Biggie boy

Whatchoo talkin bout Willis?

Luke went for his 3 year check up last week. He's at the 50% for height (I can't remember the exact measurement) and the 25% for weight (29 1/2#). The pediatrician said he was looking good (quit hitting on my kid, doc), was doing age appropriate or better than age appropriate things (we don't like labels like "genius," doc), and is healthy as a horse. He's got some 4 year old skills mostly related to his verbal reasoning skills and overall speech/language development. His coordination is pretty good for a 3 year old, especially a 3 year old boy (boys tend to lag behind girls in most every way when they are little). He's still having difficulty verbally expressing his emotions (duh) and finding a healthy outlet for his anger (hands are not for hitting, Luke) but he's working on it.

Age 3 (and the month or so prior to age 3) has been difficult for Luke so far. Very often, he turns off his "listening ears" and replaces them with "I'm going to pretend not to hear you and do whatever the heck I want and who do you think you are to stop me" ears. This especially happens in front of other people because he knows we tend to be more lenient on him when other people are around (he's starting to know how to work us without getting in more trouble than he's willing to be in). There has been an increase in time outs for the little guy, lately, and he even got a little hand smack from Aron at his own birthday party (Luke kept trying to put his grubby little paws in his birthday cake after repeatedly being told no). He's also picked up a new hobby--picking at his sister. He loves to push her buttons until she flips out. This has been great (insert sarcasm here). As a result, I wear my crabby face with an increased frequency and feel like my head will pop off and steam will pour out. They don't tell you about these things when you sign up to have a kid. They need to put that in a handy little brochure or something--you know, kind of like what you get when you buy a toaster and such. (I think I need a vacation.)

On the flip side, Luke can also be very sweet. When you ask him what's in his heart, he will tell you "love." He's very snuggly especially when he's sleepy before his nap or at bedtime. When he talks about his Grammie or Stevie or Poppy or Lindy Bear, his little face just lights up and you can tell they mean something very special to him. He loves food with a passion I've never seen before. It's like he just can't help himself when he's around it. I still find food squirreled away in my living room (which is awesome, BTW) and can occasionally find him tucked under the kitchen table with some sort of forbidden snack (lately it's been his Halloween candy). He can be cute when when he's in the tub pretending that he can swim like a dolphin. Or when he's playing around and pinching me with what he calls his "grab nabbers" (his hands).