Maxy boy!

Max is so funny! He occasionally grabs my growing belly or buries his face into it. He is very interested in my belly button too. He is probably wondering what in the world that bump is all about. I sure wish I could explain it to him. He'll be in for a rude awakening!

Max LOVES to "help" dad wash the car. More like play in the bucket of bubbles until he is soaked from head to toe. 

His first shower. He still prefers being fully submerged in the bath tub, but we got tired of cleaning up puddles from his splashing and tried to mix it up. 

Max spends a lot of time on the trampoline jumping and he loves to draw..so I figured why not combine the two. We got him sidewalk chalk and he prefers to be outside doodling.  Usually it's just random shapes and scribbles but when I came out to check on him this particular evening...the whole trampoline was filled with little smiley face heads and robots. Both of which he has had us draw millions of times!! I don't know why this felt like such a breakthrough, but we were so excited to see that he was doing it himself. 

These are our guesses of what he drew. 

He loves to watch Baby Einstein and gets giddy when he sees him for whatever reason. And below is the robot we always draw. I even occasionally put it on his breakfast sack for school just cause I know it will get his attention and make him smile.

I don't know what he would do without drawing?!

He has always loved it. He loves his huge canvas and so do we. It's fun to see his little mind busy at work. 

 He is a funny one who keeps us on our toes!

The other morning he woke Josh and I up by bringing an empty pizza box and putting it on our bed. Gee..thanks Max. Nice to be wake up to crumbs all over the bed. It made us laugh. He sure knows how to tell us he's hungry. 

And for journaling purposes, we finally had a talk with Teegan and Camdyn about Max. They always make comments and ask questions about when he will talk. Camdyn still refers to this big 4 year old as a baby because he doesn't talk....because I guess that's what would promote him to being a big kid. I can see how it's confusing to them when they see 2 year olds speaking in sentences. 

So one night before bed, Josh and I met them upstairs and talked to them on Teegan's bed. It totally caught me off guard when I started to cry. Sheesh! The last thing I wanted was for them to think that I was sad or that something is wrong with him. It was the looks on their faces when we told them. A conversation you never really think you'll have as a family. They were pretty surprised. They have heard a lot about autism from school..since they have a month dedicated to raising awareness. So we explained what it was and how Max processes things differently than we do. They asked questions and the conversation went really well.

It took us over a year to tell them not only because it took Josh and I several months to process but I wondered how it would change their relationship with him. I didn't want them to look at him or think of him differently, but really it made their relationship better. After our talk, they would go out of their way to acknowledge him. They were more patient and understanding with him. It's such a blessing as parent to sit back and watch them help Max and give him hugs out of the blue. This kid loves affection (but only from some!) 

I've told Josh before that Heavenly Father sure knew what he was doing when he sent Camdyn to our family before Max. It was by divine design. He is sure loved and adored by her. (Both her brothers are!) She is his second mother and is so responsible when it comes to looking out for him. She and I will be having a conversation and she'll say, "just a minute mom, Max needs my help" and run out to help him off the trampoline. Or if he gets even close to the deep and wide Texas-sized rain gutter down the street a little ways, she will jump off her bike and run to him to make sure he's not tempted to explore. Sometimes I even get a "uh mom, you may want to keep an eye on Max" when we're out and I'm talking to friends. Wow..parenting advice from my 7 year old. 

After a rattlesnake siting in the neighborhood (scary I know!), we told the kids to put shoes on and check the yard, looking where they step. It kind of spooked them! A few days later there was a group of neighbor kids jumping on our trampoline. They all left and went running to the front to play. I looked out the window and saw Camdyn and Max jumping alone. I poked my head out and asked Camdyn why she didn't follow all of her friends. 

She said she was worried that Max would get off the tramp all alone and wouldn't be protected in case there was a snake. She said she loved him so much that she would sacrifice herself. She was so sweet and sincere and gosh..I believe her! I told Josh and got teary. ha! Man alive..these kids of ours teach us so much about selflessness and sacrifice. I just love them all to pieces. There are moments where I want six more of them..cause I just can't get enough, but then dinner time hits and I realize I can barely keep on top of 3 kiddos!!