I wrote a little post about Max on Facebook when a picture of him when he was born popped up in my feed. This pretty much sums up how I feel about him:

So fun to see this. My last baby announcement (we think lol). My baby is now 3!!!! Ugh. I’m not a baby person at all but it is definitely nostalgic to think about the day this guy was born and how much he has grown in these 3 years. To no surprise after raising sweet little Emma, Max has not been the easiest kid with his OCD tendencies, his tantrums, and his love of having his mom do ALL. THE. THINGS. for him. He is a true momma’s boy. But like all difficult children, they make it up in other ways that ensure you love them no less than your other children. He totally has my heart and the love and affection he shows us is so pure and unadulterated. Even though he is so tiny, he gives the biggest and best kisses and hugs! He makes all of us laugh daily with his animated expressions and the funniest things you will ever hear a human say. As you all know, his favorite thing is Star Wars. His obsession with this is unreal and he’s only just started! I never imagined a life of light saber duels and tie fighter attacks but I seriously couldn’t imagine it any other way. Love this little guy!!!

Yes as I wrote above, Max is all about Star Wars. I am not sure how it started (maybe a youtube clip?) but one day he was just super obsessed with everything Star Wars. I got him those Little Golden Books that I had blogged about awhile ago and we literally read 1-2 of them every night. He LOVES them. He knows all of the characters and can name all of the starships! I am a little sad that he already knows that Luke and Leia are siblings and Darth is their father though. It’s such a cool moment when you are watching and finding that out right? :( But with the way his obsession is going, there was no way I could keep him from finding that out! It’s been so fun to see this little 2 year old gather and remember so much random trivia and knowledge. Who knew? Minh and I are not big Star Wars fans (we’ve seen the movies and like them but nowhere near the superfans that other people are) so it’s been shocking to see this develop in him! But we are embracing it and slowly learning all about Star Wars too :)

For his birthday, we definitely had to throw him a Star Wars party. After Emma’s Moana party though, I just couldn’t handle another party at our house. Maybe in a few years I can throw him a proper Star Wars party (which makes me wonder if I am going to be throwing him a Star Wars party every year from now on? lol). But anyways, we turned to every kid’s favorite place…CHUCK E CHEESE! It was actually really great (because no work for me!) and I think all of the kids had a lot of fun. I handed out those Little Golden Star Wars books as favors along with mini glow stick light sabers. Love my photoshop skillzzzz? LOL.

My sad cupcakes and homemade darth vader that I made after watching a Youtube video. I swear I followed the directions exactly and it still didn’t turn out right!! LOL

He got a TON of Star Wars presents which is perfect…he was super happy! But now our house is completely overloaded with Star Wars stuff. I have NO idea how to store all of these toys!!!

For his actual birthday, we decided to finally hit up Adventure City since I wanted to visit it before the kids outgrew all of the rides. It’s the perfect park for young kids! They both had tons of fun, especially Emma who has surprisingly turned out to be quite a daredevil when it comes to rollercoasters and other rides!

After we got home, we made chocolate strawberry cupcakes from scratch and we were so lucky our nearby friends stopped by to help us eat some!! Then we settled in for movie night. This was Max’s first viewing of a complete Star Wars movie. Of course we had to start with A New Hope. HE LOVED IT!!!! I can see this becoming a tradition on his birthday! :)

Before we get to the birthday questions….some pictures of Max at age 2!

Still too scared to cut his hair myself! He’s so cute when he has a fresh new haircut!

I think his scooter might be one of his favorite things!

Trying to get him to use the balance bike more

Lots of fun camping trips and hikes this year!

And lots of mini vacations including Big Bear

Driving a Tesla

And a dump truck! (another fave)

Max’s first time meeting Darth Vader. He was TERRIFIED!!! But a few weeks later we went back to Disneyland and met Darth again and was super brave and always tells people he’s not afraid of Darth anymore hehe.

We got the socal pass for Disneyland this year so many nights ended in complete exhaustion for this little guy! He loves it there though especially with all of the Star Wars stuff. We can’t wait for Star Wars land to open up!

When we’re at home Max is almost always playing with his sister and almost always wearing some type of Star Wars mask :)

Some things about Max at this age:
– He’s super competitive and hates to lose. If we don’t let him win, he throws the biggest tantrums! We try to use it to our advantage and make things like brushing his teeth into a competition!
– He is still very underweight but he is not a very picky eater which I’m thankful for!
– He’s very particular about things, like a lot of toddlers are. For example, he ALWAYS has to pull his pant legs all the way down (you know how sometimes they get pulled up a little?). If he puts his shoes on the wrong feet, you have to leave them that way. He did it on purpose! Mom has to help him do everything unless she’s not there then Daddy can help (ie. take him out of his carseat). When he eats his Mamma Chia pouches he always has to check the lid to see if any seeds are stuck in the top and gets mad that we squeezed the pouch causing the seeds to go up there. Yes…the list goes on.
– He is super affectionate. He loves to give kisses and is always holding Emma’s hand. He is ALWAYS asking me to cuddle with him in his super cute toddler voice and I melt a little every time!
– He makes the most animated facial expressions and thinks everything is hilarious
– His favorite word is BBQ and he attaches it randomly to whatever he is saying.
– He loves bubbles, cooking (pretend and real!), sensory boxes, play-doh, and watching people mow the lawn
– We let him watch his first movie this past year and he loved it. We watched Sing!

Here are the answers to his birthday questions this year with my comments in parentheses.

1. What is your favorite color? red (surprising because it’s been purple all year long! I think he chose red because of Darth Vader)
2. What is your favorite toy? his new Star Wars voice changing helmet
3. What is your favorite fruit? strawberries
4. What is your favorite tv show? STAR WARS (he doesn’t really watch TV but just likes to watch anything related to Star Wars)
5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? apples
6. What is your favorite outfit? Darth Vader pajamas
7. What is your favorite game? Hide and Seek
8. What is your favorite snack? puffs (still loves to eat these even though they are for babies hehe)
9. What is your favorite animal? chicken (this was a totally random answer too!)
10. What is your favorite song? Jingle Bells (not sure how he came up with that one other than that is the song Emma is currently learning on piano! hehe)
11. What is your favorite book? Star Wars (we have a billion Star Wars books and he chooses 2 to read every night)
12. Who is your best friend? Katie (I think he only said this because Emma is always saying Katie is her best friend hehe)
13. What is your favorite cereal? I don’t know
14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? play with my lawnmower that blows bubbles
15. What is your favorite drink? juice (usually apple juice)
16. What is your favorite holiday? Easter because of the candy!
17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? Woofie (his purple dog that he got for Easter)
18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Mamma Chia
19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? BBQ (he doesn’t really want BBQ but it’s his favorite word hehe)
20. What do you want to be when you grow up? A jedi!