8 months old

Max is now 8 months old.

He now "army crawls" all over the place.

He has pulled himself up to standing on our coffee table, and loves if we will let him hold our hands so that he can stand and walk.

He can go from a crawling position to sitting.

He pushes up on his hands and feet like a little stink bug.

He eats BIG meals. He must be a growing boy!

He loves being outside.

He follows me around and holds on to my legs.

He is so snuggly. He always wants to be as close as possible. Just like his dad!

LA Trip

So, my sister is a super terrific mom, and decided that over spring break she would take her kids on a cultural excursion to Los Angeles. Cool, huh? Well, it gets even cooler because Max and I were invited along.

Day one was spent appreciating the art and the views at the Getty Center. I'd never really gotten a chance to look through the gardens before. They are magnificent. Then, we cruised over to the Santa Monica Pier. It was really windy and cold, but we had fun riding the carousel and enjoying the atmosphere.

On day two, our Mom met us at Union Station. It was so glamorous that I've decided that train travel is the way to go! We took the Metro to Chinatown, which is a great place for souvenirs that don't cost a fortune. Afterwards, we headed to historic Olvera Street for some yummy food and a visit to the oldest house in LA.

Thanks for including us in the fun, sis!

Easter

Max had a great first Easter. On Saturday night, we had a wonderful dinner at Nic's dad's house. The food was, of course, wonderful as was the company. We got a chance to visit with Nic's aunt and uncle, who hadn't seen Max since he was a newborn. We also got to talk with Nic's cousin and his new fiance and dispense all of our wedding advice.

Dale sent us home with some Easter presents, which we opened on Easter morning. Max loved his gifts and the paper that they were wrapped in.

There was a beautiful program put on by the choir at church. Afterwards, my parents joined us for Easter dinner at our house.

New York

I HATE when Nic goes on business trips. The day is just too long when you are a stay-at-home mom and your sweetie doesn't come home in the evening. So, when Nic told me that he had to go to New York. I decided to come along. Tagging along on business trips is the best because Nic's hotel was paid for from Sunday to Wednesday, so basically we just had to buy me a plane ticket and one extra night at the hotel. Nic bought my ticket with his frequent flier miles, and it turned out to be a better deal to fly business class. I never want to fly coach again! The seats were so big and comfy. They reclined. There was even room to put Max on the ground by our feet to play. They bring yummy food on nice trays with real dishes. Seriously, it was awesome. Enough about the flight... the trip was also great.

We decided to leave the weekend before Nic had to be there, so we'd have a couple days together. Our first stop was the American Museum of Natural History. This is one of the best museums I have ever been to. I loved checking out the dinosaur bones. Also, if you've ever seen "Night at the Museum" it is really fun to look around for things from the movie.

The next day we took the subway out to Coney Island. Coney Island is interesting because it is kind of run down, but there is such a fun, lively spirit. nice boardwalk by the beach. Nic and I also had a lot of fun taking turns riding the historic Cyclone roller coaster. Then, we waited for an hour in line for Franks Famous Hot Dogs. After an hour, we still hadn't moved, so we called it quits. We got a corn dog at some little place on the boardwalk. It wasn't great, but it was better than standing in line for another hour.

After our lunch, we walked down the boardwalk to Brighton Beach, which is a Russian area of New York. It was pretty cool to walk down the street and hear only Russian. A little lady even came up to us and started talking to us in Russian. I guess that we were smiling and nodding so well that she didn't notice that we didn't speak Russian. Nic said something in English, and then she realized that we hadn't understood a word she said. Then, in English, she told us how beautiful Max was and that we should have lots more babies.

On Monday, Nic had to work. Max had been up all night, so he and I slept in. Then, I had to decide what the two of us would do. I opted for a walk in Central Park, but first I had to get there. The subways in New York are not all handicap accessible, which means that they aren't really stroller accessible either. I had to get Max out of the stroller, put him in his Baby Bjorn and then carry the stroller and all of our stuff down the stairs. We must have been quite a site because people were offering to help us all the time. It was so nice!

When we finally got to Central Park, there was a slight drizzle, but it was so beautiful and peaceful. I was having such a nice time walking around, and so was Max! As we got into the middle of the park on the curving pathways it started to rain a bit harder, and just as I was thinking that I should probably head back it started to pour. Central Park is huge, and we quickly wanted to find the nearest subway station. Even though we took a pretty direct route, we were still walking in the pouring rain for about 15 minutes. We were soaked, and it was still quite an adventure getting home, especially because we apparently didn't know exactly where our hotel was. I'm just so proud that I did it. We had a fun day all by ourselves in New York City.

On Tuesday, I decided that I would take Max to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. I had no idea how long the lines would be. First, you wait in line to get a ticket. Then, you wait in a huge line that wraps all around Battery Park to get on the ferry. Then you have to go through airport-style security, which is really a pain with a stroller. Finally, we got on the boat. The Statue of Liberty is beautiful, but I really enjoyed going to Ellis Island. My great-grandmother came through Ellis Island when she emigrated from Holland. Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to look her up while I was there because I spent so much time wandering around the museum. It is amazing to think about all the people that came to our country from all over the world, and very sad to think of few people that came all the way here by ship and then weren't admitted. You get to walk through all the rooms that were a part of the examination process, and the audio tour has voice recordings of people who actually came through Ellis Island.

Overall, we loved coming along to New York. Spending time on our own there was much more fun than spending it here, and we still got to see Nic in the evenings. I don't think Nic is going to be able to get us to stay at home anymore. :)

First Haircut

My sweet little Max was born with a ton of hair. I love his hair, but lately his long silky hair was getting a bit unmanageable (but it would have been perfect for putting bows in if he was a girl!). I'd been wanting to give him a haircut, but I was too scared. Nic was the brave one, and we took some clippers to his hair. He didn't like it much, but he looks like such a little grown up guy now!

Ireland, Part 5

On our last day in Ireland, we drove out the the Cliffs of Moher. It was a very cold day already, but up on the cliffs it was so windy that we thought we might be blown over. However, the views were worth it.

Then we headed to the Burren. The Burren is very interesting. Most of Ireland is so green, but the Burren is completely rocky. People say it is kind of like a "lunar landscape". However, some of the most diverse plant life in Ireland grows between the rocks. Also located in the Burren are several megalithic tombs. We saw the Poulnabrone tomb, which is thought to be from between 3800 and 3200 B.C. !

Ireland is such a beautiful place with so many things to see. We only got to explore the south-western part. I would love to go back some day!

Ireland, Part 4

In the morning, we headed out to Limerick to see King John's castle. They had a very nice audio-visual presentation about the castle's history, which really about how Ireland has so many castles because it has such a violent history.

We hadn't had much of a chance to explore Adare and the manor grounds yet, so we headed back to our apartment. Nic and I went on a tour of the grounds of Adare Manor led by the manor's head arborist. It was so cool. The estate is huge and has such beautiful gardens.

That evening, my parents were so sweet and agreed to watch Max while Nic and I had a fabulous dinner at the manor's restaurant. It was very elegant and romantic. The tables were all lit by candlelight, and the food was so good! We splurged and had the eight course tasting menu. It was our best meal in Ireland, which is quite an accomplishment because we had some great food.

Ireland, Part 3

The next morning, we packed up and took off for Cork and Blarney Castle. This was supposed to be one of our longest day trips, but after being so lost the night before it felt like we got to Blarney in no time!

I wasn't sure if I even wanted to go to Blarney Castle. I just thought it would be a stupid tourist trap because everyone goes there to kiss the Blarney Stone. I am so glad we went! It is a beautiful castle on amazing grounds, and it's no wonder everyone kisses the Blarney Stone. It is very exhilarating!

First, we wandered around the gardens, which were very cool. They had signs that explained the magical things that were thought to happen in the garden.

All of the clovers that we saw in the garden had four leaves. Must be a lucky place!

This stone looks like a profile of a witch.


Then it was on to the castle. What remains of the castle is mostly just the keep, which was built in 1446. There are places that you can explore if you are more adventurous than me, like tiny tunnels that go through the castle wall, but just getting to the top is quite an adventure. The winding stair case is so steep, I wasn't sure I was going to make it! When we finally made it to the top, it was time to kiss the Blarney Stone. To reach the stone, you have to bend over backwards because the stone is lower than the floor you lay down on. You are up really high, and even though there are a couple of bars and a man to hold you, I was so nervous!
Then we drove just a few minutes to Cork. Cork is a really neat city. I thought it was really interesting that it is the second largest city in Ireland, but its population is smaller than Corona! We started out by cruising through the English Market, which is an indoor market with local vendors that sell fresh meats, cheeses, fruits, and bread. We bought enough to have a yummy picnic in the park.





Mom and Dad decided to take a bus tour, while Nic, Max, and I opted for a walking tour. The city is very walkable, and we got to talk to quite a few friendly locals. On our tour we stopped at St. Finbarre' s Cathedral, which has been a religious site since St. Finbarre established his monastery here in 606 A.D. The current building was built in the 1865 and has beautiful stained glass depicting bible scenes. Then we headed to the university, which had beautiful grounds and a lively feel. Once we met back up with my parents, we were looking for a place to eat when one of the local college students suggested one of his favorite restaurants. It was casual and delicious. A perfect ending to the day. I loved Cork.I think I could definitely live there.

Ireland, Part 2

We were very tired from our journey around the Ring of Kerry, so we slept in a bit the next day. The Ring of Kerry was so much driving that we decided it would be nice to do something closer to home. The Rock of Cashel and Cahir Castle are only about an hour drive from Adare, so we felt we picked the perfect destination. The boys identified the most direct route on the map, and we headed out. We were enjoying the scenery so much, that it took us awhile to realize that we weren't where we thought we should be on the map. Luckily, there are a lot of signs even on the back roads in Ireland, so we made it to Cahir but it took a little bit longer than we thought.

Cahir Castle was one of my favorite places we visited. It is a huge castle that is very well preserved. There weren't very many people there, and it was fun to wander around the castle pretty much on our own. It was interesting to see all of the effort that went into making a castle defensible.

After we'd had some lunch we continued on to the Rock of Cashel, which was only a few miles away. The Rock of Cashel was a fortress at least from the 5th Century, when it is said that St. Patrick baptized the King of Munster there. The castle was given to the Catholic Church and most of what remains today was built in the 12th and 13th centuries. It is situated way up on a windy hill. It is very dramatic looking!

Our journey home was quite an adventure. Once again, we thought we'd located ourselves on the map, and started on our way. We soon realized that we had no idea where we were and started following the signs. Well, the signs weren't as reliable as they had been on the way there. We'd see a sign for the town we were heading toward saying it was 7km away, and the next sign we'd see would say it was 16km away. We were all getting restless, but there was nothing to do but keep following the signs. After looking at several maps on the computer when we got back, we think that we must have been zig-zagging back and forth. Our hour long trip home took almost two hours!

Ireland, Part 1

My camera has been broken, so I'm just getting around to blogging about our wonderful trip to Ireland. It may be boring, but I'm going to be fairly detailed because I'll forget all the details if I don't record them while they are fresh in my memory!

We had a great time! I was so worried about flying that far with Max, but even with a full day of travelling he was a very good boy.

Max relaxing with Daddy on our 7 hour layover in NY.

We finally arrived in Shannon, Ireland in the morning on Sunday. We picked up our totally sweet mini-van and brave Nic drove us to our apartment in Adare on the left side of the road.

We arrived in Adare exhausted, but were pleased with our place. It was a 3 bedroom, 4 bathroom apartment situated on the grounds of the beautiful Adare Manor. Our apartment was bigger than our house!

Max hanging with Grandpa in our apartment.

The Manor House

We all took a big nap and woke up in time for dinner. We decided to take a look around the village of Adare. Adare Manor was built by the Earl of Dunraven in 1832. He also designed the servants houses surrounding his manor to look like little thatched roof English cottages. It is one of the most picturesque villages in Ireland. We had dinner in a cute little place called the Blue Door. The food was fabulous, and it was warm and cozy. Max was a little bit restless, but he loved to go outside and look in the window at his family.

The next morning we got an early start to drive the Ring of Kerry. It is a beautiful drive around the coast and countryside. There were lots of cute little towns to take a look at, too.

At lunch, Max got his first taste of potatoes. We thought it was fitting because they serve them with everything in Ireland. He was not a fan.

My favorite stop of the day was Staigue Fort. It is an old ring fort probably built between 300 and 400 AD. It is off the road a bit, and you can just walk in and climb around. The walls are 18 ft high and 13 ft thick in places.

It was a very full day. Driving the Ring of Kerry takes 4 hours if you don't stop at all, and we had to drive an hour and a half to get there!

To be continued....

7 months old

At 7 months months old Max took his first trip out of the country. He turned 7 months while we were on our trip to Ireland. He was such a good boy.

Max has been scooting around and trying to push up on his hands and knees.

He babbles a little bit more. His favorite sound is "ga".

He can sit for as long as he wants without falling over.

He loves to clap his hands.

He eats three little meals and drinks juice and water from a sippy cup.

He is getting so big!