Max at 4
There are days when I still feel like a new mom while other days interacting with Max is like talking with a friend (a friend who asks a lot of questions, always wants a snack and occasionally screams for no reason).
Max is an exceptional kid, but don’t get me wrong he is not always perfectly behaved. He’s silly, smart and imaginative, but also opinionated, which can lead to some seriously crazy tantrums. More than anything he loves to be helpful. Give him a task and he happily carries it out while simultaneously telling us how this is a big boy task and how Zoe is too small. We love his sense of pride when he does something on his own. That same independence is the reason we are late to everything. His newest assertion of independence - buckling himself into his car seat.
We love seeing Max interact with his friends. Picking him up from school takes a lot longer as he has a line of friends to hug before leaving. We are going to miss the amazing Primrose family/teachers and friends we have made over the past 4 years. And we’ll always remember Max’s first on-stage performance at the Primrose Holiday Show.
This has been a major year of growth for me too. I’ve actually learned to relax more which has been game changing with two kids to ~babysit~ raise. Some days are more challenging than other, but I love the dynamics of our little family of four.
Best Big Brother!
Max is rocking the big brother role and we are so proud. As an easy going kid, we hoped the transition to having a sibling would be easy. But after hearing every story under the sun from friends we were mentally prepared for anything. Max exceeded our expectations. He loves when Zoe is around and always wants to make her laugh. I’m soaking in how well they get along because I know it won’t be like this forever. Unfortunately for Max, Zoe won’t always think it’s hilarious when he throws himself off the bed for the 20th time in a row! (or maybe she will!)
Sleep
Max is finally in a good sleeping routine. In fairness he has been for months, but we struggled for a while (I wrote about that here). This time last year, we were still laying out a sad little blanket by his door where he would sleep curled up on the floor. Then seemingly out of nowhere, he moved to his bed. I can’t explain it but I’ll take it.
Max still takes a nap on the weekends but will probably phase it out soon. I wrote that exact sentence in his 3 year update, but now I mean it. On days when he doesn’t nap, he falls asleep around 7:00 as soon as his head hits the pillow.
Max …
- … thinks “donuts are disgusting”. We don’t know where he got that idea, but he is adamant about it, and for now we are not correcting him.
- … goes to bed with every toy he owns. Basically he turns his bed into a danger zone, so most mornings Aaron or I do a sweep to “clean out” his bed.
- … loves PJ Masks, Paw Patrol, Rescue Bots, Trains
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… packs for a trip like this:
The party!
This year we gave Max the option of either going to Great Wolf Lodge or having a party. The decision was ultimately his, but I subtly pushed for Great Wolf Lodge since I was behind on party planning. The same happened last year and we ended up having his party a month late. Great Wolf Lodge ended up being a fantastic trip and Max had an absolutely blast!
(Top photo by Jason Collins.)