The boy is exactly that, with the house move the last fleeting glimses of baby and early toddlerhood are behind us and I am the mother of a boy.
He no longer needs to be coddled, he loves to be with me but I have to ask if I want a hug. He won't happily let me make the decisions - he knows what programmes he wants to watch (Busy Town and Dora, Thomas and Peppa), which clothes he wants to wear (t-shirts not jumpers, shorts not trousers) and which books he wants to be read to from (Haunted House not Mog). He has always put up a fight about eating but is now open to trying more ("I actually like carrots Mummy") and can be reasoned with.
He loves the kitten ("Baxter is my pet Mummy") and is slowly learning how to be kind and play nicely with him ("no you do not kick the cat because he scratched you", "yes he'll purr if he's happy with you"). We threaten to give Baxter away if he hurts him and that is enough to get him to stop pulling him out from under the chair or chasing after him like a screaming banshee. And that little cat loves Charlie, he follows him around the house and rolls on his tummy for a tickle from the boy.
His ability to learn is amazing, his memory is good and I trust he's telling the truth when I ask him how many reward jelly beans he's owed or what he did at nursery. He can count to 20 and sing the alphabet. Last weekend we got the paints out and he was fascinated by mixing to make a new colour. He produced a muddy purple but loved that when we added white it became a pretty lilac.
Trains is still the governing force in his little life. We collect Thomas Take n Go, and although he has lots of other toys, it is really only these he now plays with. Thomas goes to bed with him and waits on the table for him whilst he's at nursery. He has four identical Thomas trains but knows if you try and fob him off with one of the others, I don't know how he knew when they were all brand new but his special Thomas is now missing an eyebrow and has less coal in his painted on tender where the constant holding has rubbed them away.
He is going through a 'terrible three' stage where everything is something to be negotiated with and 'no' is his favourite word, but complete and utter meltdowns are rare and he still mainly does what we ask.
He's scared of the dark and of 'monsters', we've watered down Fabreeze to make monster spray which is now duly sprayed around his room (and ours) at bedtime and have got a bedside table and Thomas nightlight (which turns into a torch), but it is rare we get through a whole night without him waking up scared in the early hours, or waking up early and coming into bed with us. This is one phase I hope he gets through pretty soon!
The red scooter C got for Christmas has finally come into it's own. He uses it constantly and now goes fast enough to wear knee, elbow and wrist pads. Today we went 'extreme toddler running' which was fun, I took Charlie on the scooter when I went for a run, and it was brilliant. He scoots at a fast jog pace and when he gets tired I pull him along on the scooter lead. We ran round the lake in the local park and got lots of comments and smiles from the dog walkers.
He talks about the future and makes plans involving his friends and cousin and grandparents. He is compiling a birthday list for May! not realising that Christmas is sooner. He knows our routine inside out and is constantly trying to negotiate not having to go in the shopping trolley hours before we go to the supermarket.
So three is a trying age but we love it anyway!
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