Gobble...gobble...gobble!

Thanksgiving this year was a huge success!  We decided to organize a Thanksgiving with our fellow Clevelandites who were going to be around for the Holiday.  Tim was a huge help to me, I couldn't have done it without him.   Not to mention our friends.  We had so much help with setting up, eating all of the DELICIOUS food, and cleaning up.  We had it at the church, and had a blast!  There is so much to be thankful for, especially friends who are family during the Holidays!

 A couple of weeks ago, I was not sure if I was going to be able to say it would turn out a success...  Holidays are supposed to be fun, stress free, and relaxing right? Yes, that is true, except for the part where you have to purchase a $30 bird with bones sticking out of it from the store (which was an experience in itself...I had no idea what I was doing, kind of like a turkey with my head cut off...), pull out it's neck and lovely giblets, wash it, then cry your eyes out while you cut the onion and celery to stuff the sweet old bird.  The best part was that Tim and I were doing this about 5:30am Thanksgiving morning, we were quite a sight. 

Here is a visual just to give you an idea...
Actually, this was the night before as we were figuring out a way to
thaw sweet little Tommy the Turkey.

Tom at the Ashworth Spa.  He is in his glory, that is for sure.
Leave it up to my engineering-genius-husband to think of a way to
plug up our sink when I realize we don't have anything to plug it with.
I put my full faith and trust in Tim when it comes
to stuff like this, his ideas (no matter how off the wall they may be) always work!  

I was very kind, and let Tim do most of the honors.  How nice of me, right?!?!

I'm not sure if this was after we had successfully set up the thawing
spa for Tom, but I think it is clear that Tim was relieved, or overjoyed, or...

The final product!!  I almost forgot to take a picture before Tim cut into Tom.  I know
that the pros have leaves and apples and fancy-shmancy decor around their turkeys,
but in reality, this is really how your supposed to dress up a turkey...with nothing at all!  We had so much
help from our parents and grandparents, which I'm sure were thrilled to get the 4th phone call in the same
15 minutes on what to do next when it come to cooking a turkey!
The verdict: It was amazingly tender and moist.  OOOHHH, it was so good!
And yes, it is 4 days after Tom made his debut, and we still have plenty of turkey to go around :)

Here are some pics at the church!  We had SO much yummy food, it was the best :) And yes, 

we needed a separate table for dessert, it was a must.

After we ate, most of us sat around and chatted for a couple of hours.  Each time I thought about

standing up, I realized that I probably couldn't even if I wanted to with the 50 pounds of food in me!!  

I decided to spend the rest of my Christmas money on a Turkey Trot!!  I haven't
been able to run a real race in a long time, and Turkey Trots are probably my favorite race.
This was the 30th annual trot put on in downtown Cleveland, and it was a HUGE event! There were 7,000
runners there, crazy, but awesome!  This is the reason why Tim and I had to wake up at 5:30am to put the turkey
in the oven.  Tim and Max were great sports, and cheered me on.  It was absolutely perfect running weather!!! 

Tim hurried and snapped this shot right at the finish.  There were so many runners,
I didn't even realize I was at the finish line after the 5 miles.
 I saw my time as I crossed, and thought it was
okay, but I wasn't too proud.  I looked online later at the results and had actually run
the race almost 3 minutes faster than I thought.  There was the gun time 39:53 (what I saw at the end of the race), and the
chip time 37:08 (time from when I passed the start and finish line).  It took me almost 3 minutes after the
gun shot to even get to the
starting line because of the crowds!  It was so fun to run one of my favorite races
and do well!

The best part of the race though, was seeing this little guy (and his Daddy) at the finish line!
Of course, the first thing Max did when he saw me was point out the trucks he was seeing...

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  We are so grateful for all of the blessings
that we enjoy here in Cleveland.  We are so thankful for our family and friends, the gospel, Tim being able
to attend medical school, our health, this beautiful earth, and much more!  We love you all :)

15 Months and Counting!

Max is officially 15 months today! He is the sweetest little thing that ever happened to us, and we are so grateful for him.
He is such a mischievous little boy, and knows it too!  He is always getting into cupboards, drawers, bags, papers, etc...that he shouldn't.  He will make eye contact with whoever caught him, smile, and then run off as fast as he can while waving his hands in the air and mumbling something that sounds like Russian.  
He gives the best kisses, with the fish lips and everything.  Tim and I will usually kiss after we pray, and just from watching us, Max caught on and now will make a kissing noise after every prayer, so great!
Ever since Max fell down our front steps head first, he is deathly afraid of stairs, and will just stand at the top of whatever stair case we are on and look down at his fate...!
He can go down a slide by himself, and even land on his feet...well some of the time.
Max would take his tooth brush everywhere with him if we let him.  He LOVES babies (Max says 'Behbe'), and will always lean his head to one side and talk in a high-pitched-voice anytime we see one.
Snow Bear (Max says him 'Bobehhhhhhh' in a high pitched voice, and gradually will go up in pitch) is still his favorite stuffed animal, although his doggie from Grandma Ashworth is in close second!
Max could stay outside all day and run up the walkways of our neighbors houses.  I don't know what it is, but going up the walkways is apparently 'in' right now with 15 month old kiddos.
 He loves to go up to a tree trunk and hug it while looking up as far as his little eyes will let him.
Max loves to read, and I will catch him sitting down on the floor with tons of books opened while he mumbles in a, once again, high-pitched Russian mumble.  I could watch him for hours.
Max is so sweet to pictures of Jesus, and will always give Him kisses.
Max loves his Daddy, and stops whatever he is doing when he hears those keys in the door at 5 or 6 o'clock.  He'll run to the front door and as soon as Tim is seen, Max will reach for him with his head back and a huge smile on his face!  I think I have teared up only a couple of times watching that...
Max bleeds blue, and could watch BYU Football all day.  He will climb up on Tim's lap and watch the game for a good chunk of the game (don't worry, I have had no influence on this one...)  Everytime he sees a game going on he will throw his arms up in a touchdown (he says 'duhdowh') about 68 times expecting our attention on everyone of them :)
Max loves to eat frozen peas, cubes of cheddar cheese, chicken nuggets, anything sweet, his bottle, tomatoes, grilled cheese sandwiches, graham crackers, raisins, beans, eggs, and anything off the floor.  Tim and I have to applaud and give Max a standing ovation when we try to give him anything besides the food I listed. After our celebration of Max having a bite of whatever he doesn't like, he will nod his head in excitement and clap his hands. It is the only way we won't find it on the floor, gotta love positive reinforcement.
As many of you know, Max is OBSESSED with trucks.  Enough said.   
He can say Dada, shishee (fishy), Duhhhhh (truck), seesishh (Jesus), and Duh for about everything else (his shoes, socks, dog, or anything he points to!)
He is soooo ticklish, and loves when Tim will go to town as the tickle machine.  Tim will also throw him up, spin him around, pull rugs from under his feet, and make him soooo dizzy and then set him down to see how many walls Max will run into...don't worry, Max doesn't get hurt too often when Tim is playing with him!  No really, Max loves it more than anything.

We love you so much Mr. Max, and can't believe how fast you are growing up!!!!  Keep up the good work buddy :)

I took these today right after he woke up from a nap!  Here he is, in all of his glory :)

My day is complete with this face I tell ya!

Don't mind the perfectly matching socks...

 

Dance Like A Monkey!

Well Max can officially be called "Crazy Little Monkey" now!  My sister Elise sent a darling monkey costume for Max, and he LOVED it!  He actually won some costume contests in it, we were so proud :)
Trick-or-Treating was a blast, especially Max and his dad going up to all of the spooky houses.  I stayed behind to take pictures...not because I was scared of the dummy hung by a noose in the tree, or the one in the electric chair that would shoot sparks...or the one with the guillotine... haha!  

Oh what a night!  He was all tuckered out from the fun :)  Sweet Little Monkey!

Speaking of all tuckered out, this is what was happening at the Ashworth's
while Dad was studying in his dungeon, and Max and I were bored.
Who needs bedtime stories, right?
Oh, and excuse Max for the burp at the end...I promise we teach him manners...!

Picture update!

Who knew how busy life could get?  I have started to blog, and then surprisingly enough, I get interrupted.  Sometimes it is a legit phone call or knock on the door, but most of the time it is Max attempting to go to the ER for the #438 time. Seriously, if I leave him alone for even half a second, I will hear a BANG or CLOMP or SHATTER...then a pause...then the cry that every mother has nightmares of.  One thing is for sure, Max is a ALL boy climbing, exploring, diving, pulling, eating, jumping, etc... We have been lucky so far (knock on wood), but I don't think it will be too long before we will have to go.  Maybe it will be accident #524.  We'll keep you posted.
So, I hate doing the "picture updates," but I guess they have to happen every once and while, especially since I am kind of using the blog as a journal and would love to have some kind of chronological structure!  So buckle up and enjoy the ride!

Oh the fall in Cleveland!  We love it here, and are sucking in each moment with so much

enjoyment.  There are so many beautiful parks that are really close to us, and
we have gone to as many as we can while the weather is still good. Max would live outside
if we let him, so we hop in the stroller with our good friends whenever we can :)

Soooo pretty!

Just me and my Dad...

This is the park that is right above Horseshoe Lake and we can't get enough of it!!

Cleveland celebrates Columbus Day which is awesome!  We
got a group together, and walked down to the parade. Max had a blast looking
and pointing at all of the "Duhhhh" (Trucks)!  It was so fun and exciting for both of us,
we will definitely go again next year! 

Of course, the beads were his favorite part (haha), and he wore them for days :)  

So intent...

I just had to put this picture in, it is too cute to leave out!
Sweet little buddy!

We went to the children's museum that is on Case's campus last
week with our friends the Millburns.  I bet you can't guess what Max  spent
most of his time doing...oh yes, the trucks.  He couldn't get enough of them!
Have I mentioned that we have a 100% boy?

Darling Mallory was a great sport with Mr. Max the Truck Driver...they
play so well together!

Aren't we something else?!?!  So our friends decided to have a Halloween party
last weekend.  We weren't going to dress up
 (A, because we have no money and B, because I have no creativity)
 , but at the last minute we changed our minds.  I thought, "What could Max be
that is free, and that Tim and I could compliment?"  I stood puzzling and puzzling till
my puzzler was sore, then I got an idea!
  An AWFUL idea...(haha, yes I am a Grinch geek)!  Since Max
was named after the dog in the Grinch (not really), I decided he could go as
himself...!  Tim gets all of the credit for Max's costume.  He traced his hands
on some brown felt I bought, then sewed the
antlers onto the head band (I didn't even tell him
how to do it, he thought of the sewing all on his own!)
He also was Max's make-up artist.
I decided to go as Cindy Lou-Who, and Tim helped me do the
whole cup hair-due...I was sure lovely...
Finally, we needed a Grinch!
 My dear husband did not complain that he got the position.
I was able to find an old Grinch t-shirt from high school, and some green face paint.
Then, I went all over, ALL OVER, and finally found a blasted Santa Hat.
The party was a blast, and we actually won some prizes for
best costume!  My awesome sister Elise sent Max a real
Halloween costume a few days ago, and so he will be able to
feel like a real kid on Halloween.  We'll be sure to take pictures,
thanks Elise, you're the best, and Happy Halloween everyone!!

Happy Birthday Tim!!!

I can't believe it!  I am married to a 26 year old man :)  Tim is the best thing that has ever happened to me, and it was so fun to celebrate with him.  His birthday was yesterday, and so it was on a busy school day.  Despite the hours of studying, we still managed to eat a yummy breakfast, stuff our faces with spare ribs and cake, and watch The Lord of the Rings!  For those of you who know Tim and I, you know that The Lord of the Rings is his favorite movie, and my least favorite.  Perfect.  I allow him to drag me into watching it about once a year, and even though I regretted suggesting it after I said it, I figured he deserved to watch his favorite movie on his birthday!  They are good movies, but SOOOOOOOOOOOO long!  I can never, and I mean never stay awake.  Poor Tim, he is a good sport and will either turn it off when I have zonked out, or keep watching it until the end all alone.  The day was a blast, and in the words of my Grandpa Brockbank, "Thanks for having a party so we could celebrate!"  Tim is so wonderful, and makes me so happy.  He puts up with my emotional up and downs like a champ (especially since we have moved out here to Ohio), and is the best daddy in the whole world!  Happy Birthday Babe, I love you!

The birthday boy and his little side-kick!  These two boys are my life, and
I love them so much!  Max looks like he is plotting something, but hasn't quite
figured it out yet...!

Max on a walk!

Max LOVES going outside to walk more than anything lately.  He has started saying, "Duhh" for Truck, and goes crazy every time a truck (or a car, Max thinking it is a truck) passes by.  He also will trot down the sidewalk and pause about every other square to pick up some small random object.  It is the best to watch him, especially right now that the fall leaves are BEAUTIFUL!  I can't be outside enough when the weather is good with this awesome fall season.  Utah is pretty, but Ohio is amazing during this time of year.

So serious...

I don't think it gets any cuter than this...

What do these have in common?

This picture &...

...this picture!!

Sweet little Max chipped his tooth  a couple of days ago, and now I think we will call him "chip"
for short.  I felt so bad for the little guy.  He ate the broken pieces (of course...), so at least
they were put to good use.  It isn't that bad, it could be a lot worse!  He is so
dang cute, that it he can totally pull off the chipped front tooth...right? 

I know this one is kind of blurry, but I just had to put it on!
My sister Elise sent us this Indians baseball cap, and Max LOVES it.
He walks around the house with it on and just giggles and squeals, it is
the best!  Thanks Elise and Ez for sharing :) 

Labor Day Weekend!

It was wonderful to finally have a 4 day weekend!  Tim is getting busier and busier with school, and it was so nice to have some down time as a family.  We got together with a bunch of our friends on Saturday to watch the BYU vs Ole Miss football game!  BYU Football, good food, and friends...life doesn't get much better.  It was so fun, and we cheered so loud, I'm sure Bronco and the gang could hear us :)  Go Cougars!
On Labor Day, we went on a beautiful drive to a darling and quaint little town called Chagrin Falls.  It is so pretty here in Ohio, I love it!  Chagrin Falls has a unique water fall/creek that goes through it. Delightful.  It has antique shops, popcorn shops, cute old-fashioned book shops, yummy places to eat, darling residential neighborhoods, etc...  In other words, we LOVED it!  It was kind of a cooler day, so we weren't bogged down by the humidity and heat.  Max loved the water and seeing the ducks up close :)
If any of you know my dear husband, you can probably guess that the highlight for him was the popcorn shop.  Tim could have popcorn with too much butter and salt for breakfast, lunch, and  dinner.  He makes the BEST homemade popcorn, so I can't blame him.  This cute shop was a popcorn lover's paradise.  There were at least 10 different seasonings you could buy to put on homemade popcorn, which of course, Tim had to splurge and get one!  Bags and bags of popcorn were hung up all around, and it smelled like a dream.  The shop had ice cream too, and frozen custard, which I had to try.  It was so good, SO good.  We left the store with a giant size bag of good 'ol kettle corn, and have been eating it non-stop...mmmmmmmmm!  I think we spoiled our dinner big time, but had a great time doing it. Chagrin Falls is a must do a again soon place for us!

Max and his Daddy looking at the water from the popcorn shop window, darling!

I love it!  So original :)

Enjoying custard.  Apparently Max was interested in something else!  He is so
observant, and pays attention to the most random things.  I just love that about him :) 

I had to take a picture of this.  There is an entrance sign to match it!  So cute :)

Side view of one of the streets in Chagrin Falls.

Well hello Max!  

The water in the falls were kind of dirty, but we still really enjoyed them.

More of the dirty, but pretty water!

Our little family!  Again, Max is probably studying a leaf or stick or something...

   

Walk the Walk!

Well Max decided this past week to scrap the crawling, and move up in the world to walking!  He is so tiny, it is so weird to see him up and going!  He definitely looks drunk, and a straight line is still in the works, but he gets better everyday!  I am so proud of my little crazy man :)  Oh and just a side note, Tim sanitized that toilet bowl brush, just in case anyone was wondering...!

Wedding Weekend!

Tim's brother David got married this past weekend.  We were SO lucky because his new bride, Sherrie, is from Ohio, so they got married in the Columbus, Ohio Temple! What are the chances that we move to Ohio a month before the big day, huh? It was so fun to see Tim's family, and to go the Temple.  Columbus is about 2 and 1/2 hours away from Cleveland, so not too far.  We love Sherrie, and are so excited for her and David :)  Thank you Ashworths for the super fun weekend, we love you!

The happy couple!  Sherrie looked so pretty :)

Style 101: black pants and white socks...this one
is my fault.  I realized the lack of black
socks at the last minute...Max seems all put out about it, hahaha
Style 201: Black shirt and fuchsia tie...I think Tim looked
great, even though he probably would not have picked
these colors himself.  Thanks for expanding Tim's
wardrobe choices Sherrie!
The Verdict: Both boys looks as handsome as ever!!!

Tim's family at the Temple.

Max and his cousin Theo.  It was fun to see them play so well
together!  Grandma Ashworth gave Max this super soft doggie
for his birthday, and he loves it!  Thanks Grandma!!!

They look so much like cousins!  I love it :)

We were at Bravos, an Italian restaurant for the delicious luncheon.
Max and Theo apparently weren't interested in the food...  

Cutting the cake!  Surprisingly, there was no mess involved :)