Max has grown up so much in the last couple of months. I wish I had been more on top of the blog to give updates, so I would have them in the future, but life got busy and I just didn’t have the time. So I am just going to combine two months into one and give a quick (or perhaps not so quick) update.
First and foremost, Max is Mr. Independent! Mikayla has always been independent, but Max is even more so. Must be a second child thing. He wants to do everything himself and prefers playing on his own. When it comes to eating, he is always trying to do it himself. He even started using a spoon on his own this week. You can see the video here. And because he is so independent he is into everything! Always exploring and moving quickly from one object to the next. One of his favorite things to do is to climb into the fruit and potato basket and start throwing them. We have found oranges in some pretty interesting places! He also really likes putting objects into containers and then dumping out to repeat.
He also really likes to climb. We have had to move from keeping the chairs under the kitchen table to putting them in the middle of the house because he has become so good at climbing. He will regularly climb onto the chair and then the table. Check it out here. He can even now move the chairs around and position them in such a way that he can climb on things. He really is quite the trouble maker!
He still loves being outside and would choose to be playing in the grass barefoot rather than in the house playing with toys. He loves the wheelbarrow our maintenance staff uses and tries really hard to move it around (and can actually scoot it a little). He will even "help" by picking up sticks and berries and putting them in the wheelbarrow.
Overall, Max is a very happy boy. He smile and laugh are very contagious and leave you eager for more. One staff member told me last week that his joy lights up the whole room. He has started a new thing where when he "talks" his voice is high pitched and almost squealing. It is really precious. He also does this thing that we refer to as "happy feet" when he really wants something. He will bounce back and forth from foot to foot really quickly and get a big grin on his face.
He has not picked up many signs, but every so often he will make a "sign" that is pretty close to the real thing. We are getting there, slowly but surely.
Max still loves food and when the pantry opens he comes running. If he hears the crinkle of a bag he comes running. If someone is eating something he comes running. Can you see a pattern here? This boy LOVES his food! He is definitely a Swazi man in that aspect.
Max is also very good at letting you know when he is unhappy about something. If you try to give him the wrong thing he will grunt at you. He is also really good at shaking his head no if he doesn’t want to do something. And the kid can throw a tantrum! I am thinking he learned that from his older sister.
Speaking of Mikayla, Max will follow her everywhere! He really does love and adore his big sister. Sometimes she just wants to play on her own in her room, and he gets so upset when she shuts the door and leaves him alone. Pitiful really.
One of my favorite things that Max does now is waving. He will wave to anyone and everyone. The grocery store is the best because the Swazi staff are so enthralled by his waving. The cutest thing about it though is that most of the time it is backwards and he is waving to himself! I wish we had a video of it. Other things he does that are cute are pointing to things he wants and shaking his head no.
Our toothless boy is now up to four teeth. He actually cut three of them while Ben was in Australia for two weeks, that was fun!
At Christmas, my brother had made Max a Where the Wild Things Are blanket that he sleeps with every day. We call it is lovie and he knows exactly what it means. When you tell him it is time to go "Night Night" and to go get his lovie, he will run to the bedroom, grab the blanket and start to climb into the rocking chair to start his bedtime ritual (either reading a book or nursing depending on time of day). When he gets really tired he will go get the lovie and let you know he is ready for sleep. I hate that he is so attached to an object, but it works really well for him. He is taking two naps a day, anywhere from 45 minutes to 1.5 hours. He is also going to bed between 7 and 7:30, and sleeps until around 3 or 4. At which point he wakes up, wants to nurse and then goes back to sleep until 6 or 6:30. It isn’t sleeping through the night, but it is SO MUCH BETTER!
And there you have it. My independent, very active, loving, smiling, laughing 13 month old boy!
You can see more of his one year shots on Ben’s FB page, here.
