Favourite Things
Maxine, though we mostly call her Max, is turning one at the end of the month. She obviously can’t write or be interviewed for this story (I, Lauren Smith, her mother am writing this), so instead, here are some of her favourite things in no particular order.
1. Metallica. Her absolute favourite band, and something that can calm her down in the middle of a meltdown. Her favourite song is Enter Sandman and she can be soothed to sleep using that.
2. Starting and Ending themes. Max loves watching the starting and ending themes to shows, especially Forensic Files, but has no interest in the show itself.
3. Balls. She loves to throw them, though half the time they get dropped behind her during the wind-up.
4. Morgan Freeman. Max especially likes him in Shawshank Redemption. She talks to him on the TV sometimes, but seems to really love his voice.
5. Animals. Max loves animals, especially dogs, though she’s still working on being gentle. She has a tendency to pull tails and ears.
6. Other children. Similar to animals, Max loves other kids and get really excited when she sees them. Unfortunately, she’s a little aggressive in her affection and has pulled a few down while trying to climb them.
7. Food, but especially Cheerios. Max is a Cheerio fiend and our house and anywhere else she gets them is often decorated with cereal. Her favourite is to get a handful and try and jam them all into her mouth with limited success. But she loves food in general and hasn’t met food she doesn’t like. This has included sour pickles, sushi (the cooked kind), and even broccoli, her favourite vegetable.
8. Daddy. Max is a complete Daddy’s girl and he is clearly her favourite person in the world. I come in a very obvious second in her mind.
9. Clothes. She loves to play with clothes. Wearing them is fine, but waving them around your head and chewing on them is even better. The latter can be done to anyone’s clothes, even if they’re still wearing them.
10. Busy places. Max loves watching other people and enjoy busy places like the grocery store, provided she’s not over tired. This has included parks, airports, stores, and anywhere else she gets to look around at all the activity. Bonus points if she can grab things. And extra points on top of that if they’re things she shouldn’t have.