23 Months

Max is now23 months old. I know I missed two months. Now that Max is a very busy toddler I don’t get a lot of time to do much else but take care of and play with him.  He’s really growing up to be a very special little boy. He’s really smart and you can see him really trying hard to figure things out. We’re thinking that he may be an engineer like his Grandpa Tadjbakhsh.

He still loves the outdoors and picking up sticks and rocks. I guess we need to get some warm clothes so we can spend some time outside in the winter because he won’t let us stay in for a second. I’m really excited to see him play in the snow.

Although he’s a little picky, when he likes the food (like pasta, macaroni and cheese, fruit, French fries, fish sticks, peas, bread, yogurt, and crackers to name a few of his favorites) he eats really well. He’s doing really well using a spoon and fork and he’s starting to drink from a real cup.

His favorite words (or at least the ones he says the most) are: What’s that? Who’s that? and What is it? And if you don’t answer him quick enough, he asks repeatedly, each time getting a little louder and with a gruffer voice. It’s really cute. He also tells us to “sit down” a lot.

One day Roger said to me “Honey look at this.” And Max looked at me and said “Honey.” Now when asked what Daddy calls Mommy, he says “Honey” and sometimes calls me Honey.

He’s not into TV too much but lately we’ve been introducing him to Sesame Street and Barney and he likes them. Elmo seems to be his favorite. I don’t mind that he’s not a TV kid but would love if there was something we could put on to keep him sitting still for longer than 5 minutes.

In October, Tutu came to visit. It was great to spend time with her and Max loved seeing her. While she was here, we went to Florida (Max’s third trip to Florida and his fifth plane trip).We had a great time visiting with Uncle Glen, Aunt Doreen and Amanda. The weekend before that Jason, Dana and Aunt Janet came to visit and we had fun with them too.

The Terrible Two’s have started. He’s very independent and fights with us to do things he’s not ready to do….put on his coat to leave home or daycare, get in the car, stop playing, getting in the highchair etc. I think his other  favorite word is “NO.” We can’t really complain because he is generally very good and even tells us when he wants to get in his crib to go to sleep at bedtime.

Chillaxin, Playing and Helping Mommy

On the Huntington's Disease Walk at Tawasentha Park. Max had it easy with Daddy pushing him around the trails. 

 Just Chillaxin!!!

 This seat isn't as comfy.

 Hangin with his cousin Lillie.

 Eating yogurt on his own. He's doing great using a spoon and fork. A bit messy but he does get some in his mouth.

 Playing in the kitchen cabinet.

He's such a good helper...loading the washer.

20 Months & Teeth

I'm a little late but we did take the picture on his 20 month birthday. On September 7th, I discovered he had cut his first tooth. Now he's up to 4 and the 5th one will be up soon. He's not getting them in the "typical' pattern. He got the 1st two on top front and then the next two were on the bottom sides. The 5th one is coming up on the top side. Probably too much info for most, but I wanted to document it. At this rate, he won't be singing "All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth."

First Professional Baseball Game

Max went to his first professional - I guess it's professional even if its Minor League right? - baseball game. KPMG took us to see the Valley Cats. It wasn't the Yankees but it was fun. Max met Ronald McDonald and seemed to really like him because he kept saying his name. He wasn't too crazy about the mascot or the fireworks that they set of after the National Anthem.

Max and Daddy

I absolutely love these pictures of Max and Roger. They were taken the day of my mother-in-laws funeral after all the guests left and we were just hanging out at Denise's house, trying to take it all in. I know she was looking down on us and telling them to relax, it would all be okay.

What is it?

Max says his first phrases. He says What is it? or What is that? Sometimes it sounds like Wha is it? or Whaz it/dat? or my favorite......Whazzz Up?

Max and Robin

Max hanging out with his friend Robin.

And hanging out on Uncle Sean's fishing boat.

Why Buy Toys....

...when you have empty boxes....


....and pine cones and sticks??


But sandboxes....


....and cars are fun too!!

And all that activity is just exhausting!!

Brilliance!!

Max is brilliant! Look at how he can do this puzzle all by himself. Notice he gets his patience from me...he get's a little frustrated when he can't put he piece in right away.

A Ham at 19 Months

Max was a real ham for his 19 month picture. I was able to get so many good ones this month. His hair was a little crazy but he's so cute!

Oats....oats....everywhere!

We have one cabinet without child safety locks so Max likes to pull the stuff out. Well, I forgot that there was an open box of oatmeal in there. And....yep, Max found it. As you can see, he's pretty proud of him self.

Summer Pictures

Some close ups!!


Aunt Karen and Max play with blocks.....until Max pushes the tower over.


Got milk? Adam and AJ, Corissa and Steven, and Roger and Max.

Meme takes me and Max on a golf cart ride. We may have to buy one and drive around Delmar since Max just spent three days riding all over the camp ground.

Max eating with a spoon. He's doing really well.

18 Month Checkup

We had Max's 18 month checkup and he's doing great. He's 20 lbs 13 oz., less than 3rd percentile and 30.75 inches, 9th percentile. I guess he'll always be our little peanut. He had follow up blook work that showed his white blood cell count is back to normal. We still have to see a genetist but so far everything seems fine.

First Lollipop, New Gate and New Float

Max had his first lollipop. He sure did enjoy it.

After his escape from the family room, we got a new gate. This one doesn't have any room under it to crawl and has a door. I'm sure he'll figure out how to open it soon enough but for now I think we're safe.

I love this picture. I think he got caught trying to figure out how to escape again.

He loved his new pool float that we tried out in Aunt Susann's pool.

He loves his Daddy!

Escape from the family room

We had this gate from when we would try to keep the cat out of the family room when the new floors went in and we decided to try to use it to keep Max in the family room. Well we were having a hard time making it work because of the area that we had to put it in. So our friend Karen suggested that we raise it a little because it would be on a more even surface and should work. Well it worked....We could get it to stay on the wall just fine. But not so much for keeping Max in the family room. It took him about two weeks to figure out how to do this.

18 Months

My little boy is growing up so fast. He celebrated his 18 month birthday on July 8th. He's keeping us very busy running all over the place. Some of his favorite things to do are:

• Pick up sticks outside
• Play with balls
• Push any toy that he's supposed to ride on
• Play in the dirt
• Play with the little people farm

He says at least 20 words by now. Some of the newest words are: grapes, please, Max, and yogurt (or gogurt). He signs more and all done very well. He blows kisses....only on his terms though. He recently learned to do "raspberries". One day I was laying on the floor playing with him and he lifted up my shirt and did a raspberry on my stomach. We had no idea he knew how to do them.

We've been working on teaching him to eat with a spoon and he's doing pretty good. Yesterday he had a baby ice cream cone and did okay with it too. At daycare they've been working on him sleeping on a mat and eating at a table instead of highchair - two of the things he needs to be doing to move to the next room - he's doing pretty good.

He's generally a very good toddler. Still sleeps really well at night and is very easy going for the most part. He's become very independent and even a little defiant. He gives us a hard time when we try to change his diaper or his clothes. When we take away something he's not supposed to have or try to get him to do something that he doesn't want to do (stop playing to eat, getting out of the bathtub, etc.) he screams and stiffens up. I'm hoping it's just a phase and that this too shall pass. Wish me luck on that one.

Still no teeth!!! It's crazy. The dentist took an x-ray and found a full set of teeth just waiting to erupt. Who knows when it will be but I hope he's not in too much pain when it happens. In the meantime he's become proficient at chewing just about everything with his gums. He's still a good eater and his favorite things are fruit and yogurt.

I still look at him and wonder how we got so lucky to have such a wonderful little boy. He has changed our lives in a way that I could never have imagined....the love I have for him is stronger than I knew existed.

A Way to Stay Cool

It was so hot today so after work we took Max to the town pool where they have a section called Splash Island. He had a blast.

He did get mad and decided to pick up one of the sprinklers though. He's so strong.

He kept pinching the water streams. It was so cute.

Fourth of July Fun

We spent this beautiful Fourth of July at Meme and Papa's camp with the Junco family. Yes, the Tadjbakhsh's are dorks and bought matching t-shirts to show our patriotism. Aren't we so cute?


Dada and Max just hanging out.


Ashley and Chris took Max on a golf cart ride.


Vincent and Max discuss baseball.


We spent some time in the baby pool and Max loved it.


Leah hangs with us in the baby pool.


Max loved being in the float that Aunt Tammy bought him.


We ended the day with Max eating yogurt with a spoon by himself. He does pretty good with it. Let's hope that he can master it by the end of the summer so I don't have to move the hose inside the house to clean up messes like this one.