Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes

This morning, as I was dressing Max, I discovered something new about him (as I do regularly, he changes so fast!)... He pointed to his nose and said, well, "nose." Max knows his nose! He also knows where his eyes, mouth, ears, and hair are. Yet another thing he has learned at school. Clint and I regularly name these parts when we talk to him, but he doesn't usually repeat the names. It is so exciting to see him learning new things. I asked him, again, in the car on the way to school. I tried, again, at small group tonight, but he was distracted by the goings-on of the people around him (and Naomi and her toys).

Giving Up on The Wild Thing

We unintentionally did a lot of shopping for Max last weekend. We got him some more pants and a couple of sweaters for the upcoming winter, new shoes, and a Halloween costume.

I can't get over tiny little boy sweaters. Most of the time, the girls have the most adorable baby/toddler clothes, and walking through the 'girls' section of most stores makes me immediately want to have more (female!) babies. But sweaters for little boys? Really, I think they take the cake. They are *almost* worth moving somewhere cold over. Ok, I lied on that one. But, I did used to joke when I was pregnant with Max that you would always know my kid, because he'd be the one in the sweater, even in the middle of a Texas summer! We got Max one little argyle sweater that I love (of course, because I love anything argyle)! It's a tan color, with little buttons on one shoulder and a 3-diamond argyle pattern in the middle. The best part? The diamonds are appliques of classic patterns, like houndtooth! We also found him a delightfully 80's style blue & creme sweater.

Next, we got Max some new shoes because his were becoming tattered. I was hoping to find some that he couldn't remove, so I bought some that laced up. I foud out the very same day that he can, in fact, get them off. It's not quite as easy, though. The next day, I discovered he can untie them. They are also larger and wider, since Max takes after his father with his FAT FEET.

Finally, we got Max his Halloween costume. We originally wanted Max to go as Max from Where the Wild Things Are, but OMG do you know how hard it is to find plain, white, footed pajamas for an 18 month old? Yeah, close to impossible. So, Max is going to be a bee. Not so creative, but he does look adorable in the costume. And we had a lot of fun looking for a costume, running around the store and trying on hats of all kinds (look out, we're a crazy bunch!).

Pictures of Max in sweaters and bee costume, soon!

18 months

Max is 18 months old today. A whole year and a half. Where the heck did that time go to? He continues to 'go!' all the time...he never stops. We were at a friend's house last night and he observed "I don't know how you guys do it..."

Max is also talking up a storm. We were in the car, this morning, on the way to school, when Max heard 'cash' on the radio, listening to NPR. He said 'cash, cash, cash' all the way to school. As far as I know, he's never even heard that word before! He also says 'stop' and last night he learned "NOooooo!" from Papa watching football. Papa thought it was funny, but I have a feeling he'll regret it soon enough.

Max is staunchly planted in toddler-hood. He is sometimes very sweet and sometimes willful and determined to get his way. He loves to give hugs, but also thinks he can get out of being in trouble by hugging (just a weeee but manipulative). He is sitting at his own table, now, to eat, but only for about 2 bites at a time. Then we have to chase him down to make him return to the table.

Max has become attached to Clint and I being with him, together. If Clint is not around, I hear "Papa, papa, papa?" But if Papa shows up and I try to leave, it's "Mama, Mama, Mama?!" He's still Papa's boy, though, constantly hugging, kissing, and asking about Papa. When Clint walks into a room, Max goes running for him, arms open.

As challenging as he is, Max is such fun and a joy. I look forward to the next 18 months, 18 years, and beyond, watching him continue to learn, grow, and love.

Trip to the 'Fe

Last weekend, we took the chance to go see all the family down in the Houston area. Max was very excited to see his grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts, uncle, and cousin for the first time since July 4th weekend. Mom was a little worried before we left that he would not do well with his Cousin Bella, because Max tends to not understand he's bigger (and, therefore, other kids are smaller and younger), but he did great! He, of course, loved the attention from the family, and he was pretty good with Bella. He even gave her sweet hugs and kisses, completely unprompted! Bella loved watching Max move and play. We had a pretty uneventful, relaxing, and fun weekend, just hanging out with the family! We hope to do it again, soon. Here's a picture Aunt Ree got with her phone of Max hugging Bella at the grocery store:
Aren't they so sweet together? I can't wait to watch these two grow up together. I can already see the trouble they are going to be...My son in the lead, of course...

Mr. Personality

Max has been really funny this week. Despite his often challenging toddler will and mood swings, he has been generally happy, talkative, and just flat-out funny. Monday morning, we were getting ready for school and Max happened to follow me into the kitchen. He noticed himself in the reflection of the oven. He started talking to himself, and then he leaned in and kissed his own reflection! I started laughing so, being the ham that he is, he had to do it about 6 more times!

Also, on Monday, I dressed Max in an Elmo t-shirt. He has never before expressed an interest or preference in his clothing, but he apparently has learned about Elmo at school and LOVES him. He was so excited about his Elmo shirt, walking around and looking at the front of his shirt. He also happened to take a particular interest in the Elmo bib that Aunt Ree and Uncle Adam gave him at Christmas time. When we got home that evening, and tried to take the Elmo shirt off for bedtime, Max got very upset, repeatedly asking 'Elmo? Elmo?? Elmo!!??' in a progressively higher pitched tone bordering on hysteria. He slept in the Elmo shirt that night.

Finally, Max has been jumping in his crib as of late. It is so funny to see; he gets this huuuuge grin and start bouncing while holding on to the rail. It is his immediate reaction if you ask him if he's excited. I can't help but laugh every time I see him do it.

Crazy Boy

Max's new haircut

The last week has been rather crazy. Max and I were both sick all weekend last week, and we've been really busy this week. Max continues to amaze us with his learning and curiosity. He has reached that point in his speech development where he is repeating everything we say and consistently saying things that cause Clint and I to give each other the 'Where the heck did he learn that?' look. For instance, last night at dinner, Max was trying to climb into his chair at his little table, but got stuck. He looked up at me and said 'help me.' Um....ok, sure kid! He has also learned how to say his name in the last week, and it is so cute to hear him say it! Other things I've heard him say recently:
-puppy
-stuck
-fall down
-Papa do? (as in, What's Papa doing?)
-chicken
-play

Max's trusty steed, courtesy of Grandma and Grandpa. Clint is trying to teach him 'ye-haw!'

Max has also learned how to take off his shoes and socks, a trick that drives his father crazy to no end (I pick my battles, and I prefer food throwing and manners). I can pretty much guarantee that within 2 minutes of putting him in his car seat, Max will have removed his right shoe. He knows how to 'kick' his shoe off, by stepping on the side of it with the other foot. At least he tells me once the shoe has been removed ("Shoe?!"), so we don't, say, accidentally leave it on the floor at the grocery store.

Max sits in his new 'Poang' chair. Thanks, Aunt Fannie!

We are desperately trying to get Max to sit and eat at his little table, but it usually requires me sitting down with him in my lap. He doesn't want to sit; he wants to eat a little, and then play, cruising by the table to grab more food when his mouth is empty. It's a tough battle, but I try to remind myself that he is now saying please, after several weeks of battling over it.

Spaghetti dinner-one of the last in the high chair.

Max really likes to brush his teeth. I think it's probably the strawberry flavored toothpaste, but-hey-whatever it takes! When he sees me brushing mine, he reaches for his little tooth brush and starts saying "Please, please..." over and over. Ok, if you insist, but can I rinse my mouth, first?

Clint teaches Max the joys of lighted head-gear.

Poor, Neglected Blog

(picture by Aunt Fannie!)

Ack! It's been a very long time since I've posted. I know this, but in my defense, it's been a very busy couple of weeks. This last weekend Max's Aunt Fannie and Uncle Boogie (otherwise known as our wonderful friends, Annie and Bob) were in town taking refuge from Hurricane Ike. And the weekend before that was very busy with trips to the park, and the Austin Zoo, and a visit from Grandma that involved lots of shopping! And I have pictures of...the first trip to the park. And the second one (thanks to Aunt Fannie). Yes, I forgot my camera for the zoo, Grandma AND Annie and Bob. I know, I'm terrible at this 'mother' thing.

But before the pictures, updates! Max has been very good with saying 'please,' and he is even using sign language for 'more!' We also got a little table and chairs, and he is starting to use a plate and fork at all his meals, now. Most of the time he just bangs the fork, but sometimes he uses it. His biting is also much better-he hasn't bitten anyone in a week (knock on wood).

Papa has been home in the evenings, and Max is really loving seeing him on a more regular basis. Clint takes Max out to check on the chickens, and last night he showed Max worms. Max wasn't sure what to think about the worms, but he sure was fascinated! We had a good time at the Austin Zoo-Max got to pet goats and see another rooster (just like the one at home! He thought it was very funny when it crowed). We also saw tigers and monkeys and a big bear.

Last week, we took Max to the doctor because he has been stumbling and falling a lot. And the verdict is...Max is big. He's still gaining about a pound a month, and weighs in at 27 1/2 pounds, now. The doctor thinks he's stumbling for the same reason Clint did as a teenager-he's just growing too fast for his sense of balance to keep up. And now on to pictures...

He's become very attached to his cup-which he can say-and wants it whenever we are out places.

He found rocks at the bottom of the slide, and Papa at the top!

He's so big...what happened to my baby boy?

Getting burried by Papa-what fun!

Loving the swing!

Here's another by Aunt Fannie. You can see the big tear on Max's chin...that's because about 3 seconds before this picture was snapped, he was crying and screaming bloody murder because he had dropped his cup on the ground and his mother-some horrible woman who will remain nameless-refused to give it back to him covered with dirt. As soon as Aunt Fannie grabbed the camera, though, he was all smiles. What a ham...