Healthy at Last

Max is finally back to his old self. Last Friday was the first day in over a week that he did not sleep most of the day. Anna and Max napped at the same time I actually had some time to myself. They have been very sweet and are learning new words! They now say cook for cookie and walk over the pantry door. Max can even open the door half way!! It might be time to get a lock as they could make one heck of a mess in there.

Here are some pictures from the week. We managed to sneak in a trip to the Children's museum and Friday we made it to Toys R Us for a new basketball hoop! We even had the two Daddy's join Sheri, Elsie, Reid, Anna and I at the museum! Nothing too exciting to report, I am just glad to have both kids healthy and napping together.

My Helper and Budding Artist

Since Max spent most of yesterday in bed, Anna and I needed to find a way to spend our time. They really don't know what to do without the other one around. It is very cute and when we have one on one time, they usually just follow me around. At any rate, I needed to change the furniture arrangement in the living room so that the kids could no longer get up near the mirror (It weighs over a 100lbs) and Anna thought it was a great idea to help. Since I was moving the furniture it made sense to do a little dusting and she helped with that as well. What a good little girl. I feel bad that Max missed out because he also loves to help me clean.
Anna Moving Furniture:

Anna Dusting:Anna's Artwork: Maybe I am a proud Mother, but this looks like a person sitting down thinking..

First Ear Infection

Max woke up yesterday morning with a fever and just wasn't himself at all. He slept most of the day and we had trouble getting his temp to come down. This morning he seemed to be his old self and was very happy but then around noon his temp reached 104.5. Since the Doctor's office was closed, Max and I ended up spending 5.5 hours at the hospital trying to get his temp down. After running many (in my opinion excessive) tests, they discovered that he had his first middle ear infection.
Max on couch between naps yesterday: Max's hospital band and Max handing it happily over to Daddy:

New Fun Things....

I believe I lost the first battle over the kitchen table with Anna and Max. They proceeded to get up on the table this morning. It was a fun game with lots of laughing on Anna and Max's end. It went something like this....

• They pull the chair out.
• They climb up and stand on the chair giving me the look that means nothing good is about to happen.
• I say please get down.
• They crawl onto the table.
• I take them down and push the chair in.
• Repeat all steps above.

Maybe I am not smart enough because I really thought that my persistence and patience (I have plenty of both to go around) would be enough. But, I admit I was wrong and this battle is won by them. At any rate, the only thing that I could think of was to put the two chairs they climb on in the family room. We have already moved two of the chairs to the garage but Jon and I do need to sit at meals. So, here is the new (temporary) spot for the chairs. All I did was prevent them from getting up on the table. Didn't stop the climbing. And they even discovered a new fun game of turning the light on and off....

Other than climbing on the table, Anna and Max had a very nice day. We went out to lunch with an old friend and the kids had fun drinking their first drink box. The straw came out a few times but overall they did a great job and it kept them busy throughout lunch. Oh and the biggest news is that they both slept through the night last night!!!!!!!! It has been a while since that has been the case. They each have a lot of teeth coming in right now.

Oral Hygiene, Rubber Duckies and Pigtails

Today wasn't too exciting. Just an usual day in the Friedman household. Other than going to the car dealer to look at minivans, we spent the day in the house. Anna and Max didn't take any naps at the same time so I was actually able to spend some nice one on one time with each of them. Anna really tested my limits today and was sent to her time-out spot three times. My sweet little Anna just can not resist climbing on the kitchen table. She knows that she isn't allowed up there but she does it anyway. Sometimes, she even waits for me to look directly at her so that I can see the entire thing.

Anna and Max love to brush their teeth. Honestly, they just love to suck the toothpaste off of the toothbrush but they do it often enough that they must be cleaning some of their teeth.
It isn't a pretty when the time comes to take the toothpaste away and they are not ready....

Today is the first day that Little Anna has had Pigtails in her hair. I can't say that the part was straight but I thought she looked cute and she left them in all afternoon!!
Max really loves rubber duckies. He is mostly fond of the yellow ones and will walk around yelling duck. He loves to hug and kiss a large rubber duckie that Sheri (Thank you Sheri) gave him. It is a big hit.

Nine Years ago Today

Nine years ago today Jon proposed to me in front of a roaring fire. I remember it like it was yesterday and I am so happy to be where we are today. Here is a picture of us on our six year wedding anniversary. The very next anniversary I was pregnant with Anna and Max!

13 Degrees Fahrenheit

We were off to the petting zoo today with Elise and Reid when the reality of just how cold it was sunk in. We quickly changed plans and played at Elsie and Reid's house. The kids had a great time. Below are a few pictures from this morning.
Anna and Max this morning: Little Anna: Big Boy Max:
The boys fighting over the vacuum: Elsie and Reid in the tunnel:

Warmer Days

I was just looking at some older pictures and I came across a few that I love of Jon and the kids. It also brings some hope that warmer days will soon be here.

Competent Problem Solvers

Anna and Max turned 16 months yesterday and this morning they astonished me with just how sophisticated their problem solving skills are.

After breakfast, Anna and Max, scurried along to the family room to play with some of their toys. Thinking they were content for a few moments, I snuck away to basement to check email. Seeing as I had not one new email, I was only gone for a short time.

I came up to a very quiet Anna and Max and was shocked to see that they managed to get a box of Valentines chocolate that Jon gave to me off of the dinning room table. Now the interesting thing is that they not only got this big red heart box from the dinning room table, but that they brought it all the way to the family room, put it on the white couch and actually opened it and ate the chocolate!! Yep, both of them with mouths full of dark chocolate (the only ones left as I do not eat dark chocolate) chomping away. I wanted to run down and get the camera but I was so afraid that they would choke. Anna had a large caramel filled piece in her mouth and Max a toffee filled one. Thank God I caught them when I did and that I was able to pry the pieces out. They were in chocolate heaven for a few brief moments.

I guess oatmeal wasn't going to cut it and in order to have chocolate for breakfast they needed to use their newly acquired problem solving skills. The next few months should be interesting.

Two Little Monkeys

Time to Cook Dinner???

While making meatballs and spaghetti with my Grandmother's homemade sauce recipe, Anna and Max played nicely in the kitchen sink. I needed them to stay busy and all they wanted was to be up with me. So what was a Mother to do. We came up with a make-shift water table. This little trick actually worked long enough to make fresh meatballs and sauce!

Finding the Time......

Well, as you can see finding the time to get posts in has not been a priority for me. As more and more of my friends are using blogs to keep in touch, I decided to take the time to post. Going forward, I will try to keep everyone interested, up to date with the goings on in the Friedman household.

Anna and Max enjoyed their first Gymboree class yesterday. It was a nice way to spend a Saturday morning with Mommy and Daddy. These will occur every Saturday morning until they no longer enjoy the classes. It was wonderful to see them in a more structured environment and to see them actually go along with what the other children were doing. They are just so much fun these days and I am amazed by what they are capable of doing.