Madison's Birthday

On Saturday we went to little Miss Madi's first birthday party at Brandi Fenton.

We did a little bit of everything while at the park. We played in the splash pad, on the equipment, and ran all over on the grass.

As usual, I took a ton of pictures, but this picture seems to be a big hit.

But I like this one too. You can really tell how much fun Max is having. I need to get Jeff to lighten it up a bit though.

This was, by far, my favorite trip to the splash pad, and Max's too. He ran right in and got soaked. Look how far he got from me! Can you find him?

We had a great time at Madison's birthday party!

And it seems to be birthday season, because we're off to another party tomorrow!

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Max's Art

Max brought this home from school last week. It's his first artwork he's brought home. We couldn't be more proud :)

Swap Meet Fun!

A local church had a swap meet today. They advertised it as having lots of kids stuff, and they weren't kidding! It started at 8, and when I got out of there at 9, I was in a panic that there would be nothing left- you should have seen the truck-fulls of stuff people were bringing out of the church! And it was all quality items.

My purchases are below.

This is the stuff I bought for Max: A monkey picture for his room, an animal shower curtain, a Magna Doodle, waffle blocks, a firefighters hat, and the cute little horse flashlight.

This stuff is for my classroom, although I may let Max play with some of it first. A nice truck puzzle, three puppets, and three more dress up hats.

I bought the Bumbo for my cousin LeAna, who is due in late January. I know it's a little early to be buying things for her, but the Bumbo was only $10 and in great condition, so I couldn't pass it by. I'd be lying if I said this is the first thing I bought her! I can't help it- girls' clothes are just so cute!

My most exciting purchase of the day- a car seat for my mom's car. For $5! And it is so super clean, I'm not sure this thing was used for very long! I was walking on air after I bought this- there's nothing like finding super deals. I even told the guy at Starbucks about it.

In total, I paid $32. I could have gotten some of the items for less (like the bumbo and the puzzle), because people were practically giving stuff away. But, the sellers deserve decent money for their stuff. It's all in good condition and I'm happy to pay what they ask.

I didn't buy any clothes this time around. Every table had tons of clothes, but I just wasn't in the mood to search through it all because somebody wanted to get home and get back to his reading...

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This kid loves to read!

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A Classmate's Party

Happy 2nd Birthday Leela!

Max went to a classmate's birthday party on Saturday. It was the first invite he's gotten since going to school, so we had to go!

He didn't actually eat any cake- he sat long enough for me to take this picture, then was off running around.

Max had a blast on the water slide; he wanted to go again and again!

He also loved being in the little pool. He kept just laying down in it, like he was ready to take off swimming freestyle.

It was nice watching Max with other kids. He always seems more interested in older kids, but was very sweet to the birthday girl, giving her a hug. He was a big hit with everyone at the party; when I took him out of the pool to get him dressed, a lady remarked "you can't take him out- he's the life of the party!"

More Used Stuff!

Got some great stuff at the Mom 2 Mom sale!

These foam blocks were $5, and they're perfect- they won't hurt me or the dogs when Max throws them!

These musical instruments were also $5. I should have taken them out and taken a picture but I was lazy. They kept Max busy for quite a while this afternoon, especially the drum sticks!

I got this vacuum, but left it at my parents, so this is a pilfered image. It was also $5. We had to buy this because Max took it and would not give it back, haha. He ran around with it forever. And when I left the house later that day, Max insisted that we bring it in the car with us.

More PJs! We always seem to need more pajamas! These are 18 month and 2T, and I don't remember how much, but no more than $8 total.

$2 for the jacket; it's a size 4, so I'll be holding on to it for awhile! But I couldn't pass it up, it's in great condition, and I know it'll get a lot of wear.

We went right at open this year (9am) and it was hella busy. I don't think it's worth the crowds, just to get first dibs on the stuff. Last year we went at noon and it was dead. And because it was so close to closing time, people were just giving stuff away. Live and learn!

3 Things I've Learned

Just some things I learned in the last two weeks:

1. Taking Maxwell to the splash pad right after his nap, will not be a successful trip.

Our third trip to the Brandi Fenton splash pad was very similar to our first. Only this time, he was a little more whiny than intimidated. Not so fun.

2. Attending free family events in Tucson might not be worth it.

We went to the Tucson Children's Museum on Monday (Labor Day) because it was free and they were having a literacy event. Apparently everyone else in Tucson wanted to go too. The same thing happened when we went to a free day at the zoo a year ago. I didn't think to take a picture of how crowded the museum was though. I'm so used to trying to crop other people out of my pictures, that in most of the photos I took, it looks like Max is the only one in the museum!

This is Max's new duck face he started making this week. It's so fun to watch him explore and manipulate his body; you can really see the gears working as he tries to figure out what he can do with it.

and

3. Kickball is going to hurt me.

After just a light practice game last night, my arm was sore. I think I threw the ball three times. For the rest of the season, I'm kicking it in.

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