May 25, 2003. Stephen's been three for three days! How exciting! Hard to believe it's been so long since he was born -- I look at the folders his pictures are in and think, my goodness, we're up to 37 already? Insane. Naturally, he's changing in leaps and bounds. He has been excellent about going to sleep in his own bed, though he does generally wake up in the middle of the night -- between 2 and 6 am -- and gets in with me again. He's always so panicky when it happens, I hate to kick him out, though I'm not sure what we'll do when the new baby arrives. Well, we still have four months.
He's still amazingly picky, which is frustrating, and I'm sure we'll hear all about his weight at his three-year appointment (on my birthday in June, as early May was not early enough to book an end-of-May appointment with his popular pediatrician!). Pasta is still on the "Okay" list, but he'll only occasionally eat chicken nuggets now (which is not all bad, I suppose!). Still likes carrots, broccoli, celery, and cucumber, and loves apples and grapes, but not oranges or strawberries. Bread and butter is all right; bagels and cream cheese, sometimes; cheese is hit-or-miss, but he'll polish off a container of yogurt pretty reliably. He *loves* soy milk (fortified, of course) and takes a vitamin daily, so I'm not too worried about his actual nutrition -- just wish he'd put in a few more calories. Then again, I was also a skinny kid, and look at me now :P So I guess I won't stress too much over it. He'll eat when he's hungry, and I'm not about to force him.
He is totally fascinated by trains, and now has a couple of Thomas DVDs, which are a big hit. We are having a slight problem with cleanup issues -- we'd like him to put his toys away when he's done playing, but by then he is focused on going downstairs NOW NOW NOW and so it is a major battle to get him to help clean up. We've resorted to counting to three (after a certain number of failed requests to help) and after that, hiding the offending toys for a day or two, but it doesn't seem to have done much. Consequences and if/then transactions seem to be beyond him still. If anyone out there has suggestions to make this easier for all of us, please feel free to write to me! Other favorite toys are his new Duplo set, his Buzz Lightyear (just like the one in the movie!), and various stuffed animals. He draws balloons very well (that was the first recognizable thing he drew), and has recently done some good faces. One of these days, I'll scan them in and post them here.
Now that the weather is nicer, we're going for more walks, and once school lets out, will probably be at the park daily. At least, until it gets too hot for this pregnant Mommy! We're going to the Boston Museum of Science more often, too, since we got a membership; he loves to run around there, and especially likes to ride the T around Boston. His ideal trip would consist entirely of public transportation :) He's no longer afraid of the ocean, and indeed has gotten his feet quite wet even in the cold water, so I think we may take the train to Wells this summer and visit the beach there on select weekdays.
You can read about his latest escapade by train along with his most recent pictures. Right now, I'm just happy to be caught up! Just don't get too used to it -- I'm not sure how good I'll be once Strychnine comes along!
Previous Stephen updates: April 2003; February 2003; November 2002, August 2002, May 2002; April 2002; March 2002; February 2002; November 2001.