Our little preschooler has grown up so much since he turned 3. School has been really good for him, he has learned a lot about the basics - how to react when other kids are upset or playing, how to sit still for a few minutes in a chair and how to listen when someone tells him to stop or come here (ok, were still working on that). To think of how apprehensive I was about sending him to school at 3 makes me laugh now, because he really enjoys it, actually asks to go to school and I have seen some great changes in him.
He is still quite the little singer and has expanded from rocking the preschool classics to nailing the exact tune of radio songs - drum beat and all. His current favorites include anything by Adele, anything sung by Elmo or Cookie Monster, and a couple random songs from the radio "We are Young" and "Tongue Tied" are currently big on his play list. He knows songs that I don't even know, I will hear him sing and realize the song sounds familiar. He still loves playing his instruments, too. I think music is where his creative outlet is - because the kid has no desire to color or paint ;)
He also repeats things he hears like crazy - mostly from watching baseball games on TV. The other day he asked for pizza and when I gave it to him, he sat down and said "round table, the last honest pizza" (the pizza was from Pizza Guys by the way). He likes to repeat slogans - we hear "that's the power or home depot" a lot and the other night while we were laying in bed he said "Mama, Daddy, Aiden and Subway - eat fresh". His recent favorite line is "Giants baseball on Comcast Sportsnet Bay Area is brought to you in part by Jack in the Box". The kid has a crazy memory for that type of stuff and likes to watch the game with Daddy - he will chant along with the crowd saying "let's go giants!"
He loves to play outside - especially now that there is water involved. He loves to slide, swing and play in the rocks with his trucks and little shovels. He loves his splash table, running in the sprinkler and although he doesn't like sitting in his little pool, he loves to splash and crawl through it. He loves to go to the park and climb around on the playground equipment, but loves to run around the playground and in the grass even more (I think that might be because our yard is so small...haha). He is getting more adventurous on the "big" slides every day.
He asks every day to go see someone. He is constantly asking to go see Aunt Sara, Logan, Tanner and Chase. He wants to go see Addison and Ryan and Aunt Lisa. Or Nana and Papa John. Or Grandma and Papa. Or Uncle Buck (Adam). Some days it's "wanna go see great mama?" and some days he just leaves it at "wanna go see cousins today?" It's pretty cute. He likes being around his family, but some days I have to make things up to get him understand that we can't go see someone today - like "Addison is at school right now".
He still loves books, trains, cars and loves playing on our iPhones. The kid can navigate my phone better than I can and knows how to play every game and find all the pictures. Of course, we still struggle with food and he still has a very small range of foods - hemp milk, pizza, burritos, peanut butter crackers are the staples. He is getting better about trying new things - he will eat spaghetti and chinese or thai noodles, an ice cream cone, french bread, french fries/tater tots dipped in ketchup and tacos. In some ways he eats like a regular, picky little toddler now.
He is such a sweetheart. He loves hugs and kisses - he is very affectionate. He is very attached to his Momma - but loves to play and go to home depot with Daddy, too. I can't wait to see what he is like with his little sister. I think it will be a tough transition for him, he's so used to being the center of attention, I think at first there will be a lot of "bye bye baby!" "see ya later baby!" and "all done baby!" but I think eventually he will be glad to have a playmate. Or at least I will be ;)
I love this kid so much that sometimes I wonder how I am going to love a new baby as much as I love him, but I KNOW that I will and I am looking forward to having two little ones to play with, cuddle with and love on all day :)