Max – 21 Months

Not a lot has changed since I last posted about Max.  He’s still the same Max, just a little bit older.  He’s learned the art of the cheesy smile, too. ;)

The one the that’s really worth noting is that Max has finally decided to talk!  That’s not to say we can understand it all, but he is really making an effort these days!  He is so proud of himself when he says things well enough to be understood!

I think it’s time to stop listing words, as his vocabulary is getting too large to count.  Here’s one last list of his new words:

• strawberry
• I stuck
• what dat?
• cracker
• Bax or Fax (Max)
• o‘side??  (Outside)
• snack
• fork
• plate (he came out of our camper with a big stack of paper plates)
• guy (lego guy, action figure, etc)
• See ya Saturday (prompted by Papa, said to Grandma as he was leaving their house)

He’s gotten even feistier lately, if that’s possible.  Want proof?  Yep, that’s my clothes hamper. I suppose tossing him in the washer could be more convenient than bathing him…I’ll just use the gentle cycle. ;)

I can’t leave him at the table for a second.  One day, I left for a minute during lunch, heard crazy giggling, and came back to find that he had thrown baby carrots & tomatoes all over the kitchen.  (When she heard this story, Aunt Annie defended Max and said he was just trying to make a “tossed salad”.)

He has learned to open our pantry cabinet, and he brings me food all day long.  He hand me graham crackers, Ritz crackers, even a bag of flour one time.  He loves to eat, and he loves to beg for snacks!

Pretty much every nap and bedtime, Max pops out of bed as soon as the door is closed.  He hides behind Alex’s bunk bed and messes with the rails.  He plays with the train table.  He throws toys around the room.  When you open the door, he looks at you with big, innocent eyes.  I’ll return him to bed three times without punishment, but I admit to resorting to a swat on the diaper after that.  It’s not hard enough to hurt, but it hurts his feelings and he stays in bed.

I don’t think a day goes by without an injury.  He woke up with a big scratch on his cheek one day.  (How you cut yourself while sleeping is beyond me.)  Ten minutes later, he went barreling down the hallway and crashed right into a door.  Now he’s sporting a lovely bump on his head and a bruise on his cheek.  Yesterday, he landed face-first on a toy tractor and bloodied his lip and gum.  It’s always something, poor kiddo!

He loves to dive off of the living room furniture – into our arms if we’re nearby, but he doesn’t even mind if he crashes face-first onto the carpet.  He’s a wild child, that boy!

He’s not always the “tornado” that his Papa claims he is.  Once in a while, Max actually sits still and concentrates on something for a bit.

Max loves his baby sister, and he is thrilled when he gets to hold her.  He asked me for a “piwwow” before taking her today. 

He’s going backwards in the sitting-still-for-a-story skill.  He’ll only sit still if we read about cars and trucks.  I hold him close while reading a bedtime story each night, but he’s squirming all over my lap the whole time!  (And he MUST have a truck or “guy” in his hand while I read…)

He’s adoring the great outdoors.  Max loves to take walks, play in the grass, has learned to climb the slide ladder on his own, and is enjoying all of our riding toys.  He begs to go outside all the time! 

Max plays hard, sleeps hard, hugs hard, and loves us just as much as we love him.  He is a handful, and he is a JOY.  Love ya, buddy!  Happy 21 months!