max at five

When Max gets a pass from school and spends the day at home with us, which he does fairly often, he is a nonstop fountain of questions. He wants to know everything, and it doesn't even cross his mind that Mike or I might not know the answer. And he remembers everything, too, so if we don't know, we better not give him the wrong answer.

At school this year, Max has really come out of his shell. He runs inside to greet all of his friends, and at the end of each day, we have to wait for the hugfest to run its course before we can pull him away from his pals. He doesn't seem to be very shy there at all anymore, either with teachers or classmates. Every night, he's full of funny stories to tell about the things he did during the day. I think it will be really interesting to see how he handles the transition to kindergarten, considering he has been in this same building, with these same teachers and fellow students, since just after he turned one. I think it's going to be a big change for him, but hopefully having Liam already there will make things a little easier.


It's easy to know what Max's favorite things are because he talks about them all the time. This morning, Mike and I took him out without brothers for a special birthday breakfast, and he constructed stacks of half-and-half and jelly, then told us a long and involved story about how it was a special world from the game Mario Galaxy. When Max likes something, it really permeates all the areas of his life. And it's so much fun to watch him right now as he makes the transition from little-kid stuff like Backyardigans to big-kid stuff like Star Wars.


It's been a really fun year, watching Max become more confident and (slowly but surely) less scared of things like going upstairs by himself. It's going to be even more fun to watch him navigate all the changes and new things that his year of being five will bring. Not only the kindergarten thing, but a whole host of other things from playing soccer and doing 4-H for the first time to riding his first bike (which he got from Aunt Bethany and Uncle Joe for his birthday). And I'm looking forward to a great ride with him.

Happy birthday, Max!