Max's Half-Birthday

I'm so glad I looked at the calendar today and realized it was Max's half-birthday! I haven't given a good update on him in what seems like forever, and I'm literally astounded by the progress he's made these past few months.

I'm not saying he doesn't still have his challenging moments, but it seems like he's grown up by leaps and bounds since his birthday. Even his looks have changed! He has gone from little kid cutesy to looking like a real kid, and he has the maturity to go along with it. His tantrums have decreased, he's playing better with Luke, and he's stepping up more around the house. I can finally see the light at the end of the toddler tunnel!

Max's chore system has been going well lately, and he's been working very hard to earn allowance. Everyday he cleans his own room, makes his own bed, practices piano, and does homework. I love how motivated he is to do his work and do the best he can.

He has also grown academically. When Max first started preschool, he kept asking me for more work. He loves worksheets! We started supplementing his preschool work with a K4 home school program that combines preschool and kindergarten into one year. So far he's completely rocking it! He can count to 20 without prompting and then all the way to 100 with minimal help, he can identify and write his entire alphabet, and he's reading very simple books. Most importantly, he loves to learn! He recently spent a few weeks allowance buying a book about mummies, which we've read to him multiple times.

As a mother, there is nothing more rewarding to me than seeing my child thirst for knowledge. He's participating in family scripture study, memorizing scriptures, learning the stories, and still he asks me for more. Some days it's hard to keep up with, but I wouldn't trade it for the world.

I can't imagine our family without our amazing oldest kiddo! We love Max more than anything, and it's so much fun watching him grow.