SWIMMING WITH SHARKS

Well, it only took $4,000,000 worth of lessons, but as you'll see below... it was worth it!

Love Maxwell

SHOULD I TELL THEM I GOT SAND UP MY BUM?

This, ladies and gentlemen, is what FAMILY looks like.

I love you, Dada and Papa. 

Love Maxwell

PAINTING... SWIMMING... FLIPPING... OH MY!

One day it rained. (GASP!) I know.  But my Dads did everything they could to keep me entertained. That included a trip to Color Me Mine to paint a very special present for my lovely nanny, Rosie.

This Summer I also got really really good at swimming. My Dads said it's almost worth the $8,000 it costs for lessons : )

Also, after months of being too scared, I finally tried to do a flip at gym class. And guess what. I flippin' loved it!  

A couple of weeks ago Uncle Drew and my Cousin Sam took me to a car show. It was fun until I was told I couldn't drive any of the cars. OverIT.com.

Finally, I leave you with a picture I like to call SPOILED. Just a boy and his trucks. Lots and lots of trucks. 

Love Maxwell

ANGRY BIRD TAKES FLIGHT!

Love Maxwell

MAX IS NO MILLI VANILLI...

My favorite song on the radio these days is Sam Smith's Stay With Me. Whenever I hear it, I just gotta sing along.

Love Maxwell

P.S. He killed it at The Greek.

MADMAN MAX. A youthful day in advertising.

While on summer break, I decided to go to my Dad's office in Santa Monica for the day. He told me he makes commercials, but I didn't know what that means so I needed to see for myself!

I don't know about this Advertising thing. It looks much sexier on Madman and Melrose Place!

Love Maxwell

COVER BOYS... STRIKE A POSE!

Wow. The coolest thing ever has happened. Los Angeles Magazine asked my family to be featured in their annual "Best of L.A." edition (which is the most popular edition of the year). They sent a really nice photographer (Meiko Takechi Arquillos) to our house to take pictures of my Dads getting me ready for bed. The concept of the article was "what do different families look like at 7:30 on a Saturday night in Los Angeles." For us, it looks like this!

the actual photo:

article:

Love Maxwell

P.S. For bookings, have your people call my people!

SUMMER LOVING HAD ME A BLAST...

Hey guys... remember me? I'm the super cute blond boy who's been MIA for far too long! Sorry about that.  I’ve had quite a busy summer... and that means we've got a lot of catching up to do.  

First things first. My Uncle Larry, Aunt Ellen and cousins Joss and Cole came to LA to visit me. They stayed in my house. Joss and Cole got the sofa bed in my playroom, and Uncle Larry and Aunt Ellen got a blow-up mattress in the office (suckers!).  We had a great time together... eating at restaurants, swimming in my pool and going to the beach house.

Then, a couple of weeks later, my Dads took me on an airplane to Colorado. We visited their good friends Mike and Marla who have two kids around my age... Chelsea and Abby.  They all used to live right near me in LA, but they moved to Colorado because they said it was a "better place to raise a family." I disagree. It was nice and all, but all the houses looked the same and there were too many strip malls. The best part of the trip was being chased around the house by two pretty girls. Yeah, they were sweatin' me for sure. It was an awesome trip — Mike and Marla pulled out all the stops!

The following weekend, my grandparents came to visit. They drove in from Vegas... and brought me some really nice books and toys. It was so nice to see them. We went to the beach house and ate Chinese food. And by Chinese food, I mean Chinese crunchy noodles. They're my favorite!

Can't wait to see who comes to see me next week! Maybe Dora will even show up...

Love Maxwell

THE GRISWOLDS GOT NOTHING ON US!

Hi there. Long time no talk. I've been busy… you know… globetrotting with my Dads.

I've got some advice for you parents out there.  If you're thinking about taking a European trip with a small child — don't. Seriously, don’t do it.  Don’t go unless you know exactly what you’re getting yourself into.

 

SPOILER ALERT: It won’t be relaxing. It won’t be chill. It won’t be about sleeping in, room service, spa treatments, gourmet restaurants, hammocking, hot tubs, cocktails or romance. What it will be about is your child. But here’s the kicker, seeing a trip through their eyes — instead of yours — might even be more fun. Stop giving me the side eye and just hear me out.

I get it. Sure, you'll have to endure a tedious ten-hour flight being that parent who can’t control his kid, nightmarish bouts of jet lag, seven straight days of erratic tantrums and having to creatively answer constant “Why” questions? (Give us a break, kids are curious).  

But I’m happy to report the trip actually turned out to be… wait for it… kind of amazing. Sure, I averaged eighteen minutes of sleep each night, and yeah, I only ate Pringles, Oreos and milk for seven straight days… but I got to spend quality time with my awesome Dads, experiencing the culture of a beautiful foreign country — together. No distractions. No looking down at their phones. No kissing me goodbye as they head off to work. We went to bed together. We woke up together. We ate together (and I say “ate” loosely). We lived in the moment and made lifelong memories.

And seeing as though this was my first trip abroad, I've learned quite a lot and so I’ve compiled a list of 10 traveling-with-tot tips designed to help you navigate the wonderful and woeful realities of international travel. God speed.  

1.     Board the plane armed with a handful of Godiva chocolate bars to hand out to nearby, would-be complainers. These delicious “apologies in advance” bars will prevent eye-daggers of hate when Junior accidentally (or deliberately, in my case) kicks the back of that old lady’s chair. Hey -- she was asking for it!  

2.     If you want to stay happy, get app-y. (Eminem’s got nothing on me). Nowadays there are so many great, kid-friendly apps to keep them occupied during long-distance flights. That means your one allotted carry-on doesn’t have to be a toy box filled with Matchbox cars and crayons that’ll undoubtedly get lost down the side of seats. Let me know if you find my magenta!  

3.     What child doesn’t love the novelty of travelling by train, bus, taxi and boat? Say cheerio to rental cars and take advantage of public transportation wherever possible. Max loved hopping on and off London’s iconic red double-decker buses. And yes, I did mind the gap. 

4.     Don’t forget to wipe. I mean don’t forget the wipes. Even if your child is potty trained — congrats! — still bring plenty of baby wipes. You’ll be amazed at how useful they are for keeping paws clean, wiping down public toilet seats, restaurant tables, etc.  While you’re at it, keep a small bottle of hand sanitizer in your Daddy-bag. Trust me, some of those London parks can get pretty dirty. Just ask George Michael.  

5.     Us kids think hotel beds are strange.  Before you leave home, pull up photos of the hotel online to show them the type of room they’ll be sleeping in. This way, they’ll know what to expect and there won’t be any surprises. My dads told me we’d be having a family slumber party every night in our hotel room. It worked well... until I decided I’d rather watch six hours of Peppa Pig on my iPad. 

6.     Annie Leibovitz first started taking photos at just three years old during family vacations. Okay, I made that up, but you never know. So give your kid a child-friendly camera and encourage him to document his journey. My Dads gave me a camera to keep me engaged and I had a blast snapping away, which included 387 shots of my feet, my thumb, and Papa’s nose hair.

7.     Our flight home was delayed three hours. That meant we didn’t land in Los Angeles until 11pm. Worst yet, we didn’t get home until close to 1am.  Unfortunately both of my Dads had to be at work bright and early that same morning. D’oh! Learn from our mistake. For a painless transition back home, schedule a day of vacation to recover from your vacation. You’ll need it.

8.     The thought of crowded airport security lines and baggage claims can be daunting with a small, impatient child like me. But you know what, it felt really nice going through customs and immigration on both ends without any question about us being a ‘family.’ It felt like the most normal thing in the world. That made all the annoyingly long lines worth it. Well, almost.

9.     New destination, new disposition.  Sometimes it takes being in a new environment to get a fresh perspective. During this trip, my Dad fell even more in love with my Papa. I don’t know if it was seeing him warmly interact with his English family, proudly showing me off to everyone, or noticing the little things, like when we sat down at a restaurant, Papa would first figure out the menu items Dada would like to eat before thinking about himself.

10. Last but not least, temper expectations. My Dads were convinced a head of time that this would be the week from hell. So their expectations were low — very, very low. This worked in their favor. When you think it’s going to suck, and it turns out not to suck — you’re already ahead.

So here I stand… a brave little warrior who made it through my first international trip with my Dads… and somehow managed to stay alive... and smiling. We did it! And you can too. 

The Griswolds? They’ve got nothing on us.

Love Max 

Max's Entourage

Rosie, my sweet and lovely nanny took me on a tour of Universal Studios. It was awesome. I got to see all my Hollywood friends up-close-and-personal.  I even think I landed myself an agent.  Take a look.

No autographs!  

This dude should see a dentist. 

Love Maxwell

All Grown Up.

I talk a lot.
I'm potty trained.
I wear big boy underwear.
I sleep in a big boy bed.
I'm off the paci.
I eat some veggies.
I dress myself.

Like my new rain boots?

CHIPS 2.0.

I love lazy Sundays...

I picked out my own outfit today! 

Yes, my friends, I am no longer a toddler. I am officially a big boy.

Love Maxwell

The Many Faces of Max

Love Maxwell

IMMACULATE CONCEPTION...?

Love Maxwell

Goodbye Yellow Brick... Paci?

Saturday March 15 2014.
The day I finally gave up my pacifier.

My last supper with paci...

 

Paci leaves mouth...

And let me tell you, it was no small feat. For almost three and a half years my Dads have been trying everything to get me to give up the rubber crack. And nothing took. I just wasn't willing to let it go.

That is until my Dads told me they'd take me to Toys R Us and let me pick out anything in the store if I gave my pacies to a new baby. My friend from school, Robin, just happened to have twin baby brothers who were just born. So my Dads thought this was be the perfect opportunity to pay it forward and pass the pacies on.  So we went to Robin's house and I begrudgingly did it. I handed my pacifiers over to the little bald, winy babies.

And before I could cry about it, my Dads reminded me it was time to go to the toy store.

I picked out an awesome new construction train set.

I know my Dads were hoping I'd stay under 20 bucks, but screw that — I deserved this. It's been almost two weeks, and I haven't had one craving.

Love Maxwell