Back in January we celebrated the anniversary of Eli’s
baptism, 3 years prior. In an effort to create more family traditions, Moon and
I decided we would give our kids “special days” annually, two at the
moment—their birthday and their baptism day.
So while he didn’t get presents,
he gets a special dinner that he enjoys and a special dessert. Then we watch
the ten minute video on the computer of his baptism which he was really excited
by. Now that Henri has been around a while I think Eli is taken by seeing
pictures of when he was a baby. It’s
also a special time to remember—reminding him, as best a three year old can
grasp, that he was baptized and why that is important to us.
He still loves his dirt digging. And his trucks. The sweet
boys who live behind us come out and play with him or entertain him sometimes.
It’s nice to let him putter around out there without worrying what he’s getting
into as he’s really at a good age for understanding what he can and can’t get
into, where he’s allowed to go, etc. He mostly stays right outside and digs.
The overalls help with my wash load!
Stroller naps happen from time to time, especially on
preschool days. But mostly no naps for that boy. Eli plays hard and goes to bed
early, 6:30 most nights. If he naps we push it back an hour or so. He does do
his “quiet time” very well, stays in his bed, mostly plays with blankets and
pillows making forts, occasionally reading books, sometimes a truck or two end
up in bed with him. Last week we found him multiple times asleep with his
little head peaking through a mound of blankets and pillows (he seems to
accumulate the bedding from all around our house into his bed during his quiet
time). He doesn’t like pants around the house so we’ve resorted to shorts and
socks most days. He wears pants willingly to go out but will promptly disrobe
when we get back home (we always take shoes off, which he does on his own and
the pants quickly follow the shoes). He can now get his coat on and off and we
chuckle at the three year old version of the inside out coat being hung on the
hook upside down by one arm or such, but it’s great—progress from the days of
flinging the coat on the floor. Three has been good to us with Eli… there’s so
much we can do with him now and we are enjoying his vocabulary, his stories and
explanations, and his love of reading. He will notice if you’ve skipped a page,
he will also let you know when he wants to turn the page. He absorbs books very
methodically and seems to have a strong memory of the images and words. We are
realizing that most of his complete sentences are actually recited by memory from books we’ve
read. He also loves songs. His favorite is jingle bells which he will burst
into at the “let’s sing a song” prompt. He also enjoys twinkle twinkle little
star, itsy bitsy spider, Jesus loves me, 5 little monkeys. The hand motions are
there too. He’s become a fun tag along to whatever errands we are running and
loves his solo time with mama or daddy. He is ready for just about any task
when we’re out and about and I find him increasingly helpful… he clearly enjoys
feeling important. He loves stroller rides and will often want to bring some
huge toy truck or such with him, planting it squarely on his lap. He counts
well, counts a bit in French, has learned his letters, and loves puzzles!
Music and dancing are clear loves of his. He really enjoys mimicking
dance moves and we have discovered the brilliance of the post-dinner family
dance party. Even Henri can get in on it. This has been a really fun and exciting stage with Eli. He still gives great hugs and kisses!
