Maxy Doodle

Now onto my favorite little man, Max!

Stats:
Weight- 26 pounds 3 ounces 34%
Height- 33.5 inches 19%
Head- 19.5 inches 74%
Sizes- 2T shirts, 18 month or 24 month pants, shoes 6, diapers (not much longer) 5
Favorite food-Pizza
Favorite color-Blue
Favorite activities- watching movies, reading, dancing, playing outside, helping Mom or Dad, cars or tractors or figurines
Favorite movie: Cars, Horton Hears a Who, Big Hero 6
Favorite book: School bus, tractors, any book really!

Max is our sensitive guy. He gets his feelings hurt easily. He has a soft heart. He has this innate ability to know when someone needs a hug or a pat. He has helped me immensely since losing my dad last month. When he sees I am sad, he will come over and rub me or grab my face and kiss me. He does this with friends at daycare too. He doesn't like seeing people upset. He is so kind. But he hurts easily too.

He also gets annoyed easily. Especially by his sister. I wrote about this in Harper's post. I think his favorite phrase is "No, thank you" or "I don't like it". We hear these phrases a lot when he is upset or annoyed by what is going on around him.

He is not a fan of the big swimming pool but loved it when my sister took him to her neighborhood pool. I don't know what's up there. He kept saying "Max go home now." Ha!

Max is very helpful. He loves to do tasks around the house. Especially clean up time. He may have a bit OCD though. If things are lined up or put away "just so" then he may have a mini meltdown. Not the greatest character trait. We have started ignoring these "OCD flare ups" as well as keep Harper away and it seems to help. 

Max is a reader. Man, this kid. We could easily read 30 books in one sitting. I love to see him enjoy books. He is often found on the couch or in his chair reading books. He will repeat phrases or words that we have read to him. Sometimes even with the funny voices or inflections that we use. 

Max is a bit aggressive. Okay, sometimes more than a bit. He is easily frustrated by others or by objects/toys not working how they should. This results in Max clearly announcing "I bite you" "I pinch you" or "I push you" and then acting on such announcement. It is tiring. We use timeouts. He will sit in timeout for 2 minutes. He has had lots of practice so usually stays until his time is up. Sometimes even places a longer time period on himself. He will say "I am not ready." He knows getting out of timeout requires an apology (usually to Harper) so he will wait until he is ready to fully commit to the "I am sorry." It is hilarious.

He keeps us laughing for sure. He really is a funny dude. The things he says or comes up with are freaking hilarious. I am amazed at his vast vocabulary. He speaks in long sentences now and the stories he tells...ha!

At the doctor's 2 year check up, Dr. C walked in and Max announced, "Hi, Dr. Cattaneo!" I think it shocked Dr. C a bit. He then went on to say "I be 2". 

He is doing a great job on potty training at home. We are holding off to commit fully until they are moved to the next room at daycare in a couple weeks. But he tells us when he needs to go potty, especially at night and is successful (most times) in making it into the potty. Upon completion, he immediately asks for his M&M reward. Big boy pants are in our near future!

Max also loves animals. He has no fear of any kind. He would tackle a goat to give it a hug. He is obsessed with the family of deer that live in the trees at the end of our street. He is always looking for them and doesn't quite understand why they take off running at his charge towards them. Bella is, of course, his number one animal in his life. 

Max is an odd eater. He is a good eater but likes odd combinations of food. He loves red onions...and dip those babies in ketchup and you have made him really happy. Actually anything dipped in ketchup or applesauce is okay by him. Ewww...

Max is struggling with separation anxiety a bit. So sleep is trying. We find ways to tiptoe out of the room without hitting those darn creaks in the floorboard. He wants to rock or "hold you" which I genuinely love. I know when school starts back up and I need to legitimately need to work the next day, it may not be so cute. But I love being loved. And he loves big. He shows how much he loves you but also says it all the time. I just could kiss him all day long. My Prince!

-Lisa-

Max

There is just too much to possibly update. I felt like if I was forced to give each baby kid their own post, I would focus on showcasing who they really are and what they have been up to.

So...up first by birth order (11 minutes that I am sure he will hold over his sister's head at some point)...Max!

Maxwell is a rough and tumble boy for sure! He climbs. Stairs, couch, coffee table, TV stand, crib, toys, baby gate, people...anything is fair game. He will literally stack things upon things just to climb them. This has presented quite a challenge to our baby proofing. We contemplated getting rid of all furniture in our living room at one point. He was standing on top of the end table hanging from our living room curtains. I was literally looking away for 60 seconds. That's all it took for him. He thought it was the best time of his life.

That's another thing...his giggle is the cutest. More than his giggle, though, are his facial expressions. His face tells it all. When he is doing something he shouldn't, his face is mischevious. My favorite Max face is when he is confused or asking if something is hot. Gosh it melts me everytime!

Max also is the best at giving kisses. His sweet pucker makes every friend or family member giddy. This is because Max is a picky guy. He takes awhile to warm up to people. He may hide his head in our legs for the first few minutes. Then, he will sternly tell people "no" if they even remotely look like they are interested in talking to him. (This is usually accompanied with him swatting hands or even air away.)

He is emotional. He is sensitive. He loves his mommy. (And I love that!)

Some of Max's favorite things:

• Books--the boy will sit in your lap and read for hours
• Itsy Bitsy Spider--he loves the hand motions
• Saying "Don't touch" to anything and everything he knows he should not touch. But he says this while touching the said item
• Climbing--see above
• Grampa--he is obsessed with my dad
• Bella--or any dog but especially HIS "Dog-dog"
• Coloring
• Playing outside
• Saying his name "Maxxxxxxx"
• Destroying paper
• His belly button
• His sister's belly button
• His mom's belly button
• Ok...belly buttons
• Pizza
• Hot dogs
• Bath time
• Putting his coat/jacket on
• Uh-oh
• Throwing anything and everything
• Naming his body parts
• Meow
• Biting his sister whenever she ticks him off (getting better but still does it!)
• Running
• Being chased
• Lights
• Painting
• Giving night-night kisses
• Playing bubble pop on the tablet
• Building blocks
• His paci---yep he is still hooked on this thing but only at nap times, bed time, or in the car. Will he ever give it up??
• Putting shoes on
• Cleaning up--he loves to put toys and books back where they go
• Following commands--he loves when we give him a job "Take this to Dad" or "Throw this away" "Put your clothes in the hamper"
• Wheels on the Bus
• Cars
• Maw maw and Paw paw's cat

I am sure there are many other things in Max's list of favorites. 

Max and Harper both had their tubes placed in July. Harper has had no issues. But poor Maxy has struggled with ear infections still. We finally just had to take him into see the ENT again. They sucked out his ears with a vacuum thing. They also placed a small ear wick. He is nearing the end of his 14 days of ear drops. Then, we take him back in on Wednesday to get the wick removed. I am hoping this makes it all better for the little man. 

Max is still taller and bigger than his sister. However, I don't know exact information and probably won't until our next appointment in January. 

He is teething again. His top molars are coming in. Poor little man has been miserable the last couple days. I think we are on the tail end of this round...hopefully!

Max is up to three haircuts now. He even had his "Uncle" Toby cut his hair at a real barber shop. Max broke his Aunt Carrie's heart but Dad wanted to take his boy to the barber. Toby is married to one of my long time best friends. He did great!

Not a fan of timeout??

Head first down the slide!

I just love my boy! He brings so many laughs to our family. 

Now...for me to get Harper's post ready! (She is pretty special too!)

-Lisa-

Weights, Royals, and Scratches

Max and Harper are 15 months old! We are close to saying they are 1 and a half. A HALF! They turned 15 months on the 11th but for some reason their age sinks in when we make a visit to the doctor. We had their 15 month appointment today. They only got one shot this time. Woo-hoo!


Dr. C was impressed by them. They are meeting their milestones way ahead of schedule and are growing right on pace with what they expect. They are just normal toddlers. We are even experiencing temper tantrums. Bad! Max throws himself on the ground and kicks, thrashes, and rolls around on the ground all while screaming in this ear-shattering high pitch squeal. It. Is. Awful. Sometimes it is hard not to laugh. He just looks so pathetic. It is mostly caused by not getting what he wants when he wants it. (He has a really tough life.) For now, we are just ignoring the tantrums in hopes they go away. After a few minutes, he will pick himself up and then act like nothing has happened. He will go back to playing, talking, and smiling. Such a little weirdo.


Max weighed 22.25 pounds and was 30.5 inches long. It put him in the 30% range. His head circumference was, of course, in the 78%! Harper weighed 21.81 pounds and was 29.25 inches. It puts her in the 24% range. Her head was in the 50%.


They really are changing so much. They are losing baby weight and looking like kids.


We live in Kansas City and it is such an exciting time for our city. My husband and I have been huge Royals fans for our entire lives. When we met, we instantly bonded over our love for our Kansas City sports teams. We have been to many games and are so excited to FINALLY see our team in the World Series. I was 2 the last time they won the World Series! Max and Harper are destined to be Royals fans (and Chiefs fans). They don't have a choice.

Also, remember me telling about Harper's scratch she got at daycare? (HERE) Well, the doctor thinks that this is going to be a permanent scar for Harps. I am so sad for her. It is on her face. I understand that a scar on her knee from falling or a scar on her finger. But her face! He said it will lighten and fade some but it looks like she will always have it. We are using Mederma for kids. Any other ideas of what we can use? She is still as cute as can be. I know it could have been worse, but it just makes me so angry that she will always have this. I hate to blame our daycare or the daycare worker. But I find myself doing just that. I think it makes me feel guilty that it could have been prevented if I didn't work...they wouldn't be at daycare. I know I need to let it go but it makes me feel so bad.

You can see the scratch of her right cheek in the above Royals photos and here is a closer one from last weekend.

More "non-update-like" posts are floating in my mind. Still just clearing it out so I can really focus on writing again.

-Lisa-

Max's First Haircut

On their birthday, July 11, we took Max to get his first haircut from my sister, his Aunt Carrie. We brought his Bumbo seat and that worked pretty good. He did better than I expected! They also BOTH got to experience their first lollipops.

The before shot with his Aunt Carrie

Harper carrying around her new purse and hanging out with her cousins

Mmm...lollipops!

After picture with Aunt Carrie

He was pretty proud of himself

-Lisa-