19 Months

M turned 19 months old on September 7th, and I am FINALLY getting around to posting this photo of him. On the 7th, the three of us went out for Italian food for our Wedding Anniversary. Afterwards, we stopped by the playground where he swims to let him have some fun.


Speaking of swimming...we are in the middle of our third round of lessons. Our teacher is the best! It's more than just singing songs and splashing in the water. Maximus is doing great - blows bubbles, splashes, kicks and goes under water.  We use all sorts of flotation devices such as kick boards, noodles, dumbbell looking things and life jackets. He loves it when he gets to wear a life jacket and float around on his back. He's so relaxed and looks like he's going to fall asleep. M gets the chance to sit on the side of the pool and jump into the water. He doesn't actually jump...I just reach up and pull him into the water. He enjoys it though! We also get to play with plastic balls. Our teacher encourages the kids to throw the ball and then reach and pull with their arms, to mimic swimming strokes. He is able to go under the water and does well, although sometimes he doesn't want to. He gets a big grin when he's tossed up into the air and caught on the way down.


Lately when Maximus wakes up he wants to go sit on my glider. He's able to climb up into it...usually using the footstool for a boost. He will sit there and rock like crazy, listening to music playing on the iPod next to the chair. If he doesn't like a song, he'll point and grunt to get me to skip to the next song, and the next song, and so on...He is content when Bobby Darin plays on slacker.com. We play a variety of different music for him. He is really into some of the cool/hip Christian music, such as tobyMac. And on occasion he will raise his hand, like we do in church when we're singing. It is the sweetest thing to watch!


He continues to say more and more words or repeat things that we say. I don't always remember to write them down, so some of these he's been saying a long time and others are newer.
He says:
knee, hat, up, in
bow = boat
rah = cross (he recognizes crosses and points to them all the time)
Caw-co = Costco
I-dee = pretty sure that's Heidi (ME)
If we go over a big bump or railroad tracks he usually says, "wee."
When he swings, he oftentimes says, "wee...wee."
The other day he repeated "pizza."


If we're laughing pretty hard or he overhears a conversation with lots of laughter, he does this fake laugh. It's hilarious...definitely a forced laugh, but he has a good sense of humor. He also gets going with a fake cough sometimes.


He's becoming increasingly more affectionate and cuddly. I love rocking him in the chair as well as dancing with him. It's so sweet when Rob asks M for a hug and kiss and Maximus puts his head on Rob's shoulder and wraps his arms around him and gives him a kiss.


When it comes to bedtime, M doesn't cry as often as he used to. In fact, lately he welcomes it and will ask to go "nigh nigh" (night night).


In the evenings after dinner, M likes to run around and play with his toys. One of Maximus' favorite things to do is sit on Papa's lap at the computer and watch music videos on YouTube. They both enjoy moving and drumming to the beat of the music. Maximus will get bouncing up and down like a wild man. We don't let M watch TV...but there are those rare occasions when the TV is on and he's around.


My niece is due in about a month. She's going to have a baby girl and I am so excited to see how Maximus reacts. He's very interested in babies.


I could go on and on...I never tire talking about this little guy. He is our pride & joy!


I hope you're all having a good start to a new week. Thanks so much for all of your sweet comments lately. I hope to be back blogging a little bit more regularly...even if it's just a quick, short post. And, I hope to be visiting you soon as well!



Happy day!
hi-d