Hank 3 Years Old

Shoot.  This is WAY late.  I took these pictures right after Hank turned 3, but then between the holidays, June's birthday, and our broken computer I never actually got the post up.  Oh well... better late than never!

Oh Hanky Doodle.  You are ALL BOY.  You love running and jumping and wrestling and sports and cars and anything else "boy".  You are super athletic and seem to really excel when it comes to anything that involves your will and determination... i.e. riding a bike this past summer!!

And of course you continue to LOVE your thumb.  I try to work with you a bit to not suck it all day, but you sure do like to suck your thumb! I'm hoping preschool (next fall) will help you get out of the habit of doing it all throughout the day.  

You love snuggling and usually ask mommy to "snuggy" at least one time a day - which means sitting on the couch and cuddling and usually reading some books together.  

You are hilarious.  You say the funniest things throughout the day, usually inadvertently, but sometimes you'll do goofy stuff on purpose just to make us laugh. 

You love Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, all super heros, Octonauts, and Wild Krats.  You love playing with your sister, even though you usually insist on getting your way! She usually obliges and lets you do whatever you need to do. 

You are a pretty good eater, although you like to move around a lot at meal time.  I usually have to remind you to sit back down and eat.  But you will eat pretty much everything that we give you, even if it takes a few reminders.  Or telling you that your vegetables give you super human powers to attack daddy. 

You have your own sense of fashion and are very particular about what you want to wear.  Usually it's shorts, but if it's pants you like to push up your socks high and tuck your pants into them.  You are particular about your shoes.  You had a pair of "red and black" shoes that I finally had to just throw away because they were so old and way too small.  That was over 6 months ago and you still ask for them!  Currently, the above shoes are your favorite (thank goodness). 

Sleep still continues to be OK (not terrible, but not good either).  I'd say you usually get out of bed 3-4times a week.  Sometimes at the beginning, sometimes in the middle of the night, and sometimes too early in the morning.  There seems to be no rhyme or reason and nothing we've tried to do seems to really work.  So for right now, what has worked best is just accepting the current situation and continuing to walk you back to bed.  This too shall pass...

You continues to nap pretty regularly 1.5-2 hours every day.  I am starting to wonder if you napped less if you would sleep better at night, but I'm not ready to give up that break during the day! I know you won't do a quiet time as good as Lucy does hers...

Oh and you love to dance :)

Potty training has actually turned out to go pretty smoothly.  It started in slow and easy as you showed a lot of interest since Lucy was doing it.  We did underwear more and more every day and you seemed to just naturally be transitioning away from diapers.  But then you stopped pooping.  And that sucked.  I was super stressed things were going to go down a similar road as Lucy, but fortunately after about a month of helping you with some medicine, you got into a regular routine and have been going poop and pee on the potty on your own for quite some time now!  You actually need way less reminders than your sister, which is a HUGE relief!

You are our strong willed, stubborn, wild child.  And while this is used for so much good, it can also cause a lot of trouble.  You get in trouble a lot more than your rule-following sister, and while this frustrates me a lot, I also see your passion and drive used for good all the time too.  Luckily counting (1,2,3 Magic) and time outs seem to work pretty well with you.  There was a period when you wouldn't stay in time out so we had to close you in our room, but you soon learned that it was much better to sit in the chair downstairs than get locked in Mom's room.  

You most commonly get in trouble for fighting with your sister and having a bad attitude.  But almost every time you take a break in time out, you come out with a much better attitude and ready to apologize. 

'You are coming along academically as well.  You don't have quite as much interest in sitting down and learning as Lucy does, but you are picking up on things at your own pass and seem to be learning new stuff every day.  Right now I would say you recognize about half of your letters, know all your colors, most shapes and numbers 1-5.  I try to work with you most days a little on letters, but when I can see you aren't interested I just put everything away and chase you and tickle you, which you love. 

I love this video of Hank at 3 years.  It's the perfect example of who Hank is - goofy, sweet, and a little bit mischievous.  He answers the first question, "his name?" as a joke... that's so Hank.  We love you sweet boy! You may give us the most headaches at times, but you also give us the most laughs and make us smile so often.  We are so thankful for your strongwill, humor, and sweet personality.