Paul at 3!

Paul turned 3 last week so I am a due for an update post. I do these every 6 months now. It's fun to look back at previous posts and see how much he has changed. It's a reminder that every phase - good and bad - really goes by quickly in the grand scheme of things. It is a little hard to believe that he is 3 but at the same time, I'm not sad about that. A lot of parents talk about how sad they are when their kids celebrate birthday or new stages of development. Phil and I feel like we are in the minority on this as we aren't exactly sad that they are getting bigger/older. I think part of that is because we think we are best-suited to parent kids at age 4 and older. Don't get me wrong, we appreciate and enjoy things about each stage, but the early years of a child's life are so physically demanding - especially for the mom. So we look forward to stages where they have more independence (and fewer tantrums!). Maybe I will come to a time when I will feel sad when they turn a year older but we aren't there yet. 

Growth: He's still petite but is up to 9th percentile for weight which is the highest he's ever been since migrating down from his birth weight. He's almost 27.5 pounds and 36.5". He grew 2" since his 2.5 year appointment so is definitely getting bigger. His doctor was really happy with his growth and we've gotten to the point where I don't worry about how much he weighs. 

Words and phrases: Paul is quite the chatty kid and has started to mimic things we say. Like one day when he got home from school with Phil, I asked how his day was and he said, 'It was busy!' Hahahaha. He has clearly picked that up from Phil and me - mostly Phil though since I'm not working right now so I never use the word "busy" to describe my day. Another funny phrase he says is, "I'm tooting out a poop" when he is pooping. Maybe TMI, but that's life with a toddler! One last story - he was sitting on Phil's lap to read a book and Phil got distracted and didn't start reading right away. Paul turned around and said, "You don't know the words?" 

He understands Spanish and uses words occasionally, but he mostly speaks in English. He's starting to learn how to spell words - like Stop is a word he loves to spell. And he loves to yell "stop" when he sees a stop sign. We've been working on spelling his name but he isn't super interested in that yet. 

Likes:

- Being outside and especially going to the park! We had our first park visit last weekend and he had the best time on the swings. He will still ride in the stroller for longer walks. He also likes to use his scooter but we obviously haven't had that out since we got snow. Our snow is all gone, though, so he'll probably start scooting on the weekends. My MIL has one of those strider bikes so we'll introduce that this spring, too.

- Baking is one of his favorite activities to do with me. My sister got him a little baking set for his birthday so he's been pretending to make muffins. 

- His favorite shows to watch are Curious George, Dinosaur Train and Daniel Tiger. He gets to watch a show while eating breakfast every morning and after naps on weekends. I have relied on tv more when I am on my own with both boys, especially if I need Paul to be quiet while Will naps. But I think the amount of screen time he gets is fine and it's something I try not to feel guilty about as he tends to learn things from watching his PBS shows. 

- Reading is still one of his favorite things to do which makes me so happy! We got him some curious George books for his birthday and he said that was his favorite present! He's mostly moved beyond board books, although the birth of Will has reinvigorated his interest in them as he feels like they are "his" books. But he mostly enjoys picture books which I enjoy reading way more!

- Lastly, he loves to play games. We have Hi-Ho Cherry-O, The Hungry Caterpillar, My First Orchard (our favorite) and Dinosaur matching game. I love playing games so am glad he's at the age where he can play them!

Dislikes:

- Getting out the door for school. He does not like to run on someone else's schedule so will get very resistant and crabby. 1/2 the time Phil carries him out of the house crying but he cheers up pretty quickly. 

- Seeing mom read books to Will. I try to have him "read" to Will as he has most of the books I read to Will memorized. But mostly I just avoid reading to Will in front of Paul.

Eating: is still a challenge. He eats more foods than he did in the past but he is still very picky and refuses to even try a lot of things. We talked about it at his 3y appointment and his doctor isn't too concerned and thinks it's typical toddler pickiness. We are told that he eats well at school so we know he CAN eat things. His favorite foods are cottage cheese, banana pancakes, pasta, graham crackers, hummus, applesauce, and taquitoes. 

Potty training: Ugh I wish I had a great update for this but he is still extremely resistant to training at home. He uses the potty at school so we know he can do it. After talking it over with a friend with potty resistant boys and his doctor, we've decided that the pull-ups are going away Easter weekend. So we are basically forcing him to train, but we know he can do it since he uses the potty at school. And he will sometimes tell us when he is peeing in his pull-up, so clearly he's aware of what his body is doing. Wish us luck! I'm ready to be done with having 2 kids in diapers! 

Big brother adjustment: Overall I feel like he's done as well as can be expected for a 3 year old. He definitely gets jealous at times, but he is mostly very sweet towards Will. He will try to comfort him if Will is crying and is always asking if he can touch Will or hug him. We're still working on gentle touch, though! I had the boys take a bath together once last month and while I wouldn't want to do that often, it went pretty well! He also likes to share/show toys to Will which is pretty sweet.

Toddler behavior: We've definitely seen our share of toddler tantrums. Since I have 7 nieces and nephews, I know this is par for the course and will get better with time. It's just not fun to deal with in the moment, especially with a baby on the scene. He is not great listening at times which drives me absolutely crazy but again, I know it's a stage and a way for him to assert his will. 

So that's Paul at 3! So challenges, but lots of fun changes and development, too. I love how more and more of his personality comes out as he gets older. He is a very sweet, loving, and funny little kid and is generous with hugs, kisses, and telling us he loves us!