We are in the midst of age three-okay slightly beyond but close enough...sort of. From my perspective it's both fun and challenging. They are just so cute when they are pretending. Kaylie is the boss. Ryan appeases her but has his moments of bucking the system so to speak. Some days they can go hours playing so nice with each other and some days it's fighting from the get go.
Ryan: Still loves cars and trucks. Loves his football. Gives hugs and kisses often. (Fun!) Likes his routines. He is a sensitive guy. Not always the best at listening. He can be stubborn when asked to clean up, take a bath, or ya know do something like pull his pants up and down when using the bathroom. He CAN do it but simply refuses to. He does it just fine at school and at random times does it on his own at home with no problem but often claims the words, "I can't," over and over. We've made some progress and he has been pulling them down a little more. I pull up sometimes and I see he is more willing to do it now but this has been a long fight. He gets happy when we praise him after doing it. You would think he would want to keep doing it. Nope. I don't get why he fights it so much. Sometimes it has literally taken 40 minutes of me asking/pleading/begging him to pull up his pants. He would rather walk around with the pants at his ankles. (Challenging!)
I have noticed that Ryan doesn't like to do things that involve fine motor skills (which is probably the underlying reason he doesn't like to do his pants) like coloring, drawing, doing puzzles, play doh, legos, and things like that. He lasts about a minute doing these activities because he finds them hard for him. I guess I have to keep pushing him before it becomes really obvious when he can't tie shoes or write.
Kaylie: Still feisty as ever! As much as she can be difficult she is also a good girl. Occasionally getting a time out here and there but generally listens. She definitely chooses when she doesn't listen. She often responds with an "I'm too tired," when asked to clean up. Yet, they do this task without incident at school! She gives hugs and wants to snuggle. She can be demanding. I would say most of the day is spent with her demanding things. She still has princesses as her number one favorite but has branched out into Barbie. She must sleep with a bunch of books, animals and any other trinkets she finds. She enjoys arts and crafts and really spends a lot of time doing all the activities that Ryan doesn't enjoy so much.
Mealtime: I HATE feeding my kids. Really it has become quite the task. First, they don't want to sit and eat. They would rather watch whatever is on TV or play. Second, they have very limited food that they will eat and of course some of those are not the same for both. I really want to get to the point where we all eat the same thing for dinner but I don't see that happening any time soon. Neither of us remember ever having a special dinner made for us when we were kids and I don't want to do it for them especially since they haven't been eating the special thing I make for them. I would really love it if they ate PB&J every day! Then I would know it would be something they'll eat. (They don't eat PB&J by the way.) It's very frustrating. Breakfast is okay but lunch and dinner-- forget about it!
School: Still good although Kaylie still doesn't talk to other kids. The thought of splitting them up next year has entered my mind even though I thought I would wait until kindergarten to do that. I don't know if it would be good for Kaylie or detrimental. I really want her to break out of this shell she is in. They behave at school at least. One of the parents who helps out in the class told me they are well behaved and listen. (Yep, a pat on the back there.) Unfortunately at home I feel I need Supernanny half the time. Conferences are next week so I will get more info then.
We've started playing board games and they do well taking turns. It's funny, at this point they don't care who wins. I was the worst at losing so I cannot wait for that to kick in. (insert eyeroll)
I'm sure I'm forgetting a bunch of stuff they are doing. This will have to do though.
