I realized that I have been much worse second time around with documenting my child's life. My sweet Braden, just because there are fewer posts about you does not mean you are any less loved. Since you have been born we have bought a dog, moved, changed job, I started (and stopped) working, sister in school and sports, and we are about to get another dog! Life has gotten busy so quickly.
But I want to remember this stage of you. Oh my little boy how I love you so. Sometimes you are my biggest lover and other times you want nothing to do with me. However it never stops me from giving you kisses every time I get the chance.
You have decided that potty training is a waste of time, though you occasionally show interest in big boy pants, you would rather prefer to be completely naked or in a diaper. We are trying to get you completely potty trained by the time we leave for beach camp in August and for preschool to start at the end of that month. But, considering your mom is your preschool teacher I don't think it will be a problem to still have you in a diaper if needed. I'd just prefer to be done with diapers all together.
You have also decided that you do not want a big boy bed and would like to stay in your "tib" for a while longer. "Pa-ovey" is still your best friend and you sleep with him every night. I'm ready for you to grow up and not all at the same time. As I was going through old pictures before your birthday I realized how much you had grown in the last year, you lost your baby fat and looked like a little boy. Turns out, I don't do well with my children growing up, I just cry all the time.
You are a spitfire child! You are wild and crazy most of the time. You enjoy playing barber shop and wrestling with your dad. You let me cut your finger and toenails only if I promise to paint them after. Which I don't mind but it sure gets a rise out of Papa Lance. Your favorite food is still sushi and strawberries. Your favorite song/ musical is Newsies. At night I no longer sing to you and it breaks my heart a little, but you still wake up 1-2 times at night for a snuggle or drink of milk.... which we need to stop soon but I have a hard time giving up those middle of the night snuggles. You give "sweet kisses" which means you put your hands on my cheeks to give me kisses on the lips. When Daddy isn't around you are a total Momma's boy but the minute Dad returns I am chopped liver. You demand to be carried most places and when we tell you that you are big enough to walk you usually respond with "my legs are broken". Oh the Sass on this one! You love to play pretend with your sister. In fact one of your favorite activities is playing animals in her room. You try so hard to keep up with her in all that you do. She wants to do an activity, you want to do it too, she has something, you want it too. It drives her crazy most days but hopefully one day she will appreciate it.
You have a tender heart Braden. You take care of others and find happiness in making others happy. Some days you are the most stubborn thing but you tend to quickly do something to make us laugh and forget why you upset us in the first place. You are inquisitive and like to explore the world around you. You think that you are so much bigger then you are. You love playing football with the neighbor boys who are all more than double and triple your age but you don't let that stop you.
I hope that as you continue to grow you will become a driven leader who is also compassionate and kind.
3-year-old social skills
no longer a toddler
has become more independent
less selfish than 2-year-olds and exhibits less aggressive behavior
more aware of and sensitive to the feelings of others
more responsive to other children and able to develop friendships
capable of taking turns and sharing toys
will begin to identify with his own sex and traditionally gender-related activities
more interested in structured games
spends much of his time in fantasy activity and will have imaginary friends (This is actually a very creative way for your child to sample different activities, behaviors and emotions.)
sense of time has become clearer and he'll know his daily routine and will try to figure out the routines of others
will have a capacity to understand his own place spatially amongst the family and is able to view you as a separate person
wants to please you — will be less dependent on you because his sense of identity is growing stronger
will exhibit a feisty attitude on occasion and resist your requests
3-year-old motor skills
losing his baby fat, developing more muscle control and gaining in height
is quite agile and can catch a ball with arms extended
jumps down from object 18-inches high using two-footed takeoff and landing
will be interested in tools such as scissors, paper, fingerpaint and crayons
can walk up and down stairs while alternating feet
can bend over and not fall down
draws a circle
cuts paper into two pieces
concentration is required when learning to master precision finger and hand movements
3-year-old language skills
will have mastered the basic rules of language and should have an active vocabulary of 600 or more words with 80 percent intelligibility
should be able to say her name
answers the question, "How old are you?"
able to talk in sentences of three or fours words and imitate most speech sounds but still has thoughts and emotions that can't be conveyed through language
uses plurals and pronouns
may mispronounce words and will become extremely frustrated when he is not understood
