November...already?? and lots of pics

I cannot believe it is already November. Where did this year go?? We had a great Halloween and Max actually left his hood up while we went trick or treating. Our neighborhood had an awesome block party with food and games for the kids. The fire department even brought their truck and passed out candy. We didn't keep Max out too long in the chilly weather but he had fun handing out candy to the other kids.

I am including tons of pictures from the past month. Uncle Ben (Nick's brother) took some photos of us a couple weeks ago just for fun. This is my favorite time of year so I have been extra camera happy with Max.

Max did pretty well with DST today. We are hoping it doesn't take more than a couple days for him to adjust. It is definitely not as fun to "fall back" with kids. I enjoyed that extra hour a little more when it involved sleeping. I'm a little nervous about it being so dark at 6 p.m. but maybe Max won't fight to go outside after dinner when it is so cold now. We'll see...

One cute thing I want to document is how much Max loves to give kisses now. It is part of his bedtime routine to give me and Nick kisses before bed. The other night he gave me a kiss and then Nick a kiss and then he grabbed the back of both of our heads and pushed us together so that we would kiss. It was really precious that he wanted mommy and daddy to love each other too. I hope his heart stays that tender forever. Such a sweetie!

Hope you all had a great Halloween!

A sweet moment captured by Uncle Ben

Taking a walk around the IMA

Family photo of all of us looking at the camera (hard to do these days)

Max was loving the bulldog at Butler

Swinging Max on the bridge at Holcomb Gardens

Walking across the bridge

Trying to get us to hold hands...so sweet

Happy boy!

Smiling at the park

Running at the park

More running...such a busy boy

He loves to stand on his head...we call it his yoga pose

Family photo at neighborhood Halloween party

Giving Grace some love...they were so cute (they look like middle school kids at a dance)

Our little monkey

Zoo Boo Fun

Max turned 18 months on Friday. It has been fun to reflect back on how much life has changed since this time last year. If you recall we were moving into our new house at this exact time last year. It is so nice to be settled in our home and neighborhood. We can't wait to take Max to the neighborhood Halloween block party and trick or treating.
Max spent some of the weekend with Grandma and Grandpa while Nick and I were helping with a retreat. We are happy to report that he did really well at their house. I think he is slowly starting to ease into the idea of sleeping away from home. He still struggles some but not as bad as a few months ago thankfully.
Today I took Max to Zoo Boo with my parents which was packed but fun. We've been trying to go for a couple of weeks but the rain has kept us (and everyone else evidently!) away. Unfortunately Nick wasn't able to come because he had to work on a paper for his class. Max actually didn't protest his monkey costume (except for the hood). It was a beautiful day and fun to see all the costumes and kids having fun. Lots of pictures below.
Enjoy the last week of October (crazy!) and Happy Halloween!!

Our one photo attempt with the hood on... not too happy

Playing in the pumpkins

Watching all the kids

My little cute monkey

He loves pumpkins

Cheese for the camera

Big cheese for Grandpa

Sweet look at Grandpa

Smiling for mom

He actually was a little scared of the "beware" area

Walking with Grandpa to see the sharks

Pumpkin Patch Part 2

I wanted to include a couple more pictures that friends sent me from the pumpkin patch yesterday. My friend Tara sent the cute little postcards of Max. So sweet!
I also wanted to document a recent story (since this blog partially serves as Max's baby book). Last Friday we (me) became those parents that can now say, "My kid locked himself in the car today." Yes, that's right Max locked himself in the car last Friday. So here is what happened...
Nick had taken the afternoon off and we decided to take my car to get the oil changed. Instead of waiting for the car to be done Nick followed me in his car. We transferred Max's carseat in Nick's car and headed to Costco for some shopping and dinner (pizza to take home). Since I had the pizza I dropped Nick back off to get the car and Max and I headed home. When we got home I pulled into the middle of the garage so I could easily carry things in and get Max's carseat out to transfer back to my car. Max likes to play in the car so I took him out of the carseat and put him in the passenger seat up front. I then took out the carseat and put it at the front of the garage. As I turned around I heard that dreaded sound...click. All the doors were locked and my keys were in the ignition (since I needed to move the car back to my side after getting things out). The car wasn't on but I was still freaked out a little. Like any mom I tried to talk Max back over to the buttons to see if he would push them again. He just giggled and smiled at me. Thankfully he thought this was funny and wasn't crying. The only reason I didn't hit full panic is because I knew Nick would be home shortly. About 10 minutes later Nick pulled into the driveway and we unlocked the doors with the extra set of keys. It felt like hours instead of minutes. Thankfully Max was completely unharmed and oblivious to the whole thing. Definitely one of my worst mom moments to date...a big lesson learned. I realize I have to be a lot more careful at this age. I can already laugh at this moment so I wanted to make sure I recorded it to share with Max some day.

Max and mommy trying to find the perfect pumpkin

Pics my friend Tara took. These are so cute!

Thanks Tara!

Pumpkin Patch

Max and I headed to the pumpkin patch today with some of my MOPS group. It was our first visit to Stonycreek Farms and we had a blast. Max loved the tractor hayride out to the pumpkins. I took lots of pictures but most of them are from the side or behind because he was running all over the place. He had so much fun weaving in and out of the trees and pumpkins. He even picked out a little one to take home. We can't wait to go back sometime with Nick.

Enjoy pics below!

Max checking out the barn area

He loved all the big pumpkins

Squealing through the trees and pumpkins

Checking out some more

I think he found one...just his size

Hey mom...try to catch me

Sweet moment

Snuggling on the hayride

Posing in the pumpkins (he is smiling at the other kids)

Burgei Family Reunion at Cousin's Wedding

Fall has arrived...hooray!! Fall is our absolute favorite time of year! We love the beautiful trees, chill in the air, sweatshirts, football, hot chocolate, blankets and snuggling. It is going to be a very busy month for us but we love this time of year so we can't complain.

We have been very busy cheering on the Colts (see the future linebacker below). It has been a decent season but definitely not easy. It has been nice to enjoy some of the games this year since they are usually on during Max's nap or after he goes to bed for the night.

This weekend was tons of fun. We headed to Ohio for my cousin Tyler's wedding. All the kids, grandkids and great-grandkids made it out for the wedding. This was the first time all of us have been together in over 10 years. It was a true Burgei family reunion. It was so much fun to see everyone and catch up and definitely crazy to see all the little kids running around. All of the great-grandkids were fast asleep on shoulders by the middle of the reception.

Nick was sweet enough to take Max back to the hotel so I could enjoy some time with family. We are so happy to report that Max slept really well in the hotel! I think he was absolutely wiped out...especially from dancing. We got two beds in hopes that he would sleep since he hates the pack 'n play and thankfully it worked. We hope this trend continues.

Below are lots of pictures from the wedding. Unfortunately all the wedding party and big family photos are on other people's cameras so I will try to post those once I get them.

Nick is traveling to California tomorrow so we will be flying solo again for a couple days. We are hoping for some nice fall weather.

Have a great week!

Future linebacker ready for the game

Go Colts!

Grandpa holding Max and Zoe (he loves his grandkids)

My aunt Charlene playing with Max

Max getting ready for the wedding...not so sure about that tie

Family photo...Max missed his nap and was a little tired

Brother Chris, parents and niece Zoe at the wedding

Brother Chris, niece Zoe and us


Don't they look handsome in their suits?

Family photo attempt on the stairs

All the great-grandkids with my grandma (5 of them now)...my dad, Nick and cousin Tara were all trying not to be in the photo but it was too tough with all the kids

Max and Daddy having a serious talk

Max shaking his butt on the dance floor

Max clapping for the bride and groom

Cousins Rachel and Sarah from California

Max fast asleep on Grandpa's shoulder

Zoe fast asleep on my brother's shoulder

Max dancing at the reception

17 Months

Our little boy is 17 months old today. He is keeping us very, very busy these days. He is in full toddler mode and slowly getting into everything. We think he has grown a little because he is starting to get into drawers, cabinets, etc. that he couldn't reach before now. He usually doesn't destroy too much before we notice except when I have to go to the bathroom or when I am trying to start dinner.
This week he managed to find the hidden crayons and take a bite out of one before I caught him. He also got into the electronics drawer (old cell phone, chargers, GPS stuff, etc.) and scattered it across the floor while I was using the bathroom. (see photo below)
We are having so much fun though. He is just a happy kid who loves to run, bounce, climb and giggle and we are enjoying every moment of it. This is definitely a really fun age even though it is exhausting.
Nick is on trip for work for the next 5 days so we are trying to keep busy with family and friends. I always miss Nick when he is away but this is the longest he has been away for several months so I know Max and I will be so excited to see him return.
We have some fun trips to my cousin's wedding, the pumpkin patch and some fall activities in the next couple of weeks so I will be sure to post some pictures soon.
Happy Fall!

This was the destruction Max caused in less than one minute while I was in the bathroom...look at that smile...he is so proud

Thumb break from playing

Still loves playing with his elephant train

Chasing me with the camera

Showing me all of his teeth...he has 16 now so hopefully we are done teething until closer to his second birthday

Total Boy

Max is a total boy these days. I am reminded of this more and more every time we spend time with little girls his age. Max absolutely loves being outside and getting dirty. He loves rocks, sticks, trucks, mud and especially frogs. We have a lot of frogs that hide under our down spout area (not sure what it is actually called) and Max loves to search for them every day. Sometimes he pokes them a little too hard with his stick but most of the time he just enjoys chasing them around.
My niece, Zoe was in town a couple weeks ago so we spent a day at the zoo together. Max and Zoe had so much fun watching the animals and playing in the splash area. It was a very fun day.
Nick just started back to class last week so things are getting even busier around here. Fall is our favorite time of year. It always seems to fly by though. We can't wait to watch the leaves change, take Max to the pumpkin patch and watch lots of football.
Max is also our little dancer. We were at the store the other day and he was dancing to the music while I was in line. The music stopped for a second and he got so mad. As soon as it came back on he started bouncing again. I posted a video below of what he likes to do in the kitchen. He loves to dance/bounce to the music that plays on the magnets. It is so much fun to watch the pure joy on his face. Some new pictures are posted from our adventures too.
Hope you all had a great Labor Day weekend!

Max checking out the elephants (he loves watching the baby one)

Playing in the splash area

Having so much fun in the water

Grandpa (my dad) showing Max and Zoe the monkeys

Max isn't so sure how he feels about sharing his wagon with a girl

Riding his tractor at Nana and Pappaw's house

Looking for the frogs (one is right by his shoe)

Picking up the frog to show to us (such a boy...love it!)

Dancing in the kitchen