Trouble

photo by Lea Murphy

Do not be fooled. While Max does look adorable in this photo, he most often is up to trouble.

He is often found yanking his sister's hair ("But WHY can't we send him to time out MOMMY??"), breaching the perimeter of our numerous baby gates, licking the hardwood floors, playing with his big sister's potty chair (a very sanitary toy, huh?), or screeching at the top of his lungs.

I have learned to pick my battles with this child & thus far they are: the toilet (he does NOT get to splash his hands in it), other kids (no hair-pulling unless we are related), & floor-licking (he can only spill milk or water on my floor & lick it up - who would want to do that anyway? What is wrong with this child??).

This boy is going to be giving us lots to laugh about for the next 20 years!

Margarita Madness

June 2010

An Open Letter to the Creators of the "Princess Party Set":

Who, on your staff, thought it was a good idea to include a drink called "Princess Fizz" in your toy?

Not only does "Princess Fizz" sound like a drink spiked at my prom, it also closely resembles a margarita (see attached photo).

While this addition to your game

may be appropriate for most 3 year-olds, it is not for my daughter,

whose mother only drinks margaritas, & led to this exchange this week:

Extra-sassy-no-nap-Ainsley: "Look, Mommy, I've got a margarita."

Me: "No you don't. That's not funny. Those are for adults."

Ainsley: "I have a headache so I have a margarita."

Me: "That is Princess Fizz, not a margarita, say it again & I take it away."

Silence, as Ainsley sips her Princess Fizz margarita.

So, the next time you design a toy, how about you ditch the margarita & martini glasses & put lemonade in an Elmo sippy cup so I don't have to worry about what my daughter says at preschool.

Sincerely,

Emily Yeretsky

Hallelujah! Max Reads!

This week Max willingly opened a book & looked at its contents.

This is pretty exciting for us, as Max has been anti-literacy the duration of his short life.

We've tried to read him books or even play with books, but the closest he's ever gotten to sitting through a book is throwing them from Ainsley's bed - once.

Max would much rather waterboard himself with a cup (sans lid), lick concrete (appetizing, huh?), screech like a baby pterodactyl, throw wooden blocks across a wooden floor (a lovely noise) or engage in other quiet activities.

So, given that he paused for 7 seconds, opened this truck book long enough for me to take a picture, & contemplated a page or two, we feel that he may not hate books as much as we thought.

There is always hope for our little destroyer.

Max is 1-Watch Out Ainsley!

This is Max.

Max just turned 1. Max has 2 teeth, a smile you can't say no to, & likes to pull his big sister's hair. In fact, after a year of little-brother abuse, Max is about 2 weeks away from smacking is big sister. That should be a fun day at our house.

Max's hobbies include screeching until his sister pays attention to him, pulling his sister's hair, banging on our windows to scare the birds & licking air conditioning vents. He also likes to eat sand. His parents are very proud.

Max really liked the cake his Granny made for his 1st birthday...

...but outsmarted us all by finding the laziest way to eat it.

Max was born on May 20, 2009, not quite ready to come into the world, even though he was 4 days late! He was VERY MAD we forced him out! (And yes, that scale does say 9 pounds, 10 ounces. It was super fun carrying a baby around that large).

Max wanted an "extended stay" in the NICU so his lungs could develop. (Or maybe he wanted to delay the inevitable abuse his sister would inflict). Here he is at 5 days old, being held by his mom for the first time.

First time Daddy holds Max.

Home at last with big sister Ainsley, 2. She offered Max a taco from her play kitchen as a peace offering. The became buddies pretty fast.

Max at 6 weeks - all dimples!

Max at 4 months.

Max at 7 months.

Max on his birthday with his new airplane - almost walking.

Happy Birthday, little man!