Three Years Old!

On February 2nd Ian turned three years old!  He woke up and came down stairs very excited about his "real" birthday.  

We were happy to celebrate his birthday in our new home.  We didn't have any furniture to speak of yet  but three year olds don't care about that kind of stuff.  We fed Ian some cheerios in Miles bowl (it's the only bowl we had at the time but don't worry I washed it out first!) and headed to the Library where we checked out lots of books about Birthdays.  Our big plan for the day was to drive up to Bangor to check out The Maine Jump, a warehouse full of bouncy houses and inflatable obstacle courses.  So, after nap time we opened presents and then headed out on our adventure.  Ian's BIG present from Mommy and Daddy was his first pair of SKIS!  He thought they were pretty cool but with no snow on the ground and the bouncy houses waiting he didn't mind putting them away for awhile.  

The Maine Jump was a huge hit.   Ian was a little timid at first but quickly got over any trepidations he had.  He jumped and climbed and slid and rolled on everything.  It was awesome!  It was so fun that we were the last ones to leave when it closed at 7pm and didn't even stop to eat dinner or have cupcakes.  So his birthday dinner consisted of Mac and Cheese in the backseat of the car with Mimi sandwiched in beside him.  He was so happy and tired that I didn't think he missed the fact that we never had cake on his actual birthday.  But, three days later I asked, "Mommy, when do I get my birthday at our new house?"  When I reminded him that we had celebrated his birthday already and that he got presents (Skis!) and the trip to the bouncy place he said, "But Mommy, we didn't have any cake!"   Oh my!  I can't get anything by him!

So, three years old...  

Ian is FULL of language.   He tells stories and is just starting to get into being a rule enforcer.  For example he will say, "Mommy, we NEVER, NEVER touch hot stoves" or "Mommy, Brendan is not allowed to have this penny, babies should NEVER, NEVER have money because they try to eat it."  He also has this cute expression when he registers something he's been told, he will then say, "OH!" - pause - "OK!"  He is very inquisitive and asks a million questions a day about everything around him.  It's fun and also exhausting!  He's persistent in getting the information he needs, if I'm not responding he will say, "Mommy?!"  "Mommy?!"   "Mommy?!" x 100.  Sometimes he will sprinkle in an "Excuse me Mommy" but usually it's just "Mommy?!"  Most of the time I love answering his questions and sharing in his experience - It's amazing to see the world through his eyes.  We were driving one day and I asked Ian to look out the window and tell me what things he saw that told him it was wintertime.  He said, "snow" and "icicles" and "naked trees."  When I asked about the "naked trees" he informed me that they didn't have any leaves on them so they were naked and that meant it was wintertime.  Too cute!  

He is crazy about trucks.  Any kind of truck will spark a, "Mommy LOOK!   A Fire (or Dump, or Garbage) truck!"  He is starting to get excited about airplanes and requested that the walls of his new bedroom be covered in airplanes.   He also loves to pretend and most recently has been wearing his fireman costume EVERYWHERE.  I love to see him pretend and actually find it very useful in parenting.  If for instance he wants strawberry yogurt but we only have blueberry, I can now tell him that we have to pretend it is strawberry yogurt.  

   He remembers so much, often he will remember things that I don't remember.  He is also becoming very considerate of others.  He likes to make crafts for others and when we are in the car and Brendan starts to whine or fuss, Ian will sing him a song or say, "Brendan it's OK, we're almost there Brendan." It's cute hearing him say the exact phrases that I have said to Brendan so many times since he was born.    

He still is shy around new people but is much quicker to warm up and engage in the activity.  We have seen a big change in him in this regard since he started school a few months ago.  

And he can RUN! Jump! Skip! Hop! and Dance!  He loves to read books and knows all of his letters and is getting pretty good at telling me what letter different names and words start with.  He can count to 12 (a recent accomplishment, he's been able to count to ten for quite awhile but 11 and 12 were always reversed).  One of my favorite times of the day is lying in bed with him before nap time or bed time and reading books together.  After we read a book together he will spend anywhere from 10 minutes to two hours "reading" more books in bed.  I am so pleased that he loves books so much - it will open so many door for him.   

He's such a treasure!  Stephen and I look at each other all the time and say, "He's such a good kid."  We are so lucky to have such a special three year old in our lives!