Max – 17 Months

Poor Max – he’s been the ignored child on this blog! I keep thinking about doing update posts, but just haven’t gotten around to it!

It’s amazing how different two brothers can be.  When compared to Alex at the same age, there’s really not much of a comparison! :)

Alex thinks things through, wants to know how everything works, and usually considers consequences.  He’s curious, and he asks a lot of questions.  He’s pretty considerate of other people’s feelings most of the time.  He’s got energy, but overall, he’s a fairly calm child.

Max is our busybody.  I believe he’s related to the Energizer Bunny, because he truly does keep going and going and going and…

He’s a climber, a mischief-maker, a test-the-limits kind of kid.  He doesn’t fear much, acts impulsively, and I often call him our “Drama King”. 

Don’t get me wrong – I love this kid for who he is.  Max makes us laugh every day!  That mischievous grin on his face makes my day!

It’s not unusual to find Max on top of the kitchen table with a pile of cars and trucks…or standing on the train table…or splashing in the toilet…or diving off the couch…or…well, anything but quietly sitting on the floor and playing with his toys!

Words

Max is a boy of few words.  He understands pretty much everything we say, but feels no need to reply.  He has picked up a few new words and signs, but still has a pretty small vocabulary.  He does babble nonsense “sentences” quite often, and occasionally he’ll repeat a string of words that Alex just said.

spoken
Daddy
Alex (Ahhh-leeex)
Baba (Papa/Grandpa)
up
down
Hi
Bye-bye
ball! (always with great enthusiasm)
dod (dog)
seez (please)
Day-Doo (thank you)
Uh-huh (SO CUTE version of “yes” – both Keith & I agree this is our favorite of Max’s words)
ahhh-dee (all done)
Amen
diddy (rarely used, but “kitty”)
ushy (fishy, again, rarely used)
deet, deet (means “Beep, beep” or “choo, choo”)
dooce (juice)
uh-oh (he has his own unique way of saying it that I can’t spell)
booooo (Max, what does a cow say?  “Booooooo!”)
dee, dee, dee, DOH! (“3,2,1, Go!” Sometimes, he wakes up in the morning and this is the first noise from his mouth!)

signed
more
all done
please
dog
bird
fish
milk (although this sign means “cup” to Max)
potty (learned from the Potty Train video)
wash hands (learned from the Potty Train video)
good job (again, from the Potty Train video)

When he wants a snack or a toy, he’ll point to it and say, “Seez?  Seez?  Uh-huh!” 

He says “Amen” in the middle of our mealtime prayers so that he can get at his food faster.  He’ll always start by holding hands with Alex when we begin our prayer, but it’s rare that Max makes it to the end of prayer before starting to eat!

FOOD

This boy loves to EAT!  He begs for food all day long.  If I’m not looking, Max hops up on the table to finish Alex’s meal as soon as I let him out of the high chair.

Carbs are most definitely his favorite.  If the meal involves some sort of bread (biscuit, cornbread, sliced bread, doesn’t matter…) then that’s all Max wants.  He will SCREAM if I don’t give him more.  I’ll say, “Eat your ham, and then I’ll give you more bread.”  This usually leads to at least 5 minutes of screaming and tears from the high chair.  We ignore it, and eventually he quietly eats the ham (or whatever…) before pointing at the bread and saying, “Seez?  Seez?  Uh-huh!”

after eating more chocolate chip pancakes than his Mama…

He loves pancakes and waffles, happily eats a tray full of dry cereal or crackers, loves fruit (second only to carbs), and usually tolerates meat and veggies.  Occasionally, he’ll surprise us and eat his meat and veggies first…but that’s pretty rare!

He loves to use utensils.  He’s pretty good with a spoon, even feeding himself soup!  He does a decent job with a fork, as well, although that’s sometimes a struggle.

TOYS

Max loves cars and trucks.  He loves to “vroom vroom” and “deet deet” the cars as he’s driving them.  Although he and Alex often struggle with sharing, Max loves to play with Alex’s smaller cars and trucks.  He adores the Thomas trains.

 

He loves pushing wheeled toys around the house – the ride-on train, the shopping cart, his push walker – whatever he can push around the house is fine by him.

Stacking and sorting toys – he loves to play with stacking cups, stacking blocks, and still enjoys putting smaller toys inside of bigger toys.  He doesn’t always try to shape-match while sorting.  He’s rather just shove things until they fit! :)

Balls – Oh, he loves balls.  He loves anything that he can throw.  (Unfortunately, with that impulsive nature of his, that often means he’s throwing a Hot Wheel car or a block.)  If it’s round, Max calls it a ball.

Books – this little boy can sit with a pile of books, turn the pages, and just get lost in his own little “book world” for a 5 – 10 minutes.  It’s one of his few calm moments!  He loves books with textured pictures to touch.  He will take MY hand and “help” me feel the picture, just the way I taught him to touch and feel the pictures.  It’s so sweet!  He also loves the same Bible storybooks that I read to Alex at this age.  He wants one of these read to him before bed each night.  He giggles and grins when I pull it from the shelf.

Playing Upstairs – he loves when we go up to the playroom!  Max is very good at climbing the stairs, and (when reminded and supervised) does an EXCELLENT job at going down the stairs on his tummy.  If not reminded, though, he’ll sometimes just impulsively dive towards the stairs.  He’s fallen down the stairs more than once.

Whatever Alex is playing with – Max wants to be like his big brother, so he’ll usually play with Alex’s current obsession

OTHER STUFF

He’ll be getting his first haircut soon.  He’s long overdue for this, but I adore his little baby curls.  After a bath, Max’s whole head is covered with beautiful curls!  They’re getting to the point that they’re pretty unruly, though, so I have to give in and take him for a haircut.  Sigh.  He’s supposed to be my baby for 9 – 10 more weeks!

Still naps twice a day whenever possible.  Max is a good sleeper.  He rarely fights naps, unless we have company.  He usually naps for about 60 – 90 minutes in the morning and 2 – 3 hours every afternoon.  He sleeps 11.5 – 12 hours most nights.

SCREAMS when things don’t go his way.  You’d think he was being tortured, but usually it’s a minor thing like not getting the toy he wants or being told he needs to stop playing and get dressed, etc.  Wow, that boy has lungs!  We tend to ignore the screaming, carry on as if it’s not happening, and he eventually gets over it.

Max adores his Daddy!  I think that might be his most-used word.  Daddy, daddy, daddy, daddy, daddy, daddy…

His still won’t say Mommy.  Just plain won’t.  He loves me; I have no doubt of that!  He just has no desire to say my name.  If I ask him to say Mommy, he shakes his head no.

Max moved up to the toddler nursery at church.  He loves all the active toys up there, and he’s (for the most part) excited about the change.  He panicked last week, and we spent a long time just walking him in back of church before he calmed down enough to try again.  He cried for over 5 minutes when we dropped him off the second time, but then he settled down and had fun.

He’s learning how to follow directions.  I can tell him, “Let’s go to Alex’s bedroom and change your diaper.”  He’ll run to Alex’s room and wait for me. (We’re in the process of moving Max’s belongings to Alex’s room, hence the diaper changes in there.)  Or I’ll say, “Okay Max, it’s time to brush your teeth.”  He’ll run to the bathroom and climb on the stool, trying to reach the sink.

He gives the sweetest kisses when asked.  He’s funny at bedtime lately, though.  I’ll tell him, “Give Daddy a kiss!”  Max will run up to the couch, kiss the COUCH, and run away.  I’ll tell him again, “Go give Daddy a kiss, Max!”  He’ll run and kiss some other piece of furniture in the living room.  Silly boy!         

How we love this little boy!  He may wear us out every single day, but he’s sweet as can be…full of smiles…and gives the best snuggles when he’s first waking up.  Love ya, Buddy!  We can’t wait to see how you change as you grow!