almost 3 1/2

Kyalo turns three and a half in October, but we have a few things happening before then that might distract us, so wanted to get in another month-by-month type post, filled with updates and (too many) pictures.  Hard to imagine what life will be like once this baby shows up in a few weeks!

Overall, this summer has been hard.  The transitions that we've been going through have really thrown Kyalo off, and he has been, shall we say, challenging?  It does seem it is settling down now as we get more settled and more into a routine, but wow, there have been days I've wanted to throw in the towel on this whole mothering thing!

August 3 - 3 years, four months

Kyalo is generally an easy going, sweet-natured  boy.  In addition to getting comments about his hair (oh! the comments.  If I had a dollar. . .) I often get comments about how even tempered he is, how he seems so well behaved, etc etc.  He also seems to be very thoughtful, always wanting to share something with me, or Dexter, or a friend.  We like to call him 'the negotiator' because if we tell him ' two more..' (books, minutes, whatever) he'll say, ' no, three more'.  

I've signed him up for a little Montessori preschool which starts next week.  I'm excited for him to have two mornings a week that are for him - away from me. I think it will help him transition with the baby's arrival, and I think he'll love it.  I like the Montessori philosophy, too.  I'm also hoping he'll learn to count to ten without skipping a number.  :)  We'll see how this year goes before I decide about the coming years.  Apparently there's a big homeschooling community here, so I'm eager to learn more about that in time.

Of course, his favorite people in the world continue to be Grandma and Grandpa.  (And then, anyone else other than us after that).  

This week we finally transitioned him from his crib to a big boy bed.  We need the crib for the baby, after all! He's been climbing in and out of the crib for months, so that's not the issue...we just didn't want to have to get something new in NJ and then move it to Maine.  Dexter and I got a new bed, so Kyalo is the happy recipient of our 15 + year old double bed.  He's pleased with himself about this.

Last weekend we had some friends take some family photos of us.  Kyalo was in an especially ornery mood, and wouldn't cooperate.  Thankfully we have a few photos that turned out, but most of the day he's doing things like this:

August 16 2014

One day when he should have been napping, I heard suspicious noises and went upstairs to investigate.  This is what I found:

He just needed to brush his teeth.

I'm still not entirely sure how he got into the sink, as we have no stool there for him.  I think he climbed up on the bathtub and then into the sink.  However he did it, it was a cracked skull just waiting to happen! But that's something else people notice about him - he's very industrious when it comes to getting what he wants.  He'll find a work-around that suits him just fine.  This could be a good life skill.  Right now it is just challenging!

He is still all baseball, all the time.  Maybe some day we'll see him on the Red Sox!

he's ready!

Every night he is sure to give the baby a hug and a kiss before bed.  He really wants a big brother though, so I'm afraid he's going to be sorely disappointed in a few weeks.

Today I had my former boss from the UAE, and his wife, stop by, and they asked him where he got his hair.  He said, 'Jesus.'  How's that for a winning answer?!

Of course, these pictures don't show the whole story. . .like the fact that he picked up a lollipop in Walgreen's and ran around the store screaming with it (and opening it) and generally making a scene.  Or how he can get so angry he starts punching things.  We're trying on helping him to figure other ways to channel his energy and frustration (frusterated as he says).  We're working on the concept of obedience (hard - if you have tips, send them my way) and listening/following directions.  Some days it feels like entire day is a battle. Some days are perfect.  I guess that's the way it goes in the life of a three year old.  

To think, we're about to start this all over again!

No matter what, no matter the hard days when I'm in tears more than him, when I'm not sure how to get through to him, when I'm really at the end of my everything, I just love him so much. I can't wait to see who he becomes and where life takes him!