Almost 3 year old Eli

It's hard to believe, but Eli will be 3 in about 2 1/2 weeks! He's doing great and continues to be SO pumped about starting preschool. Preschool will be for 2 mornings a week starting mid September. We will soon get his supply list which will be too fun to shop for. Although I can't imagine it being much more than crayons and kleenex :) Eli's birthday bash will be 2 weeks from today and will have a Hotwheels theme, which really is perfect since his Hotwheels are his most prized possession right now! Should be a fun time!! On a random side note, I find it funny that Eli will be old enough to play with most toys. Ya know, everything always says "not for children under the age of 3" :)

Due to the CRAZY hot weather we have been experiencing, our days are mostly spent inside. My list of outings will have to wait until this heatwave subsides which could not come any sooner for me! We could at least drop to late 80's....geesh!! Anyway, there is a fun water park near us that had a children's time twice a week for 2 hours. We sadly only attended 2 of these, but it was fun each time!! Here are pictures:


See Eric & Eli?:

Oooo...water slides....maybe in a couple of years?:

Checking out the lazy river:

Being stuck inside, Eli has become quite creative. This picture he is "skating" and "shooting"....nice, huh?!:

Eli got into my bathroom drawer and honestly put this ensemble together all by himself...totally sweatin' to the oldies...right?!:

We also do a lot of coloring, play-doh, stickers, reading, and playing games. Eli's coloring has improved and as you can see he is more intentionally coloring things instead of scribbling all over the page...see the pink kitty-kat and orange boots?:

A funny story about Eli is today he was running around the house (quite common). He for some reason kept falling down and would say "I keep dropping myself!" HA!!

On babycenter, they have milestone charts. Eli's is as follows and he can do the ones in red:

Child's Age	Mastastered Skills (most kids can do)	Emerging Skills (half of kids can do)	Advanced Skills (a few kids can do)
31 and 32 months	• Recites own name • Draws a circle	• Puts on a T-shirt • Balances on each foot for a second • Recognizes ABCs • Brushes teeth by herself	• Uses two adjectives • Draws a cross • Points to objects described by use
33 and 34 months	• Names one color • Names one friend • Carries on a simple conversation	• Alternates feet going up and down stairs • Uses prepositions (e.g., on, in, over) • Speaks clearly most of the time (75 percent can be understood) • Stacks eight blocks	• Is toilet trained during the day • Wiggles thumb • Expresses a wide range of emotions • Draws a stick figure
35 and 36 months	• Describes how two objects are used • Uses three to four words in a sentence • Names two actions (e.g., skipping, jumping)	• Hops and skips • Follows a two- or three-part command • Separates fairly easily from parents • Rides a tricycle	• Balances on each foot for three seconds • Gets dressed without help

According to this chart, Eli is right on target or even a little ahead in some areas. What's interesting is he is SO stubborn about getting dressed so he probably could if he tried, but we often do it for him just to get him dressed :) In music class we do some hopping on each foot and Eli can do this if he balances on me, but not alone.

As for potty training, well, he really is ready and with a little "shove" from us, he will do fine. But, with Anna, we had decided to not even attempt full on training until we felt ready as we knew he would probably regress once she was born. So, last week I took him to buy underwear (he picked out super heroes), he is only wearing pull-ups, and he will be sat on the toilet every 1-2 hours starting tomorrow. If he poops or pees, he will earn an M & M. This boy is very motivated by candy so hopefully this works :) He pooped on the potty for daddy yesterday, but only after daddy left the bathroom so he could be alone :) He's a private pooper! We'll see how this goes and then we will start him wearing his underwear a few hours a day and maybe go all out naked if that doesn't work. We'll just see how it goes!! Wish us luck!!

With me starting work we will have to stop music class :( Preschool will be awesome for him so I am looking forward to him starting. I know he'll do great but will have to work on listening and patience....along with his classmates I'm sure!! Considering some kind of activity he can be "active" in starting in the fall or winter but budget may say otherwise. He is such an active kiddo, though, so we'll see what we can find!