Max

Holy moly. Max. Brace yourselves, people. 

Being with Max is what I imagine it's like to stand in the middle of tornado. 

It's loud, it's messy and there's a lot of debris from broken stuff strewn about when it's over. 

This kid is fearless. He'll try anything. Anything. If you can eat it, ride it, throw it, poke it, smell it, climb it or jump off of it, he's interested. Especially the jumping part. Thankfully, the Lord gave him an incredibly high pain tolerance and a go-with-the-flow attitude to help him cope. 

He is passionate about life and having fun. He wakes up every morning jazzed to be alive. 

Nothing gets him down or upsets him. He is super outgoing and loves people. He loves to make people "be happy again" by singing silly songs, telling what he thinks are hilarious jokes or doing crazy stunts. 

There is just one volume and it's loud. There's just one speed and it's as fast as humanly possible. He's energy in human form. 

He loves his brothers dearly. I think as he grows up he's going to really like his position in the middle of the family. He adores looking up to David and is quite happy to be his sidekick, but he also loves getting to be a "big guy" and do what Titus can't. He loves moments when he can help Titus reach a toy or get more snack. 

He's got such a tender heart too. It really upsets him to see others go without. He would gladly break his animal crackers in half for you or give up the last slice of bacon on his plate so you could have some too. He's the first to pick out one of his own matchbox cars for you to play with and he's the one most likely to take off his superhero mask so you can pretend to fly too. 

He's very independent. He's the type that would rather run headlong into a mistake than let someone "control" him by telling him what to do. "No, I do it", "No help" and "I can do it! I'm a man!" are common phrases around here. 

David

My David. 

Oh my dear, I love that boy. 

He's sweet, caring and protective. He has an eye for details and an incredible memory. 

He's a natural born leader and superb comforter which makes him an outstanding big brother. 

He's logical, thought out, careful and cautious. He likes a plan and 

he moves with purpose. ...Just like his daddy. His laughter tends to come in awkward outbursts, he's stubborn and strong-willed, he's shy in a crowd and, once set, you can't change his mind for anything....just like...well, someone other than Daddy. ;)

The need for knowledge never ceases to amaze me. He has such a hunger for learning! 

A simple bird feather or boring acorn is never left unexplored. We have to check it out. And not just look at it...we need to know everything about it. What bird did that feather come from? Where did the bird live? 

And where is that country on the map? What's inside the acorn? Why do they fall from trees? How big does that tree get? The questions never end. Ever. 

And what a helper! He thrives on structure and tasks. He loves being needed. It does his heart so much good when I give him "jobs" to do to help me. 

He's the perfect blend of sensitive & affectionate and rough & tough big boy. He's silly and he's sweet. 

And did I mention he's super cute?

My Titus Boy

At 9 months Titus is.....

Crawling all over the house; using his pincher control to eat Cheerios, Gerber puffs and carpet fuzzies; wearing size 4 disposable diapers (though he's in cloth much of the time); wearing 18 month clothes;

weighing in at 23lbs and is 30" tall.

He loves...

Daddy, making silly faces, his blanket, sitting in the shopping cart and smiling at people at the grocery store, his brothers, going to the doctor and fruit - esp. bananas!

He's not a big fan of.....

Veggies (though he's learning to like them), taking medicine or being buckled into any sort of seat. 

He just can't sleep without.....

Nursing and rocking, cuddles, Mama singing the alphabet song, his thumb in his mouth, his blanket and the door shut. In that order.

Brothers

Goodness, these boys make my heart happy. 

Row, row the boat

Aunt Ashley, a.k.a. the best babysitter of all time, came over last night to hang out with the boys while Dave and I went out. Max says she taught him this song "so he could be happy". 

....And it went on like that for 5 more minutes before he ended with "....and go somewhere!". That kid is too much sometimes. I love his hip sway when he sings. And that squeaky little voice he uses when Monkey is singing! Gah! So stinkin' cute! I'm so glad this memory made it to a video. I needs to be saved forever.

Pee

Max, from the other room:

"Don't worry, Mom. Nothing has pee on it in here!" 

Yeah, riiiiiight.