Our New Puppy!

As per usual, playing with his ears

About to launch that little pumpkin

Hanging out with the gang

My brown-eyed little doggy

Playing with his reflection in the mirror

An uncanny fixation with the fire hydrant.

Top Ten Reasons Max is Puppy Dog for Halloween
1. He chose the costume himself. He pulled in off the shelf and "gave it loves."
2. The first thing Max says in the morning is "woof."
3. He loves to play with his reflection in the mirror.
4. First run of the costume at the Crimson Kids Halloween party he sat in a puddle.
5. Last night at the church Halloween party he rolled around on the gym floor.
6. Today before we went classroom trick-or-treating he kept hanging around the fire hydrant.
7. He enjoys chasing birds, squirrels, bunny rabbits and the resident turkey.
8. He becomes fixated on treats.
9. He escapes out the front door every chance he gets!
10. Without the dog costume Max is Dieter from Sprockets with his skinny legs and all black emsemble.

With Kitty

Max: Age 15 months

Now for Max age 15 months:
1. Max calls every circular object a ball. Ironically he throws not only balls but remote controls, puzzles, books, food (especially food) and almost anything else. He winds up his little arm behind his back, pauses, then releases the object while yelling, "ball."
2. Not unrelated, but when Max wakes up in the morning the first thing he does is throw everything out of his crib.
3. Max is finally walking with confidence. He is also getting his first molar. He is getting so big!
4. Max is still unsure of the blender, which is a bit of a problem because he loves milk shakes.
5. A favorite past time is to go out on the balcony, point at people and yell in jiberish to innocent passers by. Followed by "byeeee."
6. When daddy comes home from school if he doesn't play with Max and instead gets on the phone or computer (not infrequent) Max bawls. Corey promptly picks up Max and gets a big hug and Max is once again a happy boy.
7. Max points at everything and nothing, raises his eye brows, and says "oooooooh."
8. There is a lot of oohing and awing over the resident squirrels, bunnies, birds and turkey. Yes, the HBS turkey.
9. Whenever we come home and Max is walking (not is stroller) he does an about face and trots off down the hall. I then chase him down and carry him back kicking and whining.
10. Last but not least, Max has clued in to the fact that his dad is a softy. When I'm gone and Corey is supposed to put him down I return to Corey and Max watching TV. Sucka.

Marathon training...

Max's GG-ma and GG-pa Woodland recently invited him to join them at the 2008 St. George marathon. Max, of course, would love to make the trip and has already started a rigorous training program.

Physical training:
1) Pushing the mower around the "kitchen loop": 20 laps a day 2) Running out the door when left open and refusing to come back inside the apartment: at least 3 times a day 3) Chasing the resident puppies, birds, squirrels, and Turkey all around campus: once in the morning and once in the afternoon 4) Dancing back and forth and bobbing his head everytime mom's phone rings and plays music: once an hour 5) Acting like a monkey, making growling sounds and wrestling with dad: whenever mom is out of eye and earshot

Mental endurance training:
1) Having to endure mindless boredom watching Baby Einstein: everytime dad is trying to study and babysit at the same time (which Max usually interrupts by taking away dad's cases and hijacking his computer) 2) Learning how to use mom's phone to call friends and family, ordering her new ringers for her phone, and using her phone to take pictures of the rug, his nose, and action shots of his feet.

High performance diet:
1) Lots and lots of noodles 2) Leftovers! (not from the fridge but from goodies he finds stuck to his highchair...) 3) Anything mom and dad eat that he's not supposed to have (namely ice cream and milk shakes).

So, GG-ma and GG-pa Woodland, you can see that Max is very serious about making the 2008 St. George marathon and is soooo excited you invited him. But one word of advice from his parents - maybe you, yourselves, should start training now too so you can keep up with him when he visits - take it from us, he's a marathon himself ;-)