New in Max's corner of the room are a photo and haiku made for him by our friend Rachel, just after he was born. Jess smiles every time she reads it, as it seems to capture Max just right.
sweet baby boy max
With Taisie, which started with brunch at Julienne.
It was the perfect temperature for an outdoor brunch, and Sam sat out with the kids while Jess and Taisie ogled the baked goods in the market next door.
Back at home, Taisie made her own baked goods - a lemon cake - so that the family could slowly wean off of their sugar dependency that had been encouraged by a month of 2 grandmothers.
It was exhausting to try to keep up with all of the kitchen activity.
She also stocked the family up with a bowl of chicken curry.
We will be very sad to see her go, but she leaves behind one well fed family. We love you!!
But not out by the swimming pool, although his sister thought it was hilarious that he was being bounced on the side of it.
Maddie also cracked up on the bed, during their bonding time.
Which consisted primarily of her trying to roll on top of him with her love - you can see the slightly terrified look in his eyes.
Nothing quite like a peanut butter and jelly with garnish.
That was Maddie's dinner. Alison and Brian fed the rest of us grilled chicken, salad, quinoa, and asparagus. (Taisie made blueberry pie for dessert).
Delicious.
Max spent some time getting to know Brian.
Maddie spent some time terrifying her parents by proving she could climb, stand on, and jump on Alison's Adirondack chairs, which were just high enough off the concrete to be possibly, but not definitely, dangerous.
And no coffee is better than that shared with another Jess.
And no milk is better than that from yo momma. It was time for Max's first bottle. This proved to be a somewhat traumatic process, not so much for Max, but for his sister and mom. Jess began pumping, and Maddie became somewhat horrified and concerned, at the entire contraption, and later, jealous over Max's bottle. Max managed to get all 2.5oz down, no problem. Then when Jess lifted him up burp, all 2.5 came immediately back out and down Jess' front and back. Next time, a mid-bottle burp will be in order.
You put them to work. Our home has some unpainted stucco that needed to be painted to match the house. Max decided it was time Taisie got to it.
After she had been outside for awhile, he thought some supervision might be in order. Would she be sneaking in a donut break, perhaps wiping the sweat from her brow?
No time was wasted. Max immediately put her on beam painting duty (there was one raw beam on our patio due to a replacement).
Max does know the importance of positive reinforcement and reward, so he brought Taisie to Señor Fish for dinner.
Taisie arrived this morning with the awesomest gift ever.
A balloon - often coveted in the supermarket, never had, until today.
Maddie tried to impress upon her bro, the coolness of the gift.
He seemed slightly perplexed.
So instead she headed out to grab a latte at a coffee shop designed for the wifi parent with toddlers. Her balloon stayed home, but was immediately clutched in her hand upon return.
In the morning, we headed downtown to get Max's birth certificate - the process was smooth and efficient. We were amazed, as our experience with Maddie's involved things like being told DC was not a valid birthplace for Sam, as Columbia is another country. When we returned home - we had a phone call waiting for us, telling us to return his certificate, as they had incorrectly certified it. So, Max is on the grid, kind of.
Enthused by the smoothness of the birth certificate, we headed to get Max's social security number as we had with Maddie 16 months previous. We got it, unintentionally using the birth certificate with the error. So, Max has a social security number - maybe?
Then it was LA Zoo time.
Maddie loved walking "Up, up, up" the hills with Dad.
For the first time, Maddie paid attention to the animals, smiling and pointing (and screaming when we left before she was ready). She had 2 favorite exhibits. One was the sea lions during feeding.
The other was the back hoe, which was being used for the construction of a new animal habitat.
A Taisie who will push her on the swings for minutes on end.
And provide her with a seat where none exists. Please note, Taisie's uplifted knee that allowed Maddie to play with activities normally out of reach.
Then it was time for Taisie and Maddie to spend another night together, as Max and the folks headed out to celebrate Suzanne's birthday over dinner.
ELF got to spend a little quality time with Max at the wee people's end of the table. 
Suzanne had a birthday sundae that was passed around to everyone at the table for a sample. There were 12 people; she's a good sharer.
When Alison stopped by with a sawzall, something every modern woman should carry (and Sam needed to borrow).
Max.
Maddie.
With Smooth Andre, as tomorrow, he and his parents are headed back to 'Ol Rhodey.
It was a bittersweet goodbye. Jess also learned that Maddie understands the word cuddle, even if she only uses it on Andre and not her mother.
Toddler cuddling can be slightly off balance.
Derek got in some last one-on-one time with Max.
And one last family dinner was made.
They'll miss the fine Cali produce. We'll miss them.