Monday, June 1, 2020

May 2020

May brought the end of the school year! It's crazy to see how much Max changed (particularly his face!) from the beginning to the end of first grade. He looks so much older!


We made Jello Jigglers for the first time! Max loved it.


Mother's Day!


Painting a little bird feeder.


Playing with boxes, cups, and more!


We had some leftover pots from purchasing ferns and Max had a blast using them as drums, shoes, and more!



Max got some new sneakers and wanted us to take a photo. :-)


Excited!


Continuing the tradition of ice cream on the last day of school!


Max wanted a buzz cut for the summer (he's a hot natured kid) and we decided to try doing it at home with an attachment on Ben's electric razor. It ended up being a LOT shorter than we expected, but Max loves it and hair grows, so everything is fine. :-)  Until it gets a bit longer, we've been putting sunscreen in his hair and encouraging him to wear a hat to try to protect his scalp when playing outside!


Max made a rocket chair and rocket table and sat under his rocket blanket for the shuttle launch! You can't see if very well in this photo, but there are boosters and flames on his homemade chair and table.


One day Max and Granddaddy did a Georgia Tech crossword puzzle together via Zoom, and Max wore all his Tech gear for the occasion. :-)


Cub Scouts held a "camp-in" (as in, camp in your own backyard) earlier in the month! We forgot to take many photos, but here's a picture of Max all bundled in his sleeping bag!


Making s'mores in the oven for the campout!


We all slept in the tent!


Mother's Day water gun fight! That hose water was COLD but we had fun!



Tuesday, May 12, 2020

Nature Mandala

Max's school is owned by a company called Endeavor Schools that runs about 50 schools across the country. They are hosting an "Endeavor Showcase" and asking students from all the schools to submit artwork, music, writing, science projects, etc. (pretty much anything!) and write a short statement about it.

Prior to this, Max's teacher sent information to the class about nature mandalas. He thought it sounded fun, so we collected items on one of our morning walks and created one on the sidewalk. Max decided he wanted to submit a picture of it for the Endeavor Showcase.

Today we received an email from the Head of School (Principal) at Max's school and she said:

Hi, Mr. & Ms. Lilly:

I wanted to forward the kind words that Dr. Brereton, our VP of Academics, shared about Max's submission to the Endeavor showcase. We are very proud of Max!

Thank you for sharing his work!
Annaliza

--------

Dear Annaliza,

Today I have been reviewing all of the Endeavor Showcase entries. There were some fantastic ones from MASS. I especially liked Max Lilly’s Nature Mandala. It is so lovely. Would you let Max and Max’s teachers know that they inspired feelings of great pride in me! 


Warm wishes,
Amy


Amy Brereton, Ph.D
Vice President for Academics
Endeavor Schools




Wednesday, May 6, 2020

April 2020

We've really missed the library (closed to do the pandemic), but we've enjoyed this free little library in the neighborhood!


Max made Easter cards / pictures for everyone on our street, and we had fun putting them in everyone's mailbox. We'd occasionally see neighbors out for walks and several said  they hung his picture on their fridge! :-)


Repainting our mailbox and post!


Family hike!



Max wanted to take a family photo of us "screaming."




Kidz Church via video conference... totally normal. Haha


Dying Easter eggs!


Painting with Mom


Max wanted to leave eggs, water, and a carrot for the Easter Bunny. He gets so excited about holidays!


Easter Bunny came!





Church for Easter Sunday looked a little different this year (the cups and crackers on the hearth are our communion).


About to enjoy a slice of blueberry cake! (Nana's recipe and a staple of Laura's childhood!)


Max wanted to take a photo of our backyard picnic snack!


Grammie made us matching masks!


Snuggling and reading on the couch


Max "saved" several worms and cared for them for a few days!



We had to stop at Home Depot and Max and I waited in the car while Ben went in the store. It was a nice day so we rolled down the windows in the parking lot. Max hung his head out the window and exclaimed, "I'm a dog!" Haha


Lost another tooth!



We got the sink holes in our backyard filled and topped with sod. Max was mesmerized by the process and stacked up a bunch of pillows by his window so he could sit and watch.


Deep in thought while doing school work...


Earning a boyhood badge trying to catch a dry leaf on fire with a magnifying glass.