Dear Etrain,
You're three and a half years old! I can't believe it. How did you grow up so fast? If I asked you, you'd say it's taking a long time to be four, but I wish we could slow this down. I look back on these old posts all the time, just enjoying seeing what you were like back then. But I sure do enjoy you now too. Sometimes I want you to grow up so we can do more things together, but then I remember how fast time seems to be going, and I wish I could freeze it so I can keep you just as you are. I bought this sign for your room where you can change what it says on it, and the first quote I put up said "Let me love you a little longer before you're not little anymore." It's a good reminder for me because one day you won't want me to help you put on shoes, or read you a book, or cuddle you, or kiss your boo boos. One day, you may not like me. You may go through the teenage phase of hating your parents. Oh man, I hope that doesn't happen. Ok, I'm taking a long tangent, but my point is, you're the coolest little kid, I love every bit of you, and I'm trying to soak it all up.
I don't have the greatest long term memory, so this blog is the best thing I've done. When you're older, you may not care about this thing, but I cherish it. That's why it's crammed with so many photos and videos. I want to remember as much as I can, and this blog helps me with that. I even want to remember the simple stuff. There's a video below of you saying nothing but gibberish for over a minute, and it's the greatest thing ever. I love it because that's you. You're a little boy, who likes to be silly and make silly sounds and that's so awesome. You're awesome and I love being your mom.
From the photos below it looks like one of us had a birthday this month. Well, that's what we told the restaurant. Dada had a work dinner planned, but his co-workers canceled last minute so he invited us to go with him instead. We scored because the dinner was at Ruth's Chris...as very fancy restaurant. We were so proud of you that night. We told you it was a nice restaurant and that you had to be on good behavior, and boy were you awesome. You were so polite and well-mannered. The perfect little dinner date. So when our server asked if we were celebrating anything special, we fibbed and told them it was your birthday. They brought out some ice cream with a candle and you got a kick out of that. You loved the ice cream too.
We met up with one of your favorite buddies at the park and you two had a great time as always...especially since one of the kids there had a mini truck and let you guys drive it. So cute.
Dada went out of town so I tried to keep you busy while we were on our own. In trying to think up new activities, I thought it'd be fun for us to make cookies together. You sort of helped me, but overall weren't too interested...until the cookies were baked. You sure did love eating them. We also played lots of basketball, kickball, Uno, and Chutes and Ladders. Nana wasn't feeling well, so we painted her a picture. There was a also lots of general silliness while Dada was gone (well, there's silliness most days).
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| You and you're buddy flirting with the older girls. |
Dada came back from his trip in the middle of the week and he took the rest of the week off. Score! After that weekend was Memorial Day, so we had Dada home with us for six days straight! We packed that time with lots of fun. The best day was when we started off with going out to breakfast for pancakes, then we took you bowling. It was your first time bowling and you loved it. You're still asking about going again.
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| You showing off the new sandals Grammy got you. They're a little big, but you loved them. |
We also went to a bonfire one night with Dada's surf friend's and their families. You had a great time digging in the sand with the other kids, but I think you loved the Doritos we brought the best.
Another first this month was going to the dentist. I should have taken you a long while ago, but at least we did it. I was so proud of you that day. You were the BEST patient and let the hygienist and dentist do everything they needed to including x-rays and a cleaning with the spinning brush. It helped that you got to watch a movie while there, then got a prize from the treasure chest and a balloon. Great job, buddy.
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| You are so handsome. |
You may have noticed, somewhere in there we finally took you for a haircut. We were kind of attached to your long shaggy hair and didn't want to cut it, but it was getting hard to keep looking nice. You're handsome with it short too.
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| Eating a banana a new way. |
The big event for this month was an adventure in Portland. You were so excited to go because you wanted to ride on the airplane and watch a movie...the Cars movie to be exact. It was probably one of my most favorite vacations with you so far. You can read more about all the fun we had on the link above.
From previous posts, you have probably learned that swim class has been an on and off struggle. Sometimes you are great in class (no tears, doing what the coach asks, etc), and other times it's almost a nightmare. I can remember times where you screamed the whole time in class. Well, the last couple months I'd say you have been doing much better and somewhere in there found your confidence in floating...which is basically what you had to do for the level you were in. You could float on your back, flip to your front, then back again no problem. You have the very basics of kicks and scoops, but it's good enough for this level. SO, this month you finally graduated to the next level up! You had been wanting it so bad (mostly because we told you, you could have a treat when you moved up) and you did it! Next will be learning the basics of swim strokes, which I think will be difficult for you. Who knows how long it will take you to master this level...I hope it doesn't discourage you. Either way, we are so proud of you for doing a great job and moving up!
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| You love to do the cannon balls after class is over. |
You have been asking for a bike for a while now. I'm sorry, son, but you're not the most coordinated little kid. You're also pretty cautious. We figured a scooter might be an easier thing to learn first. Once you get balance down on the scooter (it has three wheels, but you need balance to turn), then we can try out a balance bike (no pedals - lots of people say it's better than a bike with training wheels). You loved picking out your robot helmet and are still scooting all over the place. Someone gave you a Razor scooter for your second birthday, but you couldn't get the balance down on that one. It's perfect for dad and I to ride though...ok it's a little small, but it works just fine for riding with you around the park or something.
Nothing much here. We just went to the beach one afternoon and you had fun digging in the sand. The waves were really high that day, and one washed some of your toys away. You weren't to happy to loose a sand truck, but we otherwise had a great time.
Another first for this month, was that you started soccer. It's really just a six week soccer class, not a team. You don't play any games, but you do fun drills and get to kick the ball and run around. You seem to like it and that's all that matters to me. Honestly, I'm not sure I'm ready to give up multiple days and/or weekends to sports yet. I feel like you have plenty of time for that when you're older. For now, I just want you (and I) to have fun with simple activities.
Recently you've decided you like pretending to be a cat. You'll crawl around and meow. Or crawl under things and meow. There's not much more to it than that. Silly kid.
What can I say? You're a full blown kid now. You talk a ton. You have the coolest personality. You're super sweet, and generally really nice to other kids. Unless you're in a mood, you will pretty much play with anyone. You're activities at home are mostly the same, but you seem to be getting more active.
You still LOVE basketball. Maybe even a little obsessed. We went to uncle Viet's house one day for lunch and took a USC basketball hoop we had in our garage (the small kind you stick on a door). You basically played with that thing the whole two hours or however long we were there. When we go to MyGym, you basically only play basketball now.
You're really into learning Spanish. You mastered the Colores book - whole thing memorized, so we got you the Camiones book. Well, you've almost mastered that too. And what's even cooler is that you use the words you learn all the time. You almost never say your colors in English now. When we were at the zoo, you saw a goat and called it a cabra. When we see tractors, you're calling out all the excavadoras. It's so awesome. You'll throw some people off though. For example, at My Gym we'll do an activity where they ask what color thing you have, and you'll yell it out in Spanish. The teachers seem surprised, but impressed. I've ordered you two more books with Spanish words. You love to read them before nap or bedtime, so we might as well keep this up! Great job, son. I love that you enjoy learning new things.
I'm looking forward to a fun summer with you, sweetpea. Happy half birthday!
Love,
Mama
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