Our 2 Year Old Beast!

Maximilian Charles turned 2 today! To us he seems like he has been two for six months now. I was told that boys tend to talk slower, and was really hoping for that. Well, Max doesn't shut up these days. His sentence structure and proper use of pronouns and expanded use of adjectives surprises me on a daily basis. I realize that this, indeed, is a good thing, but more often than not when we come across a child of similar age that does not talk as well I do get a bit jealous of their parents! Silence is not something in this Roehrig household!
Stubborn and challenging are two of the best ways to describe our little man. Max will sit for over an hour at the table because he will refuse to eat dinner. He would rather get in trouble than apologize any day. He gets time outs for throwing things on a daily basis. I will say to him, "if you throw that you will sit in time out." He then looks me dead in the eyes, smirks and whips whatever toy is in his hands and stomps off to the time out chair grabbing anything in his path, including kitchen table chairs, and throwing them down. His tantrums are ten, no twenty, times worse than anything Noelle has ever had. Some days I just can't help but smile and revel in the fact that his stubbornness is just like me.

He does have a very sweet, albeit small, side to him as well. That sweetness is usually mixed in with his bossy side. He is quick to stop Violette from getting into dangerous things. If she crawls over to something she should get in to Max is right there to grab hold of her her neck and push her down to stop her. Then he jumps on her and gives her a big hug, exclaiming, "I love her so much!". He is also quick to yell at Noelle when she is whining, "Stop that whining Noelle!" and even me when I try to discipline him, "Don't you tell me 'enough' (or whatever I said to him) Mom!".

Hockey and football are sports he is very interested in. Noelle and Max beg to watch the Red Wings on TV and cheer for them when the game does come on. I'm sure in the near future they will attend their first Red Wings game. Football is equally as enjoyed by Max and he cheers for every team the same either, "Go Michigan!" or "Go Lions!". Tom still plans on turning him into a 95 mph pitcher, we'll see how that goes. Tools, tractors, trucks, dragons, guns and swords are a few of his favorite things. He can turn anything, even Strawberry Shortcake, into a hammer and starts to beat the walls with it. He is ALL boy, sporting some big feet! His feet are the same size as Noelle and his hands are larger! He has grown a lot in the last few months, growing out of his 2t clothes.

Although challenging, stubborn, and bossy, Maximilian is such a joy. His independence amazes us as it is completely opposite from Noelle. He has a smile/smirk that melts your heart and his hugs and kisses are strong and wet. He loves to snuggle with his Daddy (and sometimes Mommy) and sisters. He keeps me on my toes and brings countless smiles to my face.

We celebrated his birthday with a nice relaxing family day. Max opened his gifts when he first got up and then later in the afternoon, after naps, we tried his Big Top Cupcake. The cake was delicious, who wouldn't love a giant cupcake?

I think he really has a cool birth date and there will always be a celebration on his day! Happy Birthday Max and Happy New Year to everyone!