Lake Forest Animal Farm was definitely a hit. Max loved to get up close with the goats and get wet under the water fountains. I tried to get a picture of Max and Malik together but couldn't get it. Toddlers!!!

There are two areas that Max is doing really well in these days.

1. Sleeping. This has been good for a while (except when he's sick) but it's been especially good since we bought him his new bedding. We went all out for the organic cotton bed and sheets. It was sort of expensive but not that bad. Since he sleeps so well on it we aren't complaining.

2. Talking. I think the only thing that is holding Max back from being able to converse with us is muscle development. He is trying to say several new words everyday and we just need to decipher them. He is also putting words together and using his signs with talking.

From birth until now his development has seemed like a slow moving train that made a lot of stops. Now it's like I'm sitting on the train looking out the window watching the scenery pass by. It's not stopping. It's chugging along with or without my help.

In public, however, Max is hit or miss. He may talk, smile and laugh or he may cry, push and be clingy and introverted. Yes, he pushes. Usually at kids his own age. It's embarrassing. We're working on it. At this point Max isn't showing the kind of social behavior toward other kids that we'd like to see.
His friend Malik, the sweet boy that he is tries to hug and hold Max's hand and Max won't have it.

But we know what Max is like at home and we know he's a lovey, huggy bear. He's just not quite ready to show it to the rest of the world yet!

Our Weekend

This is Max and Mason at Mason's 4th Birthday party. Mason is our across the street neighbor. He really loves Spiderman!
Charles is in St. Louis this week so it's just me and Max. Boo.

What We've Been Up To

This weekend we took the bus with Max downtown. We walked around for a while but it was really cold so we didn't stay for too long. The thrill is in the bus ride for Max. Every time the driver makes a stop Max says "more, more".

Max is done with his Amoxicillin and he seems to be fine. It really sucks that we seem to have run out of luck with Max being a good eater. We used to brag about his huge appetite and his willingness to eat all kinds of vegetables. Now we have to force him to eat. Could it be his age? Daycare? I don't know. He still eats fruit and meat so I guess it's not all that bad. I'm going to have to get more creative with the vegetables if he doesn't get back on track.

On Saturday night Charles and I had Jordan, a worker at Max's daycare come over so we could go see Indiana Jones. I was reluctant to do it but we let her put him down after we left. So far Max has only been babysat while he was sleeping so this was a big step for all of us. Max cried really hard when we left and kept calling for mama. Totally heartbreaking.

It was hard to get into the mood for a date when he was so upset but I loosened up after a while. I even resisted the strong urge to call and check on him.

Jordan said he calmed down shortly after we left and went down really quickly with only a small amount of crying. I felt better hearing this.

So I hope it works out for Jordan to sit for us more often. She lives close by and is saving money for college. Maybe we'll all be better the next time we try it.

Update

Max rallied very quickly once on Amoxicillin. I've been monitoring his breathing at night and he doesn't sound like he's straining to breath. This leads me to believe he doesn't have pneumonia. The doctor agrees but he'll need to be checked if things change. He seems to have his energy back but he is very clingy and isn't eating much. He's coughing less but it still sounds pretty chunky when he does.

The cold/ear infection combo is a nasty beast. I don't want to revisit this anytime soon.

Charles is still feeling miserable but I'm much better.

The house has seen cleaner days and the weeds are making themselves right at home but I've got a long weekend ahead to catch up.