Maxwell at 3 Years

Weight: 30 lbs. 4 oz. (50th percentile)
Height: 37.4" (50th percentile)
Clothing size- 3T
Shoe size- 9

My favorite words:
bus- buhsh
yellow- lello

ice- eyesh
cup- bup
water- wah wah
water bottle- wah bow
rainbow- bay boh
train track- rain atch
Mickey- Mih-me
witch- itch
boot- boop

playground- pay nown
And my favorite word- he calls himself Match

He was in speech therapy for a year, but finally caught up to where he's supposed to be. He has a large vocabulary (I stopped keeping track of words he knows at about 2 1/2) and he consistently talks in three- and four-word sentences. He also asks questions and can almost always use his words to say what he is trying to communicate. 

He loves counting. Counting to 10= none, doo, ree, four, i, itch, eigh, nine, en. He always skips 7. He counts all the time and sometimes gets it right, but if we're counting he might point to the same items multiple times and skip other items, but he's getting the point that you point to items and count.

He's ALWAYS tattling. "JJ do it!" "Mimi do it!" "Daddy do it!" (He can't say Jackson and Mika, so it's JJ and Mimi.) He is such a drama queen. If we get on to him about anything, he puts on this big pouty face, looks down, and makes little sounds like he's going to cry.

He says "ee" (three) when you ask him how old he is. Then when we say, "You're not three! How old are you?" he says "oo" (two).

When we play Uno he likes to run around yelling, "UNO! UNO! UNO!" He tries to grab cards and throw them around.

He LOVES rainbows. He is always pointing them out (in the sky, in books, on clothes, etc) and saying "bayboh!"

Max's rainbow drawing

Favorites:

Songs- alphabet song, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Old McDonald Had a Farm, and the Titipo theme song

TV shows- anything with nursery rhymes, Cocomelon, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Titipo and other shows with trains

Books-
Brown Bear Brown Bear, What Do You See?
Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site
The Berenstain Bears On the Moon
Freight Train
10 Timid Ghosts

Toys- he basically plays with trucks and trains all day. Pretty much anything with wheels. He also enjoys puzzles like shape sorters and things to nest. He loves play-doh. He also really enjoys riding his balance bike.

Favorite places- zoo, playgrounds, pools

Potty Training-as of his third birthday, potty training was not going well. He has a really stubborn personality and could almost never be persuaded to sit on the potty. 

Chores- he's pretty good about bringing his dishes to the sink, putting his clothes in the hamper, putting his shoes away, and helping me clean up toys. Although to be honest, at the end of the day I'm usually too tired and overwhelmed to ask him to help me clean, but the times I do, he will sing the clean up song and help. (We sing, "Clean up, clean up, everybody everywhere. Clean up, clean up, everybody do your share." He sings, "Be bup, be bup" over and over because he can't say the real words.)

Other random stuff:

He is always trying to keep up with Jackson and Mika and do everything they do.

He's really silly and is always trying to make jokes or silly faces to get us to laugh. 

He's so destructive. He is constantly breaking things, sometimes accidentally, sometimes on purpose. He also thinks it's so funny to get in the way. When he hears us transferring laundry into the dryer, he'll come running so he can throw the clothes on the floor or block the dryer with his body so we can't put in the clothes. He still loves messing with the dishwasher when we're trying to load it. He's constantly trying to break apart the Lego creations Jackson makes. When I play board games with the big kids, Max comes through like a tornado and tries to throw the pieces everywhere. I can't leave stacks of folded laundry anywhere for long or he'll come over and throw everything on the floor. (This is the one thing I will begrudgingly admit has been good for me, as it's forced me into the habit of putting laundry away almost immediately.)

He fusses for me to paint his toenails if he sees me or Mika doing ours. He likes us to use red or blue. He also asks Mika to put makeup on him if he sees her putting on makeup.

Maxwell at 18 Months

Weight: 21 lbs. 7 oz.
Height: 31.5"
Clothing size: can fit 12 or 18 month

Speech: He has said Mama, Dada, uh-oh, O (for Oma), and he can make siren noises.

It's so cute to me how he pushes boundaries. He knows he's not allowed in the bathroom. When I'm in it he'll come right to the door and put one foot inside to see if I notice. If I do, I'll tell him to get out and he'll pull his foot back. Then put it in two seconds later while making this mischievous face.

He was mad I caught him stealing toilet paper. 

He is so good about food. He even likes vegetables. If I sit down with a salad, he will come running and shove handfuls into his mouth. Once he was sucking the dressing off the leaves and then trying to shove them in my mouth.
He uses forks and spoons really well.
We eat lunch with Mika at school and he loves running away from me because it makes the big kids laugh. (Pretty much any time I have to go out in public with him becomes me chasing after him and trying to get him to stop messing with vending machines and water fountains.)

His favorite toys are anything with wheels. He loves trucks, buses, and fire trucks the most. He loves his cozy coupe.
He likes to try to stuff himself in his big vehicles, like Mika's doll jeep and a Mega Bloks dump truck. He also likes to sit in suitcases and dresser drawers. He likes to sit on doll furniture.

He really likes to take kitchen items with handles and hide them, especially cheese graters and the flour sifter. He likes to take things out of kitchen and bathroom cabinets. He likes to climb up on stools and get stuff from the kitchen counter. He likes climbing into the cabinets to hide from me, especially if it's time for a diaper change.

Hmm...where's Max? Oh, just hiding from a diaper change :)

If he's not sure if he's allowed to hold/play with something, he will say "eh?" and hold it out to see if I take it away from him...

...except for tissues...

He loves looking at other babies but doesn't understand how soft he needs to be.
He loves swinging at the playground and he fearlessly goes down big slides. He can sit on the big kid swings if you push very gently. If we're on a walk and we walk past a playground, he will growl at me to take him to it. He loves running up and down ramps. He has squeaky shoes and every time we go out people talk about how cute he is. (They are also a great safety feature because you can hear where he is if he runs away.)
He got to do a bouncy house for the first time and loved it.
He likes playing in snow.

He LOVES playing with dolls! 

He loves peek-a-boo, "This Little Piggie," and "The Itsy Bitsy Spider." He dances when he hears music.
He does pretend play. He will pretend to pick up stuff and hand it to me. He makes me food and drink. He will pick up objects and pretend to be talking on the phone.
He likes to put on headphones, hats, sunglasses, and headbands.
He likes trying to "help" with chores- wiping off tables and sweeping.

Maxwell at 15 Months

Weight: 20 lbs. 3 oz.
Height: 30"
Teeth: 6
Clothing size: 12 month

 Unsure of the snow

 When Jackson and Mika have basketball games 

he tries to run onto the court as much as possible.

 Troublemaker

 Troublemaker

 Troublemaker

 Troublemaker

• He drops whatever he's doing and go to meet Paul when he gets home from work. He smiles and reaches up to be picked up. He also remembers Paul's mom and goes to her to be picked up.
• He growls a lot to indicate he wants something.
• When he's thirsty he goes to the cabinet, gets a cup, and stands next to the fridge and grunts for us to lift him up to get water.
• Sometimes he will push you out of his way. We made the mistake of laughing when he was hammering Jackson's head with a toy hammer so now he tries to do that all the time to us.
• He will brush his hair. He picked up a glasses polishing cloth and wiped his mouth.
• He imitates sweeping, mopping, drying himself with a towel, wiping himself with toilet paper and baby wipes.
• He waves, claps, and puts his arms up for touchdowns.
• He tries to do chunky puzzles but gives up after 5 seconds and bangs the pieces together.
• He runs with his arms swinging. He crawls up the regular stairs and he can walk up and down the half stairs into our living room.

Obsessed with this shape sorter

He likes to
-play with cars and trucks, basically anything with wheels
-put things back together
-play rough with Jackson and Mika
-take cups out of the cabinet, especially the ones with handles (mugs and water bottles)
-take shoes out of cubbies, especially the ones with "handles" (sandals and Mika's dressy shoes)
-wear our shoes
-climb everything
-"sweep" (pick up the broom and bang it on the floor)
-open and close doors
-turn lights on and off

Getting dressed:
He can lift a leg and put it in a pants leg if you hold out his pants
He can take off his shirt if you get him started with taking one arm out
He will lift up his feet and push them into socks and he will also help push his arms and legs through sleeves and pants.
He tries to put on his shoes, but it's too hard.
If he sees people putting on shoes and coats, he will go grab his coat and wait by the door.

He likes to put on Jackson's mittens

Speech:
Says mama and dada. Seems to understand most of what we say, will make appropriate physical responses to most of what we say. Such as, "Do you want water?" He'll walk to the fridge. I can hold up a food and ask if he wants it and he'll either reach for it, nod, or shake his head. Let's go upstairs= goes to the stairs and waits for someone to open the gate. Let's go downstairs= goes to the gate. Get out of the bathroom= laughs and sees how long he can stand in the bathroom before someone snatches him out. Do you need a new diaper= he runs away. He will walk around the house and touch things and look at me or go "eh" when he wants me to tell him the word for it.

Loves putting bowls on his head

Maxwell at 1 Year!

Weight: 20 lbs.
Height: 27.5"
Teeth: 4
Clothing size: 12 month

I was hoping for a messy face cake picture but he kept licking his fingers clean.

He grew so much this month!
He learned how to play with his toddler marbleworks set (he knows to pick up the balls from the bottom and drop them on the set so they'll roll down)
He can play ball. I roll a ball to him and he can roll it back a few inches in my direction.
He learned how to use a pound and roll boat- he can't use the hammer yet but he knows if he pushes down on the balls they'll roll down to the bottom.
He figured out how to slide backwards off of couches and beds.
If I come up behind him and ask him what he's chewing on and he's chewing on something he's not supposed to be chewing on, he'll hurl it away and turn to look at me like he wasn't doing anything wrong.
He's my little shadow. He likes to be in whatever room I'm in and follows me around the house.
He likes to walk around in circles and spin the office chair. He also likes it when Jackson puts him on the chair and spins him around.
He likes playing with toys with wheels.
He loves opening the kitchen cabinets and taking out cups. He makes me think if a TV zombie when we do the dishwasher. If he hears it creak open he'll stop and turn his head and if he hears dishes rattling he rushes over and attacks.

Second haircut! He was a trooper. Although his hair is kind 

of messed up because he kept moving his head really fast.

He loves climbing up this playset.

Taking steps!

Sleep:
Still takes a morning nap 90 minutes after waking up. He starts whining exactly 90 minutes after waking up. You could set a clock by it. He likes to go down for a nap in the afternoon about three hours after he wakes up from the first nap. He usually wakes up once at night, sometimes more if he's teething or going through a growth spurt.

Food:
I feed him purees if we're eating something that's not too healthy. If we're eating a healthy dinner then I shred what we're eating and put it on his tray. He also loves baby puffs and teether cookies.

I went way overboard on Halloween but he's my last child, so I grabbed a few outfits for super cheap at a consignment sale and he was a good sport about it.

He was a turtle at Paul's company Halloween part and at J&M's school party.

He was a pumpkin at the pumpkin patch.

He was a tiger at Mika's class party and the school parade.

I totally #NailedIt on this Mario one. He's supposed to be Mario going down a tube.

His "real" costume was being Carl from Up.

Maxwell at 11 Months

Weight: 20 lbs.
Clothing size: 9 & 12 month
Teeth: 2!

RAWR!

He shakes his head when he doesn't want any more food.
He shakes his head when he's doing something he knows he's not supposed to be doing.
I have to change his diaper while he's standing up or else he'll throw a fit if I try to put him on his back.
He'll play a game where if you point to him, he'll point to you and touch your finger. He doesn't really point yet aside from that.
If he hears me open the dishwasher, he crawls over as fast as he can so he can throw the dishes out of it.
I try to read books to him and all he wants to do is grab them out of my hands and put them in his mouth.

Milestones:

• He started giving me open mouth kisses!
• Figured out how to crawl backwards down stairs
• Standing- current record is 10 seconds, no steps yet
• Cruises easily on furniture
• He can walk slowly behind a walker
• He dances
• He can hide his face for peek-a-boo

Favorite things:

• Putting everything in his mouth and banging stuff
• Climbing stairs
• Climbing everything else
• Making messes
• Trying to rip off cabinet doors
• Trying to tear apart the play kitchen
• Trying to tear the baby gates off the stairs
• Destroying areas of the house I just picked up

Maxwell at 10 Months

Weight: 19.5 lbs.
Teeth: STILL 0
Size: 9 months

Loves his learning table

Practicing for football games.

Milestones:
He started standing for few seconds.
He pulls up and cruises a lot.
His pincer grip is pretty good now.
He waves (if he feels so inclined)

He likes
-being thrown up in the air
-swinging
-shaking his head no
-high fives
-going to the pool
-dropping spoons and toys from his high chair
-clicking his tongue and blowing raspberries
-opening and closing doors and cupboards
-riding on Daddy's shoulders

He likes "helping" me unload the dishwasher.

Food:
I used to make him baby food and he didn't seem to like it, but he likes the purees I buy at the store. I still nurse him several times a day.

If I need to get something done I can put a bunch of puffs on a chair and he'll happily stand there and eat them.

Sleep:
He FINALLY dropped down to two naps. I felt like my life revolved around feeding, diapering, and naps. But now I have a big block of time between the end of his afternoon nap at 3/4 and his 9:00 bedtime. He still wakes up in the middle of the night for a feeding and diaper change. He gets up for the day any time between 7:30-9. If he gets up at 7:30 he usually cries to go down for his first nap at 9.

He knows when he is doing something he's not supposed to be doing. Like I'll walk into the room and see him sucking on a crayon and he tries to turn and hide what he's doing. It's interesting to watch the gears turning in his head. I'll see him reach out to something he's not supposed to touch, pull his arm away, and then reach for it again (sometimes eyeing me). Or he'll find food on the floor and see me coming to take it away and he'll quickly try to shove it in his mouth before I can get to him.

He likes to pull up on the storm door and look out and bang on it. He likes to people watch.

He knows to not crawl off beds and couches and to not try to go down the stairs now.

It's so convenient that he has attachments formed with Jackson and Mika because if I need to go to another room to do something he is fine being left with them. When Jackson and Mika were babies and I had to leave the room to go do something, they would scream and cry until I got back.

He "helps" get dressed by sticking his arms out when I line them up with the arm holes.

He discovered paper towels.

I will miss tiny Max so much!!