max is back, we got a max attack, we got a wam bam funkify the facts, max

Nate and I stood in for the rest of the Dunfords at their annual street dinner on Saturday.  Max enjoyed his first swing with Nate before a storm forced us and all the neighbors indoors.  It was the first time I'd been to a pig roast, so I ventured out into the rain to snap a few shots of the delicious beast before he was cut to pieces. It's been rainy every day since, and I LOVE being in this weather again.  It's been almost two years since we've seen a good storm - wind, rain, lightening, the works.

Max is doing really welly.  Nate had him sleeping from 10 or 11 until 6 a.m.  Compared with the three hour stretches of sleep I was getting before, this new pattern is unbelievable.The first two nights back with Nate and Max were a little rough.  Max would wake up and cry, thrashing his feet, refusing to go back to sleep.  We bit the bullet and let him cry it out.  By night three, he was back to the new normal.  Heavenly.  But now he's teething again (we think), so he is harder to put down initially, and he wakes up for a whimper every now and again.  Still, he is a happy baby.  He will sit and play with his toys contentedly as long as someone is close by.  He has been sitting up like a pro for about a month now - straight back, reaching without toppling over, etc.  He's a noisy little dude, mostly when he's playing by himself.  He does a sing song voice in a pretty high register, and then he grunts.  It's only when he cries that you hear what will be his little boy voice. His two bottom teeth have busted onto the scene in the last two weeks.  The first made its appearance when I was in Florida. His eczema is starting to clear up, and luckily it never seemed to bother him.  He still pushes out his tongue when he smiles, and he smiles a lot. He likes to cuddle when he's tired.  I love when you put his binky in his mouth, and his eyes immediately roll back in his head, his lids shut, and his head falls forward and smacks your chest.  Out cold.  He's curious about everything.  He'll study a new person's face for ten minutes, staring wide-eyed and open-mouthed until he decides he knows you enough to not look at you again without your asking for it... if that makes sense.  He has moods.  He can sit and watch a movie with you, or he'll need interaction and toys.  He keeps you on your toes that way.  He eats bananas every day and still has daily bowel movements.  That's my boy.

And while Max is getting cuter, I'm working on not getting fatter.  I've made peanut butter bars twice since being back in Nazareth, and both times - double batches.  Sure there are 10 people in this house, but that doesn't mean I don't eat my fair share.  BUT - Zach, Julie's boyfriend, has us all on a weight lifting routine that is going to whip me into shape. And with that, feast your eyes...

the last weeks of travel

Nate graduated from ASU Law School on May 3rd.  Max and I flew to Phoenix from Franklin and met Keith, Lori, and Nate who had flown in from Nazareth.  Flying with Max turned out to be a relatively easy experience.  My arms ached after holding him for so long, but I liked having him with me.  Other passengers were remarkably friendly, and little kids played with him on the plane.  He didn't fuss.  He smiled at everyone.  He was majorly excited to see Nate whom he hadn't seen in 6 weeks.  Nate kept tossing him in the air near baggage claim and nuzzling his cheeks.  I can't make Max laugh like Nate can.  The sight made me grin all stupidly like we were the only ones there.  

Of course, Max was perfect for Nate's graduation ceremony as well.  Nate looked as good as you can look in a robe and goofy hat.  That's probably why he was in the news clip about ASU Graduation that Rikki taped for us.  Rikki asked, "Did you graduate with a bunch of little people?  You look so tall." Sandra Day O'Connor spoke for the first time since the school was named after her.  She encouraged the graduates to work hard in whatever job they are given and not be discouraged if they aren't a partner in a law firm right out of school.  Yes, ma'am.  After the ceremony, we mingled and had refreshments.  I had Nate jump off the law school steps the way my dad did when he graduated from BYU Law School.  Liz had Steve do the same.  I guess it's tradition now.

We drove with Keith and Lori up to Snowflake and spent the weekend playing Things, eating red velvet cake from Costco, visiting with family, watching The Avengers, and gazing at the moon with Nate's telescope.  Around this time, Max's eczema got pretty bad.  His face was red and flaky.  Sandy gave us a cream that helped, but it still has to run it's course.  You'll see it on his face in the pictures.

Nate and I drove up to Vegas for a few days during the week to see the Andersons and Max and Katie.  We ate more red velvet cake, had Cafe Rio, toured Liz's new house, took some cousin photos, and listened to Marla Weiner over and over.  We stayed at Max and Katie's.  She made us breakfast both mornings, and we'd talk for a couple hours before bed each night. 

We drove back down to Snowflake and stayed for a few more days.  We swung on the swing out back, watched a movie with Aaron and Jasmine, hit some baseballs, took long naps and a couple of walks,and  ate at Eva's with Rikki, Cory, Sandy, Karah, Aaron, Jasmine, and Isaac.  Also while in Snowflake, I had lost my ring and couldn't find it for three full days before we left.  It's the ring my mom gave me for Christmas one year, a ring she had bought after her mission in Peru.  I was worried about having to tell her, but Nate found the ring the day we drove down to Phoenix.  Happy Mother's Day to me. 

We stayed with Nate's old roommates - Mark and Danielle (Dani) Layton.  We slept on their couches.  It was great to see them.  

Speaking of Mother's Day... Max started crying at 4:01 a.m. just one minute after my alarm should have gone off but didn't.  I got ready in a panic, sure that I would miss my flight back to PA.  My toiletry bag broke, I couldn't find my wallet, the off ramp to the airport was closed and added 10 minutes to the trip to the airport, but I made my flight.  Max and Nate were flying the next day, so my travels were lonely and long.  My second flight was delayed, then cancelled and rescheduled, then delayed again.  I waited in the airport for 7 hours.  I read Bossypants, helped an 83 year old woman use the restroom, emailed myself the stored photos from my phone, people-watched, and missed Max.  It was a long day.

I picked up Nate and Max the next day at the Cleveland airport.  We met up with Nate's cousin, Nelson, at Melt for some dinner.  He also just graduated from law school at Case Western.  We had so much fun talking that we drove over to an ice cream shop for dessert and more talking.  He's a good kid, that Nelson.

We drove back to Franklin that night and got in pretty late.  Without having gotten much sleep, Nate got up early the next day and went to Indiana, PA to help my dad do some title research.  Mom and I... well, we didn't do anything we had planned on doing.  We basically did nothing.  I should have been packing up my things to move to Nazareth, and I should have been packing for my trip to Florida that next day for Missie's wedding... but I was tired.  We've traveled so much lately.  But eventually I got everything done, and the next day Nate and I parted ways again.  He took Max and our things to Nazareth.  Mom, Dad, and I got in the car and headed to Florida.

Missie's wedding was lovely and with minimal drama.  We had a rehearsal BBQ Thursday night at Missie and Coco's house across the street from my grandma's.  It was a good thing we did the run-through, because Missie and her bridesmaids (including me) showed up an hour and a half late the next day.  So instead of doing a walk-through the day of, we were just in time for the actual wedding.  It was raining a bit, and all that time the bridesmaids spent on their hair was for naught.  We paired up with the groomsmen and walked down the long boardwalk to the covered pavilion where the guests were waiting... still raining.  But sometime between the vows and the ring ceremony, the skies cleared and a rainbow arched over the ocean. We took pictures on the beach for awhile before heading over to the reception.  And the reception... wow.  A couple from Missie and Coco's ward offered to hold it at their house.  It was gorgeous.  Marble columns, statues, painted ceilings, lit fountains, stain glass windows... All they had to do to decorate was turn on the lights.  Everyone mingled awhile, then Missie and Coco had their first dance as husband and wife.  At the last note, they jumped into the pool hand-in-hand.  Not many brides would be willing to do that, but Missie is pretty laid back.  And Coco practically lives in the water.

While I was at the wedding, Nate and Max went to a baseball game.  Nate sent me this picture from his phone.  I was already missing them, but this did me in.  The rest of the trip, I kept getting out my phone to look at it instead of a) the ocean, b) the palm trees, c) the blue sky, or d) all of the above.  

D.

The days after the wedding were spent eating delicious foods and visiting the normal Boca vacation sites for my family. We did a quick stop at the Morikami but decided not to pay to go in.  Nate and I recently went to the arboretum in D.C. and saw dozens of bonsai trees there.  So mom and I just visited the gift shop and resolved to finally take the trip to Japan sometime this Fall.  Or Winter.  Maybe Spring?  Hmm...

Mom and I got up one morning, got fresh bagels with cream cheese and strolled the beach.

This is how the Martins eat pancakes... thin and stacked.  They are more like crepes than pancakes.  They originated with my Grandpa Martin, and now the kids and grand-kids prefer them this way.

Mom and I found these Peppermint Patty-like candies.  Dark chocolate and lime?  Yes and yes.

For lunch one day, Grandma, Mom, Dad, and I went to a French bistro.  It was legit; all the waiters were French and the food was delicious.  Onion soup, quiche, crescent rolls, baguettes, macarons... Dad was getting homesick for French culture and spoke briefly in French with the waiter.  And I discovered how much I love what I hope is a traditional almond crescent roll.  If it's traditional, I may be able to find it somewhere besides this one little restaurant.  The waiter warmed it up for me, and the inside was a moist and chewy cake-like, buttery... yumminess.  Words can't explain.  We went to the bistro three times while I was there.

Mom and I went to the Gumbo Limbo nature preserve, but most of the tanks were closed.  We did get to see the sea horse research area, but it just made me sad. I don't like seeing living creatures in tanks.

Dad went surfing for the first time.  Coco and his son, Kalani, were showing him the ropes.

It often rained in the afternoons, so we would sit on the porch or stay indoors and read and take naps. Grandma showed us all her plants and fruit trees.  My favorite is always the pineapple.

The day before I left, we went back to the Morikami with Missie and Grandma.  We walked the gardens and fed the fish.  And we went through the museum and the modern culture displays.  That night Missie and I went to the beach but scared ourselves into thinking something would come out of the water we could barely see and eat our feet off.  Or we would get raped.  Either, or.  We weren't there long.

I'm now back in Nazareth with Max and Nate.  Finally.  This is the beginning of a long period of togetherness.  Nate will be studying for the bar while I take care of Max.  We're looking forward to eating from his parents' garden, evening walks with Max, and day trips here and there for interviews.  But mostly we look forward to routine.  

rat's mouth

I'm in Boca Raton, Forida hanging out with these people...

 ... and eating what we eat in Florida - Black and White Cookies from Publix and Chocolate Graham Crackers.

Nate is in Nazareth with his family and Max.  And guess what Nate is doing there?  He's breaking our boy into a new routine so that I can sleep at night.  That's better than cookies and crackers.  I'll fly there on Thursday and finally update this blog properly.