December Happenings

Mason planted peppermints to grow candy canes. He wanted to know why the candy canes had plastic on them. I told him that it was the peel.

Mason's school had a birthday party for Jesus complete with games and a birthday cake.

We made christmas ornaments and painted them. Mason wanted to watch the ornaments bake, but he only lasted about minutes. When we were finished my entire kitchen and Max were covered in silver glitter.

Our church had a super fun Christmas party complete with the best live music in town:)

Mason and I made a gingerbread house. Mason had fun decorating until he tasted the candy and then the decorating was over.

Brothers

One of my favorite things to see is Mason and Max loving on each other. Mason is constantly hugging and kissing on Max and now Max loves to go and cuddle by Mason. One of my favorite things to hear is Mason praying. The one constant in Mason's prayers is "Thank you, God, for my baby brother." He will even tell Jonathan and me that he loves us, but he is most thankful for Max.

1st Birthday Party

While our families were here for Thanksgiving we had Max's first birthday party. We had a good time and were so thankful that both of our families could be here.

My friend Christy made the cake.

The Attendees:

Sorry, Dad! This was the only picture I had of you, and I didn't want to leave you out.

A month ago....

we went to the pumpkin patch, and I'm just now posting about it. Since it is still fall I figured I wasn't too behind. We went to Seaside Stables in Santa Rosa Beach. The quantity of pumpkins was lacking, but we still had a good time. Mason fell asleep on the way there so he wasn't feeling too photogenic, but he perked up when he got to ride a horse.

The best I could get.

After the pumpkin patch we stopped at the beach for the boys to play in the sand. Notice the huge scab on Mason's nose from playing on the playground.

Happy Birthday, Max!

Dear Max,

One year ago today I held you in my arms and looked at your sweet face for the first time. I remember thinking how perfect you looked, and I couldn't take my eyes off of you. Oh, what a precious moment! Every day since then I have thanked God for blessing us with you, for only He could bestow such an amazing gift. Two scriptures I pray for you:
" In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight." Proverbs 6:3
"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your strength and with all your soul and with all your mind." Luke 10:27

There is nothing that will make your daddy and I prouder or bring us more joy than for you to follow these two commands. Happy birthday, sweet Max! We love you more than words can say.

Love,
Mommy

Dear Max,

You are already one year old! You have been a great baby, and are growing bigger and sweeter every day. Your gentle, calm nature belies your willingness to dance to any music, bang your tray for more food, and laugh while being roughly tackled by your big brother. Your curiosity gets the best of you at times – urging you to explore the wrong cabinets or splash around in the toilet! It’s not your fault that we sometimes leave the door open. By the way, you look pretty good in your brother’s hand-me-down clothes. Out of protest, you’ve stayed a bit smaller than he was so that’s gotten you a few new things to wear. A little advice… you would be wise to make better friends with the vacuum cleaner. Though it seems so frightening, this will inevitably benefit you in the future. All things considered, it’s hard to imagine loving a little boy more than your mother and I love you. We look forward to watching, supporting, and guiding your growth as you discover the world. Happy 1^st birthday!

Love,

Daddy

My Heroes

Halloween this year was really fun, and we got to celebrate on two different nights. On Saturday we went trick-or-treating in our neighborhood. We ended up going to almost every street before Mason was ready to call it quits. He was really enjoying watching his bucket get filled with candy. On Sunday we went to the Village at Baytowne Wharf. We had never been there before, but it was a really cool area. There are a ton of restaurants and shops and they were all handing out candy. It was a fun atmosphere, and it was especially enjoyable to watch the sun set over the bay. While there we got even more candy and Mason got to ride the carousel and drink Vampire's blood (a $2.00 cup of red, sugary liquid). Maybe by the time Halloween rolls around next year we will have all of our candy eaten and be ready to do it all again!