Max-18 months

What do you call Kraft Macaroni and Cheese made with butter, heavy whipping cream, hot dogs, and cream cheese?
Disgusting? Well, we call it a calorie boost.

How about mashed potatoes made with butter, sour cream, heavy whipping cream and avocados? A calorie boost

We also add heavy whipping cream to his milk at night.

A couple months ago Max qualified for a program to help kids catch up to their age group. He isn't too far behind, but enough to qualify. He qualified for his expressive communication and his motor skills. We have seen a speech pathologist, a physical therapist and an occupational therapist who helps with nutrition.

After meeting with all of them it seems to be a common consensus that Max has normal-low muscle tone. Meaning it takes more energy to get his muscles to "fire" (do what he wants them to do).

So it takes more energy for him to learn to walk, talk, and eat slippery foods such as diced fruits. We help him do "exercises" to strengthen his muscles so he won't be bowlegged and to "wake-up" his muscles. Before he eats we use a vibrating tooth brush to touch the muscles around his mouth to wake up them up so they can get more familiar with eating motions which also aid in speaking.

He is doing pretty good with his walking, and gets more proficient every week. He is also starting to make new sounds: eeeeee, fff, ppp. I still have a hard time getting him to say mmm, it comes out as ddd sound :P. He calls me "ah-ee" (mommy without the m's). He is really smart and is understanding a lot more lately. He can go get a lot of things that we ask for like a diaper, his Mickey, a ball or his shoes. If I tell him to close the door he understands that too. And he knows how to clean up. Last night I was singing the Barney "Clean up" song and he was trying to sing it with me "ee-uh, ee-uh", it was so fun to see that. We are also working on signs still. It is a lot easier to communicate things like eat, cheese, drink, me.

He loves to play and he climbs all over. I don't remember if I told this story before. But a few weeks ago Jon and I were getting the garden plot ready and we turned around to see Max sitting at the top of the slide. How did he get there? He rarely used the slide and only with assistance. Upon further observation we learned he climbed up the front of the slide using the cross bar of the swing set to help him. We were stunned! He is so brave. We also have a double facing swing and he loves to climb up there all by himself and wait for someone to come and swing him. He will also stand up on the seat of the swing. He will be a handful!

The occupational therapist said that fat is essential to his brain development and since he was under the 3rd percentile at his 12 month Dr appt we are trying to boost his weight. And it seems like it is going pretty good.

Max also LOVES animals. He isn't really afraid of them either. This is our friend's dog Anna, and she is taller than Max. But Max doesn't have a problem going up to her face. Sometimes he is a little too comfortable.


Max pulled her ear (I didn't even realize it until I looked at the picture after I took it. Sorry Callie.)


We also have a neighbor who has a tiny little dog, the size of a kitten. And Max hugged it just like it was his little Mickey Mouse, with his arm around it and his head tilted to cuddle the dog. It was so cute. When we look at books with animals in them and I point to the book. He likes to growl for the sounds of any animal.

And here is a pic of Zac. When ever I pull out the camera he wants me to take a picture of him. He will always pose, most of the time he likes to make funny faces. Then he always wants to see how it came out. :)