2.75 years old!

Pretty soon there won't be any toddlers in our house. My baby will soon be a "preschooler." Here are some ways he has changed over the past three months:

1. He's switched from sleeping on his belly to sleeping on his back. He has started occasionally skipping a nap, but thankfully most of the time he naps from 1-3. He used to sleep three hours sometimes, but now I wake him up so that his nap is not longer than two hours. At night he goes to bed at 8pm and usually gets up at 7:00 am. Sometimes he gets up as early as 6:00 or 6:15. I wake him up if he sleeps past 7:00 because when I let him sleep until 7:15 or 7:30, he almost always wets the bed. Thirteen total hours of sleep is his norm (10 hours at night + 3 hour nap or 11 hours at night + 2 hour nap).

2. He's learned how to give up the iPad at the end of his turn without crying. Whew.

3. He learned how to walk across the rope at the playground independently (something Ian hasn't yet attempted at the age of five).

4. He's continued to make progress with potty training. He wants to learn how to wipe himself. If he could learn how to put his underwear and shorts or pants back on, he could be independent at least when he pees. There have been times when I have thought potty training was finally over because he went two weeks without any accidents during the day or night, but then other times I think potty training will *never* end with him, but I know it will end some day!

5. His favorite foods at the moment include baked beans, ham, pulled pork, and just about any kind of soup or stew. He will eat two bowls of split pea and ham soup, for example. He has started eating pancakes (previously he wasn't a fan of any hot breakfast food). He is starting to make a *little* bit of progress with using utensils instead of his fingers to eat. Although there are some foods he spits back out, there has never been ANY food that he has refused to try. Unlike his siblings, his default assumption is that he WILL like every food. I am SO thankful that he's such a great eater.

6. He learned how to drink from a straw!

7. He still makes mistakes at times, but he *can* count from 1-11 accurately.

8. Oliver still talks about the big bad wolf multiple times a day every day, and his favorite song to sing is still most definitely "Jingle Bells." He doesn't understand it's not a song most folks sing in 85 degree weather, ha ha!

9. He hasn't made any progress with controlling his temper. He is very prone to throwing things, purposefully spilling glasses of water or milk, and hitting. Hopefully over the next three months we will see some improvement in theses areas! His siblings never exhibited this behavior.

10. He has become far more outgoing in playing with other children at indoor play lands and outdoor playgrounds. He is starting to seem extroverted like Nadia (unlike Ian). Also, like his sister he has no problems separating from me at church. Last night was his last night in Puggles. In the fall he'll be in Cubbies!