Erik at 3.5 years old

I figure I better get this update done now as I could have a new baby by the 10th and blogging will not be a priority then!

What is Erik like at 3 1/2??


Personality:

Overall, Erik is a really laid back kid.  He is patient and accepts change quite easily.  By this I mean, if I change my mind about something or don't follow through with a plan it doesn't cause him to be upset (usually).

He is gentle and on the quieter side.  He does NOT like being the center of attention in a group setting.  He is visibly uncomfortable when in the spot light.  He is very observant and seems to be quite aware of other people's feelings/moods. 

He is very social and LOVES to play with other kids and his friends at school.  He is not the team leader but most definitely wants to be part of whatever is going on and craves social activities.  His teachers have commented that he gets great joy out of playing with the other kids.  Cute!

He had a month or two of tough behavior - tantrums, crying, etc.  This was right after we moved though and once we were settled in the new house, school, neighborhood these behaviors just about disappeared.

If he argues with anyone it is almost always Victor.  This seems to have improved some recently but it is still an issue.  Neither Victor nor I know why this is happening but I hope and pray it isn't a long term trend as I long for my kids to have a close relationship with both parents.   (That being said Erik loves to spend time with Victor - a favorite game being chase.  Most of their interactions are positive but they definitely have more conflict than Erik and I have.)

Social Activities:

Erik goes to preschool two mornings a week for 2.5 hours.  He LOVES school!  He has never complained about being dropped off.  He talks about random kids but no one seems to be a "best" friend.  He didn't start preschool until December 1st though so the other kids had known each other for 3 months already.

Erik also goes to a gymnastics class once a week.  The class is small (about 5 kids).  He has a wonderful time and looks forward to it each week.  I get to watch the class (don't go in with him) and I love to see him giggle and play with the other kids.  He is getting more advanced in his skills which is also neat to see.  He is eager to try new things and seems to follow instruction well.

There are a lot of kids in our neighborhood close in age to Erik.  A lot of them have 2 working parents though so our interactions with them are somewhat minimal.  He really seems to enjoy a new neighbor girl named Abigail and a little boy named Noah.  I am sure we will see people outside more this spring and summer.  It will be neat to see friendships develop.


Cognitive Skills:

At 3.5 Erik recognizes all of his uppercase letters, most of his lowercase letters (the letters p, g, d, b, and q he has trouble with).  He counts correctly to 13 but then skips around some.  He has learned how to count on his fingers and likes to display that skill. He correctly identifies the numbers 1- 10 although likes to tell me a 9 is really a P.   He has just started trying to figure out all the letter sounds and often tries to figure out what letter a word starts with on his own.  He recognizes his name but when he spells it out loud he usually still skips the I.  He is NOT at all interested in writing out letters, numbers, shapes, etc.  He really dislikes drawing although enjoys painting.

 Erik has started to be more interested in puzzles and can complete some jigsaw puzzles on his own.  He LOVES to read and would listen to books all day long if he could!

Around the house:

He is a good helper.  He sets the table for dinner and clears his own spot off the table.  He gets himself dressed in the morning.  He is easily distracted so I have started to give him "money" on the days he gets himself dressed promptly.  Most days this motivates him.  He is saving up his pennies/nickles/dimes for a "convelter" aka toy conveyor belt.  He has been focused on this goal for about a month.

He is still wearing pull-ups at night.  Sometimes dry, sometimes not.  We are not pushing the issue at all and won't take them away until he is consistently dry as I do not want to have to get him out of bed at 10:30 or so every night to go to the bathroom.

He LOVES to play outside and is very excited about our new deck/fence.  He can ride his trike or balance bike for about 1.5 miles.

Bedtime is around 8:30 PM and he usually gets up around 6:30 AM.  He still naps for 1.5 to 3 hours every day.  The only days he skips a nap is if he sleeps in until 7:30 or 8:00 AM which is rare.

He is a great big brother to Lainey.  He is pretty patient with her and enjoys playing with her.  He gets a big kick out of some of her antics.

MEDICAL:

Reflux seems to be pretty much resolved.  Still has a sensitive stomach and doesn't tolerate greasy food.

Allergies and asthma are his main issues.  We started him on daily nebulizers (Budesonide) due to the fact that he has had multiple episodes of bronchitis and pneumonia requiring steroids during the past year.  He has been healthy since started that so we will see if it helps him through his next bad chest cold/virus.

He has bad seasonal allergies.  We started him on Singulair 4mg a day recently and hope it helps us get through the allergy season without multiple drugs this year.  We may consider treating him with allergy shots next year if this year is a struggle again.

He is still allergic to tree nuts.  Cats also bother him sometimes.  I would love to get a cat as both kids love them but somehow we need to find one that doesn't bother him (about 25% of cats seem to really, really irritate his allergies).  Maybe we will look for one as a 4th birthday present.  We'll see!

He is very sensitive to chemicals (anaphylactic reaction to Dial body wash in November) so we try to keep all our cleaning/bathing products chemical free. 

Erik is around 39-40 inches tall and 35 pounds.

Erik you are a wonderful little boy!  We love you!