I Missed 2 words

Iron (ien) He loves the Iron almost as much as the vacuum.
ball

Max's Words age 18 Mo.

The words here are at least 50% there to be counted as a word.

For example Apple sounds like amble but I want to be able to look back and see his progress.

Apple (with sign)
hat (with sign) (made up, I don't know the real one but he's consistent)
belly
momma
dadda
hi
bye
no
yeah
banana ( nanna)
juice ( use)
water ( wawa)
home (ome)
kitty (diddy)
out (ow)
bird (with sign) (sounds like bahd)
puzzle (sounds like bubble)
more (with sign) and the first word to make two word combo's "more wawa", "more nanna"
nose
cheese
owl
go

One strange thing to me is that he says bird and signs whether he see a bird or hears a bird. I have only done that sign for about 2 months when it was taught to me at peps.

I have signed eat many more times and obviously he eats a lot more than seeing a bird. I'm also quite sure they sign eat at daycare. Max loves food. So why has he never signed for eating? Once he starts eating he says and signs for more right away but even when he is clearly hungry or thirsty he doesn't sign for them. He'll cry and whine (sometimes) but no sign. Hmm?

Fun with Ian, Sarah and Mimi

We had a good time on Sunday with Ian, Sarah and Mimi. We had dinner and got a chance to catch up on each others lives. Ian and Charles practiced for their upcoming art show performance. It's always fun to hang out with good friends!

The picture of Max is eating his breakfast. The other pictures are of the color we painted the dining room.

Other New~

It was a big blow to us that 2 weeks into Charles new job at Safeco it was bought out by Liberty Mutual. We don't know what this means for Charles at this time. We do know that the transfer doesn't happen for 4-6 months so we have some time to figure things out.

It seems like a cruel joke that just when we finally felt that we got over some major hurdles in our life and things were starting to settle down........this happens!!! UHHH!! But.......we've been up and down for so long now I think we're used to it and can handle it. We have each other and that is whats really important! Charles has always been able to land on his feet and he has lots of experience behind him so if he has to get back out there then he'll be fine. Of course, we hope that doesn't happen.

Challenging Weekend

Max's runny nose has come back and it is thicker than ever. He doesn't seem to have any other symptoms except that he has been really fussy. Our patience has really been put to the test! Max has wanted me to pick him up and hold him nearly all the time. When he's playing he gets frustrated really quickly and starts to cry and whine. He seems to always be making a mess or pulling on me or getting into something he shouldn't. We haven't been able to get much done.

On Friday I tried to go for a walk around Greenlake with Andrea and her kids but it was a disaster! As soon as we got going it started to rain pretty hard and I was freezing. Max was getting wet because I don't have a plastic covering for my stroller (I will be getting one) He was crying and wouldn't let me put a blanket on him. We had to turn around and get back to our car. We were both wet and the stroller is so darn heavy to get back in the car.

Max didn't sleep much on Saturday night and for the first time in a long time we pulled him in our bed. I felt good about this because he was obviously uncomfortable with his stuffy nose and snuggling with him was a treat. He let me have some nice moments when he wasn't wailing or kicking me. Then he woke up a 6:15 ready to party and wanting company. We eventually dragged ourselves out of bed and got going with our day. The good thing is that now he's taking a really long nap. Unlike the last 2 days when all we got was about an hour break all day.

I usually try to stick to the positive stuff but sometimes it's just really challenging.

It wasn't all bad though. Max had fun at the Ravenna community center in the toddler room with me on Friday and Dad brought him back on Saturday when I was working. We went there because our weather has turned to crap here (rain, snow, hail). It hasn't mattered too much because with Max's nose we probably wouldn't have him outside a lot unless it was really warm which it isn't.

We haven't cloth diapered Max this weekend because speaking for myself I didn't have the energy to deal with it but we did bring his potty up from the basement. Last weekend Charles installed our outdoor clothes line which has been christened with plenty of rain but no clothes yet.

Tidbits

We have started cloth diapering Max again on the weekends. It does add a lot more work. I do believe that he pees or poops about every 15 minutes. With cloth it seems you could change him hourly. Most of the time it leaks through his pants and we go through 2-3 pairs in a day. We plan to get the potty out in the next week and start talking about it with Max. No real expectations at this point.

I gave up one of my Saturdays at work. Now I'll only work one Saturday a month. Hopefully, we'll get a chance to get together more with friends! Unfortunately, we didn't get a chance to get to the Green Festival or any of the events surrounding the visit of the Dalai Lama this past weekend. That really bums me out!

Max turned 18 mo. on April 2nd. All is well for the Beene's these days. Charles is settling into his new job. He loves taking the bus to work and from our house this is very convenient. We have totally switched roles and I do all of the daycare drop-off and pick-up. It's been going about the same. Max still cries for the drop-off but he is happy by the time I pick him up. With the nice weather the kids are playing outside which helps.

Max is gaining new words and sounds and cracking us up with the things he's doing. One really cute thing is that he claps after Charles plays a song for him and signs for more right away. Such a good audience! He's running a lot now too.

In some ways taking care of Max is harder now because his needs for different kinds of stimulation are increasing as is his energy level. But he is definitely sleeping better and napping better. The activities we can do with him are getting more interesting as his attention span increases. So it's more challenging but also more fun!

We bought a yearly pass to the zoo and went for the first time on Friday. It's nice to have a pass and not feel like we need to spend the whole day there. I'm good with about 1-2 hours. There is also a big grassy area where we can bring lunch and run around.

It was 72 degrees in Seattle on Saturday so we decided to head to the beach! We met our friends Taryn, Noah and their 2 month old daughter Elana at Carkeek Park. A good time was had by all.

Words

New Max words~

wawa (for water)
hi dada (together)
hi mama
baa when asked what does the sheep say?
maa when asked what does the cow say? not moo but maa

papa just tonight for the first time

and lots of other indistinguishable babble.

Max is becoming my sweet little huggy boy. Our bathtime routine has become one big hugfest. I dry him off with the towel then we have about a ten minute hug before we put his clothes on. Then 15 minutes more of hugging and singing (me) babbling (max).

Then Max lies in bed for about 20 minutes babbling away. I just wonder what he's thinking? His imagination is definitely at work. He sure is entertaining himself.

Other news~

We painted most of the dining room over the past couple of days. When we're done I'll post a picture. I love the color. Charles felt it may have been a little bold at first but now loves it also. It certainly gives the room a new feel. It's a warm color and I think that suites a dining area very well.

We are so happy for Charles and his new job at Safco Insurance! He starts next week.