Monday, August 6, 2007

Watching my son grow

My son is developing some good and bad habits as he grows older. He is about three and a half years old now. He loves to help out with, well, anything - laundry, dishes, even insisting on carrying in something after grocery shopping as well as putting said something away. On the not so good side, he's been showing a temper. More than just a fit, there's door banging and (today) pushing down someone smaller than him. I really hope it's a phase thing, not an emerging trait. Not acceptable at all. Makes me hope he doesn't have a fit at school.

Speaking of school, he starts again on September 5! He'll be going to preschool for a couple hours twice a week. Due to overcrowding, his class has moved to a different school. He'll have a different teacher, but should have some of the same kids. I think kindergarten starts after a kid turns five, so he has a couple years of preschool still to go. Hopefully we'll be in a house by then.

My son still isn't speaking much (though he's plenty noisy). He does have a small vocabulary of regularly used words - uh-oh, daddy, bye, banana, ball, bubbles, "i love you", and "thank you". There are other words he can say, but doesn't use them on a regular basis. He's getting better at repeating words and phrases.

Another area he is making progress in is potty training. I think he's close to readiness. He will say "uh-oh" while pointing to his butt when he needs changing, and is willing to sit on the potty (booster on the actual toilet, as that way he knows what it's for) before bed, though has yet to use it. Maybe someday soon he'll warn me before he needs to go instead of telling me after.

I babysit four times a week, two long days and two short, watching a one year old boy. One thing this has done for me is convince me how happy I am to only have one kid! With two, they get each other in more trouble, have squealing wars, get more hyper-active, occasionally fight over toys, and overall make a lot more noise. After a long, stressful babysitting day, I wonder how my mom survived with nine of us kids. I can barely keep my sanity after a whole week with two! I'm sure as my son grows older I will gain an even better appreciation and understanding of my parents.

I've said before that writing my novel is the most challenging and enjoyable thing I've ever done. That wasn't entirely true. It's the second most challenging and enjoyable. Being a mom would definitely be the first. I love my son. :-)

1 comment:

  1. You are reconfirming my own desire to have one, (yes let me repeat that for the rest of our family who may read this and have gone into shock) - ONE child of my own.

    :-)

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