15 months

Yep, we are a quarter of the way into year #2 already. Nuts. Anyway, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to do another update on this kid. He is changing so much but is still about the cutest kid ever. So here ya go.

At the doctor last week, we learned that Max is now:

22.1 lbs (20th)

31 inches tall (50th) - though it was practically impossible to get him to hold still enough to measure so I'm pretty sure this is an overestimate.

19 inches head circum. (76th)

So, not so much the stocky kid people sometimes think! Although he definitely has a little tummy on him, there is not a whole lot of fat anywhere else. The doctor wanted to make sure he was getting enough whole milk (which is definitely is ... he is also just burning calories all day long!).

So let's talk about Max. Well, he is talking. Not sure what language he is speaking, but he definitely has a lot to say. It is really darling actually. I just get down to his eye level and then he will talk, talk, talk for who knows how long. I can't understand a word of it but he uses his hands a lot and is pretty adamant about whatever it is. As for "real" words, he says cheese, dada, ball ... and attempts many others but they aren't too recognizable. He of course can say mama but still refuses to call me it. "Say mama, Max." "DADA!" he replies. Okay fine then. He also has his signs: more (which also means 'I'm hungry'), please, all done, drink (water), and milk.

Although Max has been "into everything" for a loooong time now, it has reached a whole new level now that he is taller, even stronger, and more clever than he was before. He pulls out the drawer below the oven and stands on it to reach the stove, which means no more cooking on the front burners for me. He also opens the dishwasher (he loves to help empty it, then proceeds to stand on the door and 'bounce') so we have solved that by using multiple layers of masking tape that make it inaccessible to us as well. He still loves books and will read about as many as I have the patience for (which is a LOT, cuz I love it, but not never-ending).

This picture was taking right before church this morning. Joe was working on his lesson and I was drying my hair, so Max was able to get into the cetaphyl without anyone picking up on it right away. All over his hair, mouth, hands, and clothes :)

Max LOVES the remote. He gets a gleam in his eye every time he successfully turns on the TV. I'm not sure why, since just about the only TV he watches is my workout videos and Joe's sports games. He still loves it though.

This is Max on his "motorcycle." It is a cute little trike that can also be turned into a rocker. Or, a stepping stool.

Max and his best little friend Alec. Basically when they play they spend most of the time stealing each other's toys, but every so often they "share."
Our "skinny" boy!

Learning to use a spoon. I'm all about letting him use a fork but the spoon?? Ahh it's just too messy (since he mostly just plays instead of eats). But, he won't let you get anywhere near his mouth with a spoon ... has to do it himself.

If it's that much fun I guess I can handle it every so often.
Max and momma at Washington Park downtown (it's huge!). Last weekend was gorgeous and we enjoyed being out and about with the hip Cherry Creek crowd.
Again, the motorcycle - this time as a rocker. He "rides" it by rocking furiously, and then gets up and stands on the seat. Crazy kid.

Blackberries. Never again. We will go back to your beloved blueberries, even though they are more expensive.
Max, thanks for cracking us up every single day with your nutty little personality. Your dad and I get really happy and fuzzy all over every time we think of you. Love you little buddy.

Easter in Utah

So, I am about to make up for the appalling lack of pictures on the blog lately. I tried to limit myself, I really did! But Max is just too cute. Anyway, we spent a very special Easter in Utah. We got to be with Joe's entire family for the first time in who knows how long?! (Most, but not all, were together for Christmas.) And we got to spend some good time with my family, too. We weren't planning on going anywhere for Easter, but I am so happy we had a reason to.

We started out by decorating some Easter eggs with my family. We like to draw on the eggs with marker and then use some dye. Some of us really get into it. This year however we were doing it very late at night and although I made several eggs there are just two I am going to document.
This is Max's egg. I decided to draw things that Max really likes. We have a basketball hoop and basketball, microwave (he loves pushing the buttons), slide, lips (he likes to give kisses) . . .
Dog, book, heart (cuz he loves us), light bulb (he is obsessed with lights), and cheese (his first word and favorite food).
Also, I made a egg for my brother with a picture of his kitten, Drogba (named after his favorite soccer player). And my mom used the eggs for placecards on the table for Easter breakfast. Is she cute or what?
On Saturday morning we had a delicious breakfast with my family. We had a fun assortment of things and I thought everything turned out amazing (even if there were a few unanticipated adventures).
Then it was time for Max and his cousin Bella to hunt for eggs! I knew Max would be adorable wandering around the yard with his little Easter pail, but I didn't know he'd catch on to the idea so fast! We showed him an egg, told him to put it in his pail, and he was off. He started spotting eggs all over the place. It was so cute!!

This is Max's happy face that he makes ALL the time. What a funny boy.

As Max was reaching for an egg he couldn't really get to, the rest of his eggs spilled out.
But it turned out ok because as he was picking them back up he discovered that lo and behold these things open up and there is food inside! (For this hunt, we did cheerios and goldfish.)


Max got some fun things in his Easter basket - crayons, a cute Easter cup, sunglasses, bubbles, fruit snacks, and an outfit.
This was his first experience with bubbles and of course he LOVED them. Waiting with anticipation ...

Max is obsessed with this little Buzz Lightyear thing my parents have and played on it all the time. He even wanted to push cousin Bella.
Later in the afternoon we got together with Joe's family for a BBQ and another hunt! Max was ready.
He seriously was so cute wandering around and finding his eggs. He kept saying "Whoa ... whoa!" the entire time (which is a new thing).
Our best attempt at a cousin picture. Not sure what Max is doing with his finger in the air but you'll see that pose again.

And this time the eggs had candy. Although we didn't actually feed him any there was many a time we reached into his mouth to fish out m&m's, jellybeans, and chocolates (still with the foil wrapper on) that he had found somehow.

Five Dastrup sisters and two sisters-in-law!! How fun is that?? I love them so much.
Here we're showing off the darling aprons Joe's mom made for each of us. They are all different and SO cute!
An Easter family picture. I told you you'd see that pose again.


Max and his Vati (Grandpa). I always feel so bad for Max when we go back home because they are such great pals.
Um, how did my baby get so BIG?? There is almost no baby left at all!

One of my favorite parts of the trip was reuniting with sweet Reese! She is 5 months older than Max and they both have an unbelievable amount of personality. They were cute together and gave hugs and kisses (well, sort of) ... when they weren't screeching and yanking away each other's toys.


While Joe headed back home to work Max and I stayed and hung out a few more days (plus an extra day because Max was throwing up the day we were supposed to leave). We were thrilled to enjoy a nice afternoon amid some chilly days.




One of Max's favorite things to do at my parent's house was DANCE to my dad's juke box. Holy cow, the boy never stopped. He has his squat and bounce move down! Also he likes to run around like a crazy person, turn around in a circle, wave his arms frantically, and move from foot to foot. After a lot of dancing we were able to discover he has a favorite beat that is not too fast, not too slow.

Aunt Kate also taught him a bit about foosball.
Giving "bones" after a job well done.
The end.

Jimmered

This weekend we totally got Jimmered. It was incredible. Not sure who loves Jimmer more, me or Joe. Anyway, who doesn't love Jimmer? If you don't, stop reading right now. Or, keep reading and find out why we love him so much.

My Dad is the fan of all BYU fans ... obviously that's where I get it from. So of course he and my mom decided to come to Denver for the 2nd and third round NCAA tournament games. We were just lucky that they were able to get enough tickets so we could go, too!

First game: Thursday night vs. Wofford. We were completely stoked and I was screaming and waving my poster before I even got to the arena. We screamed, we shouted, and we tried not to get too nasty with some not-so-pleasant Wofford fans in front of us. But it was all good cuz we beat them! I would have liked a bigger spread so we wouldn't have been so nervous the whole time, but other than that it was great. Most of all I just needed them to win so I could see Jimmer and the rest of the Cougs in person at the NCAAs one more time.

Saturday: second game vs. Gonzaga. Not gonna lie, we were scared. We saw part of the game where Gonzaga beat St. Johns on Thursday and they were huge and they could shoot and they just looked pretty dang good. We knew the team had to be at the top of their game to beat them, but we knew they could be.

On a side note, my parents had 3 really good seats behind the basket and 2 seats higher up, so Joe and I elected to share a seat and be a part of the action. It was awesome and definitely worth the sore tush from sitting on 1/10 of a seat. We liked to stand as much as we could anyway, but the people behind us probably didn't like that as much.

Oh, and another side note - didn't get to meet Jimmer, but at least I said hello to his brother TJ. My parents and sister have talked to him, though.

One of the posters right behind us that didn't make it on TV. Pretty clever. (Although I really liked the one saying 'Stockton is really here to see Jimmer.' Haha!)

The awesome thing about this game is that we SCHOOLED them. Jimmer went 7 for 12 for 3's (not just any 3's ... 28 footers over multiple defenders, and just gorgeous!) and scored 34 points. The rest of the team did amazing as well. Emery's steals = hot hot hot! We were still pretty nervous for most of the game, even though we mostly led by double digits all through the second half. But when Gonzaga fans started leaving around the 5 minute mark, we were feeling pretty confident and could finally start breathing again. We still kept screaming, though - the players completely deserved it.

The news reported that the arena was filled with mostly BYU fans - so not true. There were tons of Gonzaga fans, and it seemed to me like most of the neutral fans went with Gonzaga. Whatever. We still cheered louder! Probably because our team gave us something to cheer about. :)

The feeling after we won? So on top of the world. We came home and rewatched the game on DVR, much more relaxed and able to appreciate the beauty of it all.

Final score: BYU 89, Gonzaga 67. Heck yes!!
This morning when we were getting ready for church Joe said to me "It's hard to think about anything except BYU, huh?" And I was like "Totally! I was just thinking about them!" So funny, so true. Florida better watch out. We will be ready!! GO BYU, & GO #32!!

Oh, and teach me how to Jimmer!