My good little man.

I was so proud of Max the other day. He has gotten fairly good at cleaning his room when I ask and even without whining. The other day not only did he clean his room but he went the extra mile and made his bed! He has never made his bed. His blankets don't really fit his bed so it's awkward to make so I never taught him how. He did a great job and I was so proud of him that I gave him a handful of beans (more to come on that later).

(See what I mean about the blankets not quite fitting on the bed? That's a twin comforter on a toddler bed. He is way to big for a toddler bed but I'm not sure we have the space for much more.)

Tuesday while I was at work I got a call from my mom. Max tried to cut an apple with a sharp knife and cut his finger. It had been bleeding and wouldn't stop. Fortunately our neighbor is a nurse so she came over, cleaned him up and put some gauze and tape on it. When I got home about an hour and half later it had stopped bleeding but it looked pretty gross. I took him to the doctor and they had to give him 2 stitches. The cut was deep and on the crease of his finger, she said that without stitches the wound would open every time he bent his finger. She numbed his finger and he was so nervous but so brave even though it hurt. He did great while she stitched him up and didn't even cry! He was my brave boy. They gave him a tetanus shot as well and he cried a little with that, but still I was so proud of him.

Back to the handful of beans. Max has an jar that he gets to fill with beans every time he does something good. When he makes bad choices I dump out the beans. Once his jar is full (it takes about two or three months) he has three choices: 1. he can buy a toy at the store (nothing more than $12) 2. get $10 to save for a big toy, put in the bank, or spend as he would like 3. go on a special night out with just mommy and daddy. On Friday he chose a special night out. We took him to Bonsi which is basically Beni Hana a little cheaper and with a different name. He loved it! This is a Japanese style restaurant and they cook all your food in front of you on a Hibachi grill. The first thing they do is cover the grill in oil and light it on fire. It is a large flame right in front of your face. For the rest of the meal Max would randomly yell, "ah, my face got burned off, mommy did your face get burned off?" Other than embarrassing us we all had a very fun time.

I love Max so much! He is a very sweet and honest boy who is always trying to do his best. I pray for his sake that his mom can develop a little more patience.