I can’t believe my little baby is 3!  There doesn’t seem to be any baby left in him.  He is fully a little boy now.

Ethan is loving his time at “Boone Meadow Preschool” as he always calls it.  He loves his teachers and his class mates.  Since he is the youngest in his class, it is so funny to see the other kids interact with him.  He is learning so much already.  He is starting to learn letter sounds and the days of the week.  He can now count to 13 and can actually count objects much better.  He is also learning things like putting his lunch box and backpack away in his cubby every morning.  Though sometimes he says he doesn’t want to go, I’m pretty sure it’s just an act because he is always happy to be dropped off.  He goes right to his room and goes to play when he is done with his morning jobs.  They have recently started going to the Library on Tuesdays which he loves.  It also works well with Noelle’s schedule so we can be home before her first nap and she is usually awake before I pick him up.  We are so happy to have found such a great preschool.

Ethan’s 3 year appointment was pretty uneventful.  He thankfully didn’t need any shots (though he told me he wanted one) other than the flu shot and we were able to do the flumist, which he did great with.  He weighs 33lbs (63%) and is 36.5 inches (25%).  This was funny to me because he has slimmed down so much over the past few months.  The stretchy waistband pants I bought him (which were the only things that fit him in the past) are huge so I had to buy him adjustable waistband pants that are on the smallest setting.  So funny how they change!  Ethan is still not at all interested in potty training.  He talks about it (“everyone went potty at preschool, and I got a new diaper”) but doesn’t seem to care that he is still in diapers.  Dr. Wheeler is not concerned and told us to wait until he is ready.  Knowing his personality I’m sure once he’s decided he wants to it will be easy and I am not up for fighting with him about it now.

Ethan’s favorite toys and activities include Legos (they are constantly scattered through our house), trucks, his play kitchen, his new doctor kit, and being in the middle of whatever Mommy is doing.  He is a busy little guy, for sure.  Every day he says “Mommy I want to go on an adventure” or “Mommy I want to go do something fun.”  It is such a contrast to Noelle who will sit and stare at a Lego piece for 10 minutes.  As the weather is getting cooler, I’m already running out of ideas to keep him entertained.  I’m starting to feel a bit claustrophobic in our small house with no yard with a toddler who wants to be constantly entertained!  Ethan does love to help me cook and bake, and I try to let him help me as much as possible.  I can already tell he is learned a lot and look forward to continuing this as he gets older.  The other day he was playing in his kitchen and said “Mommy, I’m going to make fruit salad.  First, I’ll add eggs.  Then I’ll add flour and baking powder.”  While that doesn’t sound like a fruit salad I’d like to eat, I love that he is remembering what we add when baking!  He still loves his sister but it starting to get a little rough with her now that she is so mobile and in the middle of what he is doing.  He has to be reminded frequently that he needs to be gentle and that things like pushing his sister over or smacking her on the head is not acceptable.  He does do a great job of reminding us that the stair gate is open when she is crawling around.

Ethan continues to be a picky eater and gets out-eaten in amount and variety by his sister on a daily basis.  He does impress us with his willingness to try new things some days, even if he doesn’t like it.  He would graze on snacks all day if we let him.  I try my hardest to feed him the healthiest version of the things he likes (whole grains, low sugar, no dyes, etc) but some days I feel like he is just eating junk all day!  We have found that he does a better job of trying things when he helps me cook.  One day I made homemade tortillas and he tried the raw tortilla dough but wouldn’t eat the cooked tortilla.  It’s like anything else with him, it’s whatever his mood is and whatever he wants.  There’s no convincing him otherwise!

Ethan is such a fun, happy, silly little boy.  He is constantly making me laugh.  I wish I could keep up with all of the funny things he says!  This morning I said to Noelle “Hello, Princess!” and he apparently thought I said “Hello, French Fry!” because he has been calling her french fry all day long.  In the bath tub tonight he said, “Mommy, I’m God.”  When I explained to him that he was not in fact God, he said “Mommy let’s pretend I’m God.”  I told him that it was better if we did not get into a theological debate about the fact that he was not God.

Here are some pictures of our sweet 3 year old!