Babies to the Max: Sweet Sixteen Months

Dear Max,

I truly believed you would be the kid who would take 2 naps until you were in kindergarten - you really love to sleep. Alas, the joke's on Mommy! After five consecutive days of skipping your afternoon nap (not the way to go), I admitted that you were ready to be a big boy. However, you picked the worst possible time to transition. The "Week of No Napping" occurred right before the last minute relocation of an engagement party to our house and only a few weeks before Mommy and Grammy leave for Italy. Not the ideal time for changes. You have actually adjusted to one-a-days more easily than Mommy....it's a work in progress.

The most expressive part of you is your eyebrows. You can convey all sorts of emotions with the tilt of your brows - mischievous, happy, angry, judgmental, scorn, approval, and so on. However, we are proud to report some success on the other communication front! Max, you are making progress on saying new words, although consistency has not yet arrived. Your biggest achievements: "Tiger" (although we aren't sure if you were referring to Frank or the pelt because they were both present), "Duck", "Broom", "Together", "Thank you" (according to Grammy's interpretation). There are the old standbys as well, including the ever important "cat". That one you definitely have down! Is it so you can report Frank's misbehavior?

Max, you love drinking from a straw and trying to use a fork to eat (i.e. play). Your eating habits vary wildly - one day you will gorge on so much food I wonder how your body can store it all and on other days you will barely nibble at your meals. Not eating oranges (your favorite fruit) seems to signal that you are getting sick. Yo-Baby yogurt, bananas, oranges, sweet potatoes, turkey, cheese, bread, and lots of milk are your daily staples. A girl would kill for your metabolism because no matter how much you eat, the pounds do not come! Of course, you probably walk 6 miles a day just circling the house non-stop.