my new 3 year old

No pictures yet, but I wanted to write a little about my new 3 year old and daycare. We were so blessed to have found Miss Mary. I started working PT when Roan was 10 weeks old for reasons I don't want to get into. I hadn't planned on going back until my 12 weeks were up, but plans changed.

Choua and I had looked at many centers, licensed home day cares, and nanny shares, but none seemed "right" for Roan until we got to Miss Mary's house. I immediately felt it when I walked in the door. Mary was warm, but very structured. We owe her so much for helping us to raise the sweetest little boy. When you don't have any family nearby to help you, all you've got is your daycare provider...and we really lucked out with her.

Mary teaches him things that we don't get the chance to, like how plants grow from a seed into flowers. For mother's day, Roan presented me a little flower that he had helped grow from seed. It was so precious. In addition, he is constantly spelling out words when he sees them. I have to say that we don't spend much time with him on the front end of learning. We generally, go, "Oh...he's getting some of the letters consistently," and then try to help maintain and encourage it.

On his birthday, Mary said to me, "Remember when he was little and just slept all of the time?" Of course I do. He took three naps a day until about 15 months. AND he went to bed at 7p! He's still a great sleeper, even today!

This was another reason why we decided against a daycare center. He was such a quiet little guy, almost never cried, that we were afraid that he'd get "neglected" at a center. I'm sure that wouldn't really happen, but some kids just needed more than he did.

This brings us to today. I dropped him off at back-up daycare because Mary is on a long, but very deserved vacation. It is a center, but now that he is a preschooler, he is just fine. I told him last night that he would be going to a new school and he smiled. Today as we were driving by it, he pointed to the school and said, "new school" very excitedly. I guess two days at home with mom was enough to get him excited about it.

As I dropped him off, he was just so sweet and happy. The daycare worker was so surprised that he wasn't crazily crying and clinging to my leg. He was running around the room with a giant magnifying glass, checking out the fish and other things. I felt so proud of him. I told him I would pick him up later and he ran over and gave me a huggie and kiss and giggled as I looked in through the glass window at me.

I have to admit, I was a bit nervous to drop him off at a new place, but he was just great about it all. It's still early in the day, but I hope he likes it. In the Fall, he will start pre-school for a couple of hours each day and then be bussed back to daycare. It puts my heart at ease to know that he adapts so well to new environments.

In other fronts of behavior, Roan is talking so much more. I love listening to the baby monitor (yes, we still are using it) in the mornings because when he wakes up, he likes to sing and talk to himself. It's hilarious!

Most days, he is less frustrated because he can tell us what he wants. However, we still have days when I have no idea what he is asking for. Yesterday, we had a meltdown at the mall. I had to pick him up and walk out of Macy's, with him kicking and crying because we couldn't find Cheetos! It was the longest walk I have ever had to make.

He is still a very picky eater, but at least we can get him to try certain things now.

Potty training...or should I say lack of potty training. He's still uninterested...treats don't work, but that might have to do more with me because he gets treats all of the time.

Finally, his stats. We went to his well visit on Monday and he is 37" and 33 pounds. That puts him in the 40% for height and 65% for weight. He's still in healthy range, but I would have never guessed that he's not proportionate. I think he's a bit thin, but go figure.

Anyways, I feel that we are in a very good place right now and I love him to death, but I've been thinking a lot about having another one...most likely our last one.