Ethan is finishing out the last few months of being a three year old and preparing to head back to preschool.  I can’t say I’m not excited, as his behavior and attitude seems to be improving, but it does make me sad that he will be four soon.  Ethan is a fun, energetic, curious, silly little boy, and I can’t wait to see that personality develop even more!

Ethan has done phenomenally well with the transition to our new house.  Since the day we moved he has said “I love our new house mommy” and “I love my new room.”  He has not once acted sad or missed the old house.  He loves having his own play room, a big room with toys, and a yard.  It took some time for him to warm up to playing outside, but he will now run out the door and head out to his playhouse by himself.  He loves daddy’s lawn mower and stands at the window saying “go Daddy go!” every time Jason mows.  He especially loves being able to jump on his bicycle whenever he wants and ride a few laps around the cul-de-sac.  We are also enjoying the neighborhood playground and go there often, as it is right behind our house.  The icing on the cake for him is that our neighbors have boys and he thinks that is the greatest thing ever.  He always comes up with an excuse to go outside when he seems them playing.

As Ethan and Noelle both get older and their different personalities come out, I find more things I love about both of them.  I took for granted how nice it is that Ethan is cautious and stays close to me.  I do not have to worry about him when he goes outside to play because I know he will stay in our yard (and I have found Noelle at the playground a few times!).  I also appreciate his cuddliness and his kisses and hugs.  They sometimes overwhelm me as it seems like he spends half the day saying “I love you so much Mommy” and giving me hugs and kisses, but I know before too long this will go away.

I love seeing Ethan’s character develop and seeing his imagination grow.  He almost always has some story plot that he is acting out and wants me to be a part of.  He is starting to understand empathy, and feels bad when those around him are sad.  He will frequently start singing when Noelle gets upset and when she stops crying he’ll say “I made baby feel better Mommy!”  He is starting to understand things like “you can’t listen to your music right now because mommy likes different music and we’re listening to that.”

Ethan would watch tv all day long if I let him.  He loves Daniel Tiger, Peg + Cat, and Curious George.  If I force him to play with his toys (which I do) he usually picks Legos, trucks, trains or reenacting a tv show.  After bedtime and during “rest time” he usually plays Legos in his room.  Right now (9pm) I can hear him pushing his Lego trucks around his room.  I’m not sure how this kid is a Mobley, as he doesn’t require as much sleep as either of his parents.

I’m looking forward to Ethan starting preschool again this week.  Even though he was lucky enough to be a part of Boone Meadow Preschool last year, he was the youngest in his class.  He will be in a 3/4 classroom again, since it will be his first “real” year.  And even though I feel bad for moving him, he will be going to Pleasant View this year, but will thankfully stay at this school until he goes to middle school.  I am excited for him to get to know new friends and learn more.  Ethan loves to learn and impresses me with his knowledge (especially since I do next to nothing to help him learn).  He can count to 39 (and then counts 30 11, 30 12, 30 13…) and can also count to 100 by 10s.  He knows all his letters and lots of letter sounds.  He can draw an E, but is hesitant to learn any other letters.  I am looking forward to what he learns this fall.