Zilla is 3!

Zilla is 3!  What?  I can't even call him a toddler anymore.  He's a preschooler.  He's so grown.

Gosh where to begin?  So many things have happened the past year, and I have been so bad about being consistent with blogging.  So I will try my best to cover the highlights.

Zilla's Favorites

Book:  

This is pretty inconsistent.  He went through an "I'll love you Forever" phase, which I loved.  Especially when he started to read it to me.  He also went through a phase of loving our "Aggie Goose Rhymes" book.  Which I loved, but hubskie did not. 

Really, I think the biggest change here is that Zilla has started to enjoy stories that Hubskie and I make up or tell without an actual book.  There is a silly story about Spider Man in a bounce house, he loves the Three Little Pigs, the sotries about his mommy and daddy when we were little and hurt ourselves in a bathroom/trampoline because we didn't listen to our mommies, and stories about him as a baby.

Song:

Impressively, Steve Earl is still holding strong in this category.  He did go through a phase of liking Raffi a lot and this inspired him to put on frequent concerts and mimic Raffi.  It was so cute!

Toy:

He loves to play pretend.  So his dress up clothes are pretty popular.  He also got a steering wheel for Christmas that he can turn on.  He loves using this in the car and pretending like he is driving.  Zilla has a way of turning anything and everything into a truck.  One his favorite things to do is turn his chairs upside down and put a box on the back and pretend that he is driving around delivering the boxes.  I love his imagination right now.

Activity:

This is also the same from his 2 year old post.  This kid loves being outside.  He could spend hours a park and not get tired of it.
Recently, I've been trying to give him more independence when playing outside.  I'll send him into the backyard to play on his own.  It's amazing to watch his independence come through when he's out there and his imagination soar.  He thinks he's so grown going out there by himself, I of course, am hovering over at the windows ready to pounce if he goes out of my sight.

Food:

Food is so frustrating right now.  It is nearly impossible to get him to sit down to eat.  I'm sure I failed somewhere along the way to  encourage him to sit through dinner and now it is coming back to bite me in the booty.  But, he loves all things snacks and dislikes all things meal.  The healthy foods I aam able to get his to eat are Dr. Praegers Spinach Littles, banana pancakes, and he does seem to like chicken the most of all the meats.  

Chore:

Zilla likes helping with the dishes and cooking.  He occasionally likes to vacuum too. 

Clothes:

Zilla fell in love with a soccer uniform this year and he also likes any shirts with a tractor on it.  He has developed a pretty funny sense of style and I love and embrace it.  Even if it means wearing pants that are too short and a backwards basketball jersey.

Things I Want to Remember

1) When Hubskie was in the middle of his semester from down there, we didn't get to see him terribly often.  One night he had a late night getting out of work and Zilla wanted to call him.  When we called Hubskie was just about home and when Zilla said he wanted to see Hubskie, Hubskie said "count to 10 and I'll be there."  So Zilla counted and sure enough Dada walked through the door.

Fast forward to the next night when Dada had class.  I told Zilla Dada wouldn't be home that night because he had class.  Zilla started to cry and say "I want to count to 10; I want to count to 10!"  I of course teared up.  It was so sweet and heartbreaking and adorable all at once.  And a reminder of how much this kid loves his dad.

2) Since Panini's arrival Zilla has been going through a bit of a sleep regression.  Mostly, he will just stall and stall and stall.  He has a Ninja Turtle light that stays on for about 5 minutes and will turn off.  I leave it in his bed with him so that he can turn it back on himself.  He started a stall tactic where he would stand on his bed and put the light on his dresser and then turn it off.  He would then come to get me and say his light was off and he can't reach it.  While it was tiring, I also always thought it was so sweet how much thought he put into his stall tactics so he could see mommy/daddy again.  

3) Another frustrating one, but sweet in it's own Zilla kind of way...Zilla is the slowest moving person on earth.  My sister says Roodle could give him a run for his money, but I don't know.  But what I appreciate about his slowness is how observant/mindful he is.  He is so aware of his surroundings and loves to take it all in.  This is particularly clear on our walks.  I am a go, go goer.  He is a look, look, looker.  And he reminds me to appreciate the here and now.

4) One of the motivational sayings Zilla's OT uses is "hard things make you brave" to motivate him to use his left hand even when it is hard.  One mmorning he told Hubskie that he wanted Mommy to drive Daddy's car.  Daddy told him that I couldn't because Daddy needed it to get to work.  Zilla said that Daddy could drive Mommy's car.  Daddy said that driving Mommy's car is hard due to the lack of leg room.  And Zilla, without skipping a beat, ssaid, "But Daddy, hard things make you brave."  Such a little problem solver

5) One day Zilla started to make up his own song that went, "I was walking down the street with my dada...."  It was super cute

6)  With Panini's arrival, Zilla was exposed to lots of breastfeeding.  As a part of this I explained that Panini eats from mommy's nipple.  Zilla cannot pronounce nipple and instead calls them hippos.  It's pretty funny.

7) Zilla pronouncing delicious as belicious 

8) Zilla is the best big brother.  I was so worried about his transition, but he has been so loving to Panini

9)  The way Zilla wears his shoes with the tongues out and on top of the Velcro straps so that he can see Spider Man's Eyes light up

10) Milestones: He potty trained in record time.  He dropped the paci habit.  He moved to a big boy bed. 

11) Zilla became so much snugglier than years 1 and 2 and I love it.  The past few months he has occasionally coming into our room in the middle of the night.  Sometimes I'll take him back to his bed, but other times I'll let him stay and snuggle with us. 

12) One of my favorite things about this year was getting to stay home with Zilla during maternity leave.  He can be a challenging little guy, but I actually think we did better with one another when we spent more time together.  He got used to my boundaries and I felt like I had more opportunities to grow as a momma when I was with him more.  Also, I had more patience.  Anyways, I loved all of our outings together and having the chance to take him on lots of walk, go to museums together, see lots of firetrucks, and just hang out.

13) When he is trying to describe something as "a little bit" he will say "It's hot, but not much" 

Oh Zilla, it has been a year of lots of changes and transitions.  I am so incredibly proud of you.  You are smart, brave, strong, and you amaze me every day.  I love you, sweet boy!

I asked Hubskie if he wanted to include anything for this blog and he sent me this letter.  All the mommy/wifesky tears!

A letter from Dad:

Aidan, you're now 3 years old and I've seen more change in my life the last few years that you've been in it than in the previous 10 combined. Every day is a challenge with you- and that's a good thing. 

I am challenged every day to live life and play with the same energy that you do. Sometimes Daddy is tired and lazy, but you will not be satisfied with anything less than my best effort. 

I am challenged to find joy and wonderment in all the little things I have taken for granted. Sometimes Daddy forgets that everything is new to you, and how much you love to learn, but you will prod me with "Why's" and "Where's" until you receive a proper answer. 

I am challenged to set a good example for you in all the things I do. Sometimes Daddy wants to say or do things he would not want you to, and you are a reminder that his actions and words affect much more than just him.

I am challenged to teach you how to be a man and make good choices. Sometimes Daddy has to let you learn things the hard way so you will learn, but please know if my hands ever let you fall it is not for want of my heart to see you succeed. And I will always be there to help you back up.

Being your father is tasking but always rewarding. You are growing into a bright, energetic, talented little boy. I am so proud to be your father, and I can't wait to see what challenges lie ahead for us.

Love

Dad