Happy Birthday, my dear son! I set him up for a photo shoot about a week ago and he surprisingly agreed to pose. I wanted to capture him in his room, in his own element, where he's most at ease and most himself. And, of course, I had to include Mr. Bear for the photos.
Let's see, as he celebrates his 3rd birthday, my boy loves trains and cars and trucks as much as ever. He spends a majority of his playtime with his Thomas set or his matchbox cars. He loves lots of things, though, so we still spend lots of time reading, coloring, sticking stickers, playing with his dino's, the farm, and all of the baby toys pulled out for his brother.
He's a problem solver. I frequently hear the kitchen chairs being pushed across the floor so he can use them to reach things on the counters and in the cabinets (including the upper cabinets--never thought I'd have to kid-proof those!). Tonight, after being told he could not throw the ball he was playing with inside the house, he did just that. The ball knocked over a picture frame on it's path to the back of my head. I took the ball and told him he couldn't play with it anymore because he had thrown it, knocked over the frame, and hit me with it. He ran over and fixed the picture frame, came back to me and asked if he could have the ball back. I thanked him for fixing the frame but told him he could not, he had broken the rules. He climbed up on the couch and said he wanted to kiss my head to make it better. Then he asked if he could have the ball back. I thanked him for the kiss, but told him that he still couldn't have it and he should go play with another toy for a few minutes. He ran over and played with something for about 10 seconds then came back and asked once again if he could have the ball back. I made him wait a true 3 minutes more, then gave him another chance. I was impressed with his determination and resourcefulness!
When he starts to get in trouble, he immediately says, "I want to be a good listener!" I don't think he really understands what that means, or maybe he just can't always implement it, but, he knows that being a good listener is a good thing.
He's been a rhyming fool lately, walking around the house just chattering a list of words that rhyme--real and made-up ("Newman is the cat, cat, cat, hat, wat, jat, lat, bat, cat, cat, meow!"). He loves words and sounds and questions. He can tell you what letter lots of words start with and then rattle off other words that start with the same letter. Asking me for more and more words to quiz him with.
He's been a rhyming fool lately, walking around the house just chattering a list of words that rhyme--real and made-up ("Newman is the cat, cat, cat, hat, wat, jat, lat, bat, cat, cat, meow!"). He loves words and sounds and questions. He can tell you what letter lots of words start with and then rattle off other words that start with the same letter. Asking me for more and more words to quiz him with.
He's a caring big brother, even if he has a hard time sharing his trucks and trains sometimes. He always hands Benjamin a baby toy right after he yells, "no Benjamin! You can't have that" and rips one of his trains out of Ben's hands, telling us, "he doesn't want to play with my train. . . he wants this baby toy."
He's given up napping--I'm really sad to say. But, he's doing great with the potty. There's still a potty chair in our family room (I won't consider him fully potty trained until he regularly uses the actual toilet all by himself), but he just runs over to it and goes when he has to. And he uses public bathrooms with issue, telling me if he has to go when we're out.
His favorite food is a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. But, he will eat just about anything we serve him, sometimes it does take more coaxing than others. His favorite TV shows are Thomas, Curious George, and Dinosaur Train. He loves preschool, playing with friends, and playing outside--snow or no snow. He loves to go skiing and ride his bike (although he still doesn't pedal, he rides Flintstones-style).
His favorite food is a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. But, he will eat just about anything we serve him, sometimes it does take more coaxing than others. His favorite TV shows are Thomas, Curious George, and Dinosaur Train. He loves preschool, playing with friends, and playing outside--snow or no snow. He loves to go skiing and ride his bike (although he still doesn't pedal, he rides Flintstones-style).
And I love him more and more every day. I love watching him grow and learn and develop into this little person. To watch his reactions and decisions and feelings. He (and his brother, too) have made motherhood more joyous and wondrous than I could have ever imagined it would be. Happy Birthday, Hayden!
(Check out some more from his photo shoot over on the business blog!)
