Adlai Turns Three!
Dear Little Adlai,
Finally! Today you are three.
I'm sure you are wondering, is three old enough to rule the world? Or maybe that is four and three is when you are just in control of your family and a small country somewhere. We really need to find you that country. I'm hoping it is an island nation inhabited by people who have developed a keen sense of humor. They are going to need it.
Adlai, you are incredible and adorable and, well, let's just say… passionate. Little has changed about your personality this year. You are (not) large and definitely (not) in charge and, if we just would give in to your every desire, everything would be fine. OH MY GOODNESS, WHY WON'T WE GIVE IN?! It must be terribly frustrating.
I'm certain this bullish personality of yours is going to benefit you someday. At least no one is going to push you around. You started preschool in August three mornings a week and you are delighted to be old enough to be in school. Daddy took you there on the first day fully expecting to hang out for a while but you wouldn't have any of it. Daddy figured this out and said "OK, I'm going to leave now" and you said "OK, I'm going to stay." Your teachers describe you as silly and sweet and playful and kind. They tell me you play well with others and rarely get into trouble. They did, however mention that you can be incredibly stubborn. You are so nice to people outside your immediate family: you share, you give in, you eat what is in front of you without complaint, you even nap!
We've had kind of a rough time this year figuring out how to prevent the tears, anger, and frustration you are experiencing. For a long time, I brought home candy from work. For a while this prevented you from bursting into tears at the sight of me, shouting at me, and running from the room to slam the nearest door. Lately I've been attempting to spend fifteen or twenty minutes giving you individual attention as soon as I arrive. That sets you off on a good path - at least until dinner when the meal is, inevitably, placed in the incorrect location on the incorrect plate over the incorrect place mat sitting next to the incorrect cup, utensils, and beverage, all next to the incorrect sibling. There has been a lot of food squishing this year and I can't think of a single meal that ended with the utensils, napkins, and place mats all still on the table.
We brought home two cats in June. What is worse than food squishing or high pitched screaming or even drawing on floors and walls, is that you immediately started taking your frustrations out on them. On the positive side, they are getting exercise! When ever you enter a room, they head for the nearest crawl space. Simon somehow managed to completely overlook your hitting, biting, pinching, and yelling until just a couple of months ago when he had finally had enough. I think it was having you yell "Stupid!" or "I hate you!" or "Go away, Sie-min!" (while in his room) that finally did the trick. I wish he had never taught you those words. Daddy is thankful that we don't curse. You love and admire your brother so very much. You always want to know where he is and what he is doing and if you can do it too? I'm looking forward to being able to reason with you enough that you stop shooting yourself in the foot.
Contrary to what this sounds like, you are not in a perpetually bad mood. You can be so incredibly fun to be with - especially when you are alone with one of the three of us. You love to talk, you are curious, and you have great explanations. You use big words and complex sentences and hearing them come out of your tiny little mouth is overwhelmingly adorable which often leads me to lean in for a... "NO KISSING, MOMMY!" You love long baths and swings and moving trains around train tracks - around and around and around again. You never grow tired of trains but your true love is railroad crossing signals. You also love lighthouses and bell buoys, but they are harder to find. You love music (except when you "Hate music!") and pretend play and crafts. I'm positive that we have enough of your preschool art to paper an entire room and the year isn't even half over yet. You often ask for us to have a "dance party!" You run around in circles and jump and ask to be picked up so that we can swing you until you are dizzy.
You like to make silly faces and use words like "stinky!" and "fart!" and "poo poo!" Even when we get you up to use the bathroom in the middle of the night and you are half asleep, you still have the presence of mind and comic timing to blame passing gas on who ever is around. You love to help. You expect nothing less than to be a full participant in the preparation and dolling out of meals. You prefer to carry things three times your weight and size, especially liquids and objects that are breakable, and insist that you can do it "All by myself!" A few times this year we went to theme parks and you were absolutely thrilled to be able to go on a rides all by yourself. You went around and around and around for as many times as the attendants would allow. You enjoy reading and movie nights with friends and big kid Legos. You talk about friends you've made at school. "Logan" is currently your best little buddy. We're going to meet Logan at your birthday party! I'm excited to watch you play with the first friend you have made entirely on your own.
You've had a fairly busy travel year. You've been to Houston, Southern California, Hawaii, New York, and Cape Cod. You were mostly good - easily entertained with train stickers, cartoons, snacks, and numerous binkies. It was only when you grew over-tired that you started your high pitched screams and threw binkies at fellow passengers.
I took a Friday off in July just after you turned two-and-a-half and, over the long weekend, we potty trained you to the point that we haven't used a single diaper or pull-up since. I was amazed at how quickly you understood what I was asking you to do. I was amazed that you did it. Since we successfully potty trained, we figured the next step was the big-boy-bed which we bought you in September. You were thrilled to have the new bed in your room! One of these days, we are going to figure out how to make you sleep in it. We really miss being able to put you to bed and expect that you won't wake up until morning. In November, over the Thanksgiving holiday, we planned to wean you from the binkies. You may love binkies even more than trains but when I started to cut the tips off of the binkies in preparation for their departure, you jumped the gun and decided that broken binkies were totally yucky. We took you to the Build-a-Bear workshop and you chose a "bear" to build, chose a binky to put inside, and we gave the rest of the binkies to the cashier as payment (along with a credit card). Now the stuffed animal reminds you of what you don't have and that makes you angry.
Last weekend we went out to breakfast at Starbucks, just the two of us, and you went off by yourself to find a table while I ordered. When you couldn't find one available, you waited patiently until a family left and then we sat together so politely, sipping our drinks, dabbing our mouths with our napkins. You had a tantrum when I tried to hand you your scone. It wasn't good anymore because I had attempted to assist you in getting it off of the high counter. I threatened to take you home for acting up and, finally, you relented. That is until you saw that the barrista had written your name on your cup of warm milk. "NO DRAWING ON MY CUP!" you yelled and then you took off toward the barrista and told her "NO DRAWING ON CUPS!" before bouncing back to your seat with a big smile, so proud of yourself for telling an adult how things should be.
That is so you: my Jekyll and Hyde, outspoken and shy, sweet and salty, little big boy. I love you.
Happy Birthday, Adlai!
Love,
Mama, (Daddy, Simon, Lily, and Hana too)
More?
Adlai turns two
Adlai turns one
Adlai is born
Even more?
Simon turns six
Simon turns five
Simon turns four
Simon turns three
Simon turns two
Simon turns one
Simon is born