BLOOM & HABIT: On family

Hello, and sorry for the radio silence. Things have been busy! I think that's my tune lately, isn't it? We had a wonderful visit with PauPau and GongGong (Grandma and Grandpa) and Auntie Jessi, in from Florida. After only one hour of being a little overwhelmed and cautious, Max flourished amongst the family, his little-big personality getting even bigger. It's so rewarding to see how much Max appreciated having family around––constant companions always ready to play and to be lead around. Just give us the marching orders, yessir.

Things I learned about Max's perspective on life, during my fam's visit:

1. Max is definitely going to be a CEO, the big boss, el jefe. If this wasn't already apparent from the time he was able to hold my hand and lead me around a room (around 16 months), then it is now. When I say lead, I really mean lead. He gently guides me around, he also manipulates my hands into doing things he's perfectly capable of like he's an evil genius puppet master. The only way I know how to describe it. He puppeteered each member of the family during their stay, too. That boy!!

2. Speaking of dictatorship, for the first time ever, Max picked someone else besides me to do things for him, to play with him. He designated precisely who he wanted, and as you can imagine there was lots of finger-pointing. This included everything from helping him walk down the stairs, to holding his hand to cross the street, to pushing his stroller. From his perspective, this showed that he really trusted and felt comfortable with the family, enough to leave my side voluntarily, and from my perspective––Mu-mah finally got a break!! I was able to actually sit on the couch for more than a few minutes at a time. Case in point:

Did you notice all the finger-pointing? It was all his idea to sit on the rock and make them each come and sit on the rock with him and pose for a family picture.

3. "Mu-mah" is basically any maternal figure, because he kept calling PauPau and Aunt Jessi this, as well. Maybe all Asian people look alike to him?? (Oh, he also calls Dadda this, although every now and then he will sprinkle in a pity "Dadda.") One evening, I was about to brush his teeth. He takes one look at me, then at PauPau standing next to me, and points to her saying "Mu-mah!" He wants her to brush his teeth. Then he points to Auntie Jessi, also "Mu-mah" apparently. Now it's her turn. And we do this a few times, on repeat, until the deed is done.

4. "I love this song!" Speaking of flourish, Max said his first full sentence during their visit!!! Proclaimed, more like it. After jumping on top of me while I was stretched out on the floor, he proceeded to row, row my hands and sing his latest favorite, "Row, Row-a Boat." I was excitedly telling grandma that I love this song, and lo and behold, he belted out "I love this song!" If I didn't have grandma as a witness, no one would believe me when I say it not only happened, but it was crystal clear. I know he was just mimicking me, but this is the first time that he's ever repeated anything intentionally! What I love about this whole game is that, somehow, Max knows that rowing my hands is like rowing a boat, and that he also throws in a few "Wa-Was" (water) into the song, too. Show-off! That boy!!!

It felt awesome being able to trust other people to take good care of him, giving me and The Fella some time off. We didn't feel too bad utilizing our built-in babysitters (even if they were on vacation), taking a day to go tubing all the way in Harpers Ferry, WV, with our friends. They were more than happy to have Max all to themselves––taking him to a rocking kids music concert while I worked, and into the city another day to the National Building Museum. Max's mini stay-cation with grandparents, yea!!

He also added a couple new words to his vocabulary during their visit (show-off!!): train, rock, and park (as in "park the car"). I'm amazed at how advanced he is sometimes, even though he can't say Dadda but he can say "park." Go figure.