What a fun week we've had, thanks to the much anticipated visit from Mimi, Auntie Joey, Uncle Neki, and Cousin Koa. I made the mistake of telling Max that they were all coming a few days before their arrival, and Max set out hunting for Mimi and calling her name throughout the house. So, we tried to stay very busy to make the time go by a little faster so that their visit didn't seem so far away.
We had a playgroup activity everyday at a park except for the day of Max's 18-month check-up. This was sort of a sad day as we were very homesick for our most favorite doctor ever--Tio (Uncle John), not to mention his wonderful, caring nurse Tia (Aunt Sandy) and his friendly and excellent receptionist "Auntie" Sara. So, the bar had been set so high we entered this new office with very grim expectations. On the advice of Sandy, we sought a small practice--not an easy task around here. Kid's First--the monopoly of pediatric practices--are everywhere, and they consist of anywhere from 6-10 doctors and every mom I have met goes to one of them. But, we persevered and managed to find Dr. Marsh after calling several big practices and asking for referrals. The office--and practice itself--is very small. The reception area is tiny with little room for toys and they don't even accept credit cards for co-pays. But, Dr Marsh and her staff are all very nice--I think that we will at least be happy here until she retires (which can't be any more than 10 years away). Anyway, Max weighed in at 26.5 lbs and was 33 1/4 inches tall. They asked him to look at a chart with pictures on it and had him point to the cat, horse, dog, etc... He did perfect. They also asked how many words he had--at the time I had no idea. "A lot" was my answer. According to the nurse, 6 words is what is average for an 18-month-old. When I told Paul this, we decided to make a list of all of his words and came up with 36. Now, not all of them are pronounced crystal-clear, but he definitely has words for at least that many things. Dr. Marsh also discovered an ear infection brewing (he had been suffering from a cold and sore throat a few days before) so we ended up getting an rx for an antibiotic instead of the two immunizations we were expecting.
We've also been doing some preliminary potty training. Before he poops, Max will point to his diaper and say "poop" and then proceed to do the duty (or doody). So, I figured maybe this was my window. I bought him a potty and this little seat and he knows they're for "pee-pee" but every time I sit him on one he just tries to shove toilet paper through the holes. I guess we'll just keep trying. Besides, I don't know if I'm ready--the more I think about it the more convenient diapers seem. I am dreading that every trip to the grocery store might end up in me abandoning the cart to take him into a filthy public restroom.
His grimace is so funny. This is his "cheese". Every time Max sees a camera he makes this face and says "cheese"--even if the camera isn't pointing in his direction (which, admittedly, rarely happens).
Max loves his sunglasses and will actually wear them--for about 3 seconds. Whenever he puts them on Paul sings him a song "Hey, Hey, Hey....Hollywood...." and sort of rhythmically dances to a beat. Max thinks this is so funny so he puts them on just for the song--then they come right back off. This happens several times a day.
Max has also been very hard at work. He helped us out in the garden and discovered this little toad. He would pick it up, then it would wriggle around in his hands and he would get a little freaked out and drop it, just to pick it up again and repeat the cycle over and over. A little side note: "helping us out" in the garden is a nice way of saying he tried to trample over every tomato and basil plant and/or pick their leaves.
He's also really been into this work bench. I picked it up at the "DI" before we left Utah for like $2 but it didn't have any of the tools so he never really played with it. I found some realistic looking tools at a fabulous bookstore here in West Chester and now Max loves it. He now hammers, screws and saws on everything.
And then finally cousin Koa arrived!!! Max and he became best friends right away and played so cute together the entire time. Koa (who is 3 1/2) was so sweet with him; he shared toys, talked to and played with him so nicely--it was awesome. At the end of the first night, Max settled right into Koa's lap to watch some Elmo. It was too precious.
Too bad Koa can't come and live with us--Max would LOVE a big brother. If you ever need a break, Joey, you know where you can send him.
And of course both boys just LOVE their Mimi!
They played so hard together all day, that when bath time rolled around the tub water would get so filthy it looked like "iced tea"--as Joey fittingly described it.
Best friends!
It was so hot and muggy over the weekend we decided to get the boys a little pool to splash and cool off in. Max preferred to skinny dip.
Neki helped Paul construct a gate for the fence around our garden. It looks and works great. Even the two little ones had to come and check it out.
Finally, our tomatoes, basil, zucchini, cucumbers and peppers are in the ground. Hopefully our fence is enough to keep the deer and rabbits away and we are keeping our fingers crossed that the sun they get will be enough to ripen even an eighth of the harvest we got in UT.
Max has been doing a lot of streaking around the yard. He is happiest when he is naked, and we've just been letting him run around that way. He got a tick yesterday on his lower leg, though, so maybe we should start to discourage this habit. The ticks out here are rampant--as is Lyme Disease. We basically have to inspect Max from head to toe every night, and I've never seen one before so I had no idea what to look for. Kate, the 7 yr old neighbor girl who likes to play with Max, happened to spot this one so fortunately we found it right after it happened. I tried so hard to be the adult/ER nurse and not freak out but that is difficult to do when there is a likely disease-carrying crawly thing embedded in my little boy's skin. I was able to get it all out and there is no swelling or redness around the site, so I think Max will be okay.
This is Max's horse Rowdy. He can climb on it and loves to ride it--right here he is riding it bareback, giving the term a whole new meaning.
This is definitely a Christensen expression--I think he looks a lot like my dad (papa) in this picture. Speaking of papa, Max still hasn't forgotten him. Every time we see a tractor or a truck, whether in a book or outside, Max will point at it and say "papa".
Is this not the most redneck thing you've ever seen? It happens to be Max's latest craze. He just begs us to take him on tractor rides around the yard, and he always wants to wear his little helmet. He steers the wheel and makes "Brrrrrrm, Brrrrrrrmmm" sounds the entire time. Paul jokes that we've burned more gas giving Max joyrides than we have actually cutting the grass.
And finally, the big, bulging belly. This is the last week of my second trimester, but I feel as big as I did when I delivered Max.
