Five in the family

I have really been a bad mommy blogger! I am going to try my best to get back into this so I can have a good record of all of the fun and crazy times our family has together. There is a lot to catch up on. We are now living in St. Louis after a fun year in Baltimore. Josh is working for Midcounty Orthopedics and is very, very busy! I am still writing for examiner on a very part-time basis.

Max is going to Countryside Montessori five mornings a week and is really loving it. He has a lot of great friends including Gavin, Noah and Eldridge. He is such a character with unending energy. He loves swimming, gymnastics, soccer and pretty much anything that requires a ton of energy. He has a lot of pretty funny things that he says and does. He especially loves using big words: outstanding, terrible, excellent, amazing. He has some funny sayings as well: "Are you kidding me?" "Zo, Zo mo!" He likes telling knock knock jokes even though they often make no sense what so ever.

Max loves showing things to his little brother Miles. He brings toys over and tell him that when he "gets four," he will like to play with it too. Max is obsessed with Star Wars, Angry Birds, building with Tinker Toys, Hotwheels and fighting with swords.

Zoey is such a little talking machine! She is always stating observations and repeating. She is talking in sentences at 22 months. She also has a pretty funny personality. She says I'm sorry and thank you constantly. She likes to call her brothers "baby womos" and Maxie." Zoey also goes to Countryside and LOVES her friends and teachers. She actually cries when I drop Max off if she does not get to go that day. Zoey is obsessed with Miles and loves to give him kisses and help burp him. Zoey loves to sing and dance. She can sing along with the ABC's and especially loves the Five Little Monkeys song. She also likes doing When You're Happy and You Know it. Zoey is definitely a daddy's girl! She is one of the happiest, smiley little girls and loves sleeping late!

Miles is such a sweet baby. He has been on a heart monitor ever since leaving the NICU at two weeks. He is very easy going so far. He rarely cries and still spends a lot of time sleeping during the day. He has bright blue eyes and the chubbiest cheeks in the world! He has a smile that lights up the room and loves cooing back and forth. He is three months old already!

We have a busy spring and summer ahead. Max and Zoey are having parties in a few weeks for their birthdays. We are taking a family trip to Branson and then heading to Toledo for Uncle Nick's wedding. We are hosting our Memorial day weekend party and the Van Gundys will be bringing their new little man along with Jackson for the party. Emily and Ben will have had their baby then, too.

Josh has boards at the end of July so that will be a busy month.

Change is coming

I cannot believe it is already the end of June! We have enjoyed so many exciting change in the past several weeks and we are getting ready for another huge move.

We closed on out house in STL last week and we are getting ready for the big move back to the Mid-west. We move in less than a month and things are starting to get real. Max has made so many great friends over the past year. I never expected that either of us would grow so attached to Baltimore or the wonderful people we have met during our time here.

Over the next month, we plan to spend time with our dear friends. Max will miss Iya, Coo Coo, Co Co, Ashuck, Jsa Jsa and of course, Tessa. He loves is friends so much!

Zoey is getting so BIG! She gained 3 pounds during her first month and is spending more and more time awake with each passing day. She sleeps really well at night and is such a little joy to be around. Max is such a great big brother. He loves giving her kisses and especially likes helping to give her a bath. They are going to be great friends!

Welcome to the world Zoey Margaret Nadaud

What a big surprise the Nadaud family had in May. Just like Maxwell, our second baby decided to make a surprise arrival a month early. Zoey Margaret Nadaud arrived on May 10, 2010. As I hit the 35 week and 5 day mark, my water broke while relaxing at home. This is the exact same scenario as when Maxwell was born.

Fortunately, our good friend Dara came to the rescue and stayed with Maxwell while Josh and I went to the hospital. Zoey was born about 16 hours later at Greater Baltimore Medical Center. The labor was pretty easy. Just one push an baby Zoey came into the world, changing our lives forever.

Zoey was 6 lbs. and 14.5 ozs. She is such a dream baby. Zoey sleeps well and eats like a Nadaud. Maxwell has been such a great big brother. He loves to help burp his sister and often rushes to the rescue with Zoey's pacifier.

So far, we have taken Zoey on a few walks and have gone on many outings around Baltimore. Mimi and Papa came to visit followed by Auntie Em. Grandpa and Grammy M. were next. YiaYia will be here next week and in June, Auntie Jen will meet her new niece.

St. Louis trip

On our recent house hunting trip to St. Louis, we had a fun but brief visit with some good friends. Josh got to meet baby Mila for the first time. As we prepared to return to Baltimore after finding our new home, we made a quick trip to the park for all of the SLU kids to play. It was a beautiful day! We can't wait to spend many more days just like this one when we move back in a few months.

Our new home

Josh celebrated a birthday in April. We had a great dinner out at Fogo De Chow while Maxwell had a night in with his Yiayia.

We had a big trip to St. Louis in April. We took Maxwell to the city of our future home to find our dream house. After months of endless researching, Josh and I narrowed down our list to about 20 houses. After long day of looking, we were in total agreement on our perfect home. It was also a big weekend for Emily as she got engaged to her boyfriend, Ben. It was so exciting to have two big events coincide on the same weekend when we were all together. Maxwell had a big day with Mimi and Papa. They took him to the park and pretty much chased him around for hours on end.

Spring has sprung

I cannot believe how quickly this year has flown by. We are just weeks away from celebrating Maxwell's second birthday.

April was a big month for the Nadaud family. We had a wonderful Easter here in Baltimore. Maxwell really got into the Easter egg hunt that Josh planned for him. He became obsessed with eggs and the Easter Bunny in general. He was a pro at scouting out the eggs and piling them in his basket. Maxwell's Yiayia came for a visit and we had a wonderful meal together.

Heading into spring!

Today is the first day of spring and the snow has final all disappeared! We have been really lucky with amazing weather this week. We have ben taking family walks in the evening. Maxwell loves collecting sticks and and pointing out various observations on our walks. He especially likes imitating the birds he hears calling out.

The past few weeks have ben a huge turning point for Max. His vocabulary is exploding! He loves trying to repeat anything we say. Some of his amusing words include: Salsa, telescope, seesaw, Auggie, please, and apple.

Mimi and Papa Freddie came for a visit last weekend. They brought Max a castle to play in and he loves hiding things in there. Max is still asking for 'Bopa' now that they have left. Yia Yia will be making a trip out to visit over Easter. Max is working on saying her name, too.

One of Max's most amusing behaviors is his passion for giving kisses. He loves kissing people, dogs, stuffed animals, even blankets. He asks for numerous kisses throughout the day. He will make his little kissing sound until you give him what he wants. He is relentless.

Another funny thing that he is doing is saying 'oh no!' He says it constantly!!!!!

Nadaud News for February

Other than the crazy snow here in Baltimore, we have a lot going on here in Baltimore. Maxwell is becoming more and more curious with each passing day. He is extremely athletic and coordinated. He runs, jumps, throw over-hand, kicks, and climbs. He is definitely into dancing and music. Maxwell has been taking music classes in a program called 'Music Together'. Mommy and Daddy have both been able to enjoy this experience with him.

One of Maxwell's most impressive tricks is his ability to climb both into and out of his crib. It came as quiet a shock one day when he was refusing to take his afternoon nap.

We are getting closer and closer to welcoming the new addition to our family. This week marks 23 weeks. The baby is kicking up a storm! I have a feeling this child is going to share Maxwell's active nature.

We took a fun trip to Washington D.C. a few weeks ago to visit Maxwell's Nouno and Nouna. They took us to the American History Museum. Maxwell LOVED all of the big animals.

Josh finished up his busiest two months of fellowship at the end of January. After many long nights at work, sometimes going until 2:00 am or later, he has finally moved on to a lighter service.

Other big news is that we have solved our home owning predicament, Finally!!!! We are going to be renting our house in Toledo to family friends for the next two years. Hopefully the market will be much better by then. In the meantime, we have been busy looking on line at house to buy in St. Louis. We move in less than 6 months!!!!!

Winter Fun and the Blizzard of 2010

This has been a busy winter for the Nadaud family in Baltimore. After the excitement of Christmas died down, we got very bush with several snow storms. We had one in January with 20 inches, a second storm in February with 30 inches, and are in the middle of a third right now! It has been a crazy time here for us. Lots of days stuck inside and a little bit of cabin fever.

Christmas 2009

Whew! What a whirlwind of activity this Christmas season was for the Nadaud family! We had a great stretch of celebrating with family over the past two weeks. On Christmas Eve, we welcomed Yiayia, Uncle Bill, Great Yiayia, and Aunt Mary. Santa made a stop at our house to bring Maxwell one of his gifts in person! He was a little nervous, but overall, he seemed to enjoy the visit.

We woke up and had a big breakfast followed by lots of gift giving. Maxwell was showered with gifts: a new bike, a basketball hoop, his Handy Manny Tool set, a rock star stage and microphone, lots of clothing, books, and fuzzy, stuffed friends. He has been very busy trying out all of his toys.

We had a nice Christmas dinner together and relaxed in the evening.

December Blizzard

Who would have thought that our first blizzard as a family would take place in Baltimore and not Toledo?!?! We ended up with 22 inches of snow last weekend. Luckily, Maxwell's snow suit arrived just a few days before the snow. We got all bundled up and went for a romp in the snow. Maxwell loved it! He likes stomping in the snow and trying to actually kick the snowballs he saw on the ground. It was a little bit too deep for him to get around, but that did not inhibit the amount of fun he was having.

Josh had some exciting news this month. He joined a band and is practicing on the weekends playing electric guitar and singing. He has been practicing a lot and has been able to spend some time developing his talents and teaching Maxwell. He loves listening to his daddy play:)

I have taken on a new writing adventure for the Examiner. I am now the Kardashian Examiner. I write about 5 articles a week. I am still writing as the Baltimore Easy Meals Examiner as well. I have been busy with the December Holiday Guide this month.

We are preparing for Christmas guests coming tomorrow. We will get to enjoy the holidays with Josh's family and have our first and only Christmas in Baltimore.

Family Fun Day

Josh had a few days off work this past week. We took advantage of the extra family time to do something fun together. We all went to The Ultimate Playzone to bounce around. Maxwell just loves running, spinning, and bouncing all around. I think he really loved the slides the best though and so did daddy.

Getting ready for Christmas!

While last year was a big year for Christmas (Maxwell's first), this year seems to be even more exciting!!!! Maxwell loves seeing the lights, the trees, and even Santa! he was a trooper when we took him to sit on Santa's lap. He smiled and seemed to have a good time. Lucky for him, we did not tell Santa that Maxwell pulled down the tree earlier that morning.

Thanksgiving crept up as quickly as Halloween. This year in Baltimore is flying by. We had a fabulous Thanksgiving in Kansas City with the whole Van Gundy family. Emily brought her boyfriend Ben for his first Van Gundy family gathering. Maxwell had so much fun playing with his cousin Jackson. They especially had fun throwing sticks, cleaning the floors with their swiffers, and bowling in the hallway.

Maxwell has added a few new words to his expanding vocabulary. He had been saying dada, mama, football, uh-oh, whoa, and ball. Now he has added Papa and Tessa (his friend here in Baltimore). It is so much fun watching him learn new things.

Maxwell has become quite the little athlete. He wants nothing more than to dribble the soccer ball any chance he gets. He runs and kicks and runs some more! He loves throwing balls, too and playing basketball with the little tikes hoop. He is still rally into climbing and building. This is definitely a boy we have on our hands:) He love wrestling with Auggie and even tries to play fetch with him.

Whoa! It has been way too long since I last posted. So much has happened. Where did I leave off last? I think we were just hitting fall the last time I posted. We learned of some very exciting news late September. We are expecting another baby Nadaud in early June. Maxwell is going to be a big brother!!!!!!

Maxwell had a fabulous Halloween. He was a lion and even learned to say, ROAR!!!! Only a week late for Halloween:) Seema and Karan were in town to go trick-or-treating with us all. We had a great time!

My little boy is growing up!

I never thought we would get here, but my little by is growing up. He is now down to one nap per day. The transition has been a little rough. We are on day number three and Max has been down for over two hours so far. We had a super fun day at Port Discovery Children's Museum with friends. Maxwell played with Calvin, Tessa, and Alex while I chatted with friends.

Still not talking, but definitely busy, Maxwell is a bundle of energy! He loves climbing on things, pretending to do things that we do, and even helping to pick up toys. I think he is going to be a great helper.

Pumpkin picking

Last year was Maxwell's first experience at a pumpkin patch. This trip consisted of positioning him amongst some colorful pumpkins and trying to snap pictures before he fell over. As much fun as this was, this year proved to be even better! Maxwell really got into the whole process. He had fun navigating the straw maze. He was a little cheater and was climbing over the straw bails though. We will have to work on following the rules. We ventured out into the pumpkin patch where he proceeded to pick up small and large pumpkins and hurl them to the ground. Apparently pumpkins and balls are too similar to him at this point. We had a great day and are looking forward to trick-or-treating in a few weeks.

October is here

I cannot believe how quickly fall has arrived! Cool nights and beautiful days make me want to take long walks and cuddle at night. Maxwell and I went hiking today at Oregon Ridge Trail with friends. Maxwell was a trooper even when we got lost:)

We have a busy and fun month ahead. Our upcoming visitors include Yia Yia, Uncle, Bill, Great Yia Yia, and Aunt Mary. We will also welcome Alex and Michael for the Bengals/Ravens game, and then Seem and Karan. I will be making a solo trip to visit baby Mila and her parents in St. Louis later in the month.