My Terrible Two Year Old

Okay, I can't decide if Max is really terrible, testing his boundaries and my patience at every turn, or if he just has an extreme case of OCD. For example, to put on his shoes, I have to be sitting on an exact spot on the stair by the door, give him the socks and shoes, then he gives them back to me one at a time and tells me which foot to put them on. And the fun part of this is that he pretends to hide each sock and shoe and then I have to say, "Where is Max's sock?" And he HAS to say, "Where'd it go?" Then I say, "I don't know." Then he says, "Here it is!" The exact dialogue every single time. So much fun! Also, Max has become quite obsessed with locking and unlocking doors. He throws a tantrum if he doesn't get to unlock the doors coming into the house and with so much practice is actually quite good at picking the right key, putting it in and twisting it. Too bad after he opens the door he likes to slam it in my face then tells me to knock so he can say, "Who is it?" And his lock obsession is not just with the house, but with the car as well. He is quite the gentleman and always unlocks the passenger side door then opens it and says, "Here ya go, Mommy." Too bad the rest of the routine is then opening his door, climbing in, climbing up to the driver's seat, putting the keys in the ignition, locking the doors and climbing back into his seat. I really have to be aware of what's going on or I could get locked out of the car, which actually happened the other day. Luckily that time Max actually turned the keys in the ignition so he was able to roll down a window and ask me what I was saying since he didn't get "UNLOCK THE DOORS!" I know, I know what you're thinking. Who's in charge here? But I'm a run-down mom who is carefully choosing her battles. One of my favorites though is when Max bosses me around. While we were at Barnes and Noble tonight I asked him if he wanted to pick a different book to read. He answered yes, then sternly said to me, "Be patient Mommy. Need to clean up. Be patient!" And I can't even count the number of times he's told me to sit in timeout.

But amidst my complaints, I have to say, I never could have dreamed Max would be such a good brother. He is nothing but a total angel to Baby Jack and takes very good care of him. I love it when he tells Jack, "One minute Baby Jack. Mommy coming. It's okay Jack. Mommy be here in one minute." Or when I find him reading a book to Jack or letting Jack pull his hair. I am one lucky mom, loving every minute with my two-year old.

I know this next video isn't very long, but you have to realize that he started doing this, I noticed he was doing it, watched him for a while, thought--WOW, I can't believe he doesn't see me, then thought--man, he just keeps going, I should get the camera--no, by the time I get the camera, he'll have stopped. But he just keeps going. I'm going to get the camera. Then, I actually got the camera and videoed. I should have jumped into action more quickly.

And I just love this video. Max loves to count the numbers on the microwave. I know he's standing a little close for radiation purposes, but it was for the sake of the video. I usually don't let him stand so close. Anyway, Blake already told me that I'm the only one who thinks this is funny, but I don't care. I'm going to watch it over and over and laugh my head off.