*1,838,880 minutes... or...
*30,648 hours... or...
*183 weeks... or...
*42 months... or...
***3.5 years!!***
that's right! bug has officially passed the halfway point on his way to 4 years old! crazy talk. technically all those calculations are ten days off because he actually hit that mark on the 22nd of august (and i started this back then). and i'm no math genius so they may all be off. haha! but you get the gist. ;)
the year of the threes has been an interesting one. bug has had preeeeeetty much constant transition. :/ we have most definitely had our fair share of pull-your-hair-out-bedtime-can't-come-fast-enough days, but we have also had a whole lot of really freaking awesome days that i wish wouldn't end too.
language has been HUGE for bug this year. he was seemingly a little delayed in this area, but man, oh man, when three hit, he just exploded! and now it seems like every passing day, his language develops more and more. there are still some letters that he swaps around and some sound combinations that trip him up, but i can understand almost everything he says and the real kicker, strangers can too! being able to talk to him and have him really know what he wants to say and be able to say it has made our relationship so much better.
some of his favorite things to say are:
*"let's have a conversation..."
*"that sounds like a great idea!"
*"i can do that all by myself. what a big boy!"
*"hi! i'm nolan. what's your name?" - followed by a glance and a proud smile toward mama.
*"i see...baseball players______." - fill in the blank with any number of things that he should be doing...use the big potty, eat their lunch, wear big boy underwear, where sweatshirts when it is cold, listen to their mothers (wink, wink), pick up their toys...you get it. :)
*"why?"
*"can we go somewhere?"
*"so what we can do today?" - in that order. :) this is one of my favorites.
he is such a doting and loving big brother. he reads to the girls. he is ALWAYS loving on them if they are on the floor. he sings to them in the car when they are upset (frequently, as they hate their carseats). he LOVES to dance "with" them. he asks to hold them pretty much daily. he asks where they are and how they are doing, if he doesn't see them anywhere (uhm...like if they are sleeping in the other room). he brings toys over to wherever they are hanging out and sets the toys all around them. he alerts us to drool when they are sitting on our laps facing toward him and away from us. it has been so fun to watch their relationships change even in the four short months that they have been around. and i can't wait to continue to watch them grow together.
he is such a doting and loving big brother. he reads to the girls. he is ALWAYS loving on them if they are on the floor. he sings to them in the car when they are upset (frequently, as they hate their carseats). he LOVES to dance "with" them. he asks to hold them pretty much daily. he asks where they are and how they are doing, if he doesn't see them anywhere (uhm...like if they are sleeping in the other room). he brings toys over to wherever they are hanging out and sets the toys all around them. he alerts us to drool when they are sitting on our laps facing toward him and away from us. it has been so fun to watch their relationships change even in the four short months that they have been around. and i can't wait to continue to watch them grow together.
there have also been a number of big developments that sort of happened over night in the past month and a half that we have been in oregon. in fact, he has grown sooooo much since our move. he is basically a completely different kid. haha.
he never wants to ride in the stroller, always wants to walk (read: run full speed and terrify me on busy street sidewalks).
he plays independently for large chunks of time...like even in another room!! it is kind of amazing. he sets up "parties" for his "friends" (stuffed animals) and "cooks" them all sorts of food. he has full conversations with his toys, giving them voices and all. sooooo fun to watch and listen to...while hiding out if sight. :)
he wears little boy boxer briefs. holy cow. one of the cutest things in existence. honestly, there were times when i never thought the day would come. we had watched videos, read books and had a little potty available for probably over a year. he has been in the bathroom with us everyday since...uhm...just about birth (or pretty darn close to it). we had watched his friends use the potty. we had talked about it 'til we were blue in the face. when we moved here, we started a super low-key sticker chart with the only reward being the sticker itself. :) we got him big boy undies. and then bam...one day he was all about it. no pressure. no epic battles, just good old fashion wait until he was ready. we still have night time to contend with, which apparently is pretty much strictly a biological when-their-body-is-ready sort of a thing that can take years (shout out to our family friend and urologist dr. chad for that jewel of information). and then there is the dreaded (and apparently terrifying) number two...but we are well on the way! yay, bug! oh yeah...and when he has to go, he goes in, gets the stool and his little seat set up, sits, does business, flushes, gets the sink stool set up, turns on the faucet, squirts the soap, scrubs, rinses, turns off the faucet, dries his hands and then picks out a sticker...all by himself. what a big boy. ;)
he likes to help fold the laundry and does it more neatly than some adult men I know...no names shall be mentioned. ;)
when he is eating and you ask him a question, he'll often say, "i'll have to tell you later...after this bite" and then chews. or if he is already chewing, he'll silently point to his mouth. :) these ones make me especially proud. haha. though...he also frequently spits out bites that "taste funny" and plays with his milk, sometimes spitting it back into the cup (gross), so i'll take what i can get, but we have some room or improvement. ha!
the newest (and one of the most exciting) thing bug has been working on is going to sleep on his own. we have co-slept in some form or another since he was born. we (he and us) loved it most nights. then there were the nights when i swore up and down that "we have got to figure something else out. this isn't working!" sprinkled in here and there that we thankfully worked through. but now we have hit a point where he is really ready. since about last november, the routine went a little something like this: bath, get ready for bed (brush and floss teeth, coconut oil, jammies, etc), read three books and then lay there with him until he fell asleep. when i was pregnant, this was great as that was pretty much all i could do anyway. when the girls came, it was still ok for a while because anthony was home and when he wasn't the girls were pretty sleepy so they just went along for the ride. but sometimes he would fight it and hold out for over an hour and a half. now that the girls are a little older, laying in a dark room with him for ever just doesn't really work. and ironically, it got to a point where he would fight and fight sleep while i was in there, but as soon as i would give him a time frame, hug, kiss, tuck him in and leave, he would fall asleep within 10 minutes. i think that some of it was that it was time for just the two of us where he got just mama to lay next to him and he wanted to take each minute in (which is so sweet and kinda breaks my heart too), but he was going to bed super late (for him at least) and still waking up at the same early time in the morning and just losing sleep. so...we talked about it and he was/is clearly ready for a change. it is something we've been working on very slowly and patiently over the past month and then, just like with the potty learning, this week something clicked and we have had great success. i would say out of seven nap times and seven bedtimes in the past week, we are probably four for seven and six for seven. not too shabby!
it is funny. parenting is such an adventure and sometimes a bit of a roller coaster. sometimes you question the decisions you've made on how to parent your child. sometimes in the tough moments you think, "what the hell were we thinking?" but then when your kid makes great strides with big changes and it is done slowly and patiently and gently, and you finally see that success, it really makes all those questions and doubts just float away. waiting for bug to be "ready" for any number of things hasn't always been the easy thing to do. there have been times where i have been so incredibly frustrated with things. it hasn't always been the mainstream thing to do. it hasn't always been "approved" by our family. but i know more and more everyday, that the decisions that we researched and thought about and decided on for our family and for nolan (and now the girls) are exactly right for us.
happy (belated) half birthday, buddy! you are such an incredible little being with so very much heart and passion, energy and determination. thank you for being you. you have so many gifts that will serve you so well as you grow. thank you for teaching me to be a better momma and a better person every day. i love you so much. xoxoxox
the newest (and one of the most exciting) thing bug has been working on is going to sleep on his own. we have co-slept in some form or another since he was born. we (he and us) loved it most nights. then there were the nights when i swore up and down that "we have got to figure something else out. this isn't working!" sprinkled in here and there that we thankfully worked through. but now we have hit a point where he is really ready. since about last november, the routine went a little something like this: bath, get ready for bed (brush and floss teeth, coconut oil, jammies, etc), read three books and then lay there with him until he fell asleep. when i was pregnant, this was great as that was pretty much all i could do anyway. when the girls came, it was still ok for a while because anthony was home and when he wasn't the girls were pretty sleepy so they just went along for the ride. but sometimes he would fight it and hold out for over an hour and a half. now that the girls are a little older, laying in a dark room with him for ever just doesn't really work. and ironically, it got to a point where he would fight and fight sleep while i was in there, but as soon as i would give him a time frame, hug, kiss, tuck him in and leave, he would fall asleep within 10 minutes. i think that some of it was that it was time for just the two of us where he got just mama to lay next to him and he wanted to take each minute in (which is so sweet and kinda breaks my heart too), but he was going to bed super late (for him at least) and still waking up at the same early time in the morning and just losing sleep. so...we talked about it and he was/is clearly ready for a change. it is something we've been working on very slowly and patiently over the past month and then, just like with the potty learning, this week something clicked and we have had great success. i would say out of seven nap times and seven bedtimes in the past week, we are probably four for seven and six for seven. not too shabby!
it is funny. parenting is such an adventure and sometimes a bit of a roller coaster. sometimes you question the decisions you've made on how to parent your child. sometimes in the tough moments you think, "what the hell were we thinking?" but then when your kid makes great strides with big changes and it is done slowly and patiently and gently, and you finally see that success, it really makes all those questions and doubts just float away. waiting for bug to be "ready" for any number of things hasn't always been the easy thing to do. there have been times where i have been so incredibly frustrated with things. it hasn't always been the mainstream thing to do. it hasn't always been "approved" by our family. but i know more and more everyday, that the decisions that we researched and thought about and decided on for our family and for nolan (and now the girls) are exactly right for us.
happy (belated) half birthday, buddy! you are such an incredible little being with so very much heart and passion, energy and determination. thank you for being you. you have so many gifts that will serve you so well as you grow. thank you for teaching me to be a better momma and a better person every day. i love you so much. xoxoxox
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| bug's favorite outfit. dodgers jersey, baseball pants, angels hat and blue & red wellies |
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| he is such an amazing big brother. |
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| "hello, owl. meet owl. kissy" |
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| silly boy |
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| he is one of the best lego airplane constructors ever. this is him with his flight tower, airplanes and runway |
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| he is such an observer. he is imitating me nursing the twins. apparently he has quads. :) |
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| painting fun! learning about colors and mixing |
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| my budding artist. :) |
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| the kid loves to make handprints |
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| nearly uncaptionable. dirty, dirty baseball player in swim diaper (pre-potty learning). amazing. check out the dirt 'stache. |
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| training him up right. ;) |
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| he LOVES going to the freddie's play land while i grocery shop so much that i have to sit around and wait after shopping to pick him up (it doesn't open until 11:00...what?! how helpful is that? don't all mommas go to the market in the early am?? |
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| big boy undies!!! |
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| a quick stop by to visit gma's work and we found some dress-up play! :) future crossing guard. |
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| across the parking lot from the library entrance is a little forest that he likes to play in. this is him running through the trees. |
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| bug's first carnival ride and first trip to the fair! he had such a big day! |
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| flying high in the sky on the spaceship ride |
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| bug is also the most curious ice cream cone eater you'll ever meet. cuckoo bear. |
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| not only is he a huge part of my motivation to workout, he helps me along the way too! xo |
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| last year when we visited oregon, i could barely get him to jump into the wading pool. amazing what a year can do! |
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| kick, kick, kick, kick! |
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| his party on the patio. books are plates. coasters are pancakes...clearly. joined by his buddies, koala, owl, monkey, monkey and elmo. :) |
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| proud big brother loving on alice |
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| and with lilah bear |
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| since this pic was taken, the open space on the page has been pretty much covered and doesn't count when we are out and about. so proud of him. pay no mind to the water marks. i assure you, they are just from water on the counter. toddler hand washing isn't the neatest experience. |
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