Liam had a great month and holiday. We all had about 2.5 weeks at home, and he had some time to sleep-in in the morning. We figured he was catching up on all his sleep debt. It was a little crazy because he and Rowan woke around the same time everyday,around 9am. But on the flip side, he also had a really hard time getting to sleep at bedtime, and it didn't make much of a difference if he had a nap or not. We think part of the issue is he insists on having his big light on at night. He was really excited for Christmas, and had a great time singing with the other kids at his school's holiday party on Dec. 8th. We don't think he really knew what Christmas was all about until he saw the presents on Christmas morning. He loved opening up the gifts, and kept asking for another one for him. He helped Rowan open hers, and still couldn't get enough! So spoiled!! At the start of our time off, he was really into the potty training. We offered him a penny for a pee, and a nickel for a poo. He earned lots of pennies, and even several nickels, but then kinda gave up after about 3-4 days. We don't want to push the issue, but at the same time we hope he will get motivated soon! He has had a new found love of Thomas the Tank Engine lately too. He knows all the names, and will name them off when they roll the credits between the episodes. He is also pretty picky which episode he watches. We have a ton on the Roku, and we can't just play just any ol' episode, he has to pick just the right one!! Even Rowan loves watching it now, and gets excited and points at the screen when we are picking one out.
We took Liam to his very first play on December 12th. It was called 'If You Give A Mouse A Cookie'. We had purchased the book before hand to familiarize him with the story, and to get him excited to go. He was very attentive for about the first 15 to 20 min., but then he wanted to run around the theater. He tried going up on stage, and down the side isle. He started talking, and would NOT sit still. We kept giving him different snacks to try to keep him quiet. Mike had to hold him for most of the time, and get him some juice from the car. It was a super cute play, but it was one very long hour! Hopefully next year he will be a little more mature and able to sit still for it.
On December 16th, he had his 3-year well visit. He did amazingly well, and sat still and listened to the nurse while they did an eye exam. He passed his 3-year questionnaire with flying colors! He now weighs 28 lbs. 7.5 oz (16.54%), he's 37.5 inches tall (52.99%), and they didn't do his head this time, but did do his BMI which was 14.22 (3.72%). He was the same weight as he was at a visit that he was at a couple months earlier and figured that he lost some from being sick twice with a tummy bug. But he sure has grown a lot over the year, 2 whole inches!! He has been a little more willing to try new foods lately, which has been a great relief to us. He is starting to try some of the meals that we eat too.
He also loves talking about all the different types of food. He has shown a great interest in cooking, and Mike especially looks forward to having him help make some meals in the future. Another new development he's had in the last week or 2 is he has decided that he isn't afraid of Gretchen any more and absolutely LOVES her now. He wants to play with her all the time now, and calls her his friend. He thinks it's funny when she licks him, where he used to get mad at her. Gretchen is loving it too, and is now getting worn out by playing so much. Liam's school has their registration for next year going on now. We debated which time would be better for us, better for him, and my work schedule. We originally went with the same afternoon time, but the other day, he was commenting how tired he was on the way to school. I went in to talk to his teacher, and she did say that her morning time kids are more awake and refreshed. Also she mentioned that she only teaches the morning class for his age group next year, and we really love her, and would like for her to be his teacher again. So, the woman who takes care of registration told me that it would be much easier to switch to afternoon if needed, and recommended that we try the morning time first. So, I guess we will see how that works next school year. One thing that Liam has known for quite a while now, that I keep forgetting to mention in his updates is that he knows the difference between his left side and his right side. He also has an amazing sense of what we try to tell him, that is if he's listening. He will process what we say and either say 'Oh, OK.' or he will say something back to us that indicates that he has a profound understanding. I will show him a picture of Sequoia, and he will say her name correctly now, and says he remembers her, and knows that she is dead. We never really talk about death to him because he is so young, but he seems to have some level of understanding of it, and knows that it is a sad thing. He still remembers the dead bunny in the road, even though we just drove by it, and he never even saw it! The kid ceases to amaze us, and we are always telling him what a wonderful boy he is, we must also tell him he's cute too because over the holiday Liam kept saying 'I'm Cute', it was pretty funny and cute!
