It's been a whole 6 months since I wrote one of your updates and this weekend you turned 3 years old.
I can hardly believe it - my little baby boy...3 years old!!! How did that happen so quickly?!
When I look back at your 2nd birthday and the video from it, it's incredible to see how much you've come on and changed.
Speech and Learning
We always thought that your speech and use and understanding of words was good for your age, but looking back you were still such a baby then - you sounded so baby-like and I realize now why staff in restaurants etc could never understand you and had to have me interpret - I guess mums and dads are better trained at understanding their little ones but to me your speech was so clear, I couldn't understand why anybody struggled - now looking back I can see it wasn't as clear as I thought, although you did speak a lot for your age.
You still continue to amaze me with your language skills - you seem to have a bit of a love of the English language and enjoy asking what new words mean when you hear them for the first time (You must question me on about 20 words a day at the moment!), and once you've heard a word once you can guarantee that you'll use it over the next few days.
Here are just a few of the things you've come out with recently that I found pretty incredible for a child your age:
"Sailor, you look amazing in this photo"
"This is very delicate"
"This is really infuriating"
I wonder if maybe you'll be into writing like I was as a child, as you so love words.
As for learning - you love to take part in arts and craft activities, but you get very annoyed with yourself when you can't do something as well as you think you should be able to. Your main issue is with drawing - you get so annoyed that you can't draw things perfectly, exclaiming "I'm not good, I just scribble!" - I don't know where you get this from as we always encourage you and tell you what you're doing is good, and that you have to practice to learn but you don't seem to want to listen.
I have to admit that I have yet to sit down with you and try to teach you much, but yet somehow you still seem to have picked a lot up anyway - you know your whole alphabet, all of the main colours (I haven't tested you on the more obscure ones but you know your green, blue, black, red, white, pink, purple, etc).
As for numbers - you can count up to 20 that I know of but I haven't actually tested you and tried to get you to count any higher so I don't really know!
You can also count things out up to that number too, rather than just reciting the numbers.
You aren't quite so hot on your shapes, as far as I know you can only identify square and circle/round - you know the words for other shapes such as triangle, oblong, etc but you can't match the words to the pictures yet.
You also are not yet writing any letters, but you do scribble on paper and tell me what you're writing so you are associating a meaning to what you're doing which is the first step.
You also have quite a random general knowledge of things, recently you've been telling me the names of all of the planets (you know them all!) and talking about landmarks such as the statue of liberty and the eiffel tower and what countries they're in! You pick all of this up from the YouTube kids videos you watch, and you remember it all perfectly!
I'm excited to see how much you pick up when you start nursery.
Eating & Sleeping
We've been lucky with your eating so far as you haven't entered a fussy phase. I'm sure we won't escape it forever (especially if I'm anything to go by, as I was the worlds fussiest eater as a child!) but for now you are usually quite happy to eat whatever we put down in front of you.
Your only outright refusals are cucumber, apple, lettuce, peppers and onion (though you will eat cooked onion and peppers, just not raw in a salad or sandwhich) - so I just don't give you those things!
If ever you say you don't like something else my usual tactic is to say "Ok then don't eat it" but leave the plate in front of you anyway, and 9 times out of 10 after a few minutes you absentmindedly pick away at it anyway and eat it all!
As for sleeping, we've seen a HUGE improvement in this area! You were always very difficult to get to bed but over the past couple of months you have been going up to bed without an argument, and gone straight to sleep after a story (which is always either "Not a box", "Charlie Cook's Favourite Book", "Funnybones" or "The Jabberwock"...your current favorite books!)
You are also sleeping without any wake ups at all now - it's been about 3 months since you last woke up in the night, and you NEVER come into our bed anymore, even in the mornings! This actually makes me a bit sad as we enjoyed having snuggles with you, but you now firmly tell us that you only like YOUR bed - so a huge change from a few months back when you hated your bed and always cried to come into ours!
Your Personality
You have always been a real chatterbox and this hasn't changed at all - I keep expecting you to start getting a bit more shy as you get older but it's yet to happen, you are SO very confident and outgoing which is a character trait I really hope you never lose.
Your Dad and I were talking last night about how both of us were very quiet, shy children who didn't have much confidence and how we don't understand where you've got your outgoing nature from at all! You will chat to anybody who will give you the time of day - every body who knocks at the door is someone for you to chat with, no matter if its the postman, a jehovah's witness or a meter reader - you don't care who they are and what they called for, you just want to chat to your new friend!
Recently you went on the microphone at a holiday camp to talk to the entertainer...this is something I never would have ever done as a child, and I love that you have the confidence to do those kinds of things.
You LOVE to perform for people and if somebody asks you to sing a song, you'll do it - you love getting your toy microphone out and putting on shows for us - I really do think you'll end up working in entertainment. Infact you told us last week that you would "Love to be a clown!" when you grow up!
Your Likes & Dislikes
Although you still ask for it occasionally, I'm sad to say that your love for Thomas The Tank Engine is dying out a little *sob*
Recently you've discovered a new love in The Avengers, Batman and anything else super hero related! You absolutely love all of the villains - especially The Joker! You recently reeled off the name of every single Batman villain to me - including The Penguin and Harley Quinn who I had never even heard of!!
You are also still a little Hallowe'en obsessed ghoul and ask me most days if it's time for Hallowe'en again yet! You love anything spooky - especially skeletons and ghosts - and recently talked me into buying you some wind up toy zombies which are your favorite thing ever!!
Your favorite foods are ham, cheese, hot dogs with mustard, strawberries, and pizza.
As for your dislikes, you're starting to tell me that you don't like girls - I'm surprised to be at that stage already but you firmly told me that NO girls were allowed to come to your birthday party because "They're rubbish and bossy" - I asked if this meant that I wasn't allowed to come but apparently grown up girls are ok, it's just little girls who are rubbish!
Your most overused words at the moment are "boring" - everything is SO BORING all of the time! - and also "You're mean"...which is only ever said to me, whenever I dare to say no to anything...I am automatically mean! Today I was mean because they don't manufacture heelies in your size...
You also recently told me that you no longer like babies...which is a bit of a shame as you are definitely in the wrong house if that's the case!! I'm not quite sure that's entirely true though, as you play with your baby brothers all the time and are still really good with both of them!
This week I filmed a little video of you answering some questions about yourself...this is something I intend to do after every birthday to see how much your answers change each year!
You have grown into such a lovely, funny little boy who is so full of character and you make us very proud.
You're my best little mate and I love our snuggles on the sofa each evening when we watch ipad or a film together (usually Hotel Transylvania, your favourite!) and munch on popcorn!
I'm excited for another year of adventures with you, my cheeky and charming little three year old!
Lots Of Love,
Mummy xoxo
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