18 months

Oh Max - he's getting so big!  A year and a half old...it's crazy how fast they go from tiny little helpless creatures to real little boys.  But this little boy is so happy and full of life and giggles that I hardly miss the tiny guy, most days at least.

He's not talking as much as he's pointing and grunting but it's always very clear what he wants.  He did learn to say "whoa" this month and says it a LOT.  He's also saying juice and shoes, on top of his Momma and ball and more and animal sounds.  

He went through a phase for a few days where he was obsessed with putting on our shoes.  He'd struggle and struggle getting in there and then just stand and grin.

The paci lives on.  He's not showing much interest in giving it up.  He can certainly go long stretches without it, but knows where we keep them and will go stand in the kitchen and scream until he gets one.  Since the ped told us at his 15 month appointment not to worry about, I'm not!  He doesn't get to have it at school, so at least he does know how to survive without it.  

We played with this shape sorter a LOT this month.  He got really good at it.  He'd get it off the toy shelf and sit on the floor and point at the space on the floor next to him and squeak a bit - translation, "come sit here and play this with me, please!"  Then he'd put them in, using all the right holes for a bit and then try and put one in the wrong one and just look at you.  I'd say no, that doesn't go there and he'd pretend to put it in another hole that wasn't right and just giggle until finally trying the right hole last.  

Max saw snow last year but he was a tiny guy and just went out and sat in the stroller while Kenny and Jack played.  This year he got to play too, but he wasn't so much of a fan really...

He really pays attention and listens to what you are saying though.  He knows exactly what is going on and remembers how whatever that thing is happened last time.  One night, I was taking too long to fix dinner I guess, and he opened the cabinet where I keep the placemats, got his out and took it to the table.  He was sure it was time for dinner and needed me to get the hint!  He also will point to his diaper if it needs changing and walk himself on over to the changing table.  In the morning when I tell them it's about time for school he will go get their jackets out and give Jack his coat and hat and wait for me to put them on.  

One morning Jack had a boo-boo on his finger and needed a bandaid.  Max watched the whole thing go down and a few minutes later brought me a sheet of stickers.  I peeled one off and gave it to him, thinking nothing of it and went on my way.  When I came back in the room a minute later, here's what I found:

He clearly needed a band-aid too!


Speaking of bandaids, his 18 month checkup went really well.  He was:
24 lbs (25th percentile)
34.75 inches long (65th percentile)
head circumference19.75 inches (95th percentile)
He got a couple of shots and screamed a little bit, but only for a minute!  He got to have his first doctor visit lollipop which seemed to be quite a hit!   She thought he was doing great, so we go back at 2!


When it's time to go up and take a bath before bed, he goes right up the steps and into the bathroom and hops up on the stool to brush his teeth.  He thinks he is such a big boy!  He does a pretty good job actually, though he'd do it all night if you let him!

After bath we read a few books and he is so very sure of which books he wants, but of course can't quite call them by name.  This leads to me picking up a book, asking "this one?" and him shaking his head no or nodding yes.  Sometimes it takes me a good 12 books before I pick the right one!  His favorites right now are Hand, Hand Fingers Thumb, Red Hat Blue Hat, any book full of animals or pictures for you to ask him to point to, and A Cuddle for Little Duck.  We have a few books that are mostly pictures to help them learn words and he can point to a LOT of things if you ask, "where is the giraffe" or any other object.  So while he's not using that many words, we know he at least knows them, he just can't quite verbalize them.  He gets really excited when we get to the part in Hand Hand Fingers Thumb where it says "Hello Jack!"  He will always point  in the direction of Jack, where ever he might be, when we turn to that page, even before I read it!

He's in love with his little lion blankie and a little white tiger that Jack and Grams and Gramps brought him from the circus.  He holds them both when he goes to bed at night and plays with the tags.  The good news is that most anything with a tag will do in a pinch, so if we can't find those, we don't have to spend hours hunting them down like we do if Jack's blankie goes missing.

He is really good at kicking and throwing balls.  He is beyond obsessed with balls and often wakes up in the middle of the night screaming "BALL!"  He loves to pitch them back and forth with you and to kick them.  When he kicks a ball he stops and holds his foot with his toes up and heel to the ground.  It's really funny, and definitely his own style!  We have about 12000 it feels like and no matter how many we have out, he is always in search of another.  

Max and Jack continue to be the best of friends.  

Sometimes I am REALLY overcome by the cuteness of it all.  Last night Jack cried because Max wasn't behaving too well and had to leave bathtime a little early.  Jack was so upset and just wanted to play with Max.  They giggle at each other constantly and really are playing together now. Max also gets really upset if Jack is crying and if it doesn't stop quickly, Max will usually start crying too.  Jack also tells me that if Max sees Jack on the playground at school, he'll cry because he wants to go play with him.  They have separate playgrounds for the different ages so I don't think they get to play together too much but I can just imagine Max wanting to be near Jack, at all times.

They are a mess...but are having so much fun!  Max is his own little man, that's for sure, but he's a lot of fun and keeps us all entertained!