MUMMY TO THE MAX

This week saw us visit the pet shop. From a early age it has been clear to see that Maxwell adores animals, in particular fish so this week we decided to take him to a pet shop. When we went to the pet shop Maxwell was amazed. He was so amazed he spent his time walking around the shopping say "wow" and "cool". Whilst at the pet shop Maxwell decided he would like a fish. At the present moment I am unsure if it is a good idea as he is quite young and will hold no responsibility over it however I think he would adore watching one in our own home. I am undecided on whether to buy him one or not. 

This week saw me do the Christmas food shop online. I love to get in there early and it was a good idea that I did seeing as all the Christmas delivery slots were booking up fast. Whilst doing the food shop Maxwell decided on a few meals for himself to eat over the Christmas period as well as a few treats which he would like. We also bought cake mixes and jelly so we could get creative with food over the Christmas period.

Over the last few weeks Maxwell has decided to walk around with a hood up. Ben has often told Maxwell to take his hood down however Maxwell hates having it off and tries to create a fuss if he is asked to. I am unsure where Maxwell got the idea from that having a hood up most of the time is a good idea however I hope the idea is just a phase and he soon stops.

Maxwell's speech has continued to come on leaps and bounds this week and Maxwell is now trying to say peoples names, he is trying to string sentences together and he is even saying please and thank you's. Maxwell is 3 in a few weeks and it is great to see how much his speech has improved in such a short amount of time. I hope the improvement continues.

This week I took Maxwell to the park. Maxwell adores having fun in the park however the weather has not been great recently in allowing us to visit the park. As soon as we visited the park this week Maxwell's face lightened up and he decided he would go on every activity in the park. We spent hours at the park and Maxwell had a fab time.I ensured Maxwell wore his snow suit so he stayed warm and dry and this came in handy when he went down a slide which had a load of water at the bottom. I hope the weather stays a little dryer over the next few weeks so we can continue to get out more.

Today we went to Maxwell's first parent's "evening". Recently we have seen such a change in Maxwell and he has been coming on leaps and bounds, especially in the speech area. He has been learning new things daily and at the present moment he seems to be like a little sponge which absorbs everything which is said to him. Today has been a proud day for Ben and I as parents, we were told that Maxwell was doing great and in actual fact he is a little clever clogs. We were told that he enjoys doing his own thing at preschool and has his own mind, he doesn't like to follow others. We were also told that only a month ago it was recorded that he liked playing on his own however over the past few weeks he loves playing with the other children. We have learnt he enjoys going outside a lot, loves playing with the dolls house and he is not afraid to get a preschool teacher if there is anything wrong. They have very little cause for concern as long as Maxwell's speech continues to improve and progress. 

This week Ben got a new car. Maxwell adores the new car, mainly because he is able to see out the windows a little better than our old car as it was quite low to the ground however he also loves it due to it being a little more spacious for his legs and the fact that the windows are tinted so the sunlight will keep out of his eyes come summer. As a family we are really happy with our new car, it is a great treat to have just in time for Christmas.

Over the past week we have had bits and bobs done to the house. Maxwell has coped well with all the changes and has loved having visitors here. Maxwell continues to help me tidy and he has also learnt which hangers he needs to give me when we do the washing together, how to turn the hoover on so Daddy or I can hoover the house and he also loves to be involved in putting the washing machine on. Maxwell is a great helper around out home.

It is Maxwell's birthday in a few short weeks and I wanted to get prepared as I know we will have family over. This week we shopped in Tesco and saw that a lot of there party bits were reduced. Maxwell is a huge fan of pirates and all there sea themed products were half price so I knew I needed to pick some bits up. We are looking for one last item which is a new cake stand - I hope we are able to find one in time for Maxwell's Birthday.

Maxwell doesn't hate this weather but he dislikes it. Over the last few days we have been rained on and it is hard to explain to a little boy who loves to explore outside that he is unable to go and play because the weather is cold and wet. Maxwell has a cold at the present moment so on the wet, colder days he has been wrapped up warm and has been playing inside. I hope the weather brightens up a little this week so Maxwell is able to go and play. 

A few weeks ago I treated myself to a mini fitness trampoline. If I am honest I have not really got round to using it, the usual excuse of my life being to busy. Although I have not got to use the trampoline, a certain little boy has been using it a lot. This week Maxwell requested for the trampoline to be moved into the lounge from the cold conservatory, as I have been getting on with work this week I decided to moved the trampoline from the conservatory into the living room and have allowed Maxwell to bounce away on it. Maxwell had a fabulous time and I am sure we will have many more fabulous times using it.

Maxwell seems to love spending time at home, especially in the half term holidays. Maxwell and I seem to get up to lots of adventures, we also seem to end up making lots of crafts, play with lots of toys and we even enjoy singing and dancing round our house however Maxwell also loves going to preschool. Maxwell went back last week and it was clear to see that he had a great time. I often worry that the week he has off will ruin his routine however this is never the case. In January Maxwell will be going to preschool a lot more, I have no worries about how this will affect him.

It is not far away from Maxwell's 3rd Birthday and Christmas and Maxwell seems very excited by it. All Maxwell's present have been purchased as well as wrapped and he has a lot to look forward to opening. More importantly Maxwell is looking forward to visiting Santa this year. We are looking around at the present moment to find the best place to vist and take him to see Santa. Last year we visited Longdown Dairy Farm in the New Forest and we are thinking about going there again this year.

I seem to write about Maxwell's speech every week however from being a worried mummy who often could not sleep due to the lack of speech that her child was doing, the tables have now turned. Not only is Maxwell repeating words, he is also trying to string words together. Some of the sayings that Maxwell has been saying this week are: Maxxy is 2 and The _____ is stuck. I can not believe how well Maxwell's speech is starting to develop, although not all of his speech is clear it is amazing to see the difference in such a short space of time.

This week Ben has the week off which means we get to spend a lot of time together as a family. Maxwell loves it when his Daddy is home. It will be great fun to take Maxwell to lots of places this week and to visit our family also. Maxwell is looking forward to going out this week for lunch. 

This week has seen Maxwell sing lots of different nursery rhymes however his favorite ones to sing at the present moment are Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes. Maxwell is able to do all the actions to Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes and is getting confident with saying more and more words every single day. If Maxwell is unsure on the words of the song he hums himself through that part. It is incredibly cute to see.

This week we visited the hospital, we were refereed there due to Maxwell's speech. Ben and I have always believed Maxwell's hearing is perfect however we also believe it is always best to get a second opinion. Maxwell's appointment went very well and there is no problem with his hearing at all. The hearing test was a lot of fun for Maxwell and he even sat still when he had to have photos taken of the inside of his ears. It is great to know there is nothing wrong with Maxwell's hearing and we will not have to return for any follow up appointments.

This week has seen Maxwell have changes to his room. I was sick of the mismatch furniture that we had in his room so we decided that we would buy Maxwell a new set of draws and wardrobes. It has taken me months to find something which I actually like and in the end we went for the same design of furniture which is in Maxwell's playroom. I am really happy with the new look and as it stands I have very little left to buy to get the house looking like I want it. 

Maxwell has never really shown a interest in DVD's and films however this week Maxwell has enjoyed sitting down with me and watching DVD's,  This week we have watched childrens programmes and films. It was nice to sit down and watch them with Maxwell.

At the present moment Maxwell loves to dance. Every time there is a advert break, Maxwell gets up and dances. He is fascinated by the Marks and Spencer's advert at the present moment and also loves the spec-savers one. It is really funny to watch him get on his feet and tap around.

This week Maxwell has seemed to have come on leaps and bounds. I am in a little shock that he is nearly 3 and I can not believe how far we have come together. This week Maxwell has had a great week and has learnt a lot of new things.

Maxwell can now not only put his own welly boots on, but he is also able to put his own shoes on. Admittedly they are just plain velcro shoes and it does take a while for him to put them on however it is a great achievement that he is able to put them on his self and that he can do the velcro up on them. Next I will be teaching him how to do his laces.

This week Maxwell has been repeating a lot of words, he has also been using many words. His favorite words to say this week are bag, egg and loop. Maxwell has learnt these words by doing the Alphablock app on my phone. It has really helped him learn new words and has helped him to start making the sounds of letters.  Maxwell is also able to now spell words out on interactive gadgets.  They are only short words but I think it is extremely clever for a 2 year old to be doing. 

Last week I spoke about Maxwell liking light up objects, this week Maxwell has a new touch to light up walls around the house and he has a new pen which projects a light up Spongebob around the house. Maxwell adores light up gadgets and I am sure he will continue to get lots more light up gadgets to play with.

This week has seen us go on lots of Autumn walks. We are lucky in where we live, we live on the edge of the New Forest so there is plenty of places to walk to. All the walking is free, not only is it fun for Maxwell to splash in puddles and visit the park on our walks but it is also great to get exercise and to breath in the fresh air.

This week Maxwell was sent some cool light up toys to play with ahead of the Baker Ross party which we were involved in. Maxwell has been mesmerized by them since they turned up at our door. He loves watching them light up and he loves making light shapes on the wall. They have kept him entertained for days and it is great to see him being creative and making fun games up by himself when using the light up toys.

This weekend Ben and I went out, we rarely get time together alone so it was great to go out for a meal and have some us time. Maxwell went to my sisters who looked after him overnight, in the morning my parents looked after him. Maxwell loves spending time with my family and is always spoiled by them. He comes home with a massive smile on his face and comes home in a happy mood. 

This week we took Maxwell for his first hair cut. Maxwell has extremely fine hair so he did not have a big cut however he had a trim. At first Maxwell was extremely wary of what was going on however he sat on my lap the whole time and in the end seemed to enjoy having his hair cut. I do not think Maxwell will need a cut for a while but its great to know that the next time we go to get Maxwell's haircut, Maxwell will not be scared. 

Since the weather has been cold Maxwell has not wanted to spend time in the garden or in the conservatory playing with his toys. Maxwell is at his happiest when he is wrapped up warm reading books or in our warm lounge playing with his cars. I am hoping that we will have a couple of bright sunny days soon so Maxwell can get back out in the garden and have lots of fun.

Although Maxwell is still not speaking a lot of words and putting sentences together, it is clear to see that his speech has improved. Maxwell happily speaks to us all day in his own language and now likes to repeat words from us. I am happy with his progress and I hope it continues. 

This week you may have seen our post about Maxwell cooking for Grandad, it has had lots of views and comments so thank you to those who have taken the time to share and comment. If you have not seen our post you are able to view it here. Maxwell had great fun cooking for Grandad and we will be doing some more post's with Grandad in the future.

Last night Maxwell was taken to A&E. Maxwell loves to jump around however yesterday Maxwell decided to take it upon himself to jump off the sofa, he landed awkwardly and since then he has been unable to walk on his foot. We took Maxwell to the hospital at 11pm last night and we were sat around for over 4 hours to find out if there was any lasting damage, fortunately after 2 x rays we found that Maxwell has not broken any bones. Today Maxwell seems to still be in a lot of pain and is unable to walk on his foot. Hopefully he will be back to his usual self soon. 

Every week I have seen a difference in Maxwell's eating habits and this week Maxwell has been trying lots of new foods, he has also had sauces on his food which is a massive step for Maxwell. Maxwell has been eating bacon sandwiches this week, eating spoonfuls of pasta in sauce and has also tried curry sauce on his chips. 

At the weekend we drove over to our local supermarket and decided to pick up some puzzles for Maxwell. For weeks he has been happy doing puzzles with around 12 pieces that fit into shapes, he also loves to do floor puzzles with around 8 pieces however we thought we would push him and get puzzles with around 24 large pieces. Although Maxwell is not quite there yet with creating the puzzle, he is half way there and is learning.

This week saw me buy a exercise trampoline, unfortunately for me however Maxwell has spent many evenings this week bouncing around on it and not letting me have a go on it. He loves to jump up and down however he also loves doing lots of seat jumps on it. It is quite funny to watch and its great to see him enjoying himself so much.  

Since our session with the speech therapist Maxwell's speech is coming on leaps and bounds. Maxwell is still not able to put words together however he is saying lots more words and has started to reply to us using the words No and Yes. It is great to see a improvement in Maxwell's speech however I am still left feeling frustrated that it took us this long to get the help for Maxwell which we asked for months ago.

Maxwell has been doing a lot of role play this week and loves it. We have been using lots of kitchen accessories to do the role play with and it keeps Maxwell entertained for hours. At bath time we even do role play and duck has learnt to drink our of Maxwell's bath cups. It makes me happy to know he has a lovely wooden kitchen with lot of accessories being given to him at Xmas.

This week Maxwell has tried lots of new foods. Maxwell now adores feeding himself, whatever I seem to put in front of him he likes to have a good go at eating it which is fantastic. Maxwell still enjoys eating veg, salad and fruit however I am hoping he will start eating main meals which Ben and I eat.

Maxwell had a mini evaluation this week at preschool and we found out that Maxwell can nearly ride a bike with stabilizers. Seeing as Maxwell is not even 3 yet, I am so proud of Maxwell's new development. Maxwell has a balance bike and a trike however I am hoping to get him his own bike with stabilizers soon which he can ride around on. 

Now the weather has got that little bit colder, Maxwell adores sitting on the sofa. He loves to watch his favorite TV shows, cuddle up with a snack and sit calmly down. I love that he sits so quietly and I love that he loves to snuggle. 

This week Maxwell has been having a lot of fun outside. Maxwell and I have been out and about a lot and we have spent some time going to a few of our local parks. We are lucky where we live and around us we have around 3 parks which are walking distance. Maxwell's favorite park has a choice of two slides, a car, swings and other play equipment. This week we decided to hike there and Maxwell had tons of fun, on our way back Maxwell had lots of fun jumping in puddles!

This week we decided to decorate Maxwell's bedroom. Since we have moved in Maxwell has had a purple room so we thought it was about time we painted it so it fitted in well with the Disney Car themed room he has. We painted the walls cream and decided on a blue feature wall. Overall we think the room looks great now we have added a splash of colour! I am looking forward to doing some more bits and pieces to it including making some cool framed letters.

Maxwell has gone back to preschool and has settled in well. This week Maxwell has started sitting down at snack time and has enjoyed milk as well as snacks with the other children. We have also heard that Maxwell loves to play outside and enjoys playing with the cars at preschool. Due to speech therapy we may have to change Maxwell's mornings around as the speech sessions clash with the mornings which he attends preschool however we are hoping this will not make much of a impact on him.

Every week Maxwell's speech seems to develop a little and this week Maxwell can now say part of the alphabet. Maxwell manages to get up to g however this is a massive step for Maxwell. Maxwell has also learnt the word no and most answers are now no. The only time Maxwell does not say no is when Peppa Pig is involved or he is being offered food.

This week Maxwell has been a little tired, he came home from preschool on Tuesday and by Wednesday he had a cold. His eyes were very sore and Maxwell spent some time cuddled up on the sofa with a blanket, some cereal and a drink. Secretly we think he loved being fussed over. Maxwell is now back on the mend and seems to be back to his good little self.

This week Ben had a well earned week off (his first time off since April) and Maxwell adored having his Daddy home. Due to Ben working nights, Ben does not get to spend as much time with Maxwell like most Dad's manage to so it was great to see them together, having fun and even going out for a hour here and there and giving me a tiny break. Maxwell can not wait to spend more time with Ben on his next week off which is in a couple of months. For now we will continue to make the most of our weekends.

What a busy 4 weeks we have had! You may have not seen but me and Maxwell have been up to all sorts of activities. We made the most of the 4 weeks and we managed to do so many activities together which was lovely. I have not updated my readers on how Maxwell has been getting on so I thought it was about time I did a large update.

A few months ago Ben and I decided to buy Max a cot bed, we had it delivered to Ben's Nan's house and we forgot that it was there for many months. Me and Ben discussed Maxwell's transition to cot and bed and we were a little worried, however we need not be. Maxwell has adapted to his new bed very well and since Maxwell has made the transition to his big boys bed we have only had one night where Maxwell refused to go to bed and played up for 2 hours. Throughout those 2 hours I took Maxwell back to his bed each time and showed him no attention. He soon go the message that he was not going to win the fight and ever since Maxwell has stayed in his bed. Maxwell goes to bed at 7am at night and sleeps all the way through to around 6am in the morning which is brilliant. We are both extremely proud at how well Maxwell has settled into being in a big boys bed and he has been rewarded with Peppa Pig magazines.

Recently Maxwell has started to want to be come very independent and he is now at the stage where he tries to dress himself as well as put his own shoes on. Maxwell is able to put his own shorts on, his own wellies and will attempt to put any shoes on that have Velcro on, he also takes his own socks off and tries to help get his t-shirt on and off. It will not be long before Maxwell is picking his own outfits out in the morning and getting dressed himself.

If I am honest I was dreading summer a little. I didn't want to have a boring summer with Maxwell and I wanted to make it as fun as possible for him.  In the end me and  Maxwell got up to lots of activities, all which were a lot of fun. I have found new activities to do with Maxwell which I now will keep doing with him and I am looking forward to next years summer holidays so we can make more amazing memory's!

Maxwell returns to preschool tomorrow and I think he has missed going a little. It took a while for Maxwell to adjust to not going so he will be surprised that he will be returning. On his return Maxwell will be going for 2 mornings a week instead of the one and in the last few weeks we have found that we are able to rent our house for another year meaning Maxwell will not have to move preschool's which is fantastic news as I like to keep him as settled as much as possible.

Maxwell has started to really take a interest in music and he now loves to dance, slide and jump around the room when music comes on. The video below shows how mad about music he is.

The day before we were due to go to Maxwell's appointment I checked on Google to see what other parents thought about these health visitor appointments and the reviews did not boost my confidence about Maxwell's upcoming one. I am quite a worrier and wanted to prepare myself for any thing negative that may happen at the appointment, I was also interested to see what children were expected to do in these appointments. I read a handful of reviews and I was a little worried as I had read many negative things, people saying that children are made to perform but wont perform and  reading about upset parents who have been shouted down. I did not want to go to the appointment however I knew I needed to go to get answers about Maxwell's speech. 

As soon as we got there we were made to feel welcome and Maxwell was presented with a lot of activities to do. Maxwell was not made to sit down and perform in front of the Health Visitor, there was no strict schedule or routine in actual fact it was a very laid back appointment that actually made me feel better about myself as a parent. Maxwell was presented with lots of toys to play with and was allowed to play with them freely. Max saw some building blocks and by himself he built a tower, Maxwell saw a little cup and decided to feed the baby which was sat in front of him some tear. Maxwell was presented with some laces and beads and by himself he decided to thread the beads, Maxwell was given puzzles to complete and he completed them at such a high standard he was given harder ones to do, which again he completed. Whilst Maxwell played myself and the Health Visitor chatted.

The lady spoke to me and asked how Maxwell was getting on in areas such as eating, interacting with others and his behavior, every answer I gave her seemed correct and she had no worries about anything. She made comments on how well Maxwell had done with the jigsaw puzzles and how she had never seen a child complete them so quickly, we were told that Maxwell's motor skills were brilliant for his age and I felt a huge sense of pride come over me. We then got onto the topic of his speech. I told her our issues with Maxwell's lack of vocabulary and I told her how I felt that the doctor we had gone to see months ago had brushed us under a carpet. The health visitor was extremely helpful and agreed with us there was a lack of vocabulary coming from Maxwell and she was keen to get him referred to a special speech specialist. 

For a while I have been blaming myself about Maxwell's speech however we were told Maxwell's lack of vocabulary was nothing to do with us as parents and there were plenty of other reasons why Maxwell was speaking so little. As it stands we have a appointment mid September and I am hoping we can get to the cause of Maxwell speaking so little. It is a relief to have been listened to and although some people may have had a bad experience at there child's 2 and a half year checkup ours was nothing but a positive experience. I am proud to see that although Maxwell's speech isn't great, he is completing tasks on a higher level than some children his age and I am proud to see that he can play independently. I will keep you updated on how our speech appointments go.