OH Dear Sweet 2nd Child! I am like all those other mother’s out there. I have such good intentions and yet, things don’t always get done like I would like. Pictures & Videos may not have been taken as much as your brother. Pictures may not be printed and baby books may not be as filled out, but oh my! How much do we love you!
It’s SUCH a blessing to have such 2 different boys! God is so good and designed our boys so perfectly! After your first child, you think you can’t love another as much as your first. But you do and it’s amazing you can have so much room in your heart.
So this post is dedicated to our dear sweet Maddox! 20 months old now and in FULL motion!
1. I think Maddox favor’s his Momma’s side of the family. In Looks and Personality!
Jeanne's 1 year old pic. What do you think? Does he look like his Momma???
2. His hair is quite interesting. Finally growing in and somedays quite fluffy, baby chick like. Some days it’s a little more tame. The most important part is that we had his mullet removed last weekend.
Wow! That is a sweet Kentucky Waterfall!
3. He is a very happy baby 90% of the time. His smile is contagious.
4. He LOVES to sing songs. Happy Birthday, Itsy Bitsy Spider, and Wheels on the Bus are his favorites. We also include hand motions!
5. He can name most of his body parts. His belly is his favorite! Elbow and Knee are not quite mastered and every time I say, “where is your elbow?’ He says, ‘Elmo?’ and looks for his Elmo shirt. close enough. 
6. He is a biter and a hitter. He is just a physical kid. He bites when he is happy or mad. He just gets so excited he can’t stand it! It does make everyone around him a little gun shy to go in for a hug, because you just might come out with a bite sized bruise! But from talking to many experienced momma’s he should outgrow this phase.
7. He LOVES to read books. It’s not uncommon to find him sitting alone, legs straight out in front of him, reading to himself. That’s right, not only does he turn the pages, but he ‘reads’ the words!
We often find Maddox curled up with a good book!
8. He isn’t the best eater. Typical breakfast is milk only, sometimes a bite or two of fruit or cheerios. Lunch: go-gurt, I try peeled apples or raisins, but he hardly eats those. Those pre-packages pureed fruit pouches are an easy item for him to eat on his own. Dinner: depends on the rest of his day. But he likes chicken, carrots, noodles, green beans and kidney beans. The hardest part about him is that what he liked on a Monday does not mean he will like it on Wednesday.
9. He almost weighs 30 lbs!!! His big brother (who is 4.5 weighs 40 lbs!) Despite my worries about him not eating enough, his doctors assure me is fine. After one of his doctor visits (around 18 mos old), they said he has already gained 4 lbs since his 1st birthday and they said they want them to gain 4lbs by the 2nd birthday. So I don’t worry about his intake as much as I use to.
10. MR. INDEPENDENT! Shew! This boy gets mad if you don’t let him do things for himself! (My sister Julia remembers me being that way! lol) Examples: He asks for raisins, I open the mini box of raisins, hand it to him, he throws the box across the room and raisin’s go everywhere. Reason: He wanted to open the box himself. (Daddy has enough patience to figure out what was wrong) Same goes for Gogurts (He has to hold it himself–can you imagine the messes we have had!)
11. His favorite music group is LMAFO. When he hears their songs (usually he walks thru a room and it’s on a commercial) he stops in his tracks and starts ‘dancing’.
12. He is a great sleeper. Sleeps 11-12 hrs a nite and takes one 2-3 hour nap. *And he sleeps thru load noises well. He and Mark share a room and Mark is always yelling for another drink of water after he gets in bed. He rarely wakes up his brother. I’m giving Maddox all the credit because Mark can yell for 20-30 minutes some nites!
13. He does NOT enjoy riding in the car more than 20 minutes. Our rides to Murray are not fun. After we know he has had plenty eat, drink and play with, we usually have to let him cry himself to sleep. I think he just likes to sleep laying flat and its not comfortable to sleep sitting up ( I feel the same way!!)
14. He adores his big brother. He use to call him, ‘Bubby’. Even though I know he can say the ‘M’ sound because he would say Mama just fine. I would say, “Say Daddy, Maddox would say: ‘Dadda!’ I would say, ‘Say Momma,’ Maddox would say, ‘Momma! ‘ I would say, ‘Say Markie’, Maddox would say, ‘Bubby!’ It was pretty cute.
15. His speech is great! Everyday I impressed with what all he imitates. This week he started say /p/ sounds for /k/sounds. So Mark is no longer ‘Bubby’ is ‘Mop’ and Book is now ‘Bop’. My favorite thing he says is ‘Mamen’ for Amen, So cute!
16. He is LOUD. If he feels like no one is paying enough attention to him, he will scream, real loud, one time, just to get you to look. Then smiles and turns his head to the side. He also enjoys humming very loudly also.
17. He is very affection it. (another example of how physical he is) If I say, “I love you’, he immediately thinks that means, “give me a kiss’. He LOVES to hold hands during the prayer and asks to hold hands thru out dinner. (which half the time Mark finds annoying)
18. His sucks his two middle fingers when he is tired and then pulls at his belly button with the other hand. That’s how we know when he is tired.
'I'm ready for a nap!'
19. He DOES NOT like loud noises. He cries when I blow dry my hair and when we run the vacuum. I kind of feel like he should be over this by now. But I try not to vacuum unless he is asleep and I try not to dry my hair unless Daddy is around to help him work thru it.
20. He is a little obsessed with the dishwasher. He thinks he is the ruler of it really. I can’t put dishes in or out of it without him running over to help me. I have to quick put away the sharp knives and be right there when he pulls the plates out. (We have only had one casualty) He loves to stand on it if I let him. He likes to turn the knob over and over again. And unfortunately for us, he knows how to lock and unlock it. I hope he gets over this phase soon!
I am REALLY enjoying watching Maddox grow and learn. He is such his own person. Even if he is biting and hitting, he is still a sweet boy. I honestly think you appreciate the second child (and the cute phases they are in) more because you know how quickly it passes!
Have you ever read a book that you couldn’t put down? Or as soon as your finished you wanted to tell all your friends to read it to??
#1: My nickname for Mark this year was Buddy the Elf. He was SO excited about Christmas. His child like enthusiasm and excitement was contagious! Every Christmas light we passed at night got a “ooohhh, ahhhh! Mom look at that, Mom did you see that!” It was so precious!
A few weekends ago we had a great afternoon at Gallrein Farms. This was our first time out there and boys loved it!
I believed Mark enjoyed playing the hay more than anything else!
There is no doubt what Mark’s favorite thing is: TRAINS!
