Dear Max,
For the second time in your life you got sick. You’ve had a runny nose before but aside from the stomach bug you got in January you’ve never really been sick. You apparently had some sort of virus. You ran up to a 103 fever and just cried a lot and laid on the couch. You obviously felt terrible. I felt so badly for you and I was very thankful when you started eating, smiling and playing again.
A very big milestone was accomplished this month. One day, in the middle of playing, you stopped and said, “go poo poo”. I then asked you if you wanted to sit on the potty and you said you did. We went into the bathroom and I say you on your Elmo potty and waited, and waited, and waited. You say there for a long time and kept asking for sips of my Dr. Pepper. I started to think you really didn’t have to go and was close to giving up and just putting your diaper back on, but then I saw your face turn red and I knew what was coming. So after about 10 minutes of sitting on the potty and lots of sips of Dr. Pepper you POOPED IN THE POTTY! It was very exciting and you were so proud of yourself. Of course you were excited to get M&Ms and since I made such a big deal out of it you knew this was a big accomplishment. You aren’t potty trained yet or anything, I’m too busy with Jake to go full force right now, but I think you are headed in the right direction. I hope to have you potty trained by two and a half.
(edited for potty contents)
Ever since we brought Jake home you have loved him and been interested in him and what he’s doing. However, this month you have been paying him lots of attention and you always say, “Play with Jake”. You play peek-a-boo with him and you love to find things for him to chew on. You think it’s funny that Jake squeals and sucks on his toes and you like to imitate him. Jake lights up when he see you and the first thing you say in the morning when you wake up is “See Jake”.
Right after your birthday I decided to use some of your birthday money to take you to the circus. It was so much fun and you are at just the right age to take in order to really appreciate it. You loved the dogs and horses that did tricks. You weren’t sure what to think about the motorcycles in the cage, but you loved pointing out all the motorcycles when they came out. Your favorite part, besides eating Dip N’ Dots ice cream, was watching the elephants. We had a great time and I was really glad that Nona babysat Jake so that just the two of us could go.
We just finished hosting the Labor Day meeting. It was a great meeting and on the first night we were pleasantly surprised to see Aunt Bethany, Emery, and Kade. We hadn’t seen them in a long time and it was so fun to see you and Emery together. At first you both just looked at each other and then you both started jumping around and cracking up. It was hilarious watching you two play together and laugh. We also got to meet Kade for the first time, and we even got a picture of the 4 of you kids together. Then, on Sunday night after church, I took you roller-skating. We dropped Dada and Jake off at home and as we drove to the skating rink the moon mesmerized you. In fact, I had to bribe you to leave the skating rink by telling you we would get to see the moon. You LOVED skating. Well, maybe I shouldn’t call it “skating” more like walking on skates. At any rate, you did really well, especially considering you are a two year old and let’s face it, you fall enough without putting wheels on your feet.
I have been trying to teach you manners and it is paying off. You usually say “Thank you” and “please” on your own. Sometimes you say “yes ma’am” on your own, but I still have to remind you at times. The funniest thing is that when anyone is helping you do something you say “Good job!” The other night when Nona put you to bed she told me you kept telling her “Good job, Nona!” Speaking of helping you, you are getting more independent all the time. I am glad you are getting more independent but you know when you need help and you aren’t afraid to ask for it. Even though sometimes it takes longer and sometimes is a lot messier to let you do something by yourself I let you because I know your independence is important to you and you are learning a lot by doing things for yourself.
This past month was very eventful, thus the long letter! Now that the summer is over I am excited to get to go to the park and the zoo more. Summer is fun, but it is so hot and crowded. It is starting to cool off and since kids have gone back to school places aren’t near as crowded as they have been. The bounce house is another place we need to go now that school has started. We’ve been a few times but you were a little bit hesitant because there were lots of big kids. I couldn’t believe it the other day when we went and you climbed up the big slide by yourself and came flying down with a smile on your face! I love you and I’m excited for what you will do next!
Love,
Mama
