Happy Birthday Max!

Max Steven Larkin. born August 19, 2006.

I love my little guy. Everybody does. He is kinda like my goodwill ambassador. Lots of people don't care for me but everybody loves Max. His smile is so big and is usually on. I am constantly amazed by his ability to love so freely. He gives hugs and kisses all the time. When my parents came to visit last March, he just ran up to them and gave them lots of hugs and kisses. He hadn't seen them since the previous summer, but it didn't matter. Everybody should be lucky enough to have a daily dose of Max. Sure he has his less then stellar moments, (he can whine with the best of them,) but he really is an exceptionally good boy. If you look at Max he looks pretty much like he did when he was born, just bigger. I love that! He has all of my facial features, (which just goes to show that I would have been a great looking guy,) but he has his father's dimples and his father's personality. It has actually made me appreciate Jeff's great positive personality even more. He and Jeff are best buddies. I was shocked to discover just how amazing a father Jeff is, not cause he didn't seem like the type, but just cause he is so close to Max. Max adores Jeff, mimics him constantly, and always begs him not to go to work in the morning. Two nights ago we had put Max to bed and when I walked past his room a half hour later I heard the following exchange between Max and his puppy, "Yo Ho Ho puppy, I want dada, I want dada, I want dada." It wasn't a cry but just a statement. Max's main squeeze is Claudia. They play so well together. He was very protective of her birthday present this past month. We bought it a bit early and he carried it very carefully to the car and into the house. He thoughtfully picked out the wrapping paper and then replaced my choice of green ribbon for a more appropriate pink ribbon. He talks about baby Mae every day now. He see her carseat and room and acknowledges them as hers. He will kiss my tummy when I ask him to give her a kiss and has added her to his prayer list. At prayer time he has a list of what he is thankful for. He actually put quite a bit of thought into this, it can range from cupcakes to playplaces to grandpa. He loves talking to his Grandpa Tobler almost every night. They have a routine exchange where my dad greets him, "HELLOOOO MAAAAAX!" Often during the day I will see Max playing with a toy phone and saying "Helloooo Maaaax." Max goes through phases of what show he is into (not that he watches more then three min of tv at a time before he gets bored and wanders off.) Currently he is way into Max and Ruby, which is great cause it has finally gotten him interested in books. He was actually named after the Max from the books. (Not after the late Larkin family dog, which I still don't find amusing.) Max is obsessed with Rock Band and music of any kind. He sings along with They Might Be Giants "Here Come The One Two Three's."
He tries to make everything into a drum set and bangs loudly. He loves the pool and asks to go every day. He has no fear of water, which scares the crap out of me cause he'll just jump in! We are taking him to the waterpark this Saturday for his birthday.
I love my little guy so very much. He has defiantly made my life so much better. Thanks Max.