Drumroll please....

After much coaxing and waiting, yes people, we have a walker in the house. This video was taken the day he started walking. He had taken a couple steps here and there but nothing major. After his nap one day he just kind of took off. He has a adorable little waddle and hasn't quite discovered that he can put his arms down while he walks. The video also shows Lucy trying to share in the spotlight and imitate Maxwell.

You will have to excuse the mess of our house...I had started packing at this point. And Lucy was helping by taking everything out of the boxes.
Maxwell has become a walking fireball of fury. He never wants to stop once he gets going and he has absolutely no interest in going the direction he is allowed/supposed to go. He is quickly learning to keep up to Lucy. He is so proud of himself now that he can walk.

The kids personalities are quickly evolving. Maxwell is all boy. He is most happy when he has some mode of transportation in his hand. He loves cars, trains and tractors. Lately he has been a little more cranky as he is cutting his 2 back teeth, but he is very happy otherwise. Lucy is still obsessed with princesses. The kids have a t.v. with a VCR attached and I have been picking up Disney movies at garage sales. I think we have collected just about all of them. She also loves her friends, and even the little girl that walks by in the supermarket is her friend. Nothing excited her more then when I say we are going to play with her friends. All in all these kids keep me going and on my toes.

Catch-up

Since our arrival home we have kept busy. I was asked to co-direct the Youth Roadshow this year. It took a lot of time but was a blast. Our next project was the move. In between these big events we have had some fun adventures. We went on a spontaneous camping trip with some friends. It was so fun. We got poured on during the night and everything remained wet the entire time we were there.

The local community college also sponsored a Family Fun Day. Everything was free and there was lots of fun things to do.

                                                             Air bounces.

Lucy surprised us more than once. We thought for sure that she would hesitate getting on this large animal. However, she climbed right on and despite the look on her face LOVED it. She talked about it for days.

She also love this gymnastics obstacle course. Where she even did a backwards somersault.

Daddy and Maxwell also went on the Father's and Sons camp out. They both came home nice and dirty.

We also did a day at Hershey park. Chad's company did a company day. We spent the morning at the Water park, had some lunch and went back to hit some rides. Lucy loved the rides and I was surprised how many rides Maxwell was allowed on.

This is a video of Lucy on the Pirate ship...I hope it works for everyone. Her favorite ride of all was the mini carousel. We had to literally tear her away from it. Maxwell would have enjoyed the rides more if he hadn't been up for hours the night before and had a very short nap in the stroller. We are hoping to go again soon.

Onto the next adventure....

The next adventure we, the kids and I, took was a visit to Canada. My brother Brett was coming home from his mission and we wanted in on the fun. So I grabbed some courage and took the kids on a plane ride alone. We survived, and I would do it again if needed, but it was not so joyous.

Our flight took us through Toronto, which meant that we had to go through customs and security before we could board our next plane. I had come prepared and Grandma had sent a child harness for Lucy to wear. She was not a fan.....Lucy loves to run and explore and has not yet learned that sometimes she needs to stand right by Mommy. Customs was a very, very large room with rows of people waiting. There I stood with a infant in a stroller and a screaming 2 year old. Luckily, we got through quickly. It was a long day and this was the result.....

Our flight landed at 1:00AM Harrisburg time. Lucy managed to stay awake the entire trip until we started to taxi to the gate. She even stayed asleep while a kind man next to me carried her to the baggage claim where we met Carla.

We had so much fun with cousins and grandparents and getting to see Brett get off the plan that it made it all worth it. I don't have many pictures of the trip as our camera started acting funny and has now decided to completely die. The fun included an early Easter egg hunt, lots of movie parties and swimming.

After much waiting and anticipation....

I have finally decided to update the blog. Now there is too much to blog about. A quick general life update we are now officially moved back into our house. We didn't have much luck selling so we decided to move back in. We are actually quite happy to be back and to have a yard for the kids to play in. We also have a long to-do list that we are anxious to get started on.

I guess I will start where I left off and go from there. Back in March Maxwell turned 1!! The year went by so quickly and we are so glad to have this happy little guy in our home.

This guy loves to eat. We had pizza for dinner which he obviously enjoyed. We invited our good friends the Fultz's over to join in the party.

Lucy was a excellent helper opening presents and Maxwell was happy to let her help. He loved all his presents. Lots of music and noise coming from his presents.

Maxwell LOVES to talk on the phone. Anything that he can get his hands on can become a phone, he puts it to his ear and chatters away to whomever. He was very spoiled.

Here is his birthday, they are supposed to be building blocks. They are far from perfect as I am still learning the art of frosting a cake.

                                         What a great party!! We love this little monster.