Learning

Grandpa Tom is teaching Maks all sorts of fun stuff while we visit...

Jenga.  These wooden blocks are perfect for teething!  As of Saturday morning, I could feel two little bottom front teeth that finally made their way through his gums!

Diet Coke.  No, we don't drink soda in our house.  However, Grandpa Tom is an addict.  Even still, that doesn't exactly mean that Maks drinks soda with Grandpa (we're still EBFing...plus, catching my baby with soda would be a far cry from reality).  What it does mean is that there are plenty of empty soda bottles laying around the house for Maks to play with!  Forget buying (expensive) toys, these bottles are FUN.  I know, I know...not exactly non-toxic and BPA-free...but we're on vacation and making due with what's available.

Crawling and more.  Maks had been semi-scooting since 4 months and really started to get the hang of it while we were vacationing in Oregon.  Once we landed in Iowa, he actually started to army crawl his way across the room.  Within a week and a half, he's already graduating to balancing on all fours!  Nothing is safe anymore!  Maks is crawling around, opening drawers, pulling plugs/cords out of the outlets (we've put a quick stop to this!) and keeping me on my toes in general.

Climbing stairs.  Like I said, Grandpa Tom is full of fun ideas.  Case in point: teaching my 5 month old to climb up the stairs.  What, exactly, does he expect me to do when I arrive back home and Maks starts to try and climb our wooden staircase?  According to Grandpa, "Not my house, not my problem!"  

Standing on his own.  While we're at climbing stairs, why don't we just start standing up alongside the coffee table, too?

Please slow down, little man!  Isn't it too soon for some of this stuff?  Needless to say, Daddy is going to be in for some pretty big changes when Maksim and I arrive back in Louisiana tomorrow!

Roommate Reunion

I'm so happy I was able to spend the weekend with my college roommate, Jacquelyn.  You know that one person who you can just sit around and do nothing with, and you'll still have the best time ever?  That's who Jackie is to me.  From our Grey's Anatomy days...she's my person.  

And it was definitely time for my baby and my person to meet.  They jumped right in and got to know one another!  

Maksim quickly approved and was happy to have found a snuggle buddy!  Isn't it wonderful when your besties get along?!?!

What's that you're playing with, Jackie?  A new iPhone?  How did you know?...  

...Those are my favorite!

Never again will she be able to swap an iPhone for a calculator with such ease.  Yeah, she thinks she's tricky.  But Maks was quick to figure her out!

If I can't have your iPhone, I'm going to take my mama's!

We went to the park.  80 degrees is usual (if not cool) for me and Maks.  But for Iowa, 80 degrees is a really warm October afternoon!

Maksim loves to swing!

He even took his very first solo ride!  My little boy is growing up so quickly!

Thanks for visiting, Jackie!  Come get your Cajun on and visit us in Louisiana!  We miss you too much already!

Portland Riverfront Play Date

This kid loves him some play dates in the grass with his Daddy!  As previously warned, this post is a bit of photo overload...but I couldn't help myself.  I love catching my two favorite boys lounging around and thoroughly enjoying one another.  Maks thinks his daddy is the coolest person ever; I'm fairly certain Bryon thinks Maks is pretty great, too!

I've always wanted to learn a bit more about photography, and it's about time I dive into it!  I know it will take patience and practice, so I'm giving myself a year to be out of automatic settings altogether and always photograph in manual mode.  In the meantime, I'm extremely lucky to have a photogenic little boy!

Orange, orange, everywhere!

We made a quick trip to the pumpkin patch in Iowa.  Maksim had a cold and wasn't really in the mood to do much, but I managed to get him out in the fresh air for just a bit.  

Look who is sitting up on his own!

It was a real struggle to get Maks to look at the camera.  He had absolutely zero interest in anything I was saying or doing.  His only goal was to gather as many leaves as possible.  And let me tell you, he was on a mission!

Can you just see the wheels in his head turning?  Leaves aren't just good for gathering...

Everything goes right into his mouth!  He's teething, and he's chewing/gumming on everything in sight.  

Just a few more weeks and he'll have his very first taste of solid (pureed) food.  I think he's ready!

"Forget those little pumpkins, Mom.  Check this one out!"

Believe it or not, it was the first trip to a pumpkin patch for both of us!  Hopefully next year his Daddy can tag along with us, too!

Portland and beyond

As you've most likely already read, we took Maks on his first vacation via airplane the other week.  Actually, Bryon and I were simply checking out the landscape as a possible location for us to relocate after our time in the military is over.  Grandpa Ralph wants to start an organic farm and homestead, so the valley outside of Portland might just be ideal for that lifestyle.  Regardless, it was nice to take a week away from our typical routine.

Vacationing with an infant is tough.  We really couldn't do much activity-wise.  Maksim hates his car seat, so even a nice drive up the coast highway was out of the question.  There we were, surrounded by lakes, rivers, mountains...and we couldn't take advantage.  We could do little things, though.  And the views were always amazing.

Right away, we left Portland and headed to Eugene.  Maks was very adamant about getting his fair share of time behind the wheel.  We made a lot of stops to move about and play in the car.  The drive to Eugene wasn't very pretty, but the actual city itself completely made up for it.  Even though we had nothing planned, we were able to keep ourselves occupied the entire time.  First of all, the Eugene Farmer's Market's are amazing.  You'd have to look really long and hard to find something that WASN'T organic!  We drove up a butte for a birds eye view of the city, and Daddy accidentally locked the keys...in the trunk of the car.  (Thank goodness I had Maksim, his diaper bag and his stroller alongside me.)  Our little hike turned into a 2 hour adventure of first getting the car unlocked and then disassembling the back seats to that we could access the trunk.  I'm still patting myself of the back for staying quiet and calm during the entire episode.  $100 later, we were able to drive back down into town!

Maks had some trip highlights of his very own!

• He was especially fond of his early morning swims in the salt water pools with Daddy.  I take Maks swimming on a weekly basis, but Bryon never has the opportunity to come along.  This little boy was delighted to swim with both of his parents, and even kept his cool when we showed him how to swim underwater!  Such a little fish!

• Look at this!  Not only does he know his has feet, he's capable of getting them into his mouth!  Grandma Judy will be SO proud!

• First time adventure sitting in the cart.  I'm pretty sure he'd have been able to do this sooner, but we just hadn't tried it.  He was so happy, we didn't even need to buy anything!

• King size beds!  This might have been a little more exciting for me and Bryon than it was for Maks.  In fact, Maks probably was more excited about the countless pillow fights he had with Daddy on the bed than the bed itself.  Anyhow, we know we need a king bed of our own, but we're toughing it out until we move into a new home next fall.  Bottom line: we all appreciated a night of sleep minus judo kicks to the face.

Can you believe the lower waterfall in the photo below is the height of the waterfall that I jumped off of in Hawaii?  What on Earth was I thinking?

Maksim didn't even mind the cold water that kept spraying his face!

Back in Portland, we spent our days wandering around the streets downtown.  We visited a few more Farmer's Markets, took an aerial tram ride, visited the rose garden and hiked through Washington Park. This mama was even able to make a quick pit-stop at Popina Swimwear - their retro suits are super cute!  Although Mount Hood and other sites were out of the question, we did venture out along the Columbia River Gorge and climb Multnomah Falls.  With a baby in tow (and no carrier), we hiked over 600 ft. to the top of the falls.  The biggest feat, however, was probably managing to breastfeed Maks as we hiked down the mountain.  Go, me!

I love his, "I've got my eye on you!" face in this shot!

Finally, we made a last minute trip up to Seattle to check out the city and visit my friend, Teagen.  Teagen had a little condo right downtown that she wasn't living in, so we had easy access to all of the sites!  We spend a lot of time exploring Pike Place Market.  Maks' loved the live music and the hustle and bustle of Pike Place Fish Co.!  (Poor Grandpa Tom is jealous, I'm sure.)  I, on the other hand, was so disappointed that I didn't have any room in my luggage to bring back all of the beautiful flower bouquets that bloomed on every corner.

Maksim and Teagen at Pike Place Market in Seattle

Once we landed back home, our pup, Kira, was as excited as could be to see us!  Unfortunately, as soon as Kira unloaded out of the back of our SUV, I noticed that she'd picked up some pesky friends of her own.  Who leaves their dog at a top-rated kennel/trainer and picks them up a week later with FLEAS?!?!  Apparently, we do.  Girl got a bath and a fresh bed...and 2 weeks to snuggle at home in peace with her Daddy while Maksim and I continue on to the Midwest!