16 Months

I was going to do a 15 month update, but clearly I've missed the boat on that one since my little guy turned 16 months on Monday. I don't even know where to begin since SO much has happened in the past 4 months. I suppose I'll start with the biggest milestone first. Max started walking soon after his first birthday! He started with darling, wobbly and unsure steps and over the course of roughly 4-6 weeks he gained more confidence and began to fore go crawling for being upright. Around 14 months he began standing up on his own which led to much more walking power for him! He now walks all day and is attempting jumping and running! The fun has truly just begun!

Soon after his first birthday his baby signing also picked up. He began to sign "more" regularly and then "please" followed. Soon he was signing "milk" and "all done" too! As his signing increased so did his words. He had regularly been saying, "Dada" directed at Ritchie and over the next month he began to say, "Daddy" also. He has since slowed on that word because he's added so many more sounds and words to his repertoire. In the past 2 months specifically, Max began saying, "Mama" sometimes in context, "nana" for banana, "hot", "wawa" for water, "va va va" for vroom when he sees a car, and "eaa" for eat. He says all of these words regularly now and most often says "eaa" and "hot". He seems to think everything is hot ;) Just in the past few days he's played around with trying to say "rock" and "again" which sounds like "gin"! It's so fun to hear these words and I find myself eagerly asking him to repeat any word I say.

At 14 months we found out Max is going to be a big brother in August. While I'm very nervous about this transition, I just know Max will be an amazing big brother. I couldn't ask for a better role model for a younger child than Max.

I don't even know how else to document all of the incredible things Max does on a daily basis! He often pretends to be a dog and crawls around chasing after Gracie. Those two are going to be BEST friends. His favorite foods are bananas, any other fruits, peanut butter sandwiches, bananas, milk, fresh juice, bananas, popsicles (he's been teething a ton!), oh, and did I mention bananas? He asks for his nanas about 5 times a day. Usually we only let him eat 3 per day and have verified that you cannot overdose on potassium.

Max broke 2 molars and now has all 4 bottom teeth. We're awaiting 2 more molars and all of those vampire teeth and then are hoping for a freaking break!! Poor kid is miserable some days from those teeth.

Maxton also has a LOVE of books. He has several favorites; Brown Bear, Brown Bear, From Head to Toe, Oh My, Oh My, Oh Dinosaurs, The Belly Button Book, Binky, Touch and Feel Animal Farm, and Mr. Brown Can Moo. He wants them read over and over and over and over again. It's pretty precious how he brings you the book and crawls into your lap, but I swear, sometimes I want to hide those books! He also loves anything musical and runs around the room turning on anything that plays music and clapping his hands with joy. He adores his Scout toy and often hugs him and plays with him repeatedly. He's FINALLY started to snuggle with the puppy we got him at bedtime and naptime in his crib. He's as attached as ever to his binky and I find myself letting him have it to play with more and more. I figure we'll deal with it at some point. I'm just not ready yet.

At 16 months, Max is sheer joy to have around. His laughter is contagious and, for the most part, he is a happy, healthy little boy. I cannot wait to keep seeing him grow and learn and discover. He's so bright and charming and is loved by so many!