2 and 1/4 Years

Dear Max,

It is simply amazing to watch you grow and change. There are so many times when I turn to look at you and catch my breath because you seem to have gotten immeasurably older in just a few seconds. I watch your mannerisms and see your Daddy, hear the gasp in your laugh that is so much like mine, feel the strength of the arms and legs that wrap around me in a tight hug, and observe the tiny down hairs on your neck that are starting to disappear. How does it happen in such tiny increments, but yet so quickly?

Max, you are constant entertainment. You have learned to play hide and seek and beg us to join in, although you giggle hysterically whenever anyone gets close. Any activity with balls enthralls you, particularly basketball and golf and throwing balls into the air. Art is a passion. The art easel from Santa has been thoroughly used. When I drop you off at school, you immediately head for the art table. We color, paint, use stickers and playdoh, and even tape, glue and add sprinkles for your creations.

You paint and use markers in the tub also, although you like washing it off more than anything. You know all your colors and some shapes. Trains and trucks continue to hold your interest, but power tools are also creeping in. Cooking, both real and pretend, is a treat. It is a proven fact that you will eat more food if you get to help prepare it. Or if it is like a "big boy", i.e. whole fruit, an open cup, etc. It is impossible to list your favorite books because you love so many. For the past few weeks, you have been enthralled with the "If you give a mouse...." series, Go Train Go, and the Cats book.

Much like the Count on Sesame Street, you count everything you see (and you also have a draconian laugh like his too!). You can count to 16 - we have 16 stairs on the back staircase - and recognize the numerals from 1 to 10. You actually count objects, not just saying the numbers from rote memorization. A brilliant mathematician, perhaps? The bathtub numbers and letters have been a big hit. And this is also how you show your mommy and daddy how much you know! You can pick out a letter and tell us what it is or find the right one when asked for about half of the alphabet. I'm not sure exactly how many letters because you tend to do the same ones over and over. You sing the ABC song, enunciating some letters properly and slurring the others into a hum. You are starting to pick out letters in books and on signs. I am already in complete awe of how much you understand. I can only imagine how inspiring it will be when you learn to read!

Finally, there has been a breakthrough in speech! Over the past few weeks, Max, you have burst forth with sentences. Apparently, your best talking is done when you are supposed to be sleeping. We slept in the room with you when we were in Chattanooga. In the early hours of our first night, you awoke and said, "Max home go Babba's car now." Several times I have awakened at 6 am to hear you conversing with yourself and your Pelt in bed. Note, I no longer sleep with the monitor on, yet I can still hear you with perfect clarity in my room down the hall. Generally, you talk for about 10 minutes and then go back to sleep until 7 am. Your teachers have confirmed that you also do this at school during rest time. They, too, have been amazed by how suddenly you have begun to express yourself. And they seem surprised to realize how brilliant you are because you were not verbalizing it previously. However, Daddy and I have always known that you possess the brain of a true mastermind!

Max, you continue to be a delight to everyone around you. Your sweet soul shines forth. It could be that I am prejudiced because you are mine, but I have rarely encountered a child who is so genuinely caring and good natured. Yet, that does not mean that you are immune to the frustrations of being a toddler. In fact, your emerging "independence" has not been without trials. As you continue to assert yourself, we have had to become more serious and consistent about discipline. You understand time-out and definitely do not like it. There have been many episodes lately, but I think being better able to verbalize the problem will certainly help in the future. It continues to be a work in progress. It definitely helps that you are so sweet the rest of the time!

The recent scare with your health has only emphasized to us how blessed we are to be your parents. It has helped us remember to treasure each day, even the difficult parts, because we are together. We are incredibly thankful to have you.

Love, Mommy