I do these monthly posts mainly to document Maximus' growth. There's a lot of detail here, so please don't feel compelled to read.
At bedtime, Maximus loves his big blanket that we cover him with. He'll lie down, holding onto one of his favorite little blankies, and will say, "Mmmmm," with the sweetest lilt in his voice. That's not to say that he goes down easy at every nap or at night, but for the most part, he does well.
I love listening to him chatter on his baby monitor. He'll have conversations, saying things like, "dat do" (thank you), "mee mee" (excuse me) and "knee" (knee). Plus there is a lot of random chatter such as nan-oo, nan-o, bee-ah, & one-o.
Maximus is repeating a lot of words we say these days. Some of these words he has been saying a while now, but I don't always record them right away. He'll say "ice" or "i-shhh" and he LOVES eating it. I'm careful to only give him very tiny bits of crushed ice. When he hears me getting it out of the freezer door, 9 times out of 10 he'll be running to see if he can have some.
He can say "hi" as well as "hello," which sometimes turns into the word "Eyore." Ha! He has a Winnie the Pooh phone that talks about Eyore, so that must be where he's learned that.
Elbow is referred to as "bow bow." (just drop the "el" and add another "bow").
He knows and can point to body parts, and everyday objects that we ask him about.
If we're out and about, he usually wants to walk on his own. He'll say "walk" (sounds more like "rock"). If we let him down, oftentimes he's off and running.
When it comes to rocking in the chair, he will say, "rock...rock" in a rhythmic manner.
He sometimes holds up his hand and says, "dop" for "stop." And he's good at recognizing stop signs.
M says, "buh-gar" for "buger."
Some of the things I say, like "ya," or "ya, ya, ya," and "nope," he imitates quite well.
He says, "apple" and "happy" as clear as day.
When he says the word car, it sounds more like someone from Boston, saying, "cah."
Other words he says are: you, me, hot, brrr, pop, hat & back.
When he refers to his toy blocks it sounds like he's saying, "bok."
If we're shopping for something he'll say, "buy you" for "buy." And will even do a little "beep" sound to imitate how they have to scan items at the register. He's always saying "Caw-Co" for Costco and is able to recognize a lot of the items we purchase at home from there. Maybe I shop too much? haha...
One of my favorite things he says now is "la lu" for "love you." Plus, get this...he can say, "Mamma Mia." It's quite funny.
He is imitating a lot of our gestures as well. He recently started the gesture of shushing, by putting his finger in front of his mouth when I say, "shhhh."
And for MANY months now, he will do things like lift both hands up in the air as if to say, "I don't know." The other thing he has done forever it seems, like when I can't find something, (or if I say something like, "hmmmm...what should we do?"), is he'll rest his finger next to his nose and say, "hmmmm" as if he's contemplating the matter.
Maximus REALLY likes to HELP. And help he does! He has fun helping me unload the dishwasher. He pulls out the dishes as I quickly grab them from him.
If I have items such as paper towels or a box of baby wipes that need to be put away, he'll grab the items and hand them to me. (Okay, sometimes throw them, but we're working on that). He does this all with such pride and joy.
He likes to throw dirty clothes into the laundry baskets and washing machine, helps push the clothes into the dryer and puts clean clothes on the bed for me to fold.
I KNOW, this all sounds like I've got him working 24/7, but he REALLY does enjoy it. I mean, if he gets a hold of the vacuum (see post on that here) or a broom, he's in HEAVEN!
He has a very sweet, fun loving personality; however he can be pretty shy in public. One of the comments that I hear a lot from people is that "he's so serious." At times he is, but he studies his surroundings and people. I think that trait will come in handy later on in life, don't you?
But, as I've mentioned before and you can see by the photos that I post, this boy likes to have fun! He's Adventurous, a bit of a dare-devil at times, mischievous and silly.
M is a sweet boy. He has a strong will. Determined. Loving. Kind. Funny. Intuitive. Strong. Cuddly. Independent. Clingy at times. Full of Life. Happy. Smart. And Very Squeezable (said Mama).
Lord, do not hide your mercy from me. Let your love and loyalty always protect me.
Psalm 40:11 (ERV)
Love that boy!
hi-d