Somehow I now find myself staring into the eyes of a little boy. No more baby. No more toddler. I have a preschooler. Frankie is a full fledged little boy. Whoa.
A little boy who loves everything cars and trucks. He has about a gazillion of them and loves playing with them all.the.time. He loves watching cars and trucks - in real life and on the iPad. As we are driving down the road he will call out, "car carrier!" or "tow truck!" or "fire truck!". You get the picture. And he could watch random YouTube videos of cars and trucks all day long. But as much as he loves his boy toys, I find him playing with Julia's dolls every now and then - or taking his trucks, or stuffed animals for a ride in her doll carriage.
Three years old is tough. Tough for the three year old and tough for the parents. Frankie is figuring out that he can make his own decisions and isn't the little rule-follower that he used to be. He's getting a mind of his own. Which is great - but no-so-great. ;) He's becoming more independent but also still yearns for help from mom or dad - especially when jealousy over little sis rears its ugly head. He's doing great in school and the teachers tell us that he's very quiet and "into his work". He seems to like it but we don't get many details at the end of each day. He loves helping me in the kitchen - from peeling potatoes and carrots to chopping (Santa brought him his own special knife). He's a pro at making & buttering toast and loves helping Julia eat. "Can I give this to Ju-ya?" And sometimes it's actually not just something he doesn't want to eat.
I'm starting to see his imagination develop and love watching him play and talk "for" his cars and trucks. "Oh - I need to get gas." "I'm going to the store."
He's finally potty-trained (right around 3). I thought we were rock stars after our first attempt over the summer. But after the second week when Frankie refused to go to the potty, I felt the agony of defeat and sulked back to diapers. But right after we moved into our house and my mom was visiting, Frankie told her one morning that he wanted to wear undies - and we haven't gone back. He had lots of accidents - at home and at school - including pooping on the floor of his room. But we now rarely have accidents during the day. Night training will come in time.
Oh - and Frankie decided right after starting school that he didn't need to nap anymore. Talk about a slap in the face. Giving up that nap was hardest for mom and dad. He most definitely still needs it and is exhausted by the end of the day - but he's learning to cope better - and so are we.
I've noticed more and more, Frankie correctly pronouncing words. He just recently starting saying animals correctly but every now and then slips and "aminals" comes out. That was one of my favorites and it makes me sad, in a way, to be loosing that. He still says "sicy" instead of "spicy" and "Ju-ya". But our little boy is growing up. Too quickly.
At night I'll sneak into his room to turn off his light and just stare in amazement at how much he's grown. He loves his big boy bed (especially jumping on it - but is quick to tell me that I have to jump on the floor because I might break the bed) and recently started showering. He still takes baths most of the time,but some nights when Daddy is home, he'll get to shower.
Frankie's stats at 3:
Height: 37.75 (59%)
Weight: 34.13 (81%)
BMI: 17 (83%)
Frankie can be extremely timid and shy and reserved at times - but over-the-top energetic and excited and active at others. He can be extremely frustrating at times but ooze sweetness at others. He keeps us on our toes and has honestly taught me so much and makes me want to be a better person. We love you, Frank Thomas "the train" DeMarco!
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