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:: Tuesday, July 04, 2006 ::
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As y'all know, I'm a big brother now. And with a new baby comes some change.
To wit, for the foreseeable future, we'll be blogging our adventures over at http://czarkids.com. In fact, there are a whole bunch of pictures from June posted over there right now. Go ahead, update your bookmarks.
I'll come back to this blog in the future, but for now, czarkids.com is the place.
Happy Fourth, folks!
:: 11:55 PM ::
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:: Saturday, June 17, 2006 ::
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I'm a big brother!!!
In case there's anyone who hasn't heard the news already, I have a new little sister. Her name is Tatum Olivia Pelczarski, and I think she's sweet.
Here are some pictures. Stay tuned....
:: 2:23 AM ::
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:: Wednesday, May 31, 2006 ::
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I'll give you one guess why May was a really special month...
That's right! It included my 3rd birthday and I got to have 3 birthday parties! I really look forward to next year when I get to have 4 parties. I will, right?
Here are ALL of May's good photos.
I sifted through over 1000 in order to whittle them down, but there are still 283! Sorry 'bout that, but there were so many good friends and family moments to include. Oh and even if you don't have time to read all this commentary, be sure to scroll down to see links to the videos.
The birthday extravaganza began with my playgroup birthday party, organized by Nanny. Grandmama even timed her airplane arrival perfectly so she got to attend too. All my playgroup pals were there and also Lucy, Alex, Baby Julia, their nanny (Mariana), and Blanca (Nanny's sister) and Baby Henry, and Irma (Nanny's cousin) and Ian. We sat at the kids' table and had great food and cupcakes. We had fun hitting and hitting the pinata, and Daddy ultimately broke it all the way for us so we could dive for the treats. Speaking of, have you had the Scooby Fruit Chews? They're amazing.
Next you'll notice two photos of a random car with "I love you" Post-Its all over it. Grandmama, Mommy, and I were driving and we just had to stop the car to take these photos. Can you imagine how much love it would take to write on all those Post-Its and place them on every square inch of a car? I hope the owner of the car feels the same way.
Then Mommy got a party. Lucy and her wonderful mom, Laura, threw a baby shower. Laura did most of the organizing and orchestrating and Lucy generously offered up her house as the location. Mariana cooked up a lot of the food and Lynne helped too. I think she got the delicious cake. Luckily Dad and I got to swing by towards the tail end. We timed our arrival perfectly in that we got dessert! We also got there in time to make a wish and add a bead to the beautiful bead bracelet that everyone collectively made for Mommy. Laura picked out all the beads and then every attendee got to choose their favorite and make a wish on it for Mom and the new baby. It was a really swell idea and the end result looks really nice. Mommy wears it all the time. Everyone also gave such nice gifts for the baby. I've never seen so many cute girl clothes. Pink is awesome.
 And then it was time for my big party. Over 40 people attended! A nice lady came and painted our faces (Spiderman!) and blew bubbles and even made balloon animals. We also had a big green dinosaur bouncy house. We had loads of fun jumping in it until it popped. It had a hole in it that they duck taped closed. Luckily no one was hurt, but Mommy and Daddy were pretty mad and gave that bouncy company a piece of their minds! After that, we all got quickly back to the fun. We ate 2 cakes and opened a million presents. Wow, folks are generous. We're going to build more shelves to hold all the toys. Thanks everyone!
A few days later on May 11th (my actual birthday) we had Irene, Steve, Charlotte, and Baby Sophie over to help me celebrate. I blew out 3 more candles and we ate more cake. There was still more left over, so we gave some to Kendra, Mark, and Baby Ella the next day. Whew! So much cake!
Also in May I had Soccernastics, which was a camp hosted by the Stanford soccer coaches and team. That's right, I'm a Stanford student at the age of 3. I had a great time and learned a lot. Each kid had to have a parent, so Daddy ran with me most of the time since Mommy has a very big belly and can't run very fast.
During Grandmama's visit we also went to Shoupe Park where I got to step into the stream. I love the water.
In addition to Soccernastics I also took two music classes (one included art). In that one, for Mother's Day, I made Mommy a Princess crown but I asked if we could share and she said yes. Since class was right beside Rinconada Park, we usually went there after class. I like to swing on the big boy swings and I'm getting pretty good at pumping my legs. Here's a video so you can see.
It was Baby Henry's 1st birthday too, so I got to go to the party and climb on their play structure.
And as always, we got to spend some quality time with the Donovans. One night, Alex's Uncle Andy got in Alex's crib so we got in with him. Too funny!
Next we went to the San Francisco Zoo where it was mating time for the peacocks. They were seriously everywhere! And we got to ride the train and eat icecream. Yum.
Another highlight was the Los Altos Pet Parade. I got to be in it with my preschool and Alex was in it with his. Ours had a Hawaiian theme so I had a great time wearing Grandaddy Capt. Mikie's luau shirt and playing my ukulele. Mom says I was a real natural playing to the crowd. Depending on your bandwidth, here's a short video and a long video. Afterwards, we needed lunch so we met up with my classmate Leo's family and ate at Draegers Grocery Store with them. We even made a train with our chairs.
Leo and I also had a play date and participated in our class picnic. We wore bear ears and bow ties (which we made) and sang a song about Teddy Bears.
You'll also see photos of me riding my scooter, playing my ukulele more, playing baseball and opening yet more presents and working on the landscaping. Daddy even helped me plant some tomatoes and strawberries in my very own planter.
I also attended a Sibling Preparation class at the El Camino Hospital where Mommy will deliver the baby. I was a star pupil and really paid attention. I learned to always wash hands and sit down to hold the baby. I also learned how to swaddle her and to not give her toys that are too small.
 Next you'll see me and Jonathan and Zach playing at their house. We laughed so much!
Then we attended Shin and Gabbie's BBQ where Shin and I ate mucho watermelon. Yum!
Last, we made a very important trip to the Build-A-Bear Workshop where I made Fluffy the Duck for my baby sister and Cici the Frog for me. Fluffy is my gift to her when she arrives. Boy, she sure is taking her sweet time.
Speaking of, next month we'll have a new format since we'll welcome my new baby sister to the world.
Stay tuned for the big news!
:: 11:02 PM ::
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:: Sunday, April 30, 2006 ::
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Dad tells me that April showers bring May flowers, but in April I mostly just wanted the rain to stop. It turns out that it finally did at the end of the month.
I know, I know, y'all don't care about the rain, you just want the pictures. Here's your fix for April.
 And now for the commentary....
We started the month with "Parent and Me Soccer" which turned out to be "Parent and Me and No Coach Without Telling Anybody So We Want A Refund Soccer." Luckily, we brought two soccer balls (one #2 and one #5), so the assembled kids did at least get a chance to get their kicks on (and we ain't talkin' sneakers here, people). I also managed to get myself tangled up in some spiderweb monkey bars before we left the park.
Next up was our every-other-Saturday dinner with Ella, Sophie, Charlotte, and the parents. There are some real nice pictures of all of us, with our parents worked in. You'll see lots of pictures of all of us in the months and years to come. It's really nice having good neighbors.
The day after that, we had the Donovans over for brunch, and Alex's Uncle Andy came along. Baby Julia came along, too, and she was a real sweetie. I think Baby Tate will take after her. How cool is it that she has such a good girlfriend before she's even born?
Around that time, we received an awesome surprise package from our good pal Tracy. He sent us a killer thumbtack mosaic of my face. It looks very cool in our house, and it's a great conversation piece. On the back, Tracy inscribed, "1715 tacks for my main man Max."
The next week, we had an awesome visit with Aunt Allison, Uncle Jeff, and Cousins Brittany and Corey. We all piled into the MDX and Dad took us on a tour of San Francisco and the surrounding area.
 To start, the Gross Family walked through Chinatown toward Fisherman's Wharf. We picked them up just shy of their goal, and gave them a driving tour past that touristy mess. We followed that up with a visit to Jack Early Park for the nice views from Telegraph Hill. Mom took some sweet pictures of the rest of us with Alcatraz in the background (just behind my head).
We also took them down Lombard Street, which is billed as the crookedest street in the world, but which might not even be the crookedest street in the city (see Vermont Ave.). In any case, Lombard St. was fun. We didn't get any pictures, but Allison did.
We drove around for a while, and saw the Painted Ladies at Alamo Square. We also drove through the Haight on our way to Golden Gate Park.
 Once we got to Golden Gate Park, we visited the new De Young Museum's tower, the Strybing Arboretum, and the Japanese Tea Garden. I had a *really* good time at the arboretum, jumping off of benches and enjoying all the groovy plants.
Then, we had a sushi lunch at Ebisu. We sat on the floor, all Nipponese and stuff, inspired by our earlier visit to the Tea Garden. It. was. awesome. I had my usual edamame, miso soup, kappa maki meal, and, as usual, the server thought I was super cute (kawaii!). Maybe I should move to Japan? Aw, who am I kidding? Ladies all over the world think I'm super cute.
After sushi, we drove across the Golden Gate bridge up to Muir Woods. Mom and Dad tried to get me to sleep in the car, but I wasn't havin' it. There was too much going on. Once we got to Muir Woods, though, I was a bit of a demon. Eventually, I ended up falling asleep for a minute sprawled across Dad's shoulders.
I finally did get a little nap on our way to dinner at Guaymas in Tiburon. It was only thirty minutes, but it helped a little. Dinner was delicious, as always, and the view was great. Aunt Allison, Uncle Jeff, and Cousins Brittany and Corey all really enjoyed it.
We brought those folks back to their hotel to pick up their bags and their car, and waited to lead them back to our house. It ended up being a very late night, and I ended up pretty cranky going to bed and woke up grumpy the next day. But let me tell you, it was totally worth it. ;-)
The next weekend, Mom and Dad went up to San Francisco on Friday night to celebrate their fifth wedding anniversary. It was the first time that I had a sleepover with Nanny Sylvia. It was really fun. I missed my folks a little bit, but had a lot of fun with Nanny.
The next day, we hosted our every-other-Saturday dinner with our neighborhood pals. Sylvia was nice enough to prepare some delicious enchiladas, plus arroz y frijoles. Que sabroso!
 The next morning, it was Easter! The Easter Bunny left a bunch of clues on post-it notes to help me find my basket. He drew some very nice pictures, and as it turns out, his handwriting looks a lot like Dad's. I did a really good job of figuring out the clues -- just check out the video.
In my basket, I got a Kid K'nex Garbage Truck, Play-Doh eggs, and some egg shaker instruments. I also got some little gummi bears and gummi letters spelling MAX.
After I found my basket and devoured some gummi candy, we got cleaned up and went to the Donovan's for brunch. Mara, Henry, and their parents Elizabeth and Paul were there, too. It was Easteriffic!
Mom was taking some pictures of Alex and Mara holding hands, and then I got in on that action. Later, Dad kept all of the big kids occupied for a little while to give the other adults some time to enjoy their brunch. After that, I played with cars and trucks with Paul.
Baby Julia woke up soon after that. After Lucy brought her out, Dad held her while Lucy pretended to be the Easter Bunny, hiding eggs and treats for Alex, Mara, and me to find. We posed for some pictures with our loot, and I posed for some with Mommy and Baby Tatum.
The following Tuesday was Mom's day at preschool, so Mom came in and took some pictures of me. There's a sweet one of me with my pal Leo on the slides.
Later that week, I went with Mom and Dad to see a 4-D ultrasound of Baby Tatum. We had to wait a while for our appointment, which made for a late night, but it was pretty cool. I got a little cranky at times, but I did get to rub the ultrasound gel on Mommy's belly. We included a couple pictures for your viewing pleasure, including a sweet thumbs-up.
The day after, we had our pals Mark and Cynthia over for brunch. We had a delicious meal, and then retired to the back yard for some soccer fun. That night, Mom took a nice picture of me in my jammies over at Ella's house next door.
All in all, April was another great month!
:: 11:37 PM ::
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:: Friday, March 31, 2006 ::
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March came in like a lamb (with a visit from Grandy and Grandad), and went out like a lamb (with a birthday party for my good pal Leo). People tell me that March should come in like a lion, but what can I say? It was all good.
Before we get into the narrative, here are Max's March pictures.
 First up, I went to the European clog shop on CA Ave with Mom. I tried on some clogs, and got an orange balloon for my trouble. Awesome! I would like some clogs, but Mommy and Daddy don't think that it's smart to spend $70 on shoes for little dudes who are due for another growth spurt.
After the clogs, we had a sweet visit from Grandy and Grandad. (Sorry that there aren't more pictures of Grandad in this one. He's had his shots, and we'll get him again next time.)
Anywho, we started on Saturday by going to Peers Park with Grandy, and she pushed me in the swing. On Sunday we had the Donovans, Caldwells, and Baldwins over for a nice brunch. Daddy worked super-hard to cook for everyone, and we all agreed that it was delicious.
In addition to pictures of Baby Julia Donovan and Grandma Laura, we also got shots of me with Chandler building a train track, some family portraits, a shot of the fellas watching March Madness, and a nice snapshot of Mom.
After that, we went to the San Jose Children's Discovery Museum. First we checked in on the ambulance, and after that we put on a smock and played in the water. Then I delivered pizza with Grandy and then we had a tea party. I also made a bunch of towers out of big, purple blocks.
Then, we had some fun with Mara at Alex's house. We played with baby "Jessica" and with the sweet wooden kitchen in the playroom.
 We also went to a birthday party for my preschool friend Leo. We had a great time in bouncy-house in the shape of a train, then we ate snacks, and then we bounced again. Then Leo blew out some candles and we all ate cupcakes!!! After cake, I rocked his older sister's three-wheel scooter. I hope I get a scooter soon!
Rounding out the month, we had Jonathan and Zachary over, along with their parents Marcy and Dave. We had lots of fun with our tools, especially the safety goggles.
March was really fun, and April gets even better. I can't even wait for May (for my birthday) and June (to meet my baby sister).
Tune in for the thrilling continuation, same Max time, same Max channel.
:: 11:16 PM ::
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:: Tuesday, February 28, 2006 ::
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February was a super-busy month. We moved into our new house, the Donovans had little baby Julia, we made a lot of new friends, we went to Monterey, and lots more. I'll tell you all about it, but first, here are the pictures.
There are some pictures of Daddy and me clowning around with some of the new furniture at the new house before we moved in, and me posing with a super-big lego tower that I made all by myself. I was so proud that I asked Dad to take a picture.
Then, just before we moved, baby Julia Donovan was born. Daddy and I were sick, so we stayed home while Mom went for a visit to the hospital.
There's a picture in the gallery of our refrigerator before we took everything off of it. Our new refrigerator is stainless steel, so we don't have a place for all our magnets now. Dad says that he might have some tricks up his sleeve.
 Next we started to settle into our new neighborhood. On our first weekend in the new house, we went down to California Ave. for brunch on Saturday and Sunday. We took some pictures of me and Daddy in front of the mural on the side of the Country Sun organic grocery.
That weekend we also attended a Valentine's Day party sponsored by the Palo Alto/Menlo Park parents' club. It was super fun. We made some Valentines, and played games, and even met some nice people.
We also received some nice Valentine's presents. Grandy sent me a toy combine harvester and a trailer to tow it, and Aunt Susie sent a $10 gift card. In March, I used that to buy a Lego fire helicopter. One of the lego men who came with it looks just like our buddy Mike Ault. Awesome!
That same weekend, as we were wondering what we were going to do for dinner, our new neighbor Kendra knocked on our door and invited us to her and Mark's house for their daugher Ella's first birthday. They even offered us lasagna. How cool was that?
At Ella's party, we had lots of fun, playing with other kids ranging in age from under one to four. We also met Irene, Steve, Charlotte, and Sophie. Irene is friends with a few of our pals, including Kevin Fox and Dave Jeske, and they live right down the street from us now, so Mommy had been meaning to talk with her.
We had such a good time with those folks that now we have a bi-weekly get together with me, Ella, Charlotte, and Sophie. (We let our parents tag along.)
The following Monday, I took Mom and Dad to check out a preschool called "Leapin' Lizards." It's a "nature immersion" school, so instead of being cooped up in a classroom, we go on hikes. The school is for kids ages 3-4, but since it's midway through the school year, I was a full year younger than everyone else. Nevertheless, I had a BLAST! The teacher caught a little blue-bellied lizard for us to look at and gently touch, and we ran around and played in the sand, and generally had an incredibly fun time. We even got to eat snacks while reading a story. I'm going to start attending classes there in the fall. I loved it so much I even gave Dad a high five.
Margy and Marissa came to visit me that week, too. They wanted to welcome us into our new home. It was really nice to see them.
The following weekend we celebrated Alex's birthday! For the occasion, he got a sweet new play structure with a fort and swings and a slide and everything. Daddy says that he's going to build one for me, but I hope he gets some help from Capt. Mikie. Mommy is still entertaining the idea of getting someone else to build something. I have no comment, just as long as we get 'er done, you know?
Ahem. (I guess I get that from Daddy.)
So there are other nice pictures from the party: Alex blowing out the candles and Marianne holding me. Plus, there is one of many sweet pictures of Grandma Laura holding baby Julia.
The next week, Mommy went to TED. While she was representing as a bigwig designer from "Doodle" (my Gs still aren't that strong), Daddy and I had lots of fun at the Aquarium.
You might notice that in many of those pictures I'm wearing an embroidered sweatshirt of a man fishing off the end of a dock. Grandy gave that sweatshirt to me. It turns out that she made it for Daddy when he was three, using a picture that he drew. Pretty cool, eh?
Anyway, while we were at the aquarium, I posed for pictures outside, in front of the shark tank, in front of the jellies, with a stuffed moray eel, inside of a plastic giant clam, and behind the glass while "Finding Nemo."
(Flashback: check out the last picture in the 2nd row, and the 3rd picture in the 3rd row of this album.)
 Dad and I also went to the super-sweet Dennis the Menace Park in Monterey. I really liked the old-school metal slide. It was the first time that I rocked that action, and I rocked it again and again and again.
We met up with Mom for dinner that night (she was super busy, so we didn't get to see her much while we were down there). We had a really nice time, and Peter Gabriel showed up in the restaurant while we were eating dinner. We were super-geeked, but stayed cool enough not to hassle the man while he was trying to enjoy his evening. Mom let me wear her badge, and the nice people at the restaurant gave me a balloon, so things were good with me.
The next day, Dad and I went to the Monterey Youth (MY) Museum. Dad says that it wasn't all that great, but I thought it was super, and had much fun making pizza and driving the "firetruck."
When we got back home that weekend, we settled into the new house some more. I built an excellent train track, and reflected on just how awesome the month of February really was.
Much love to all my people. Peace out.
:: 6:52 PM ::
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:: Tuesday, January 31, 2006 ::
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 January was another fun month, following our super-cool December. Here are the pictures, and here's the rundown....
We started the month by recovering from our travels, and playing with our new toys. We especially enjoyed our keyboard and our car wash.
Then, we found a new house! It's really nice, and you'll be seeing a lot more of it as the months go by.
We had a great dinner with our pals Mike and Mo, and hosted playgroup at our old house.
Later in the month, Margy and Marissa came over to celebrate a belated Christmas, and then Dad and I had fun goofing around in silly clothes while Mom was away on business.
Finally, we had our last music class at the Finn Center, and Mommy and I clowned around.
All in all, another great month!
:: 8:25 PM ::
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