It's still dark outside ...

One drawback to Shannon working out in the morning is that, very often, the sound of her leaving will wake Max up. As you know, getting up early is difficult enough for me and the extra 45 minutes after Shannon leaves are important. I mean, that is equal to 5 snooze buttons!

This morning I thought I would try something different to coax my child back to sleep. I turned off all of the lights so the entire house was nice and dim. I creeped slowly and quietly to his room. I gently picked up my son and with one arm free, felt around his crib for his pacifier and badeet. ("Badeet" is what he calls his little blanket.) He was barely awake and laid his little head on my shoulder. I tip-toed down the hall towards my bedroom. When we were almost to my door, he lifted his head and said, “dark DaDa”. I whispered, “yes Son.” And then said, “shhhhhh”.

I gently put him on the bed and then laid down next to him. His head was nestled in the crook of my arm. His eyes were open but his breathing was slow and soft. There was a tiny squeak coming from his pacifier. I was sure that if I stayed still and quiet he would drift back to sleep.

There was a chill in the room so I reached down and pulled the covers up to his waist. Just as I did Max’s eyes opened wide, he pulled the paci from his mouth, turned his head to look at me and said loudly, “Where did Max’s feet go?”

I pulled back the covers to 

reveal his lower half. Just then, his little legs shot up into the air and he cackled pointing at his bare feet. He put his legs down and then pulled the blanket up himself. Once again he said excitedly, “Where did Max’s feet go?” Then he kicked off the covers and laughed again.

This game continued for a few minutes until I finally said “How would you like some breakfast?” “Down please!” was his response. I put him on the floor beside the bed. “Nana!” he yelled, short for banana, as he ran down the hall towards the kitchen.

I sat on the edge of the bed and rubbed my eyes. Then I made my way to the kitchen. As I flipped on the light, there stood my son in his bugs and frogs jammies, smiling from ear to ear. Early or not, I wouldn’t trade this time with him for all the money in the world.

Happy Father's Day

Even before the day I was born my dadda has been talking to me and planning to take care of me. I love the way he comes and gets me out of my crib in the morning when I wake up and he sits with me in the big blue chair in my room and reads stories to me until I really wake up. Then, he lets me help pick out my clothes and get dressed before he fixes my breakfast.


For breakfast, Dadda cuts up the bananas just the way I like so that I have something to eat while he mixes my oatmeal because sometimes I'm not very patient. (And he always remembers if I'm supposed to have medicine with my breakfast!) Then, on our way to school he listens when I point out every bus, RV, tractor and truck without ever telling me to be quiet. (And sometimes we see A LOT of those things!)

He works while I'm at school but sometimes when he comes home, Momma and I are outside and Dadda always lets me help him park his car in the garage. I LOVE driving his car! There are so many buttons and switches. And if I'm not waiting outside for him, he opens the door coming into the house very carefully because he knows I'm probably standing way too close to it and he doesn't want to knock me down. Then, he chases me all the way in the living room and wrestles with me like no one else does. My dadda is the best!

My momma says that my dadda learned so much from my papa which makes perfect sense because my buddy papa does some of the very same things. He sometimes stops to play with me on his way home from work, too and if I'm outside when he comes over, he lets me sit in his lap and drive his big green truck! (He has even been teaching me how to blow the horn!) And he calls to check on me when he knows I've been sick. I especially like it when he and Gigi come over and put me to bed. Papa is good at rocking me to sleep but sometimes I have to help him turn on the music on my iPod and remind him to turn off the lamp. When Papa tells me that I'm his little buddy, I can tell that he loves me very much.

I may be young but I already know I am very lucky to have Dadda and my Buddy Papa. I want to thank them both so much for everything they do for me and wish them both a Happy Father's Day!

- Max (with a little help from his mom)

Social Butterfly

Max's social calendar has been pretty busy over the last couple of weeks. Dan and I are perfectly content to stay at home on the weekends after busy weekdays, but we agree that it's important for Max to get plenty of socialization. Plus, Max really seems to enjoy being out and about.

We've been to a couple of 3 year old birthday parties. (I know, he's already running with an older crowd!) And we've played a little with a neighbor in the evenings. Last week, his Gigi and I even took him to his first Kindermusik class, which he loved. 

This weekend we went all out, though. We made our first visit to the C

reative Discovery Museum to have breakfast with Curious George on Saturday morning. Max wasn't the least bit intimidated by George and he loved the museum. He went from room to room eagerly checking everything out. He especially loved the water area and toddler room with the corvette! 

 

Today his Poppa and Gigi took him to the Tennessee Aquarium and he came home telling us how he saw the "fishies". I think everyone had a great time. 

At 27 lbs and 34 inches tall, he's a perfect 18 month old boy! 

How Cute! (for now, at least)

Max’s vocabulary grows daily. Each morning I'm amazed at the new words that flow from the mouth of my growing boy. Our conversations are less and less one sided with each passing day. My son has been content to listen to me talk as we go about our business getting ready for the day. Not any more.

With a smile on his face, Max will spout a new expression. More often than not, the new word will be shouted at me. Not as much as a response to my questions, but as a way to point out a situation that requires my immediate attention.

Just this morning I was feeding Max his breakfast. I mixed a bowl of oatmeal and placed it on his high chair tray. “Bowl” he said when I placed the cereal in front of him. “That’s right,” I said. “It is a bowl.” “SPOON! DaDa!” was his reaction. He looked at me as if I was crazy for not including the utensil with the food. I quickly handed him a small plastic spoon so he could begin eating.

Another example happened late last week. I was gathering our things so we could head out the door to daycare. I was standing at the back door with his school bag in my hands. I was trying to make sure that I wasn’t forgetting anything. Just then, Max walked up to me and said “All done”. “All done what?” I thought. He must have sensed my confusion because (as if on cue) “POOP!” he proclaimed while pointing at his diaper.

“Thanks for the heads up,” I mumbled under my breath. I decided leaving would have to wait for a few minutes. Also, he has been learning temperatures. When his mom gives him his supper, he almost always says, "Hot?" when she puts it on his tray. When she responds, "No, it's not hot." He says, "urm?" And when his mom reassures him that it's not even warm, then he finally says, "Burrrr."

Clearly, I need to be very careful about what I say around him. Who knows what phrase he will decide to repeat when we are in the checkout line at Target.