Nolan Update/Nolan Talk - 3 years, 2 months old

It's been too long since we had a Nolan update! This three year old is something else.. what I'm not quite sure (depends on the day/hour!). He's pure toddler in every sense of the word - eats, plays, laughs, cries, tantrums, etc HARD! Go hard or go home is the toddler motto. 

Some things to remember from this age:

• Silly, Silly, Silly! This kid loves to be silly and laugh! He loves exclaiming "That's FUNNY!" after things, and has both real and "fake (but loud!)" laughs. I love this.

Now that's FUNNY!

Wearing Mommy's shoes

• He's learning to ride his tricycle and scooter. He's gotten very into his radio flyer trike, and we've taken to strolling around the neighborhood with it (it has a handle so i can push/steer too). He's learned SO quickly, and can now pedal/steer like a pro! He also loves attaching items to the back and towing them! 

Giving Old MacDonald a lift in the basement

Taking a rest while biking around the neighborhood to blow a dandelion

• He's getting less timid and more fearless. Only a few months ago, Nolan would have been much more clingy and less independent when exploring new things. I was so proud of him for jumping right in at 2 birthday parties at "Bounce U" of climbing up the big structures/slides and also getting right into the water slide during our visit to Florida even though he was by far the smallest/youngest kid there!

Hitting the slide at Bounce U during his friend Olivia's 3rd birthday party

Lunch time at Olivia's party - with his friends Mia and Ella

• Tantrums Galore!! Age two wasn't really "terrible" at all. Three though, is a whole 'nother beast. A new term has been floating around the internet called "Threenager" and this is pretty accurate. Tantrums are no holding back, full on-animalistic, losing his mind, strong. There's nothing that can be done, but ride them out. Intense stuff! Most common trigger = baths (he has had a hatred for baths on and off since birth!)

mid-tantrum

• He's been much better about being an adventurous eater. For us, offering a variety of foods at every meal made the difference. I bought a bunch of divided plates and put a few options out at once. At first, he complained about not wanting "so and so" on his plate, but I always include something he likes and told him to just eat what he wanted off the plate. This has turned into him almost always trying everything and often times liking things that there's no way he would have eaten if I asked him if he wanted it or given to him alone. He is a veggie eating machine now... success!!
• He loves "helping" with whatever Mommy is doing. This includes cleaning (his favorite activity is spraying the windows with windex and wiping them down), cooking (baking muffins/cookies or pizza is his favorite!), putting things together, etc. He wants to learn everything that mommy and daddy do - such a sponge!

Nolan the pizza chef (Cheesin' HARD!)

Nolan helping give Deaner a bath!

• Potty Training: Nolan is pretty much fully trained for peeing in the potty both at school and at home. Now, pooping is a whole different story. We still keep pull ups on hand, which he asks for to poop. One step at a time (we've learned there is no pushing this kid - it has to be his idea!), but I know this is very common and am optimistic is will resolve itself with time. 
• Other favorites:
• TV shows - he's all over the map now. He's had a recent stretch of Daniel Tiger, Octonauts, Sponge Bob, Dora, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and of course still Curious George and Cat in the Hat
• Music - Nolan has been introduced to a bunch of pop music at school (they have dance parties) and has been requesting "Uptown Funk" by Mark Ronson (so fun!!) and "Shake it Off" by Taylor Swift. He also knows a bunch of Maroon 5 songs too. 
• His favorite color changes daily. The most likely choice is still green, but just this past week he has declared it Red or Blue as well :)
• Books - The thomas "lift the flap" zoo book I got from a yard sale, One fish, two fish, are you my mother, Dragons love tacos, Cat in the Hat, Hungry caterpillar, Thomas golden books are all in heavy rotation
• Toys - Beach ball is solid #1 choice. He also loves puzzles, his trike, and anything new ;)

Nolan Speak! We are still loving all the AH-DOR-ABLE toddler pronunciations. This kids talks up a STORM (he never really stops) and we are often hearing from people how well he speaks - I definitely think this is an area he excels in relation to his age. But even though he annunciates very well and speaks clearly, we always catch (and never correct, because he will never say it again!) the cutest words and try to keep a straight face while exchanging knowing glances over his head. It's the best.

Waterforest = waterfall
Fire Worm = Fire Alarm
Hide 'n Seat = Hide and Seek
Lip = Lit (is it still lip?)
Bandy = Bandaid
Facement = Basement
Back and Forest = Back and Forth
Bacycling = Recycling
I wint = I win
Bazagna = Lasagna
Emilia Carriage-Line = Emilia Caroline
Opent = Open
Instruction = Construction
Awild = Awhile (It's taking awild!)
Blue Roop = Blue Route
Skoobull/Skoople = Schuykill

Pronunciations from his TV Shows:
Mickey Mouse Crumb-house
Bob the Build
Lighting BaQueen
Seebus and Wall = Seabass and Cod (song in Curious George Swings into Spring movie)
Holiver = marvelous (Curious George Theme song)
Ernie and Burp = Ernie and Bert
Pistom Cups = Piston cup

Serving Lemons to Daddy - Chef Nolan loves serving us fake food from his kitchen, but no matter what, daddy always gets a bunch of lemons in a bowl as his food :)
Kicking legs out of high chair - every time he gets lifted out of the high chair, he kicks his legs like crazy and laughs
Maggie and Pickles live in the vent - a made up story from daycare that he takes very seriously. Apparently, if you don't lay down during nap time and close your eyes, Maggie and Pickles may come out of the vents and tickle you! :)

As challenging as this age can be (tantrums, fighting for independence, hyper behavior, etc), we just find ourselves falling more and more in love with this kid every day. Almost daily we find ourselves asking how'd we get to be so lucky to be this little guy's parents. Love you little man.