Chanukah was early this year, starting on December 1st, Mark’s birthday. Mark and Brittney went out to a fancy seafood birthday dinner the night before, then on his actual birthday Brittney and Max surprised him at work so Max could give his dad a big birthday kiss.
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| Max liked watching Mark’s co-workers sing and the candles on the cakes they got for Mark. That night he got more candles and singing as as we lit the Chanukah menorah together. |
| Video of Max and the menorah |
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Chanukah meant lots of presents for Max from Mark’s family, including one for every night from Bubbe. 
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Hmmm, which one to open first?
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How about this puzzle. |
Max had lots of fun opening and playing with presents from his Bubbe, Poppy, Aunts and Uncles including a mini-basketball hoop, a toy clock, bath toys, blocks, and legos. His mom got him some scarves and his dad got him a giant teddy bear which he was a little scared of until Mark showed him how much fun he was to snuggle with.
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Over Thanksgiving, Max got an early Chanukah present from Bubbe via Aunt Karen – gorgeous hand-knit sweaters passed down from his cousin Sam. He enjoyed wearing this amazing animal cardigan in Central Park during the last of the fall weather before it got freezing cold. 
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On the fourth night of Chanukah we had dinner with Mark’s Aunt Ruth and Uncle Stan in Westchester. Max liked giving Chanakuh kisses, watching Mark’s cousin Greg spin the dreidel and playing with the chocolate gelt. He wasn’t afraid of the the dogs in attendance and kept trying to share the gelt with them. 
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Max got more fun presents from his relatives, including a lego fire truck and a big stuffed bumble bee. Mark’s cousin Rachel gave him one of his current favorite things, a touch and feel book, and they had fun reading it together. |
Now that Chanukah is over, lucky Max gets to celebrate yet another holiday. After his 15-month check-up, we visited the origami Christmas tree at the Natural History Museum across the street from the doctor’s office. 
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| If Max is looking fat in these photos it’s because someone’s been eating plenty of potato pancakes and applesauce. He weighs 20 lbs 13 oz, seventeenth percentile for his height, which is pretty chunky for him. |
| Click here for more photos |
