Hellobee

In the past 6 months, Max has become a little human and I can hardly believe he is 2 years old. The biggest change since our last update is Max’s ability to communicate. He is constantly picking up new words and phrases and will copy anything we say (both good and bad!). His first real effort to communicate came a few weeks after Mr. Ice Cream and he started a nightime routine of watching a Thomas the Tank Engine episode and eating an apple together on the couch. As Max finished his dinner we watched him start to form the words before finally coming out and saying “watch choo choo, eat apple.” As the recognition brushed across Mr. Ice Cream and my faces, Max lit up with excitement. Watching him navigate these early life communication skills has been so much fun.

It has been an enlightening experience to see how Max reacts to new situations and interacts with new friends. I felt some early anxiety when one of Max’s teachers told me he wasn’t very social with the other kids in his class. She actually told me that in the context of explaining how much he has improved and is now starting to join in with the other kids, but of course I narrowed in on the non-social aspect. However, after watching Max in social situations I’ve realized that he needs to adapt to an environment and find his comfort zone before taking the next steps to jump in. Max is a cautious child, from the way he embraces a new toy to the way he dips his french fries in ketchup. It’s clear that his behavior is constantly evolving and at times he surprises me with his self-assuredness.

These days Max loves singing along to songs he knows and it’s pretty darn cute. Some of his favorites are “The Wheels on the Bus,” “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star,” “She Loves Me,” “Yellow Submarine,” and “Risseldy Rasseldy.” However, he’s a lot pickier about the songs we choose to sing and who sings them. These days Max will shut down a song within the first few words if he isn’t in the mood for it. It doesn’t feel great when you are belting out a children’s song and you child says “Mama No.” Unfortunately “Mama No” is a phrase I’ve heard many times in many different contexts over the last few months.

I’m thrilled to say that Max is still sleeping through the night. He still cries a little (less than 5 minutes) when we put him in his crib, and occasionally wakes up for a few minutes in the middle of the night. But as long as he has his water cup and blanket he sleeps great. I’m also happy to report that Max has slowly started shifting his wake up time from 4:30 am to 5:30 am. As I write this, I’m also slightly nervous that I’m going to jinx it. If I do, you’ll know. Max takes one 2 hour nap everyday and Mr. Ice Cream and I have perfected the ability to maximize our productivity during those 2 hours.

Max moved up to the Early Preschool 1 (EPS1) room a few weeks ago. This change was really hard for Mr. Ice Cream and me because we love his toddler room teachers so much. Max handled the transition surprisingly well. Mr. Ice Cream and I hung out with him for a little while the first couple days and managed to drop him off without any tears. Mr. Ice Cream and I, on the other hand, made one last plea to his toddler teachers to move up to the EPS 1 room.

Right now we are looking forward to Max’s 2nd birthday party at Romp ‘N Roll. We were on the fence about whether to have a party or not, but after having so much fun at a friend’s 2nd birthday party, we decided to go for it. Even if Max doesn’t understand he is turning 2 (right now, if you ask him he’ll say he is 3), we know he will have a blast jumping in the bouncy house and playing in the same room as his friends.

Memorable moments/events

1. Max is a daddy’s boy. He spends a lot of time saying the following phrases: “Dada stay here,” “Dada come here,” “Dada best,” “No Mama, Dada come.”

2. Max is strongly opinionated about his likes and dislikes.

3. The first time Max had cheesecake, his face lit up in the most adorable way.

4. Max recently named Roomba “Mark” and Mr. Ice Cream and I have decided to go with it.

5. Max is entering the phase where he wants to do everything himself. While we love his sense of independence, it dramatically slows down everything we do. However, he still says “stuck” whenever he wants our help and we love coming to his rescue.

6. We still have no idea if Max is right of left handed. He consistently uses both hands to do most things.

7. We have to carefully navigate our route around the grocery store because Max recognizes certain packaging and will immediately want that item.

8. Max has excellent hearing. No matter how quietly I open a bag of chips, within seconds I will hear the pitter patter of little feet running full speed toward me.

9. We took Max sledding for the first time, but he was more interested in dusting off the snow from the sled than the actual sledding part. Right now Max is shaping up to be the cleanest one in our house.

10. Max had his first trip to the dentist a month ago. While I’m not sure they even got to glance in his mouth, we were told he doesn’t have any cavities and Max walked out with a toy.