12 Month Update (and 100th post!)

I know I already wrote about Max's birthday, but he also went to the doctor yesterday to get checked out. He also got three shots, so Darreck opted to stay home. He gets a little testy with the nurses who hurt his baby boy :) Here's what we found out:

• His weight was 22 lbs, 11 oz. 49th percentile and almost no change from his last appointment. All that walking is good exercise!
• 30-1/2 inches long. 74th percentile.
• His head was 45-1/2 cm. 25th percentile. It's slowly moving up the percentiles. Someday it may even be proportional!
• He has inherited his parents allergies, poor little guy. However, it doesn't seem to bother him, so I opted not to put him on medicine. I avoid all medicine unless absolutely necessary- it's one of my hippy-dippy, tree-hugging traits, as my family would say.

In development:

• He started walking early (obviously) and is showing very advanced manual dexterity. He's also a good climber and managed to fall off a child-size chair in front of the doctor. She laughed and asked if he gets boo-boos frequently. He does.
• His language is right on track. He says dada when he's happy and wants to play and mama when he's upset and wants held. Go figure.
• He can wave bye-bye!
• He's (FINALLY) sleeping through the night and taking regular naps. I guess that means I won't have to follow him to college to put his binky back in when he wakes up. We were starting to wonder.

All-in-all everything was great! We're so thankful to have a happy, healthy busy boy!

Max's First Birthday

What a great weekend! We started off Max's birthday weekend with a birthday party at Grandma and Grandpa's house. It was originally supposed to be outside so, like the diligent mom I am, I got sidewalk chalk and bubbles and other outdoor things to do. However, the weather was not cooperating, and the party had to be moved indoors. We still did the bubbles, which was the hit of the party, and also colored and watched Veggietales (the only show Max is even remotely interested in). Max was a little hesitant about the cake. Little guy is like his mommy, not into getting too messy. Gotta love it.

The next morning we opened presents as a family at home. Max's big present from mom and dad was a bike trailer that he got a few weeks ago, but this morning he got a sword (with his birthday money from Grandma and Grandpa Hale), some books, and a froggie puppet.

Dinner was spaghetti, in honor of the birthday boy, and then even more cake. Then the present opening continued with gifts from Grandma Great, Aunt Kay-Kay, and Grandma Linda and Grandpa Bryan. His big present from the Slavik side? An awesome two seater-wagon.

I can't believe how fast this year has gone, but I'm so thankful that Max has been able to join our family. He's such a sweetie, loving, inquisitive boy. It'll be fun to see what the next years bring for Max and for our family.

Promised Pictures

As promised, here are some pictures I've been neglecting to post. The first are of the house we're trying to buy. They were taken really quick from the outside, so the one inside shot is through a glass door. Sorry, but I'll be able to take more later. And, of course, I had to add one recent one of Max!

Summer Job

Darreck has been thinking about getting a part-time summer job in addition to the camps he's working for MSDB. However, he's been a little reluctant to put himself out there and go searching. Job interviews suck, and he's had enough in the last year to last a lifetime. So, I took over the reins and found him one that was willing to hire him on the spot! He's going to be a groundskeeper for the cemetery this summer, and he's actually pretty excited about it. I think he's looking forward to doing some manual labor because it's the exact opposite of his school-year job. It's nice to mix things up every once and awhile.

I'm so proud of him for being willing to support our family by taking a second job in the summer. Luckily, Darreck's "real" job is paid on a 12 month contract, so getting a summer job is not something he technically has to do. However, he has a great work ethic and is always so willing to provide everything we both need and want.

I'm so lucky to have him!

Playing House

It started innocently enough. I signed up to take the Neighborworks home buyer class so that we could get into their matched savings program and maybe buy a home next spring. That's when they told us about a remodel that they had done that had come back on the market. Three days later and we're under contract on a house, getting approved for a mortgage, and scheduling inspections. I'm still not exactly sure how that happened, but we're really excited.

About the house:

• It's out by the base and in 2nd ward boundaries. For that reason, Kayla has already forbidden us from buying it, poor kid.
• It's a ranch over basement built in 1978 with 2016 square feet- only 1500 more square feet than we can fill :)
• It has 4 bedrooms, 2 baths, a 2 car garage, and a yard!!!!!!

I'll keep everyone updated as we find out more. We're really optimistic since we're buying from an organization and not an individual, but the home buying process is so messy that we're still very guarded. I've seen too many of these go wrong when working at Moscow Realty. However, Heavenly Father and the bank willing, we'll be closing June 30th. Wish us luck!

Oops

Sorry for not posting for in a few weeks, but for quite awhile, nothing happened. However, this weekend was great! Darreck had the weekend off, so we left for Billings on Friday to attend the ward temple trip. It was our first trip up to the temple since we moved here and our first trip to Billings ever. It was beautiful, of course, and we really enjoyed the time together. It had been too long since we went, and I missed the peace and clarity that comes with serving in the house of the Lord.

Mother's Day was Sunday, and we enjoyed a pretty laid back day around here. Church was great because Darreck got to stay the entire time and then come home with us afterwards. I live for his weekends off! It was fun celebrating my first Mother's Day, and I'm so grateful to have Max as my first-born guinea pig.

Today the fun continued as we met with our housing counselor at Neighborworks. We then met with the bank to get pre-approved for a mortgage. But, don't get too excited yet. We're trying to buy one of Neighborworks's remodels, but if it doesn't work out, we'll wait to buy sometime next year. We're going to have to wait (and wait and wait) to see.

On one final note, I don't have pictures for any of the aforementioned events because I'm dumb. My new goal is to try and remember my camera more often. Wish me luck!