I LOVE having a Toddler!

Maximus is 14 months old now and is just so much fun! I feel like I say that a lot, but there really aren't any other words to describe it.

I know the toddler years are draining and tiresome for a lot of mothers (it is for me as well, but more on that in a minute) and I know some mothers dearly miss the days when their baby would just lay there, content and happy with the world. They miss the non-mobile pudgy baby that smiled and squeezed their fingers. Well, I'm not sure if it't wrong to say, but I don't miss those days! I love having a toddler so much more than a baby! Let me explain....

He would not stop running around at the Fall Festival!

Having a toddler is tiresome. I am literally chasing Max everywhere, all day long. If we go in public, it is even worse. It seems as if everything is his to open, play with, touch, eat, or generally just get into. I can't just sit and have a conversation with someone in public and expect Max to sit still. He will play a game on my phone or watch something on TV for about 2 minutes before he goes to find what else he can get into. This does make taking him places difficult, but it has always been difficult taking him places. Good luck if I take him to a restaurant because he will maybe sit in his high chair and eat if it is something he likes, but once he is done, he is done and we better be too! So all this does add up to a very busy, never relaxing me. So why do I love having a toddler?

Climbing and playing!

Well, it is so cool to watch Max learn something new. It started when he began to walk at 11 months old, from then on I feel like he learns something new every day! I can communicate with him now too! He doesn't talk too much, but if he wants something he points to it and says "dat". He grabs his own drinks when he is thirsty and grabs his diaper when he is poopy, so I go change it. He loves to play on his own now for a while and will just and stack blocks for a little bit. Or he will pull his wagon around the house and put things in it. Yes, he gets into all my stuff and the Tupperware cabinet is constantly destroyed, but he can actually entertain himself. Plus, I actually have so much fun playing with him too! He will bring me books and come sit on my lap and we read them. He will point to things in the books and we talk about them; we often take walks outside where he picks up things on the ground and puts them in his bucket. A toddler is just so more interactive than a baby! Max understands a lot of what I am saying now and if I say "time for lunch" he will go over to his high chair, or if I ask him to throw something away, he walks over to the trash can and throws it away (that is actually one of his favorite things to do). I love watching him play ball with Jeffrey or putting easy puzzles together! It is like I am just now getting to see who he is and watching him learn new things just makes me so unbelievably proud! I can feel myself teaching him to do things, and then he can actually do it! Obviously, he is only 14 months old, but seeing him have fun scooting around on a toy truck and laughing when he knocks over his blocks tower just brings a smile to my face everyday! 

He find fun anywhere now!

As a baby, Max was a crier. I found myself so many times, just frustrated to the verge of tears because I didn't know what was wrong. I couldn't tell why he was crying or what I could do to make it better. He had to be held all the time and was literally NEVER content to be sitting my himself in a bouncer, or swing or anything for more than a few minutes. I was constantly afraid that he would start crying and I wouldn't be able to comfort him. I was sleep deprived not for a few weeks or measly months, but for the good part of the first year of his life. I remember the baby times although there were some good times of course, but I am loving Max being a toddler! Yes, there are still times now, when I don't know what is wrong, or like a  few weeks ago when Max was sick and I felt so helpless, but for the most part is is so much better than the baby stage.

I am loving being a Mom more than ever right now and am just trying to enjoy this fun, crazy toddler stage while I can! He still lets me kiss him and he loves to give hugs so as long as I can still do that, I don't think I will miss having a baby in the house:) Oh, It also doesn't hurt that Max is simply the cutest toddler on the planet! :)

Being silly playing with Legos

What!? eating with a spoon by himself!

Favorite outside toy!