3.5 Years

When I thought about writing a post for Reed at three and a half I was worried I wouldn't have much to say; when I started jotting down notes I was worried it was going to be too long!!! I love Reed so much and he brings me so much joy on a daily basis. Reed just seems like a bit of an old soul. The lines of reasoning he follows, the way he says things, and his general demeanor is fairly cautious, full of emotion, and while he can be a lot to handle he is rarely ever mean.

I love one on one time with Reed because he listens so well and is so sweet and fun. Being a Big Brother is a large responsibility for him and one he is still learning to navigate. Overall he is very sweet towards Kieran and loves teaching his Brother new things, however he is a bit impatient when it comes to sharing Mom's attention or being limited in his own play by Kieran's younger age. Reed does really love to do things as a "family" and often on weekdays if I do something with the boys alone he will make a comment about wishing Dad was with us.

Reed has an imagination beyond description. He has countless "babies" that he is the "Mom" to, he takes care of them and regularly imagines problems they need taken care of, things that are upsetting them, and food that needs to be prepared for them. Reed also has half a dozen imaginary friends. These aren't characters he's completely made up, they are from TV shows and video games, but he is constantly racing them, playing games with them, and telling others what they are doing.

For all of Reed's emotions he is actually pretty brave. He will regularly pop up from a big fall without crying, come up to me with a bent back fingernail, or a huge splinter and patiently wait for me to trim or remove it. He also didn't make a peep when he got his flu shot this year and takes all of his daily medicines (inhaler, nasal spray, fluoride, vitamin, and allergy medicine) happily without complaint.

Interesting Facts

Weight: 34.5 pounds

Height: 40 inches

Clothing Size:  He can fit into 3T and 4T for most pajamas and shirts, meaning he still fits into his 3T items for the most part, but anything new is being purchased in size 4T. As for bottoms he can still fit into 2T and 3T shorts because he's so skinny. 3T pants are starting to get a little short on him but are still pretty big around the waist if they aren't elastic or adjustable.

Shoe Size: 9.5

Reed likes: His "babies" (stuffed animals), pajama days, puzzles, books, craft projects, watching Jon play (age appropriate) video games, the TV show Super Why, playing soccer, doing anything outside especially digging or anything with water, playing in his tent, washing cars with Dad, picnics, bath time, cooking/baking/making juice with Mom. He also enjoys playing with Kieran if he is in charge and can dictate the game or who is playing with what toy.

 

Reed dislikes: Doing anything on anyone else's time schedule, waking up (especially from naps), sharing or playing with Kieran not on his terms.

 

Nicknames: Reedster, Reedcito, Buddy, Monkey, Reed-man,  Dingle Berry Jones/DBJ/Dingle, Darlin', Reeder, and Baby Bear.

Food: He loves most grains (oatmeal, pasta, rice, bread, cereal), fruits, and meat. He is still very picky about vegetables but will usually try a bite of one at dinner when requested. He still does not like beans and is allergic to soy, dairy, eggs, peanuts, and tree nuts. He drinks hemp milk with most almost every meal and we've started to let him have fresh made juice once or twice a week. He has a sweet tooth and I can't think of a dessert he hasn't loved. His favorite meals are hamburgers with French fries, pasta and steak, and pizza.

Communication: Thankfully we are past the "why" stage but Reed is still very much a chatty and inquisitive kiddo. He knows all of his uppercase and lower case letters and what one word vs. two words look like when written. He can tell us how to spell his name, identify what letter a words starts with, and the sound(s) that each letter makes. He has also started to really sing along with certain songs we hear often, like the theme song to Super Why or the different Signing Time songs. Somewhat in this category are his manners he now tries not to speak with his mouth full and will sometimes point out if someone has interrupted him (he still has no problem interrupting others).

Favorite Color(s): Blue and Green

How Reed is sleeping:  He goes to bed around 8:00pm and usually falls asleep by 8:30/8:45 after flipping through a few books. For the most part he sleeps through the night unless he's battling an allergy issue or occasionally he has to go potty. He wakes for the day usually between 6:00 and 6:30am. He sleeps in a twin bed, with a night light and sound machine as well as his "boy" soft sheep laid flat on his pillow and cuddling his "girl" soft sheep, his large stuffed Pooh bear sleeps on the other side of the bed and there are regularly 1-4 other cuddly guys in there with him. He still takes a nap most afternoons, going down around 12:30/1:00 and sleeping for anywhere from 1 - 2.5 hours.

 

Milestones over the last six months:

Reed has figured out how to unlock doors as well as the childproof locks we have on a few of our cabinets.

 

Although he loathes doing it, he is capable of putting on and taking off most clothing with little assistance.

 

Reedster usually goes bib free when eating now. If he is having ice cream, soup, or cereal with milk we usually put him in the Bjorn bib still, but the amount of liquid in the little reservoir has drastically decreased.

 

Normally he drinks out of a cup with a spout lid on the top but he has no problem drinking out of a lidless glass as well.

 

Reed has also gotten really good at counting things. Groups of items of 1-5 he gets right almost every time and does pretty well up to 10 things usually.

 

Reed and I had our first "slumber party" while Jon was away for work. This included staying up way past bedtime to watch a movie and sleeping in bed with Mom.