Max at 3 1/2

The fact that my Maxton is three and a half blows my mind. He's changing so much everyday.  I'm going to attempt to take a snapshot of my boy right now.

Max is, as always, sweet and sensitive. He's always been a lover and will still snuggle, let me hold him, and give hugs, kisses and "I love yous" freely. This may be my favorite quality of his.



He loves to count and can count past twenty easily with no assistance. His one-to-one correspondence with counting has gotten fantastic in the past 6 months and he can count up to 7 or 8 items this way. He also LOVES to point out letters he sees. He can recognize every letter of the alphabet. He can trace almost anything now, but is only consistently writing the letter "M" independently. He can spell his name. He knows he's 3 and he knows he's Max Lincoln. So far, so good, I'd say!



He continues to LOVE music and is mostly interested in string instruments. The ukelele, violin and guitar seem to interest him the most. He can sing almost any song within a few times of hearing it (this has actually put us in some less than ideal situations). He's starting to dance and move a bit to music also, but I think both of the boys may sadly have their father's rhythm.



He still has a sweet tooth. We're finally breaking ground on some veggies, but, if given the choice, he'd choose chocolate every time.

He LOVES babies right now. He'll admire them in public and proclaim how cute they are. He also constantly tells me how pretty I am and how handsome his daddy is. He's very complimentary of everyone.



He doesn't sleep with any covers. He likes to be on top of the covers, or preferably just on the sheet with the covers on the floor, curled up at the foot of the bed. He sleeps really well and I'm so thankful for my great sleeper. He had given up naps for awhile, but is back to napping a good 2 hours a day. He's one of those kids who NEEDS his sleep or he's a bit of a mess.





He still prefers to be naked on the bottom a large majority of the time, but lately he's actually been interested in wearing Ben's pants. Something about how funny it is to him that the pants are way too small for him.

Speaking of, Max is freaking hilarious. He's got an AMAZING sense of humor and loves to laugh! When you first meet him, you totally won't get this from him. He reserves his humor for those he trusts and loves. He does better with small groups of people that he knows really well. He loves his friends, but doesn't have any interest in meeting new ones. Once he lets you in, then you get to experience the pure magic that is Max.





His self help skills are drastically improving! He can get his underwear, pants, socks and certain shoes with little to no assistance.





He uses logic so well and can argue with people now. It's fun for now, but I can see how that will be tiring with time.

His relationship with his brother is blossoming. He's starting to interact with him more regularly and they make up little games. He aids in Ben's mischief and Ben loves that. He talks a lot about "our baby" being so cute. I think he's talking about Ben, but, to be honest, I'm not 100% sure.





He's becoming a bit bossy. He likes to be in control. I think he may have a bit of my anxious personality. He likes things a certain way, he wants to control the situation, but he also adapts really easily. I want so badly for him to not be scared or worried about things, but I may just have to accept that it's in his nature and teach him how to move past fear or through anxiety rather than just "not be" that way. It's one of my biggest parental hurdles with him and something I worry about constantly (gee, I wonder where he gets it from?)



He really is one of the kindest, sweetest souls I know. He's 3. He's working his way through this big world the best way he can. He makes me SO insanely proud. What an amazing honor it is to be his mommy. I hope I make him proud, too. I'm learning as I go with him, my first. Every single thing he does will be my trial run with parenthood and I'm trying so darn hard not to screw it up. Sometimes I'm certain I'm ruining him forever. But, then, there are these moments. Like when he calls someone sweetie. Or tells me he loves me for the 30th time that day. Or when I take a picture of us on my phone and he says, "look at that little family in love". Those are the times when I think maybe, just maybe, I'm not ruining everything. I remember to stop worrying, "take a deep breath" (as he likes to tell me) and just enjoy this love of a child of mine.