One, two...almost three!

Two weeks from tomorrow, my bay will turn three. Looking back at LO's pictures, I feel like three is the age where he started to take on more of a "little boy" look and leave his baby face behind.  It's a little extra tough thinking that NB will be the last baby face that belongs to me for a long, long while. I'm also really excited for NB though.  I think we are just starting to see glimpses of what will interest him and where his strengths will lie.  Oh clearly he is my entertainer, my thrill seeker, and my snuggle bug, but I can't wait to see what other fun things this year unveils on his little personality.  As I started to write back in January (but never finished), I'd like to document what kind of kiddo he is now.  As his third birthday approaches, this seems the perfect time.

This guy is fiercely independent.  So much more so than his big brother ever was, and, perhaps, because of his big brother.  He has quite the example to follow.

After a bit of a break during the colder winter months, he is back on his Strider bike again and coasting well.  He enjoys the rush of going down hills, but not so much the work of going up them.  He often seeks out steps or curbs to ride along.  The challenge of those seems more worth his time than a simple hill.  This juxtaposition amuses me a bit.  It seems such a teenage/advanced bike rider move to try to ride over steps or along a curb, but he is drawn to them.  It is easy for me to imagine him at a bike park riding ramps and doing tricks.  Of course when I imagine that, I also imagine needing some medication and knowing the ER/orthopedic staff by name.

He also nearly dresses himself now.  Not always with great fashion sense or even with clothes on the right direction, but he wants to do it himself, so I expect the other details will come along soon.  His head is so big though, I may have to help him get his shirts over his head until he learns to use buttons!

Perhaps the most exciting area of independence (for me and DH, at least) is on the potty.  He has been pretty good at pooping there since before he turned two.  Over the last two months, he has gotten very good at going pee there too!  His independence is most apparent in his potty preferences.  He tells me he doesn't need me, closes the door, and likes the lights to be turned out.  If I am already in the bathroom, he asks for his privacy. He often will go potty, clean up, put his clothes back together, and wash his hands without me even knowing.  Yesterday my only clue was his shorts and undies were on backwards. We are not yet trying to stay dry during naps or overnight, but he is doing great all the other times, including car rides and at school.  It seems likely I may be just a diaper order or two away from never ordering them again!!!!  One hurdle to nap time and night time training is that he is still in his crib.  LO escaped form his when he was two and a half, so we are really excited the NB is not showing any signs of doing the same.  We know those days are numbered, but we are going to enjoy them as long as we can.  It does make it tough for him to go potty though, so time will tell if we make his move to the toddler bed when he starts keeping his diaper dry or if he'll make his own move before then.

NB's fun-loving personality makes it tough to tell exactly what be knows in other areas.  I'm a bit inclined to think he gets silly when we ask him questions to which he doesn't know the answer. I have seen him get silly when I know he knows the answer too though.  I have a bad feeling this is going to haunt us in school.  Maybe he'll mature just enough to know when to use it and when not to?  We can hope, I guess.  At a recent teacher conference Ms. T just laughed.  She said "I don't know what to tell you about his colors.  I know he knows them because he gets them in class, but when I went to test them, he said they were all "orange"...until we got to orange, then he said that one was "green."  In the last couple of weeks, he has gotten much better at naming his colors, but just last night named them all then pretended two minutes later that they were all "purple."  He does seem to know his "ABC" song and, while he is still working on naming each letter when he sees it, if he doesn't say the letter name, he says its sound instead.  In fact, he knew all of the letter sounds before their names.

Some things haven't changed a bit.  He still loves soft things. His big puppy pillow form Aunt Cat is a favorite snuggle spots any time he is in his room.  I may take it with udon vacation this summer as I'm sure he'd sleep on it if I'd let him.  He also LOVES books.  He would choose reading over any activity most of the time.  Ironically he isn't always good at sitting still when we read, but many times he'll let us read for 30 minutes at a time moving only to fetch another book.  When he isn't reading, he loves music and movement.  He loves anything his brother loves.  He seems to have a decent foot for soccer, so we might let him try it this fall.  He also enjoys building with Duplos.  I can tell what he has built because it usually involves a Lego person where LO's structures do not.  He seems more interested in cars and trucks than LO, but trains still top his list of exciting things to spot while we're in the car.

We haven't been for NB's three year check up yet, but the bathroom scale put him at about 31 lbs.  I don't recall his height, but I'll try to fill it in here when I check it next.  He fits pretty well into 2T pants, but looks best in 3T shirts.  He is in a size 7 shoe, when I can get him to wear them at all. He most remarked about feature is, of course, his curly red hair.  We are still trying to find the right person and way to have it cut, but it still looks pretty awesome even if it looks like crazy bedhead most of the time.  It will be a shame to cover it will a hat all summer, but better that than trying to find a way to sunscreen his scalp.  I can see faint little freckles popping up on his little nose and cheeks.  The first of many, I am sure.  At least this year, so far, he is more patient at letting me put the sunscreen on.  I'm sure it won't take long before he wants to do that himself too.

Lately, I have realized that, although I get two days a week with NB while LO is at school, I haven't spent much time just playing with him or letting him lead our time together.  On Tuesdays we drive about 30 min each way to Kindermusik class which we both enjoy.  While I'm out in that area, I often have a couple of errands to run, so the rest of the day is usually full of those.  On Thursdays we have been going to the library for story time, which can last up to two hours if we pick out new books and play afterwards.  Both of these are worthy uses of time, but, as DH and I have been talking about how NB plays, we've realized he is either following his brother around and being led to play by him or he's in school or play organized by library or music.  NB is so good at playing independently when it is just the two of us at home, that home time is often about me getting housework done.  The last two or three weeks, I've tried to find slices of time to just hang out with NB at home and see what he likes and what he does.  I used to have so much time like that with LO when he was NB's age.  In fact, I may have done too much of that for LO, but now I'm erring on the side of too little with NB.  While I've missed library time, we have skipped the last two weeks, and I have really enjoyed having some sweet time talking to, walking with, and observing my littlest guy.  We joke about me being fourth on his list of favorite people, (below Nanny K, Da, and puppy dog) but I really hope he'll decide I'm not so bad to be around.  I love that he has other wonderful people in his life, but maybe I can at least nudge out the stuffed animal every now and then.

Summer is coming and I've decided not to put the boys at the their school camp for the months of June and July.  LO starts kindergarten in August, and, as my homebody, I thought he would enjoy some extra home time.  I hope we'll all grow in love and grace as a result.  Maybe we'll have some fun while we're at it.

Before summer, though, my littlest guy has to turn the big three.  We've got a sprinkles and banana party theme that should be chill and yummy.  I hope he'll love it as much as we all love him.

Superlatives for NB:
favorite color: blue, I think, though right now everything is "purple."
favorite song: "Bumblebee song" (aka "bringing home a baby bumblebee")
favorite food: banana
favorite person: Nanny K, still (and likely even more so since she's about to come visit!)
best girl: Annie M (ironically, Annie's big sister is LO's best girl in his pre-K)
favorite book: Maisy Seasons? really any book he can get you to read to him.  He seems to really love Dr Suess too.
other favorites: Da, puppy, Ellie (his lovie), "aminals" (he gets so very excited when he sees dogs, but also really enjoys cats, chickens, chipmunks, rabbits, you name it.),
new exciting skills: potty, dressing self, ABCs, colors, counting to 12, buckling chest clip in car seat, using scissors