Fun with Uncle Skip and McKinley

Earlier this summer Maria's oldest brother, Skip, and his son, McKinley, made a trip from Atlanta, Georgia to Texas for a few days. Maxwell had a blast with his cousin and uncle and I wasn't complaining because it meant I had a little extra help when I mowed the yard that week. Here are some pictures from their visit...as you can tell, Maxwell really enjoyed snuggling up with McKinley on the couch first thing in the morning to watch Elmo and Curious George.

He also had some fun being silly with both Uncle Skip and McKinley--we just wish we lived closer to them so we could have more times like this!

Fun in the summer

As I said in my "back to school" post, we've had a busy summer. From going back and forth to Maria's parents in Dallas for surgeries (hip replacement for mom--ouch!) and hospital stays (perforated colon for dad--ouch!), to Uncle Skip and McKinley visiting us, to me teaching a class during second summer session, to getting ready for the new year at A&M, I don't even feel like we had the typical summer "break".

Oh, and then, there is the fun news--see the picture of Maxwell below, read his shirt, and you should be able to figure things out (if you don't already know). We are all excited, but Maria has had a terrible bout of nausea for the past 4-5 weeks so Maxwell and I have been a little more on our own than usual (she's been here, but when you feel like she has, you don't move around a lot!).

Thanks to my mom and dad for coming in to help me with Maxwell while Maria took some time to go help her parents out. We'll share more about the visit from Uncle Skip and McKinley soon!

Back to school

Sorry I haven't updated the blog much lately--the beginning of the school year is always a bit hectic at work and, as a result, in our lives. Turning to more important, and fun, things though--last week Maxwell started back to Kingdom Kids, the preschool at Grace Bible Church (our amazing church). The big difference this year is that since Maxwell is 3, we no longer have the option of sending him just one day a week. Now he goes every Tuesday and Thursday from 9 AM to 2 PM and although mommy is thankful for some extra time to get things done around the house and town, I know it is harder for her than she might admit.

While I would love to include a video clip from his first day of school, I made the terrible mistake of looking at the video camera battery charge symbol incorrectly. As a result, we got to the church last Tuesday, I turned around with the camera on and said, "Maxwell, where are we going today?" He replied, "To school!" and my camera immediately started flashing the "battery dead" symbol. Needless to say we were disappointed, but at least we have these pictures of his first day (okay, so we only have 4 pictures total and I'm only including 2)--decked out with a new backpack, new tennis shoes, and a new shirt.

We are so thankful that his assistant teacher from last year, Mrs. Lisa, is his lead teacher this year with Ms. Kate as his new assistant teacher. Many of his classmates are also from his class last year--Jackson, Wyatt, Andrew, Miranda, Gigi, and a few others I can't remember right now. Last year he was in Mrs. April's "frog" class and this year he is in the "apple" class. We aren't concerned that he is moving down the food chain though (aren't frogs higher than apples on the food chain?) as the entire Kingdom Kids staff is wonderful and the program is a treat for him to participate in. In addition to class time with Mrs. Lisa and Ms. Kate, Maxwell also gets to participate in movement class with Ms. Beth and, his favorite activity, music with Ms. Marianne.

I really do have many things to blog about (it was a busy summer), but we don't want to overwhelm you all at once!