This might be my last monthly update for Max. How time has flow from his 1-12 month posts with the stickers on his shirt, to his "teen" months, and now he is 20 months old! Well, maybe I will document monthly until he is 2. As I am writing, I don't think I am ready to stop quite yet!
(the closer we get to 2, the more of this we are seeing)
We are entering into many new phases this month. He is talking, climbing, imaginative, opinionated and has experimented with a couple tantrums. He clearly has favorite activities, and loves to really play. Up until now I feel like he just did parallel play with other kids and adults, not really interacting unless we were reading a book. Now he actually plays and creates little games! Right now he loves having pretend meals at his new grill and will hand you a cup, pick his up and clink the cups together and says "cheers!" Thanks Cody for that little trick. He kicks the ball back and forth with us, and loves his basketball goal. He will shoot the ball and yell "scoooore" or "yeahhhhh." His ALL TIME favorite game now thought is putting his animals and dinosaurs to bed in his crib. He tells them it is night night time, then lines them up and places then in bed. He tucks them in under his blanket, each with a kiss, turns the light off, his box fan on and then lays down and starts snoring. Cute boy! This is a little bit of a problem though when it is truly bed time, and he wants all of his friends to join him in the crib.
(playing in his sandbox Santa brought his)
The park is another obsession, and he will dart out the back door and wait at the gate to go to the park. Sometimes that poor boy is waiting a long time because I still haven't mastered both boys at the park. Levi doesn't like to stay sitting in stroller for very long, and Max isn't quite old enough to not jump off the edge of the slide and plummet to his death.
He still loves reading and singing, and we are working on the alphebet and counting. So far he will sing "a, b, c, 6, 1, eeeee, f," close enough. His favorite songs are Twinkle, Twinkle, ABC's, My God is So Big, This Little Light of Mine, Jesus Loves Me, and Away in a Manger. When he hears any music whether it be on TV, a toy or at a restaurant he will look at you with wide eyes, and start clapping and shaking his arms in the air. He really has loved music since birth. My mom discovered this when I was in the hospital and he was only 3 days old and screaming non stop the the house. She started singing and he calmed down instantly. He still loves to rock and sing (though I think he is starting to be too restless for rocking which makes me SO sad-the past two days he has just wanted to get in bed with a lizard and longhorn (Bevo) and bypass rocking.)
(Christmas Eve)
Hmm, what else is that boy up to. He has mastered many 2 word phrases that he will say on his own, but has been repeating a few longer ones lately. At dinner almost every night we are around the table he will take inventory of the family. He points to each person and says "my momma, my daddy, my baby, my house." This will sometimes turn into also naming other family members like "G-Ja, Uncle Caaaaade, Aunt Kay, Uncle Yance, MiMi, Pappa, and Dog (Cody's mom has 3 dogs)."
(My crazy family)
He can say all his foods. Probably about 50 if I were to count them. He knows all his little Sesame Street Characters and now has an opinion of which show he wants to watch before nap-time. It's usually between George (Curious George), Digans (Backyardigans) or Unda Yets (Wonder Pets). He will stand at the entertainment stand and say or yell shoooow. It's becoming a bit of an idol in his life if you will, so we are backing off a bit. Only at nap-time and before bed can he watch a beloved shooooooow, or at least thats the goal. Sometimes I am at the end of my rope and give in to a show when the baby is needing me, or screaming. He loves animals, and will say their names and sounds. He is a little sponge when it comes to this, and remembers animals and their sounds after me only telling him once.
(watching a show)
He repeats everything, and is always listening. He will come back and say something to me he heard me say on the phone a day before. I am trying to be much more intentional about what comes out of my mouth!!
(road trip to Austin for Christmas)
(Exhausted after a fun filled Christmas)
He's a sweet thing, and I love watching him grow into a fun little boy full of imagination, and anxious to be a part of this world. He is really putting the pieces together these days which is fun, but also sad in that he is realizing he is not the very center of the universe. Sometimes I have to say no, or put the baby's needs before him. I know this is hard on him, and it makes me so sad. I want to continue to give him the attention he is used to, but it's just not possible. This is also teaching him to be independent which I love, but I need to let him spend more time with friends and kids his own age. I feel like Cody and I with close family have been his circle of "friends" but I know now that he is growing, remembering people, and forming relationships it's time. I am partially to blame here because I have such a hard time getting out and about for long periods of time, or inviting other's over to play. I am the only one in our little group of mamas with two kids, and it seems like the other mom's are keeping a pace we can't quite keep up with since I am nursing, and Levi is so tiny. Praying I can find a balance and invest more in relationships. I'm sure other moms can attest to the fact that it can be very lonely when you are home with multiple little ones.
(Cheesin' it up in the car)
(He had his first haircut this month)
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