That's Max-tastic

Man it's been fun to be a dad lately. Max is really at a fun age. I know Nicole has been keeping you guys posted while I get slammed with work, but I'm back now, and I'm ready to set the record straight... just incase there were any lies out there.

First of all, Maddox can definitely walk upwards of 8 feet. It's not necessarily fundamentally sound, (given that he has a serious left foot-out-front-lean to him), but that's okay. It gets him there. Plus, in the event he always walks by putting his left foot out front, this can fall into the growing catagory of things that his future significant-other will find endearing. Others on the list are as follows:

• He still throws his food/drink to the floor when done, rather than putting it back on the table. And really, he does this with everything that he is "done" with. Red ball plus 5 seconds... floor. Blue car plus 5 seconds... floor. Dada's glasses plus 1 second... floor!
• He does still poop his pants, but most endearing is that when he does, he prefers it to stay in there rather than deal with the diaper change. Can't say I blame him though... it is kind of a drag.
• He's great at pointing out ne'er-d0-wells (i.e. the homeless). Especially on the subway, when they are in close proximity. So close you can smell them, some might say.

Max has also lately discovered how to shake his head no. It's really funny, although he doesn't quite understand it completely. He may shake his head no, when really he means, yes, I would like some milk. It's a bit confusing for us all, but he'll get it down soon. Maybe I'll get some video of this for you guys.

Other than these tid-bits, he's talking a lot and pointing a lot. Lately, this is my favorite thing he does. He's really good at spotting lights, trucks, cars, the aforementioned ne'er-do-well, ducks and dogs. If there happens to be a lot of lights, he's also been known to wave his pointer finger around to signify "look at all that". It's priceless. I really love that he's asking us what things are. While we were in NYC, and while Nicole was shopping, Maddox and I passed the time by him pushing his own stroller around the store, down all the isles. He'd stop occasionally to grab a low hanging price-tag or shirt sleeve, point at it, look at me, make a noise and move on. He really looked like he was shopping. We did this for hours and it was really fun. I've never had more fun shopping in my life. Maddox is my new shopping buddy.

Here's a revised list of Maddox's likes/dis-likes:

Likes:

1. Riding the subway in NYC with all the people close-by. It's better for him if they are within grabbing distance.
2. His new shoes... which he prefers to wear all the time now.
3. Reading books, preferably in somebody's lap.
4. Pointing at things and having mom and dad answer what it is.
5. Cars/trains of all kinds.
6. Construction equipment of all kinds.
7. He's in love with his momma lately.
8. Papa.
9. Stair climbing.
10. Grandpappy's cane.
11. Drake and Gordon (Aunt Jessi's dogs)

Dislikes:

1. Sleep, this will be number 1 for awhile, if not forever.
2. Diaper changes.
3. Hunger.
4. Falls resulting in head trama.
5. Working as hard as possible to find a choking hazard, only to have it taken away before he really knew what it was all about.
6. Not enough time in the bath-tub.
7. Waking up alone at night.
8. Having someone other than Papa (my dad), momma, or Miss Jackie (his daycare worker) hold him.
9. Mom and dad trying to make him walk when he'd really rather crawl, if that's okay with everyone.
10. Over-cooked pasta in his mouth.

Hope everybody is doing well. Here's an updated slideshow for those interested: