snow | Freeheel Vegan

Preschool portrait 2017

3 YEARS OLD…MONTH 3
OCT 21, 2017 – NOV 20, 2017

VISITING FAMILY

we went to Ocean Shores,WA to visit Eric’s family (10/20-10/23)
see a recent post for more on this trip! [Autumn Trip to the Beach (Ocean Shores, WA]

Elisa & Todd – Damon Point beach – October 22, 2017

HOME ENTERTAINMENT

building puzzles & Lego Duplo “condo houses”
helping to build “big boy” Legos & playing with them
watching the short video clips for the Lego sets (on Amazon)
new interests: reading Stick Man & watching the same show on Netflix
he loves taking bubble baths
biggest ‘problem’ behavior (not new this month, I just haven’t mentioned it before): throwing things that aren’t ‘soft’ or ‘balls’ (those are the two categories of things he’s allowed to throw)
he said:
- “first beach, first dinosaur show…[then Halloween/trick-or-treat, then Boone’s house]” (he liked repeating the order of ‘fun things’ we had scheduled; he doesn’t yet use the word “second” properly but he’ll say “next”; he has a good sense for time)
- “enormous” (to describe parts of his animal friends)
- “me trapped” (after he got himself cornered with toys)
- “I wish me had race car…go race with those guys” (watching Formula 1 race)
- “me not panic” (while waiting for me to get the Lego Ninjago Master Falls video clip on the phone for him to watch)

Headstand – October 24, 2017

Lego guy with “special gear to dive down in water” – November 3, 2017

OUTSIDE ENTERTAINMENT

Eric takes him to the open gymnastics gym (11/6, 11/13, 11/20); he loved being chased by the girls
he loves shopping & was excited about finding The Creature From the Black Lagoon at Fred Meyer for a good price!

Movie find at Fred Meyer! – October 30, 2017

Snack time at the gymnastics gym – November 20, 2017

PRESCHOOL

Parents were invited to the ‘Harvest Performance’ (10/26), which involved Todd’s ‘Sprouts’ class singing a few songs. For this, Todd stood next to one of the teachers. When he saw Eric & I he wanted to come over to us but he was good & stayed put…but he started to tear up & fought back wanting to cry. He didn’t join in the singing, but he stayed still (so that made it successful!)
he’s adjusting to preschool…one morning he was ready to leave for preschool before Eric was ready
he wanted to show us his school work “my H paper” (worksheet)
he doesn’t say, “I don’t want go to preschool” as much as he did last month!

Harvest Performance -October 26, 2017

Todd in his group preschool picture

ERTH’S DINOSAUR ZOO LIVE
(a vegan zoo…this show features realistic dinosaur puppets!)

we saw this show at the Numerica Performing Arts Center (10/27)
he was so excited for this…leading up to the show & during the show
he loved clapping his hands when the audience would applause
he said repeatedly during the show:
- “maybe dinosaur coming back”

Eric & Todd – October 27, 2017

Todd & Elisa – October 27, 2017

Erth’s Dinosaur Zoo Live

“Tricerentops” – October 27, 2017

“MY DECORATION”

he saw this decoration at Costco during shopping trip & really wanted it (Eric didn’t get it at first); the next time they went shopping, it came home with us!
he loves “my decoration” & loves talking about all of the things he sees on it
he says:
- “one Santa skiing, one Santa drive train”
- “this guy ready ski down this hill”
- “you turn on my decoration, mama/dada”

HALLOWEEN

this was Todd’s first time trick-or-treating; Halloween was highly anticipated this year!
Todd wore his Hulk costume, Eric wore a Captain America mask & I wore a Chewbacca mask
we had to coach him regarding what to say, then he wanted to go inside the houses (social boy!)
he liked when other kids showed up at the same houses (especially a kid dressed as a dinosaur, just like in his Halloween book)

1st time trick-or-treating – October 31, 2017

FIRST SNOW OF THE SEASON

it snowed at least 3″ overnight so Todd had his first ski day! (11/5)
eating snow is still a big priority (same as last year)
see a recent post for video clips [First Snow Play of Winter (’17-’18)]

First snow of ‘Winter’ – November 5, 2017

‘Ski School’ -November 5, 2017

NEW CAR SHOPPING

we bought a 2018 Subaru Legacy (11/10)
Todd was patient during the long process!

New Subaru – November 10, 2017

SQUILCHUCK STATE PARK

snow play (11/12)
Todd tried to ski & ride his ski bike (but the conditions were difficult)
another family let us use their sled
Todd had fun throwing snowballs

Todd at Squilchuck – November 12, 2017

Todd & Elisa sledding – November 12, 2017

SKIING – MISSION RIDGE

we skied 2x this month (11/18, 11/19)
Todd rode chair 1, the Liberator quad & the rope tow
see the last post for video clips [Mission Ridge Ski Videos (3 Years, 3 Months)]
his ski skills picked up where they left off last season (and then some!) & he barely had to stop when skiing down from the top!
he had fun throwing ice chunks in the creek

Eric & Todd – November 18, 2017

Elisa & Todd – November 18, 2017

November 19, 2017

Throwing ice chunks in the creek – November 19, 2017

HEALTH, ETC

he stayed home sick from preschool (10/24)
he had an unusually crusty, inflamed nose after being sick last month, so we self-diagnosed it as a bacterial infection (impetigo?), treated it with some antibiotic ointment & it cleared up
Elisa was really sick with strep throat so Eric & Todd got checked out just in case; that gave us a chance to get him weighed & measured!
- Weight= 30 lb, 13.8 oz (14 kg) = 34th percentile (10/28 @ walk-in clinic)
- Height= 3 ft, 1.75 inches (0.959 m) = 45th percentile (10/28 @ walk-in clinic)
he had his 3-year check up (11/8)
- Weight= 31 lb (14.1 kg) = 34th percentile (11/8 @ well child check)
- Height= 3 ft, 0.5 inch (0.927 m) = 16th percentile (11/8 @ well child check)
he said:
- “me have bone” (when Eric asked him if he had to pee because he was grabbing at his groin area)
- “me have ‘nother bone” (that same evening)

he washes his hands with soap & dries his hands pretty well
he was able to take his long sleeve shirt off without assist (11/13)
he has a rich vocabulary & is very descriptive when talking about things
he uses proper use of singular/plural (i.e., that/those, it/all, etc)

FOOD NOTES & DINING OUT

he helps me measure dry ingredients to make muffins (he calls them “pies”), then eats several bites before asking for another one
he says:
- “I want capes!” (capers)

“Pies” – November 5, 2017

Dining out: Thuy Pho (10/23), Casa Tapatia (10/23, 11/18), La Fuente (11/8), Taco Del Mar (11/10), Lemolo (11/12)
he is capable of feeding himself but insists on being fed his beans & rice

Todd & Elisa at Lemolo – November 12, 2017

Eric & Todd at Lemolo – November 12, 2017

Casa Tapatia – November 18, 2017

Hulk says “Eat beans, not beings!!” – November 20, 2017

DAY TIME NAPS

naps are ~2 hours long
on 10/29 he cried at the start of his nap (after a very, very difficult night’s sleep the night before); he stopped crying when I rocked him in a semi-upright position in my rocker/glider chair (like old times!) & then he napped on me for a long while; when he woke up he came out to the living room but then fell asleep again on the bed after he took some children’s Advil

He fell asleep after having some medicine – October 29, 2017

NIGHT TIME SLEEP

he woke up in the night at least 16x this month (I might have missed a few more)
most nights he wants me to “stay, hold my hand” & some nights he says “I want you go, not close door”
10/29 was his worst night of sleep ever in his life- he was basically up from 12:30-4:30 (on & off sleep 3:30-4:30); we figured it out the next day that he must have had painful pressure in his head while lying down, because he did the same unusual crying in his bed went starting his nap 10/30 (see nap notes above); in the morning I heard him say “I know how go to sleep” (he was possibly not quite awake)
he said:
- “I want say trick or treat again” (at 2 AM, on 11/1)
- “I do this page again and that’s it” (while reading books before bed)
- “me was being frustrated with my covers”
- “kitty scrape me, I cry” (when he woke up in the morning & told me about his bad night-night show)
- “I want get out..I want sleep mama bed…those scary guys” (he had a bad night-night show 11/13)

NEW BED TENT

I bought a 1-person tent to use as a travel bed for Todd when we go visit family, to replace the Pack ‘n Play (which is getting too small) (11/3)
he wanted to sleep in the new tent in the living room, so that’s what we did
it turns out that the crib mattress matches the width of the tent perfectly!
on 11/4 we took apart his crib because Todd wanted the tent in his room
I leave the zipper partially open so he can slip out the door if needed
he slipped out of his bed tent on his own just twice (after those instances he would still call for me)
- #1 was in the middle of the night on his first night in the tent…he got out & managed to find Eric in the dark (it was snowing outside!)
- #2 was the next night…he was getting out of bed in the morning upon waking (& I nearly stepped on his head!)