2 1/2

Today you are 2 1/2.  30 months you have been in this world and boy what an impact you have made.  The world is a better place because of you.  You have certainly added your share of sass and sweetness in your own Carmen-way. 

You love.  You test.  You give eskimo and butterfly kisses.  You explore.  Your favorite colors are blue and purple.  You love to paint, especially with watercolors.  You're not so sure about finger painting as you don't really like to get too messy.  You can't get enough of matching.  You match everything.  Your sunglasses must match your shoes.  Your toothbrush must match your PJs.  You love seek and finds, memory games, and sorting things into piles that match.  You make up and invent your own matching games.  You have the world's best memory.  We only need to say something one time and you pick up on it days later.  Remember, Mom.  That's what you often say.  Oh, yes...I remember. 

You love pickles and two-star chicken Pad Thai.  You like to dance and have perfected a pretty darn cute ballerina twirl and leg kick.  You love to run and jump and ribbit, ribbit as you call it, especially in your rubber boots.  You jump in
 puddles every chance you get and are really quite good at throwing and catching and kicking.  You run around the house saying you are doing your exercises.  Apparently you have a lot of energy to burn. You are excited about your tricycle and helmet and want to ride it every chance you get.  You like to sing, especially the ABC song, Somewhere Over the Rainbow and Happy Birthday.  You love Birthday's and always make sure that I know flowers, balloons and party hats are a must at any birthday. You can count to 20 and you get it right most of the time, but certainly not always. 

You have an independent streak and your new favorite phrase is "I can do it all by myself!" No help needed or wanted.  You are a headstrong and determined little thing.  You like staying in your pajamas as long as possible and you absolutely refuse to wear jeans.  Only stretchy pants still.  I'm waiting for this phase to be over.  You are so very particular about certain things.  No open doors; you must have every door you see closed.  You like to build with your blocks and you build and re-build Lamby's house more times than I can count in a day.  You give Lamby pretend bubble baths, tuck her in for bed, kiss her on the head, read her stories, change her, hide her, throw her, give her to Max when he is fussing and still don't have her out of arms reach.  She is well loved. 

You like to snuggle and watch shows--Curious George, Calliou and Doc McSuffins are your favorites right now.  You love Band-aids and want them all of the time.  Every little scrape, bump or boo-boo is Band-Aid worthy in your mind.  You use them like stickers. You are not a big fan of bed-time.  You have a hard time settling down and flop around like a fish.  It takes a good hour or so for you to go down.  When you do fall asleep you are always cuddled up with Lamby and your thumb is usually in your mouth.  You are oh so peaceful.  Peaceful, but sometimes sideways or even up-side-down. 

You still are in love with your little brother and call him "my Maxy."  You always want to know where he is and you are usually good about playing with him despite him taking away your things, climbing on you and pulling your hair.  You often talk about the things you will do together when he grows up.  Its very sweet. Fun times ahead.

You are our little miracle and we can't tell you how much we love you, how proud we are of you and how excited we are to see what's next.  It will no doubt be challenging, full of surprises and lots of laughs and smiles. 

9 Months

9 months today, Maxy. Unbelievable. 9 months of growing, learning, exploring and enriching our lives.  At 9 months you are all boy.  You have the ability to find and zero in on any two things you can bang together to make noise.  You are not interested in your toys; you opt for the items you shouldn't have, seek them out and then bang the heck out of them.  You are funny.  When you are into something that you shouldn't be (which is usually the case) and I say "Maxyyy?"--you jump, look up quickly and then try and scurry away...as if I don't see you.  This usually happens when you are yet again in the shoe basket or unearthing every item from the diaper bag one by one.

At 9 months you are determined as ever.  You have decided you don't want me to sit for one second.  Gone are the days I can sit you down with a distraction.  You are now pulling yourself up to standing on anything you can get your hands on, you are climbing the stairs (two flights in the blink of an eye) and you have even figured out how to shimmy out of the saucer.  Nothing contains you, not even your car seat.  You are not a big fan of it these days. 

You are however a big fan of eating.  And boy do you let us know when you are ready to eat.  Holler, holler.  Apparently you need lots of food to put your 8 teeth to use. To keep you occupied while we whip up your meal, we give you puffs and Cheerios.  You cram them into your mouth by the fist full.  Your tray or your snack cup is always empty and I find myself being impressed that you were able to gobble up all the snacks.  Then, when we lift you up, ah, there they all are. You are sitting on them or they are stuck to your clothes or on the floor.  Good thing your sister has attention to detail.  She will gladly clean up your mess by putting your extras in her tummy.

At the old age of 9 months, you are a charmer.  You are a ladies man for sure and oh how you smile.  Your grin makes me melt.  You smile the absolute most when you are near water.  You practically jump out of our arms when it is bath time.  You can't get enough.  I'm tempted to throw you in the bath every time you are fussy since it makes you so happy. 

You are starting to do so many wonderful, fun things.  Like saying 'mmm' and 'dada'.  Not 'mama' yet but I know you are saving the best for last.  You also love to clap and you are so proud of yourself when you do.  And we are proud of you too, Maxwell.  A bright spot in our lives for sure.  Happy 9 months to our baby boy!

Happy Father's Day

 

When asked why she loves her daddy and what makes him so special, Carmen responded by singing Somewhere Over the Rainbow.  This is the song that Jimmy sings to her at bed time right before she gets her last kiss of the night.  Very sweet.  There is no doubt that Carmen loves her daddy.

 

When asked the same question, Max just smiled and stuck out his tongue.  Equally as sweet, just in his own boy way!

Park + Picnic = Perfect Play Date

Ok, so the unpredictable Seattle weather cancelled our picnic, but still plenty of play time at the park which made for a fun time.

 

 

 

 

Pearly Whites

Today Carmen had her second dentist appointment.  She...

 played with trains, beads, and Mr. Potato Head,

clung to me while she got her teeth brushed,

practiced brushing K-9's teeth (a friendly stuffed dog),

got a new Dora toothbrush and a bag with her name on it,

fussed when the dentist was counting her teeth (all in except for one molar),

got sparkles on her teeth (a.k.a fluoride),

was excited about her rubbery ducky prize (complete with butterfly wings),

wants to go back to the dentist tomorrow

(she will need to wait 6 more months; good thing she does not have any concept of time).

 

All in all, a successful appointment. 

 

Caged

Jimmy is out of town for a few days for work and to make the time go by a bit more quickly and peacefully I decided to cage the children.  Just kidding...while the idea was certainly tempting, Carmen decided she would make a 'house' with the laundry basket while I was folding laundry. She tried with all her might to cram herself in along with Lamby. 

Then, I was in the kitchen getting dinner ready while I let Carmen and Max share Cheerios and puffs while Max was in his saucer.  By sharing, it's Max getting a few in his mouth, dropping most of them on the floor and Carmen eating his mess and then helping herself to what's left in the container.  Carmen then ran into the kitchen saying, "Mommy, come see the Happy New Year surprise!"  Ok, I said, in a minute. After several minutes I came to see what this surprise was all about and this is what I saw...

I guess Carmen thought Maxy should be caged too!   

New Digs

This past week Max moved into his new and improved room.  No longer is he sharing his living space with our computer; after eight months he now has a room of his very own.  A bigger place to play, a place for all of his treasures, a peaceful place to rest his head.  And rest he needs.  He is as active as ever--exploring, pulling himself up, sometimes crawling on all fours, maneuvering himself toward all of the things he shouldn't touch, pull on or put in his mouth, playing and trying to keep up with his big sister.

So far the transition to his big boy room has been smooth.  He's pretty much sleeping through the night these days. Fingers crossed this trend continues.  No doubt there are lots of zzz's, play dates, memory and mischief making ahead in these new digs.