of the chairs around the patio. So much fun!

And sometimes you just need a Mama Hug:

A most wonderful weekend.

Max loves to have something small to hold onto. Riding in the stroller, eating a meal, or just playing, he can often be found with something in one hand. Often it’s a puzzle piece, fridge magnet, or small toy, but his most favorites are:

The Kitchen Utensils

Max looooves to have one of us take him to the kitchen counter so he can pick out a spatula, or wooden spoon, or whisk. Then he’ll hold said utensil, sometimes use it to feed one of his stuffed animals or for banging on the coffee table, but mostly it’s just nice to hang on to. Every so often I have to do a roundup of the utensils so I can get dinner prepared. I wanted to memorialize the kitchen utensil phase because I realize the day will come when they won’t be that cool, and I want to remember how much he loved them at this point in life.

We’ve had a fun couple weeks, and I have pictures to prove it! The weather here has been pretty variable lately. I’ll start with a shot from last weekend, when it was rainy and cooler. Max discovered that one of the playground slides had a puddle of water at the base just perfect for splashing. If you look closely, you can see the drops on his face from when he tried to drink the water.

Last weekend we had good friends over for dinner and playtime. Their daughter Emmeline has appeared in this blog before; it’s so fun to watch our two little ones together. Here they are checking out Max’s clock:

Max playing with Jeff and Angel (check out that tower!):

Emmeline loved Max’s new “Cozy Coupe” car. At one point Max was taking a turn in the car and Angel was pushing him. Poor Emmeline was walking behind them, arms outstretched, face crumpled up, as if she was saying, “Not only do I not get to ride in the car, but MY mom is pushing him!” It was pitiful and cute all at the same time. Thankfully, she was happy again once she got another chance to ride:

Mid-week Max and I joined some friends with little ones at a local children’s museum. Lots of fun was had by all, followed by lunch at Panera. Here’s Maxwell checking out the train table:

And the fish tank:

I’ll leave you with some “It’s a toddler in a cabinet!” pictures. Max likes to open and close this cabinet door and put toys in the cabinet. Last night he was doing that and while he turned around, our cat Pixel jumped into the cabinet. When Max saw this, you could see the light come on…”Maybe I could fit in this cabinet!” Indeed he did.

In Max’s swim class we sing the song “Hurry, Hurry Drive the Fire Truck” accompanied with various swimming motions. It’s one of his favorites, and he also loves the fire truck piece from a puzzle we have. Imagine our surprise when we stepped outside for a walk this afternoon to find a fire truck in our alley! Thankfully it was there for a good reason. Turns out one of neighbors (who has a different floor plan than us) has a smoke detector at the top of her two-story entryway, and she can’t get to it to change the batteries. I know, not the best design. The local fire department came out to change the batteries for her, and the firefighters invited the kids to check out the truck. Here’s Max in the passenger seat:

By the side of the truck with Daddy:

And ready to go for a ride on the back:

A couple weeks ago we were lucky to have a visit from our dear friends Doug and Donna. They moved to California right before Max was born and we miss them so much. They were in Seattle for a wedding and made the trip up here for dinner after the wedding and before beginning their long drive home. We really appreciated that they got up here to see us during their short visit and it was great fun to see Max with them. Here’s a photo of the three of them, Max is about to give Donna one of his famous nose beeps.

Max’s next physical therapy visit is Friday. He is making good progress on the walking front; he’ll now walk holding only one of our hands most of the time, and tonight he was stood up and then took a couple steps to Jeff, and then repeated that a few more times. Here’s father and son walking at the park:

If you’ve visited our house, you’ve seen the comfy glider chair we have in the living room. Lately Max loves to sit in it and play. He leans forward and back to make it rock, stands up and looks over the back, reaches his hand into the space between the seat and the arm, and can get down all by himself. Here he is in action:

And reaching in. He always reaches into the right side opening, I’m not sure if he hasn’t yet realized there’s also one on the left, or just prefers the right side.