the people celebrate King Max's birthday, shower him with praise and rose petals

well, maybe not the rose petals. but today is his 6th birthday, and on this day, max is king.



max has experienced some significant changes and events in the past year, and he has taken them all in stride. he played a season of soccer, became an international traveler, lost his first teeth, and graduated from preschool. that's right, max is now a big, bad kindergartner, and he loves to tell us stories about his day at school. he's enjoying himself and doing great, not that we expected anything less.

our max has come a long way from the quiet, reserved boy he used to be. when we pick him up from school, he is always busy saying goodbye to an endless stream of his fellow classmates, and he's no longer so shy in public. however, max still maintains a cautious demeanor; he likes to be comfortable in a situation before opening up. personally, i think this is a good attitude to take. at home, max is his usual outgoing self, making witty jokes and insightful observations, and laughing like crazy.

life can be hard for a 6-year-old with a smart, very competitive 7-year-old brother. max wants to participate in the all the same activities as liam, even if they are over his consumer-market-determined age bracket. but it's clear that he still gets it. when we play monopoly, max usually ends up with the most properties, and he almost always has park place and boardwalk. i'm teaching liam to play chess, and max likes to watch. every so often he calls out potential moves, and i'll be darned if some of his suggestions aren't brilliant. he doesn't choose sides when offering moves, which has caused me and liam to proclaim a max gag rule, much to max's chagrin.

it also isn't easy having a tornado of evil disguised as a 2-year-old brother. henry does his best to get his hands on (and destroy) everything that isn't nailed down, and anything he can pry loose is not nailed down. at times, henry can be quick to push max's buttons, but at other times, max is surprisingly tolerant of his younger brother. once in a while.



tonight, we're taking max out to dinner with a big group of family, and i'm sure he'll be a gracious host. the next year will be full of exciting experiences for max, including another season of soccer, swim lessons, a vacation to the beach (the atlantic ocean!), and his very own pet (meow!). so here's to max and a great year!