This week, Diego has had a pile of firsts! Watching him go through these is like magic for me, whether they are good firsts, or challenging firsts, growing up is magical to watch. Don't get me wrong, I DON'T want my only child to grow up too quickly, and I'm drinking in every second of his small little self and all its glory.
:: We took our first trip of the season to the outdoor pool and our local gym. It was a gorgeous day and I couldn't pass up a little pool time with my little guy and some friends. He wore water wings (you know, the thingys that go on his arms to help him float?) and even though he resisted a little, it turned out fantastic! He LOVES the water and has recently been longing for a bit more independence in the pool. The water wings gave that to him! Even though I was still right next to him the whole time, just the fact that he could float on his own and jump in without me catching him was exactly what he needed!
:: We've had to step up our game a bit on the discipline lately and it has really paid off. He is finally old enough to understand that he has to stay in time out until the timer goes off. Up until now, he would just get up (no matter how many times I would put him back) and thought it was a big game. This last week, he has stayed put for his 3 minutes (for the most part) and got up when the timer goes off. I have seen a HUGE improvement in his ability to follow directions and listen to us. He knows we mean business and for as little effort it took, I wish we would have been a bit more firm a while ago, but hey, live and learn, right? He was a total angel today and I know it was because of the hard work we have all put in recently to guide him. I have also started paying WAY more attention to what he does right, than what he does wrong. It is so easy (especially with a 3 year old, amen?) to just say NO and STOP THAT all day without recognizing the little things he is doing wonderfully! Praise really is the key and even though I've known this all along, consciously making that effort has been quite rewarding to he and I both.
:: He has started to be even more interested in the music we listen to, just like me! He asks the song title and artist of almost every song we hear and will sing along really well after only hearing the song a few times. I have always been this way and hearing my son pick up on it is so fun for me! His current favorites are Edge of Glory by Lady GaGa (who has been a favorite of his for a while now), Dynamite by Taio Cruz and Honky Tonk Badonkadonk by Trace Adkins. He and I sang Honky Tonk Bandonkadonk (just that line) about 10 times at bedtime tonight and he giggled everytime he said badonkadonk. I LOVED IT! I love having someone to sing with!
:: Diego has always enjoyed memorizing words and parts of books. He usually has a favorite book we read over and over for a period of time before moving on to a new one and eventually he will memorize at least some of the words. His recent favorite is "Llama Llama Misses Mama" by Anna Dewndney. Most of the other books he has memorize pieces of are board books with far fewer words than this one. Tonight, he wowed me! He recited several pages of this book without any reminding from me. It felt like he was reading the book to me! He even used the same voice inflections as I use when I read it to him. It was incredibly sweet to hear. I need to take a video, something for me to watch over and over.
:: This isn't new, but Diego is an impressive copy cat. He will copy just about anything he hears or sees in others around him. He will mimic words and sounds and today at the park he even wanted to take off his shirt and shoes because another boy had taken his off (I said NO! LOL). Its pretty cute, but not so convenient when something inappropriate slips out of someone's mouth!
:: Another benefit to the stepped up discipline is Diego is cleaning up after himself very well! Cleaning up is something I used to dread doing with him because it was such a fight and many nights I would clean up after he was in bed, just to save myself from having to deal with the fit he would throw. This week though, he will clean up one toy before getting out another! YES! Now if only Eddie and I could do the same, we might occasionally have a picked up house!
:: A bit random, but today was our dog, Chloe's, 9th birthday. When I told Diego this morning he thought we should take her to NW Kids club to play and also buy her a new train as a present. (Thoughtful and smart little bugger, isn't he?) I did let him pick out a new toy for her at the store today. He chose a soft basketball for her and came home and gave it to her, it was really cute. He also recently found a small framed picture of Chloe I used to keep on my desk as work (before I had a child!) and it now sits on his dresser in his bedroom. And he often looks at it to make sure its still there and says "Chloe is my favorite dog ever." When we came back from vacation he said to her "Chloe, oh, I missed you so much!" Weird because he seems to always be frustrated with her because she is ALWAYS in his face. They are slowing becoming best buds and I love that we can go to other friends' house that have dogs and he isn't bothered by them. Big dogs used to always scare me and now that we have one of our own, its not as big of a deal.
:: Diego had TWO bloody noses yesterday. Totally freaky for me. I never had a bloody nose until I was 27 and pregnant (I cried and called Eddie at work because I was just sure it meant something was wrong with the baby or my blood pressure was REALLY high), so they are not familiar for me. It was first thing in the morning and we are not sure if he was picking his nose or it just happened, but it seemed to stop fairly quickly at home. Then about 30 minutes later we were in the car and it just started dripping blood. It was just him and I and I was downtown Salem and had really no place to pull over so I just kept handing him kleenex. He kept it under control for the most part and finally a kleenex stuck to it and soaked up the majority of the blood. It had stopped by the time we got home and he didn't seem bothered by it one little bit. He just said "I need to tell Jaycoby about my bleed." LOL Jaycoby is one of his little buddies who we see at least weekly. Diego likes to tell everyone about his owies, even if they are all healed.
