3

The pool party was a huge success. The weather was perfect, all of the kids and adults had fun and it was so heartwarming to seeing Max take it all in, knowing it was his day. Everyone also appreciated the time and effort I put into the cookies and goody bags. As Mark says; "I live for these days" (not 100% true but kind of true). Max had me all upset about his behavior earlier in the day and he completely pulled through when he was in the spotlight. He was all smiles and laughs throughout the party and it was really touching for me to see him like that. To think about how far he has come in a year is just amazing. At his 2 year old birthday party, he was barely talking. He jumped in the moon bounce for 5 minutes and than ran around with Mark's phone for the rest of the time going in and out of the door. This year, he was swimming in the pool, going in the tunnels and on the slides, splashing and laughing and leading his friends in a round of Dayenu as if he were in rabbinical school. He sat and smiled while everyone sang happy birthday to him and blew out his candle right on cue. He ran around with the guys and got chased by the girls on the grass. It was just adorable to see him surrounded by his friends and acting like a little boy. Like a true 3 year old! I was so proud of him...















And now for an update... At 3 years old, Max:

Sings songs from school, mostly Shabbat songs and the hamotzi
Counts to 20, says the whole alphabet and can identify most letters by name
Can spell his name (so what if its only 3 letters!)
Loves asking questions even when he knows the answer...when is your birthday, whats your last name, what happened to Hope's car, Where's daddy?
Eats a little bit more than he did a year ago but mostly the same 10 things....yogurt, string cheese, cereal, peanut butter and jelly, matzoh and cream cheese, fruit, eggs, applesauce, raisins, pizza, french fries, and some other junk that I don't need to mention
Likes to pretend play; cooking, things that happen at school, driving, cleaning and anything else he sees us doing
Loves bandaids, vitamins, jelly beans, lollipops, snowballs, riding his bike, going for wagon rides, going to the pool
Is much less interested in tv but still likes Sesame Street and Barney the most
Feels a constant need to annoy people by poking, squeezing, hitting, squealing, etc. More so to girls and mostly to Mallory. She is so used to it that she just continues to go about her business while Max is continuously poking her head 100 times. Is this really what big brothers do? It's so sad!
Is at the very beginning stages of potty training (doctor says 3.5 is average for boys so I'm not pushing it yet).
Is finally starting to share a little bit more...with lots of encouragement. He can actually take turns in a game like shooting a basket ball outside. Never thought I'd see the day where he said "your turn" to another kid but it is happening now!

Goes to bed around 8:30 (on a good day and with us laying in bed with him....how we got to that, I'm not sure)

Wakes up at 5:30 (on a good day)

Still takes a pretty long afternoon nap, sometimes in on the couch, sometimes in his bed, sometimes in the car, but the days of guaranteed successful transfers are over.

Recently started waking up during the night which is NOT fun. When will I ever sleep again????

Has pretty impressive speech and language skills for a boy as far as grammar and articulation if I must say so myself :)...still some errors here and there with prepositions and answering some more complex wh-questions but nothing out of the ordinary for 3 (does anyone know what I'm talking about if you're not an slp?)

Is starting to say "Mallory" instead of "Mowry"

Has a great sense of humor and really "gets" alot of things now and seems to be getting more sarcastic like his mommy and daddy.\

Yesterday, on Max's real birthday we were up bright and early and I took them for a walk at the Quarry.


Then we hung out at Gigi and Pop pops for the morning. They got him a cool toy garage that he wasn't so into but he takes a little while to warm up to toys. Brian and Missy were there so we hung out with them for a while. Max loves playing outside in Gigi and Poppops neighborhood because there is a trampoline and swings and lots of space. It makes me feel bad for him that we don't have a big yard but at least he has lots of kids to play with.

We ended the day with a neighborhood basketball game with his new basketball hoop from grandma and grandpa.

And one more "happy birthday to you"



and one more wish

Max...in the 3 years since you were born I have been filled with so many different emotions that I never felt before. I can't imagine who I was before you were around. I will admit, there are very frustrating days. It has been a year of ups and downs but through it all, at the end of each day I wouldn't change who you are and how you have made us the family we were meant to be. All we want is for you to grow up to be happy. Of course there are more challenging times to come but we know the happy times (like your birthday party) make the trying times worth it. We can't wait to see what the next year brings for us all. Happy Birthday Mr. 3 year old!! Love you!