Makc

There is so much going on : )) There were snow and snowmen everywhere. Presents (so many : ) ) to open. Friends to make. Things to say. Books to read. 

Max and I are having tons of fun! 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, Everybody!!!

By now Max can

• climb the stepping stool, my tool box, all Christmas presents, the big bread pan from the kitchen, two boxes of toilette paper, and anything else suitable that comes his way : ) Once he is on top, he either sits or steps down : ) He enlists the help of the couch or the shelve and practices thoroughly while giggling : ))
• sing - his first songs had no voice but the mouth movements were very expressive. They were good songs then, you would love to hear them now with sound. He has also added some swaying. It is a show not to be missed. 
• tell you that the monster has a lot of teeth and even show you how they clank. Add this to the lion roaring and the cow mooing and we have a mini-zoo at home. All the animals are in great spirit : ) 
• tell you that he hears an airplane by touching his ear, that his poo smells by touching his nose, and that it is time to brush the teeth by touching his teeth. The world is full of surprises!
• pick out the letter E, T, W and what not. I am afraid that I forget which ones he knows now : )) We trace the letters down, too. Max is excellent writer. We also practice following the shapes of the pear, the leaf, and the smiley face in the book. All this is a source of immense satisfaction; and one very proud mom : ) 
• walk backwards. Max loves dancing. He can do it slow and he can do it fast. He is working on his running but discovered that there is fun to be had by walking sideways and backwards. He does it with the biggest smile on his face : ) I love to watch him... The thing is he has not started yet to figure out that he needs to watch where he is going : ) We have damaged couple of walls, some edges and the baseboard. Max's head has been the winner so far. I hope so much it stays that way!
• take instructions not only from Mom and Dad but from the teacher, too. He can sit down when he is told to + put his book on the shelf, sing the hello and good bye songs, put the toys away, lots of things... The school bell has become a big thing! It means a change of activity and Max is the first to jump at it. We go to the gym, then we go back to class, and that kind of thing. I think it is the cutest! 
• wear his gloves. Finally : ) It took some time... and it was the socks that convinced him that it is not a scary thing. He had fun discovering what can and cannot be picked wearing socks on your hands at home. There are two related stories to this : )) The first one is that if you take his diaper and put it on your head to wear as a hat, Max will laugh and shake his head: "no, no, no - this is not how you wear a diaper". When you ask him where to put it, he would point to his bum : )) It is always happy times to misplace the use of something and get his smiling "no, no, no" response. The second one is that he ended up coming home from school without a jacket one morning because he would let his father put it on. It has been 2 weeks and only one protest against the jacket since then : ) And we go out 2 times a day. So much to learn! All the time : ) 
• last but not least, sleep. It is the most unbelievable and beautiful thing in the world at the moment. I am not about to jinx it and you may hear more about it some other time : ) 

I am happy! Thank you!!

Max has been practicing sitting today and all week. I did not realize that sitting is a skill you learn and perfect ; ) It is cool. There is so many different ways to mount a chair. But we are not talking about just chairs : )) A Christmas present box from granddad will do. And so will daddy's bag, a ball - small and big, the school bus toy, and the fire truck... Use your imagination : )

I don't think I have reported on all of Max's achievements : )) Let me list some. Our little boy can: 

• drink from his own cup by himself
• eat with a spoon and a fork
• blow kisses to friends and kiss mom and dad on the cheek
• imitate baby crying, snowflake melting, dinosaurs sleeping : ))
• he can wave hello and bye in a couple of different ways

And on top of all this, his 4 molars are coming out...