Maxwell - 15 Months

A bit about Maxwell at 15 months:

• He loves to sing "Jesus wants me for a sunBEAM" and has the beam part down perfectly. He also likes the Itsy Bitsy Spider and does a few recognizable actions with us.
• Maxwell knows the following animal sounds: monkey, snake, owl, wolf, cat and Jordan's sister Kim's dog (it can't really bark but he got to know it when we went to Idaho and seems to think all dogs make that 'sound' -he has the face motion down too.)
• Max is eager to put things in the garbage, particularly his used diapers. So far he has mostly just put garbage in the garbage!
• Airplanes and helicopters never go unnoticed whether we are in the house or outside. 'Big Trucks' are always pointed out as well, even if it is just a car passing on the street in front of our house.
  
• Maxwell recognizes Jesus in pictures and likes to point to Him and say His name.
• Max drinks from a cup alone and loves to use his fork or spoon to feed himself.
• Maxwell loves to read books and often will bring me books to read to him. He sits and listens the longest when he is sitting on the potty & I read to him.
  
• Max says 'thank you' after we give him something as well as when he wants us to give him something. I am pretty sure we taught him that by saying 'thank you' when we take something away from him he shouldn't have.
• Maxwell waves his hand at us, almost like his drink sign except with just one hand, when he wants us to hold his so we can walk together somewhere, often to the kitchen to get a drink or something to eat. Other times he just wants to hold our hand and walk with big steps. Recently he has decided he wants to put his milk back in the fridge by himself, after we've opened the door for him.
  
• Maxwell is a flirt and can get a smile from anyone who makes eye contact with him. The girls in our Sunday School class (16-17 yr olds) like to flirt with him and see him coyly smile back at them.
  
• As long as it is his idea, he is free with his hugs (ahhhh), kisses (mmwah), and nosey kisses (na na na na na). He learned how to give nosey kisses from McKay who can't seem to give hugs and kisses without also doing nosey kisses!
• He loves to be silly and is constantly making us laugh!
• Max knows the following body parts: neck, eyes, ears, nose, teeth, eyebrows, chin, hair, belly button, and toes. I don't think I forgot any...
• He loves to take a bath but doesn't usually want to be in there for any longer than 10 minutes at the most.
• He is very good at climbing at home and at the playground.
• Max loves to GO and gets so excited when it is time go GO!
• He has an excellent memory and catches on to things very quickly. One evening McKay was 'helping' me empty water from their water table into a bucket to take it to water the plants. Max was inside with Jordan watching through the window and wishing he were outside with us. Several days later, I took care of the water when he was still outside with me and he was SO EXCITED to hold my hand and take the water to the plants. I didn't realize he wanted to do the same thing I had done with McKay until he was disappointed when I didn't open the gate and water the plants in the front yard.
  
• All temperatures are 'hot' to Maxwell, whether they really are hot or are cold. He remembers me telling him my flat iron and the oven are hot and reminds me when he sees them.
• He rotates between folding his arms and clasping his fingers to say the prayer and usually says 'AMEN' with a very proud grin on his face.
  
• Maxwell will try to do and say anything we ask him to.
  
• He loves to dance, especially with McKay
• He also likes to sit close and cuddle as long as it is on his terms: not too long and not too tight.
• Anyone laying on the floor is an invitation for hugs and/or to play & climb.
• He LOVES to brush his teeth and sprints to the bathroom saying 'teeth' as soon as we finish saying prayers. It is so fun to watch his little legs move so fast!
• Somehow he has assumed McKay's job of taking the scriptures to/from Mommy or Daddy when it is their turn to read. I love to see his proud grin.
  
• Maxwell gets giddy with excitement when Daddy comes home and is not happy until he gets his hug.
• He loves to play peek-a-boo... There he is! Hide & seek is also a favorite.
• I'm sure I have forgotten something but this is a good list of over 50 words Maxwell can say. Some are more recognizable than others but I was proud Saturday when a stranger recognized that Max was calling the seagulls 'ducks'. He can say: duck, truck, cracker, eyebrow, eyes, ears, shoes, socks, strawberry, blueberries, cheese, Momma, Daddy, bubbles, balloon, moon, trees, bird, airplane, hat, amen, ball, banana, apple, help, nose teeth, garbage, all done, all gone, more, milk, book, please, thank you, eat, hurray/yay, up, hello, hi, hot, bike, bye bye, vitamins, uh oh, bath, blanket, cheerio, no, yes, go, pop, Jesus and yogurt.
  

It blows me away that he will be old enough for nursery in only 3 months!

Now who do you think he looks like?

This picture cracks me up. He LOVED his waffles with strawberry sauce!

Maxwell was my partner for our family home evening activity of Toy Story Yahtzee. He loved shaking the dice.

While McKay practiced riding his bike in the church parking lot, Maxwell practiced stepping off the curb. It is a smaller step than a normal curb and he was so proud of being able to do it alone!

We love you sweet boy!