Oliver turned three July 17th! We celebrated his birthday with G&G Claassen in Reno complete with a monkey cake, the Oliver birthday song, and presents.
Oliver has had a great year. He has grown so much going from a toddler to an official little boy. There is no more baby in him. He does still enjoy warm milk at night and will occasionally snuggle up on our laps to drink but overall he considers himself a "big boy". Here are a few thoughts about Oliver at three:
- Is a complete daddy's boy. He prefers Kevin in almost any situation.
- Talks NONSTOP. Oliver seriously keeps a running commentary on all things happening at all times. A lot of his chatter is questions about various things but many times he is just talking about anything and everything.
- Skips nap most days. He does really well without a nap which has made our days much more flexible. If he doesn't nap he will generally fall asleep around 8:30 usually while we are reading books. At school he still falls asleep during rest time which is a major bummer because it means he generally won't fall asleep until 10:00.
- Has a bit of a hitting habit. This is mainly focused towards Samuel and usually when he doesn't get his way.
- Is affectionate in an off-hand kind of way. He doesn't necessarily enjoy snuggling but he always seems to be touching people. He can't sit next to anyone without touching them.
- Never sits still. He is in constant motion. He rarely sits still long enough for dinner. He generally tries to stand on his chair or walk around the table.
- Has developed a new love of cars and motorcycles.
- Is seriously strong-willed. If he decides he doesn't want to do something watch out! He can still put up a pretty serious temper-tantrum complete with crying and hitting. Oddly, he can snap out of these spaces as fast as he gets into them.
- Loves to play with Samuel. When the two have a common goal Oliver follows Samuel around and will participate in all Samuel's ideas. When Samuel is playing his own game, Oliver generally spends his efforts trying to interrupt.
- Likes to do "dangerous" things. He is always pointing out how dangerous things are and that babies can't do them--only big boys like himself.
- Eats almost nothing but fruit, veggies and pasta. He loves our garden and routinely can be found eating cherry tomatoes off the vine. He also eats large amounts of cucumbers from our garden. We peel them and then he eats them whole. He chows on any fruit item--we can generally go thru an entire watermelon and cantaloupe in a few days (sometimes one day!), a package of blueberries and multiple bananas in a day, and too many apples to count. Pasta is also made by the full box so that there is cold pasta for snack at all times--he eats it plain and often times cold!
- Is still the jokster of the family. He always has something funny to say, a funny face to make or dances in a crazy way. We spend hours laughing at his silliness and loving the spirit he brings to our family.
