Can you Believe? - Luc is Three!

My lil Monkey is 3 years old!

Weight: 26 lbs

Height: 35 inches

 -Sings the whole alphabet
-Loves to sing Old McDonald, Bingo
-Counts to 15+ in English
-Counts to 10 in French
-Loves to play with trucks, cars, and trains, Mommy's kitchen gadgets
-Speaks in full sentences and can carry on little conversations
-Has a very good memory

-Favorite shows: Daniel the Tiger, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Sheriff Cali's Wild West, Jake and the Neverland Pirates, Princess Sophia
-Favorite Movies: Curious George, Curious George's Christmas, Planes, Toy Story
-Enjoys being outside, going for walks, riding his trike bike, going to the playground, playing with water
-Favorite games: Tag/Chase Me, roar like a monster, spin in circles to get dizzy and fall down

New Things

Because Luc's birthday is so late in the year, he will have to be one of the oldest kids in his class when he starts school. We didn't want to put him in with 2 year olds when he's turning 3 this year, so he has one more year of 'freedom.' However, we wanted to get him assimilated to a classroom-like environment. We looked through Columbia's Parks and Recs catalog and found some options. This past Spring Luc went to swimming lessons with Mommy in April for a few weeks. The instructor wasn't all that good, but at least it got him more comfortable being in the water though he didn't really learn much about "swimming". We also signed Luc up for a French class on Saturday mornings for 6 weeks. He got to learn words, songs, games, and other activities in French. He seemed to really enjoy the class.
Luc also started going to Storytime with Grandma every week at the local library. They get to sing songs, listen to books being read by Ms. Molly, and color. Then Mama gets a few books to bring home for the week. Luc has even learned the storytime song: "Hello. I'm glad you came. It's storytime." Sometimes the song gets stuck in his head and he'll change the word from storytime to where ever he currently is: home, bath, store, etc.

 Family

Luc gets so excited and loves spending time with all his family. They always get a big greeting when he sees them and talks about them for days after he sees them. When we tell him he'll see them in a few days, he keeps bringing them up in conversation and asking when he'll see them. He thinks every day in the future is a Sunday. "Me see Bonne Maman and Bon Papa on Sunday." He loves to see Papa on Fridays when he works from home and sits in the study with him while he works. He loves to play with Bonne Maman when we visit on the weekends. When Uncle Dave walks in the door, Luc shouts "UNCLE DAVE!" He talks about his cousins by name, but always mentions Kendall is his favorite.

Sleep

 Luc is very good about going to bed at night when it's bedtime. He may still try to play games as we're trying to get him into his pj's, but he settles down and puts himself to sleep. He's a little cranky in the morning though if he goes to bed even 10 minutes later. Since he can sleep longer on the weekends, naps have been fading out of the picture. The crankiness is still present though.

Eating

Luc is more of breakfast/morning eater. By dinnertime, he doesn't have much of an appetite.

-Favorite foods: crackers, fruit, yogurt tubes, cheese sticks, Mac n Cheese, chicken nuggets, fish sticks, English muffins, smoothies, ice cream, chocolate
-Won't Eat: vegetables, steak, mashed potatoes, strong cheeses like Swiss, pizza

Diaper vs. Potty

During the summer, we thought Luc was getting interested in potty training. He tried to sit on the potty a few times and even tried out wearing big boy underwear (which he would have pee accidents). He soon lost interest. However, with the arrival of his baby sister soon, he concluded and told us that she'll need his diapers and when she's born he will wear underwear and start using the potty. Fingers crossed....though caring for a newborn and potty training at the same time might test my human limits.

Not so Pleasant

 It's getting harder to trick Luc out of things without him realizing what's really going on and then having a tantrum. While he's usually pretty obedient and is good, when he doesn't want to do something, he becomes very stubborn to do it his way. He also has little patience (and mimics his Daddy in his reaction to things when they don't work right away. "Come Ooonn!!" followed by "Ugh!" ...sigh).

Progress

 Though we finally got Luc to give up his blankie (or lovey, as some people call them) while on vacation at the beach this year, he has replaced it with a monkey. However, with the monkey, he doesn't have to have him all the time, every where he goes. He has to sleep with Monkey and at least one other stuffed animal, although those rotate around and he's not as attached to them.
And his name: Monkey Hairson. Keepin it simple.

Luc & Monkey Hairson at Sea World

Silly Things

Things Luc has said recently:

"Jeez, boy!" when he drops something.

Me: "Luc, be careful."
Luc: "I know. Big boys always be careful, right?"

"The sun is up! Yay! Time to wake up."

While changing his diaper before bed, Luc farted. Frederic and I started laughing and Luc said, "Didn't see that coming, huh?"