Who loves his bunkbeds?

Sound all Around

I took Clark to the Philadelphia Orchestra's 'Sound all Around' performance. The focus was on percussion and we had an absolutely fantastic time. Clark's eyes never left the stage and he was completely engaged for the entire hour.

Fun Stuff

Today Clark and I took the train to Philly and visited 'The Academy of Natural Sciences'. Clark loved the dinosaur bones, animal displays, and fun interactive live animal area. The butterfly garden is amazing, but the second we walked in he wanted out because it was HOT and HUMID--he kept saying 'Mommy, I am sooooo sweaty, we need to get out of here'. After enjoying the museum for a few hours we had lunch at one of my favorite spots in Philly 'Sabrina's Cafe'.

We have a few other fun things coming up---we start private swimming lessons in two weeks. We are signed up for 8 weeks and he will do weekly, 30 minute lessons. I really would like him to be able to swim well enough to save his own life by August when the twins are born.

We are going to a children's storytelling concert performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra next week. The focus is on percussion, and Clark isn't crazy about loud noises so hopefully it will still be fun for him.

I am also planning to register him for a multisport class this spring through the township. It will be fun to give him more opportunities to be active and meet other kids.

I guess all of this is a sign I am starting to feel a bit more like myself. I am still nauseated a good portion of the day/night, but I am not throwing up as much and I am feeling more energetic. I am 12 weeks along, and at our OB appointment yesterday one of the babies was jumping around like a nut, and the other one was hiding and taking a nap. Everything looks great with the pregnancy so far.

My Sweet Three Year Old Clark

Before another month goes by, I need to write about what is going on with little Clark man at 3 years old.

3 Year Well Check:
39.8 inches (93rd percentile for height)
37.1 lbs (91st percentile for weight)

Likes:

Reading and library trips
Playing outside
Anything related to the Revolutionary War. No kidding--the kid is obsessed. 'Mommy, you be General George Washington and I will be a Colonist! Let's go look for some Redcoats!' He knows the full story of Washington crossing the Delaware for a surprise attack against the Hessians (yes, he even calls them Hessians and can identify them by their hats) and he loves to 'talk about' the story.
Much to my dismay he loves anything that is war like. 'Mommy, check out the bayonet on that musket!'. He loves cannons, bows and arrows and anything else that shoots. Yikes.
Knights and knight stories
Puzzles
Playing with friends
Adventures to aquarium, Please Touch, historical sites--anything new and interesting he loves.
Nature hikes 'Mommy, we sure went on a great hike this afternoon! I loved seeing all that deer poop' (hysterical laughter).
Playing with friends
Food and desserts (favorites--any protein (salmon, chicken, beef etc), breakfast for dinner, pasta, cucumbers, pears, pineapple, cantaloupe, watermelon). If given the option, he will always pick chocolate.

Dislikes:
He isn't into coloring or drawing
Consequences (his least favorite is having a toy taken away--he would take a time out or even a spanking any day over that)

New social situations--he loves his friends and people he knows, but is slow to warm up in new situations

Being dirty--the kid isn't a fan of having anything on his hands, even if it is fun! (i.e. fingerpaint, salt dough etc)

Personality:

Clark is very sweet and concerned about others. While reading 'National Geographic' the other day, he became obsessed about the article about Tsunamis. 'Mommy, I feel really sad about all of those people whose houses and cars got washed away in the Tsunami'. I was telling him about animal shelters and he said, 'Lets take all of those puppies and kitties food, and water and maybe we could take them little jackets in case they are cold'.

Clark is so excited to be a big brother. Almost daily he has something new he is going to teach the babies. 'Mommy, when the babies come out, I am going to teach them how to eat', 'I am going to read the babies stories, sing them songs, and tuck them into their beds', 'I am going to teach the babies how to talk!'.

He is full of questions and likes to TALK about EVERYTHING, ALL THE TIME. Really--it is a marvel to me when I sit in the car with other peoples children and they contently look out the window. That never happens with Clark--we are always having some discussion. Some of the latest questions--'Mommy, how did you get pregnant?' Really? He is 3! Thankfully, he was happy with a very basic (yet honest) answer.' 'Mommy, where do the clouds go when they move across the sky? Do they go back to heaven?', 'Mommy, where is Heaven? Is it between the earth and the sun or on another planet?', 'Mommy, what are the guys who put on the knights armor? Oh, I remember--they are Dukes. You be the duke and I will be the knight'. And on....and on. Sometimes his questions make me laugh and sometimes I am really stumped and have to turn to Google.

I am working with him on not giving up--he gets frustrated quickly if something doesn't come easily to him. We have been doing some little learning activities together most days, and because he knows exactly what all of his letters SHOULD look like, he won't really try to write them because he can't make his hand create the shape he knows the letter should make.

As a side note, we got him bunk beds and he is in heaven! He sleeps on the top bunk at night and for naps and LOVES it. He goes to bed around 7:30, wakes up between 6-6:30 and takes about a 2 hour nap in the afternoon. I was worried he was dropping his nap earlier in the week, because he didn't sleep two days in a row, but he is back on schedule napping every day.

We are in love with this little boy. He is such a joy and a gift to our family.