What a great day!

My day with Max...

Sometimes I feel like the most impatient mom in the world. I think that maybe I am too quick to scold Max or to tell him "no" and get upset with him. Today was a stress-free and (mostly) tear-free day for us!

We started off with a pretty quick and tasty breakfast (I make him cereal with milk and bananas) and then headed out to the aquarium. It was so fun, we saw the sloth moving around and eating and Max just ran back and forth in the amazon (with all the school kids laughing and moving out of his way), that was before we even got into the children's play area for family music time. Lots of singing, playing and running around there too! It was great to see some of our friends: Aunti Liss, Brandon, Sadie, Jen, Ryoko and lots of others.

Max fell asleep in the car and napped for 2 hours! It was a good time for me to get some work done, so I transcribed one of the most difficult files I have had so far. I was frustrated, but Max certainly cooperated and napped quietly.

As usual though, I have a regret. When Max woke up, I was not quite finished working. Max wanted to read a book and I had to say no to get the file finished and sent in. It was only 20 minutes. But I HATE saying no to Max when it comes to something like reading... It led to some tears. I debate about whether or not they were real tears, as it was easy to distract him with a noisy toy.

But as soon as I was done, it was play and reading time before we started out for some visiting!

Off to the deli! I wish I had taken some pictures. Tevere Deli on Hastings has closed it's doors for good. Close family friends of ours own it and it's always been a fabulous deli. Unfortunately we have not been there nearly enough. But it was really nice to be able to be there one last time. Even though a lot of the shop was packed up and missing, it was great to be a part of it. Thanks for all the great sandwiches, soups and lunches over the years! Not to mention the fabulous party trays. You will be missed!

Max and I played there for a while before heading to Grandma & Grandpa's.

I think that Max has more fun at Grandma & Grandpa's than anywhere else. He never stops running around and exploring. Not to mention the fun that he has following Grandpa around. Max is constantly taking the remote and changing Grandpa's tv to something different, just because he can, or adding a little special something to his tea, or lounging beside him on the couch (momentarily, as he does NOT like to sit still for longer than a few seconds).

Max has also discovered how to open the doors there, they have different door knobs than we do (thank goodness, I'm safe for a bit). So far, he can only open the door when it involves moving the handle and then pulling the door towards himself. He has not quite figured out how to push the doors open yet. We had a great dinner and then changed into pajama's for the drive home.

I had pajamas there so I could change Max before heading home because for the last couple of months, anytime we leave Grandma & Grandpa's and it's dark outside, Max falls asleep in the car. Go figure that tonight, when I'm prepared for it, he doesn't. Big surprise there. So we came in and cuddled on the couch for a bit before going to bed. Tear- and yelling- free, yay!

So now, as I tidy up the house and get things ready for tomorrow I decided to stop and reflect on what a great day we had. Tomorrow's going to be another busy day and I won't get to see Max much at all, so I'm learning to make the most of the time that we do get together, it's nice to have these days to reflect back on.

Max learns so much, so quickly! More and more words are being strung together, he listens and understands and repeats everything. Our "conversations" are starting to make sense to people that are listening, not just to us. Which has been it's own kind of entertainment. Today he spent a lot of time saying "mummy. mummy. mummy? mummy! mummy." with all kinds of different intonation. I think he's starting to understand that I answer to that (that was the brunt of our conversation on the 15 minute trip to the aquarium). He usually spends a lot of time saying "dada" and "puppy". Tonight, he got to feed the dog, so he followed poor Christopher Plummer (yes, that really is Grandma's dog's name) saying "puppy! puppy?" with a piece of kibble, trying to get him to eat it. He didn't quite understand that the dog couldn't get it when it was inside his closed fist. So cute!

I am so grateful for the time that I get to spend with Max and family and friends. Also, that we and our friends and family around us are all happy and healthy and safe.

So tired...

Thank goodness I'm the only one in the house that has been sick all week.

Poor Max... heehee, well, not really. Instead of going to daycare on Monday, he got to stay home with Mummy. Even if I spent the whole day feeling (and probably looking) like death on the couch. Even if I could barely feed him lunch, without getting sick. I can't remember the last time I was this sick. It was nice to nap with Max on the couch for a bit, he is like a little heater, I was actually warm for 30 minutes before I realized that he was sweating. He gets so hot when he sleeps. It's so cute, but I imagine it's not so comfortable when he gets all sweaty.

I was on the couch until 3pm on Monday and then promptly went to bed as soon as Ross got home from work. I tried to sleep through the night, but was so cold, I couldn't. I spent all day Tuesday in bed. Max did go to daycare, which is probably good, as I don't think he would have gotten to eat otherwise.

It is now Thursday night and I'm still exhausted, but hopefully I will get a good night's sleep and feel better tomorrow. I'm also hoping that Max and Ross don't get whatever virus I had... it sucks.

Friday is swim day!

Swimming & trucks

I know it's only noon, but so far today 2 really cool things have happened that I want to put down.

Today, for the first time in a long time, Max had fun in the pool!

When we first started swimming, Max loved it but lately we've been going through a period of clingy-ness in the pool. I thought it was because the pool might be a little bit cold, as he loosens up in the therapy pool that is slightly warmer. So of course I was worried when I went in today and Jacoline was checking the water temperature. It was a couple of degrees cooler than usual, so I just figured we would go in briefly and then go into the therapy pool. But no, Max played at the edge (mostly in knee deep water) for 20 minutes, "brrrrrmmm"-ing the boat around the tiles. When he wanted up, we went in and swam around for a bit in the deeper water.

Of course we swam over to visit the class in the big part of the pool and Max kicked and jumped and wasn't the usual monkey clinging to his mum. He went down the little slide a few times and smiled as we splashed in the water. He jumped in and went under the water, getting his hair wet, sputtered a little, but smiled and hugged me. I like to think it was a hug and not Max digressing back to being a monkey, especially because he had a big smile on his face! Yay Max!

We played around in the water jumping and spinning around as Max kicked his feet... we counted 1-2-3 and then jumped out of the water. There were a ton of giggles and laughing, it was great! I'm so glad that I've continued to go to the pool with Max every week.

After the adventurous morning we had at the pool, I thought Max would be ready for a nap, but all he said in the car then entire way home was "truck, truck, trucks". The minute we walked in the door, he was looking for his trucks. He usually can't resist coming up the stairs, but the trucks won out. So, rather than try to separate Max from his trucks, I brought them all upstairs and put them in the crib. It was so cute watching max in the crib with his trucks. I was expecting him to say "up" at any minute, but he just laid down and "brrrmmm"-ed his trucks around. I asked him to put his head down, which he did, as he kept his hands on both his trucks. I left him playing with his trucks, thinking that eventually, I may need to take them away, if I expect him to get any rest. I told him it was time to sleep, and closed the door as I left.

I came downstairs and did some cleaning up, expecting to hear some yelling or at least "brrrmmm"-ing, but I heard nothing. So, I snuck up and slightly cracked the door open to see Max fast asleep, with his trucks in the opposite end of the crib. Yay!

Why is this so remarkable? In my head, I was thinking that Max should not be bringing toys into his bed, it's not a place to play. I was also thinking that I would have to take away his trucks and that he would probably have a tantrum, especially with it was already passed nap time. I was already dreading that I was going to have to do something to make us both unhappy because that is what I am "supposed" to do. And of course the usual... what would a "good mum" do? heheehee.

I'm so glad that I chose to do what I did. It made the morning, and now the afternoon, a much more pleasant experience for both Max and myself.

Catching up

I can't believe it's been so long... I have not posted here since before Christmas!

Well, a lot has been happening. With the snow and Christmas, we had a lot of family time together, so I didn't spend a whole lot of time doing much of anything on the computer. Checking in on occasion.

I will get on here in the next couple of days and do some "catching up". Max has gotten so big, walking and talking and moving around. There's all kinds of new stuff.

More teeth, more eating and way more talking... jumping and bouncing and all that fun stuff.