Stephen is Three

Stephen turned three years old on Friday. He was fairly excited about it, and he seemed to enjoy all the attention. He even went so far as to tell his mother, "I'm three, mommy. I don't need to take a nap."

He's fallen into a pattern of behavior in the past few weeks that seems to be standard three year-old: screaming. It seems to be based on frustration, because it tends to occur when it's time to shift gears, go to bed, eat ... well, anything, really.

Example: Last night, he and I were playing with his Lincoln Logs, building a little house. It was time for his bath, and I told him so, to which he stood up, screamed, and ran into the corner, all sorts of angry. Nothing really placated him; he was mad because I was making him stop playing with his logs.

Well, we made it into the bathroom (him kicking and struggling the whole way), got him into the tub, and then he was fine. Of course, when it was time to get out of the tub, we had more fussing and screaming. Suddenly, the kid who didn't want to take a bath didn't want to stop taking a bath.


Just about everything is a struggle. I can only assume he's trying to establish some kind of control over his life. We give him lots of choices, and it's not like he gets away with murder. Hopefully, it will pass after a time. Seems that it's a pretty common trope among three year-old kids.

I still love him, of course, and he's good more often than he's rotten. I feel sorry for him, because he's at a point where he's on an emotional roller coaster. He can't control his emotions very well, and that's got to be pretty rough.


Maddy, of course, continues to be cute as a button. She says, "Uh-oh," now, which is pretty hilarious.

She like playing with the Lincoln Logs, too!

Quick News

I have it on good authority that today, March 14th, 2008, is the day that Stephen used the potty for the first time!

::insert fanfare here::

Hopefully, this will become a normal part of his life. Diapers, as they say, are crappy.

The Weekend

I took Stephen to the mall to get a haircut yesterday. He was a good kid, and only complained once we'd left and he realized he'd been denied a lollipop. Far be it from me to deny my son a reward for being such a good boy, but I had to endure about twenty minutes of, "I wanna open it! Open it, daddy! Open it!" at the store once we'd picked out a suitable sucker.

Today, we went down to the playground and horsed around. There's not much new on that front. It was very sunny, but also very windy, and cold! On our way back to the car, we discovered a puddle left over from yesterday's rain with a thin layer of ice on top of it. That will show you how cold it was.

Stephen was so impressed with the ice, that he went to a nearby puddle (which was actually a small lake, when compared to him) and jumped into it -- right up to his ankles, getting his shoes and pants very, very wet. He wasn't too happy when I informed him that we'd have to go back in and get him into some different clothes and shoes before leaving, but he wouldn't have it. By the time we got to the apartment, he was in no condition for a drive, and ended up taking a much-needed nap, instead.

And let's not forget the obligatory Maddy picture!

Two Days Off - in a ROW, Even!

I actually got to take the whole weekend off (though it's a temporary reprieve, at best), and I just sort of lounged around and did very little of any importance. I ran some errands, but that was about it. I've got freelance projects that need tending to, but I'm so darn tired right now that I'd do more harm than good if I tried to do any serious writing.

Today was a bright and sunny, mildly chilly day. Temperatures in the 50's, I'd say. Stephen and I went down to the playground so that he could run around and do little boy things.

Speaking of little boy things, see Stephen run. Run, Stephen, Run!

There are four slides out there, and he seems to like them all. I managed to squeeze this shot off as he looked down at me from the top.

I also took Stephen out and tried to teach him the intricacies of peddling his tricycle. He doesn't quite get it; plus, I think his legs are about an inch too short yet. The concept of steering also eludes him. He's not quite 3 yet, so I can give him some slack, especially since he knows his ABC's and 123's.

After playing at the playground, we drove to Target to pick up some diapers. It was a nice drive. Stephen was less than enthusiastic about having his picture taken in the car, so I snapped this one of him in the rear view mirror when he wasn't paying me any mind.

As for Maddy, little Miss Newly-Turned-One is just as happy and chipper as always. Amy swears she said "mom-ma" the other day (in imitation of Stephen), and we've often heard her say what sounds like "hi" when we say hello to her. She waves goodbye now, and uses the baby sign for more (the same hand to mouth gesture that Stephen used when he was her age).

She communicates by babbling, and, as seen here, she also likes to dance.