The Boys

As it turns out, I haven't posted a picture of the boys on here for a while. After a mighty struggle with my iphone, I now have pictures available to post. I hope these will give you some insight into their personalities. First up, we have Joseph. He loves to do whatever Max does.  Joe tries his best to keep up with Max, even when he falls behind.  Even when Joe struggles to do something, he persists until he accomplishes his goal.  He either finds a way to do something on his own or asks for me to help him figure it out.  Even when I do help him with something, Joe really concentrates and tries to learn how to replicate whatever we just did.  I love his determination and thoughtfulness.

To balance out his serious side. Joe is also developing quite the sense of humor and loves to get a laugh out of Carl and me any way he can. In this instance, he decided to wear Max's underwear as a hat.   Anytime he does something that he thinks is funny, he will check our reaction before he carries on for too  long.  If we laugh, he milks it for all it's worth.  Since I took a picture of the underwear-as-hat incident, Joe now immediately puts any pair of underwear he finds on his head.  We laugh every time.  How can you not?  Look at that little face...he just melts my heart with that little smile. 

And here we have Max, our chief mischief maker.  Turn your back for one second and Max will do something a little naughty and usually very funny.  On this occasion, Max and I were getting ready for church.  Since Carl was at some meeting, Max watched me put on my make up and pick out my jewelry.  I walked out of my bathroom for a few seconds and when I came back Max had my eyeliner brush in hand and informed me it was "his turn."  I thought he did a pretty fair job of getting my black eyeshadow/liner in the right spot.  I tried to get a better picture but he wouldn't hold still.  In fact, the rest of the pictures chronicle my attempts to photograph Max whilst crawling under the table to catch him while wearing a dress.  It made for a lively Sunday morning.

Max is a man of exuberant emotions.  When he is happy, the whole world knows.  His smile and laugh can really brighten a whole room.  When he is sad or frustrated, his tears do not go unnoticed by anyone(though that is because he is usually combining those cries with screams. We are working on developing more appropriate coping mechanisms).One of Max's favorite treats are cupcakes from Jones Brothers Cupcakes.  Max, Joe and I got cupcakes for a family home evening treat the other week.  The kid loves him some chocolate cupcake.

Perhaps one of my favorite things about Max is his tender heart.  Since my foot surgery, Max will frequently hold Joe's hand and lead him to where they need to go.  Max watches out for Joe and makes sure he is okay and having a good time.  On occasion, he will even come over to me me for a hug and quick hello before darting off to play.  I love watching Max and Joe become best buddies.  As it says in the scriptures, my quiver is full.