April 21, 2009
Dear Mason II,
Happy 45-Month Birthday! 3.75 years old!
Forty-five month statistics: Weight: approximately 43 lbs. Length: ? inches. Diaper Size: 6 (only at bed and nap time) Clothes: 4/5
The biggest news I have right off the bat is that you are starting to wake up with dry diapers at nap and bedtime. We really tried to not push you on this, and you have just come around all on your own. It may be that we changed diapers to a less supreme brand, and we also started giving you a nickel for each dry diaper this week. Your dad even made you a little bank out of his old shaving cream container to keep your nickels in. You like to count your nickels and then shake the bank. You tried hard to work me for a nickel yesterday when you woke up from nap saying, “I have a dry diaper! May I have my nickel?” However, when I went to check the diaper you stated, “It’s dry except for a little tinkle.” Sorry kid, no nickel.
The past three months have really flown by. You have been busy with Saturday morning swim classes. You seem to have really acclimated getting into the water without us. The first lesson was a challenge, but since then it is smooth sailing. We have been to a few birthday parties for friends (Annabella in the neighborhood; Hannah from preschool; Isabel from church; Colin from church). We went out to dinner with our friend Alice Otis, also from church, and your dad and I even managed to sneak away for a night out to see Cowboy Junkies.
The past three months we have played inside a great deal. It has been so cold for so long. We have had a few days of nice weather here and there, but in general we are still wearing coats and often hats in the morning hours. When spring has given us a sneak peak we take advantage and play on the swing set and grill on the BBQ.
Star Wars and Legos still seem to be the favorite toys. Although a few weeks ago I moved the Little People for a rotation in the family room, and you seemed re-inspired to play with them some. Most nights after dinner, you beg dad to take you into the basement to build Lego Star Wars ships of one kind or another. Once in awhile, we enjoy a game of Candy Land or Chutes and Ladders. The other day I made a domino line, and you were pretty impressed when they all came crashing down.
Your fine motor skills are really improving. You are really able to work with the small Legos now, and can make your own modifications to ships and such. You can easily write the letter “H”, although you don’t seem to take much interest in writing any other letters. You have also become interested in a Kumon book of mazes. We started with you using your finger to navigate the maze, but you have now moved up to using your crayon rocks, and are starting to understand about staying in the lines.
Along with the fine motor skills, your gross motor skills are also developing. When we visit Nana’s house, you love to watch her kick a big blue ball in the backyard. You are now able to throw your own large ball in the air and kick it. You are also getting better at catching. Dad is thinking that maybe soccer is in your future, we just don’t want to be stuck taking a three-year old to practice four times a week. We’ll see what summer brings. You have swim lessons through the end of May, and then we will re-evaluate.
As in past months, you totally crack us up with your funny little antics. Just this morning I took a short video of you dancing on our bed, completely naked, playing your little plastic trumpet from the carnival last year, and signing some song about a little bird named Ed. Too funny! You are also berating us lately with questions about a baby brother or sister. In fact, you have told us that you would like two baby brothers, Tiny and Bouncy. My response to this is that if you jinx us with twins (at some point in the future – no news here!) that we will strap one to your back in a baby carrier. You didn’t seem fond of this, and have decided that one baby brother is sufficient.
In other news, Nana came to visit for Easter. Nanny was also supposed to come, but she was recently in the hospital with pneumonia and the doctor would not allow her to travel. We missed her dearly, but had a wonderful time with Nana. The first day we went downtown to the Air & Space Museum. You adored seeing all of the rockets and space shuttles, and airplanes. We were hoping to see the cherry blossoms in their glory, but it was cold and windy, and we had just had several days of rain so they were mostly gone. Another day, dad joined us and we headed to the National Zoo. What an awesome day! The weather was perfect, and we seemed to time everything just right. We saw the elephant get his bath, the pandas out eating in the yard, the elephant training demonstration, and we even made it to lunch before the rush. By the way, lunch was $40 for two burgers and two hot dogs so next time we are packing lunch. Finally, we finished Nana’s visit with a wonderful celebration of Easter. As usual Jimmy, Alex, Missy, and Nikki Yarbrough joined us for egg hunting and dinner. This year we also invited two new friends from church, Deb and Joe Listopad, to join us for dinner. What a wonderful day filled with good friends and good food.
Easter seemed to be a great way to kick off spring and summer this year. We have so many exciting things planned including: Rocknoceros and other kids concerts at church, lots of camping, the beach, and birthdays! Let’s just hope the mosquitoes stay away. Oh, one last thing I forgot to mention is that you and dad planted a garden. That is another thing to look forward to in the upcoming weeks: Corn, cucumbers, snap peas, and peppers, plus, a few small strawberry plants on the deck. Delicious!
Well that wraps things up for this letter. Here’s looking forward to a super fun summer and watching my baby turn 4!
Love you very much,
Mama
