Noah's Flood

Who knew that I was somehow foretelling the future with my choice of baby bedding for Max? I chose Noah's Ark as the theme. We were going to be surprised with Baby #1 and so I picked this gender neutral bedding for his soon-to-be nursery. I never would have thought that almost 5 years later we would be dealing with an actual FLOOD caused by Max himself! Irony...maybe!

Yes, night before last, he used a bit too much (well, way to much) toilet paper and overnight his bathroom flooded. Matt and I were at a holiday party and when we came home the kids were already in bed. We checked in on them, but didn't go through the bathroom. Then, yesterday morning, Matt got up with them to do our usual Pancake Sunday breakfast and opened the pantry and almost slipped on the water and was being rained on from above (Max's bathroom is just above the pantry). We managed to get it all cleaned up thanks to lots of towels, a wet vac, a box fan and lots of sweat and tears. Just not the way we intended to spend our Sunday before his birthday (we had hoped to take the family to see Bolt, I guess we'll have to save that for another day). Anyway, now on to the post I intended to write for today...

Once upon a time, five years ago, a young couple awaited the birth of their baby. He/she was due two days after Christmas, so thoughts were that this baby would decide to come on Christmas Eve at Midnight Mass. Well, that baby didn't come at Christmas Eve Mass, but labor did begin while at church 3 weeks before Christmas. Since, the mommy-to-be still had 3 weeks to go, she took the pain in stride and called the doctor when they got home. They were told to come on in. So, off they went to the hospital (which ironically was closer to the church than their apartment). They arrived at the hospital at around 2pm. After an initial scare of the baby's heartrate taking a nosedive during contractions, everything seemed to stabilize and no drastic measures were needed. Allison was put on oxygen and not allowed to leave the bed during the rest of her labor. The doctor broke her water and no labor inducers were needed. After about 9 hours of labor, she began to push. After 50 minutes of pushing, the little cries came from a brand new baby boy. At 1:14am on December 8, 2003, the little prince came into the world! He was a beautiful, tiny, little man weighing 5lbs 1oz. They named him Max Randell. The new parents liked the name Max and Randell was after his maternal grandfather. Coincidentally, Max means "great" in Latin. He has always been a little guy, but he certainly has might and we know he is destined for greatness!

So, come join me on a pictorial journey through these past five years of our little man's life...

I took this photo 2 days before he was born!

Our first family photo

The day we took Max home, December 10, 2003

First Birthday - Cowboy theme

Second Birthday - Bob the Builder

Third Birthday - Thomas the Tank Engine

Fourth Birthday - Pirate theme

This week, Max is "Star of the Week" at his school. We made a poster of pictures from birth to now and he gets to hang it on the wall in his classroom. He also gets to bring in the special snack for his class today (I got decorated cookies that look like birthday cakes) and a special show and tell on Wednesday. And....he gets to be line leader (which he is the most excited about!). Then, for dinner tonight, we are going to his favorite restaurant, The Purple Cow Diner and we'll open his family gifts. This weekend, we have his party at the Frontiers of Flight Museum. He is super excited about that. So, I'll post more about that later.

So, today, as Max turns five, I am the proudest mom on the planet. Although he can sometimes give me frustration, he is truly my little gift from God. He reminds me to be patient, he has taught me to love even more than I ever thought possible...and that giggle...oh, that giggle is absolutely God speaking to me in the sweetest sound my ears could possibly hear!

Max, I love you more than you will ever know! My wish for you this year is that you receive all that life has to offer you with open arms and that you give with the generosity of your great big heart! I can't wait to continue this journey we call YOUR LIFE!--Mommy