Me, At 3

A couple weeks ago Noah checked out Oh! The Places You'll Go from the library and its quickly become one of his favorites. He will point out the all places he'd like to go (in the hot air balloon, especially) and what parts look like no fun at all (the illustration with glowing eyes coming out of dark corners). In typical 3-year-old fashion, Noah assures us that,"You don't want to be in the waiting place. That's a yucky place." He certainly takes the message seriously; he is always on the go!

Even with so many "places to go" and adventures ahead, its still important to stop, if just for 10 minutes, (because really, that's all I have left of nap time) to remember where we are right at this sweet moment in time. This month my little guy and gal are both 3. Noah's 3 years old and Keira is 3 months. And just where are my little climbers on their mountains today? Let me stop and think...

Noah:

At 3, Noah is determined, dramatic, curious, silly and perceptive. He's mostly adjusted to having a sibling now and tantrums over mama's attention are dwindling. Phew. He's very kind to his sister, giving her lots of hugs and kisses and talks to her in a "babyese" voice that he uses only for her. He's become a little more independent, playing more and taking care of himself when mama is busy with sister.

From February 2011

He still LOVES to be the center of attention and says he wants to be a rock star when he grows up.

From March 2011

When questioned about his basic favorites he informed me that they are:

1. Color = blue (green coming in second)
2. Book = The Knights of Morcia
3. Show = Super Why on PBS
4. Toy = light saber
5. Food = hamburger

Remember his pirate phase? Well, I think we've zoomed into the Star Wars universe (though he's never seen any of the movies). We've got the action figures, the lunch box, the backpack, even the underwear.

From February 2011

I am not sure how I feel about Star Wars vs. pirates. First it was swords, now its fighting and light sabers. Why must all "boy" play involve maiming your friends?

From March 2011

Noah has also recently started playing Pee Wee soccer. The season is now over, but he managed to score a few goals this season and get used to wearing his "itchy" shin guards.

From March 2011

From March 2011

Friends have become very important to our guy and we try and do as many play dates as possible. Evey afternoon it seems we have friends over, or are playing outside with our neighborhood buddies. The great thing news is, at 3, I can actually let him play with his peers without having to watch their every move. It helps that he is friends with sweet, well-behaved kids.

From March 2011

With Noah at preschool and needing a little less of my time and attention, I can focus a bit more on our Baby K.

Keira

At 3 months Keira's personality it starting to shine through. Like Noah was, she's a happy baby. She smiles easily and loves to be cuddled and held. Keira especially likes when you talk or sing to her and will make happy noises back at you. She seems to have a lot to say already.

From February 2011

Differing from Noah, she is a little more ok with being on her own. I can set her in her room or under her gym and she will play happily without fussing or looking for us. Perhaps that is simply because she is the second kid or maybe she's just like that. Time will tell.

From February 2011

She's the most fussy when she's sleepy, but is starting to take more regular naps, so that part is working out. We tried sleep training for naps a few weeks ago, but I feel she just isn't ready and we let her still nap in her swing. The nice thing is that she's dividing it out into 3 regular naps, so I know we will get there eventually.

At night, she is doing well. She's in our room, in a co-sleeper, and stays there from 7pm to about 6:30 am, usually waking twice to eat. We've been very fortunate that she goes easily back to sleep and night feedings only last 20-30 minutes total. I am hoping that when she drops down to one feeding we can move her into her own room, but I'm not in a rush to do so. I guess I feel this is our last kid, so she doesn't have to grow up too fast.

From February 2011

She mastered putting her hand in her mouth and is currently working on grabbing items. She isn't too proficient at this yet, but when she manages to wrap her fingers around an object, it goes straight to her mouth. Guess I will have to be putting away Noah's Legos and Playmobile men soon.

From March 2011

And with nap time over, its time to "get on my way," and see what the rest of this afternoon brings!