Words Max can say at 21-22 months

At this point, Max can say nearly 100 words. Or at least, he says something very close to it, and we can understand what he's trying to say. So, in no particular order, here are all the words Max says:

hi, hello, bye, Mom, Dad, dog, Pippi, bear, giraffe, chair, banana, hair, eye, ear, toes, juice, cheese, chip, baby, milk, tit, berry, applesauce, egg, cat, monkey (mo-mo), bird, frog, duck, bug, yeah, yum, ball, star, fish, pig, car, truck, bus, light, up, off, on, book, hat, shirt, shoes, socks, bag, coat, thank you, bless you, uh-oh, shit, pee, poop, blues clues (boo-clu), notebook, clock, see, this, keys, water (wa-wa), no, excuse me, sit, choo-choo, hot, cool, Derick, trash, shut up, bad, boo-boo, door, tree, ick, house, tractor, night-night, back, bubble, bite, block, cuckoo, sink, grandpa, meow, tissue, cheeck, outside, hide, stick, rock, bench, owie, bowl, moon, turtle and deoxyribonucleic acid.

Pretty impressive, huh?

Luck and love

I went shopping today to get Max some Easter presents, and I spent too much. As always when it comes to Max, I go overboard, trying very hard to give him everything he could possibly want or need.

And as cliche as it sounds, all he really needs, and wants for that matter, is love. And I'm really good at giving him that. I don't know if it is because I love him more and more every day or just that he's more and more fun every day (or a combination of both), but I just love spending my time with Max. He makes me smile, he makes me laugh, and I sincerely feel like he is making me a better person because now I feel like I have a true purpose, a true something-to-live-for. I hope that Max knows how much I love him and how important his happiness is to me.

At the risk of using yet another cliche in this post (I know, how annoying!), I am learning as I "grow up" just how important family is. That is not to say I did not understand the importance of it prior to the birth of Max or my dad's cancer diagnosis, but I suppose I can just feel the importance of it more, not just "know" its importance.

To be honest, knowing and feeling just how much I love Max, Brandon, my parents, sisters, etc., actually makes me scared shitless. The fact that I love more and more every day scares me, especially with the reality of cancer smacking me in the face.

This just should not be happening to our family.

I have felt like one of the luckiest people in the world until recently. I have the most perfect son in the world and my love for him has made me feel more love than ever before in my entire life, and yet now I feel as if luck ain't nuffin, honey.

No Easter pic this year...

Max was too afraid of the bunny and clung to me, refusing to let go. He threw a major hissy fit, so we had to apologize to the photographer and leave. At least he said "bye bye" to the bunny (and we witnessed at least 3 other kids pulling a similar stunt so as to get out of the Easter Bunny picture).

Super Intelligent Things Momma Has Taught Max

-how to spit
-how to stick out our tongue
-how to make a frowny face
-"oh sh*t" (and this I am NOT proud of--trying to change it to "oh snap")
-how to roar!
-how to fake cry to get what we want
-how to hit the table and say "bad table" when we bump into the table
-how to put our feet in Miss Pippi's face so that she will lick them
-how to wipe when we go potty (he seriously tears the toilet paper and pretends to wipe as if he is a woman)
-super cool dance moves
-how to jump
-how to pick our nose
-how to throw stuff in the shopping cart that we want (without Dad noticing)
-how to moisturize our skin
-the art of applying make-up (Max particulary likes chapstick)
-how to pick locks

****In an effort to be balanced, Super Intelligent Things Daddy Has Taught Max****
-how to do important things on the computer
-how to make Momma's coffee
-how to blow soap suds off our fingers/toes
-how to turn on and off lights
-how to put the dog bowls up on the fridge
-how to fill the dogs' water bowls