- Christmas was great! Max loved everything and doesn't get the whole gift thing yet, so I tried to savor every moment of just getting to enjoy all the fun things about Christmas without the materialism that I'm sure he'll have developed by next year. Lights! Inflatable figures in yards! Snow! Santa at the mall! Wrapping paper! Christmas songs! Leaving cookies for Santa (and of course carrots for the reindeer and cheese for Santa Mouse)! It was perfect. Seriously. I couldn't have asked for anything more. Nana & Pappy came down and spent Christmas with us and my family came over for dinner on Christmas night. Max performed in the Children's Program on Christmas Eve and the term, "PK (preacher's kid)" came to mind. He loved being on stage and I was thankful the microphone was off as he looked like he was ready for his set at the comedy club the way he tried to eat the mic.! I was trapped between people in a pew and couldn't get out to get him in line, but at 2 it's still cute. Seeing him come down the aisle dressed at a shepherd with the rest of the 2 & 3 year old class made me teary. It was so darn adorable!
- Max & I left for our first car trip to Indiana with my dad a little over a week ago. I think the term "Trip From Hell" pretty much captures that experience - but not because of Max. He was actually really good. It unexpectedly snowed for 11 of 13 hours out there on Monday, then we found out that another storm was due to start midnight Thursday & we were planning on leaving to return home Thursday morning. So after much discussion and attempts to find out what was going on in the country east of mid-Ohio (that's as far as the news was showing out there and we didn't have access to weather.com), we decided to leave at 1 p.m. Wednesday. So we had about 20 hours of face time with the Indiana relatives and it was back on the road. Things were good until about 8 p.m. when we arrived in Morgantown, WV. I became very anxious about the icy road conditions and the knowledge that we'd be in them for at least 2-3 more hours and not get home until 2 a.m., IF we didn't die in a fiery crash first. Sooooo, much to my dad's chagrin, I insisted on pulling off at the next exit and staying at whatever hotel was there. Hello, Maple Leaf Motel. It looked like the kind of place you could rent by the hour, but was actually neat and clean and inexpensive. I got two rooms and we stayed there for the night. My dad didn't have much to say to me after that, but I felt like I made the right decision. I seriously was about to have a panic attack. So, it took me a few days, but I think I've almost recovered. I don't regret going out there, I just wish it had been a more pleasant travel experience.
- What Max is like these days: Max is almost 2 1/2 and is alternately the most fun he's ever been and the most challenging he's ever been. He is really starting to have conversations now and is very expressive. I need Matt to help me translate much of the time, but I do okay on my own too. He's been potty training since just before Thanksgiving and it has been a relatively easy transition (knock on wood!). He hasn't had very many accidents. He's still in diapers for naps and night time and will be until he's old enough to change his own sheets and make his own bed. No, kidding. But it'll be a while before I go there. I just don't see the need for it and he still wakes up really wet most of the time, so I don't think he's ready for that step.
Lots of people say things like, "Wow, he's really active." or "He certainly is busy!" and it makes me wonder if he's any different than any other 2 1/2 year old boy. It makes me a little nervous because I wonder if they are looking at me thinking, "Jeez, can't you control him?" or something similar. Honestly, my gut feeling is that he is a typical 2 year old - busy, active and testing his independence. I have heard that this is totally normal and that people should be more concerned if they have a child who is always perfectly compliant and calm as trying out their Independence is an important developmental stage. I do have to say that most people who say things like this are parents of girls who are mostly younger than Max. Just to paint you a picture of his typical M.O. - to get upstairs to go down for a nap he often attempts to lay on a stair and roll UP the stairs. Then when he gets upstairs he runs from his room to our room giggling and squealing and sometimes jumping on the bed. Then when he finally manages to get in his own bed, he MUST be allowed to get up on it himself. Anyone helping elicits cries of outrage and horror and he wants to get down and do it over ALL BY HIMSELF, thank you very much. When he finally makes it onto the bed, he does a somersault to end up at the top of the bed and then he's usually smiley and out of breath and proud of himself. Believe me, this is quite exhausting for me to deal with at almost 8 months pregnant, but I have to say that the somersault thing is pretty cute.
Max's current likes: Barney (that's a definite LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!), yogurt drinks in those little bottles, Kheer, reading - he'll sit for 30 minutes to an hour and let me read to him - love that! He always insists on getting a particular blanket we've now dubbed, "The Reading Blanket" and covering up with that, running, saying grace and prayers at night - which both go like this, "Grace. Amen! Good Job, Max!" , going to Sunday School and Toddler Time with Jesus on Wednesdays, playing with his fire truck and trains, pineapple & cottage cheese, using items that we've gotten out for Sammy and reliving his baby days: drinking from a bottle, taking a bath in the infant tub, being swaddled in the reading blanket and spoken to like a baby.
Dislikes: Dinner (esp. the meat portion of dinner), anyone doing anything for him that he wanted to do himself (carry him upstairs, put him in bed, put him in the van, take him out of the van, snap his car seat, put his dishes in the sink, choosing his placemats), not allowing him to get into the fridge at will, not allowing him to eat lollipops or vitamins whenever he asks - I guess these fall in the "being told 'no'" category.
- Sammy: Samuel is due in about 6 weeks! I am feeling good, but tired, and find it more difficult to move around. I am trying to enjoy every night of awesome sleep I'm getting right now and really wishing there was some way to bank that refreshed feeling you get after 8 hours of sleep in a row! I can't wait to see Max with him and to see what he looks like and what his personality is like.
- Okay, Max never did take a nap, so he's been up talking to himself in bed for a long time. I have to go get him. I hope to post more soon!
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