2 and 3/4!!

Amos is getting close to being 3! How time flies, and yet, we were trying to remember life before Amos and it's really tough!

Some of his almost 3 skills are:

-Sometime in the last month, he said, "I wuv you, Mama!" totally spontaneously and without being coached. Talk about tears gushing and heart melting--I didn't cry, but I could have sat right there and just let the tears flow! Since then, he says "I wuv you" alot and even says, "I wuv you, tew!" and it's super cute. In fact, with the help of the Veggie Tales' Bunny Song ("The Bunny, the bunny, ooo, I love the bunny!"), it seems that he is grasping the whole concept of love and will say that he loves his little Grover guy, while giving it a hug.

-On that note, he also can recognize when he likes or dislikes something. That's also super cute!

-He also occassionally calls me "Mommy" which is funny and so grownup!

-He can articulate if something hurts, which is sooo helpful!

-He understands the concept of possession, often talking about "friends come to MY house!" or telling GrrDada and GrrMama, "I want to come to YOU house!" and likes it when we all have the same thing!

-He is recognizing numbers and letters alot more, and will randomly point out a number or letter in a sign if we're out and about. He always does this with a tone of joy and surprise too, making it that much better!

I've also been trying to teach him the concept of time--talking about things happening before or after meal or sleep times; and I've been teaching him a Days of the Week song that we used to sing at my job, to the tune of "Oh My Darlin' Clemetine." He's slowly learning and it's fun to hear him say, "Friends come to my house on Wensay after dinner!" That's when we have our community group meeting, and four more little girls in the house!

-He's still musical, although now, he is absolutely making as much noise as possible at any given minute. And I'm not exaggerating! He uses anything that remotely looks like a microphone to sing songs he's heard or made up at outside-voice volumes, singing like Robert Plant or Bono. And if he's not doing that, he's using anything stick-like as drum sticks and is furiously flailing his arms around, a la John Bonham (the greatest drummer, ever!) either in the air, or loudly, on his drums. In order to help him eat and not choke, we've had to institute a strict no drumming, piano playing OR singing policy at the table. It's tough but we all have to follow it! :)

-Speaking of eating, today I met with a dietician who works with children who are underweight or have eating issues. She gave me so much great information and now I feel confident and excited to figure out a menu for Amos that is both nutritious and fortified with extra fat and calories. She brought a scale with her and Amos weighed in at 23 lbs, 3 oz, with no clothes on. And at 35 and 1/3 inches, he's a skinny minny! But he's up almost a half inch from a month ago, so that's a good sign! He's growing and even though he's created his own curve, he's staying on it.

Tomorrow we're going to start meeting with an Occupational Therapist would will hopefully help with to develop his chewing skills and who will also help us figure out how to help Amos be a better eater overall!

-Also on the topic of health, we saw the neurosurgeon in mid-March and he gave Amos another clean bill of health. He was so pleased that he doesn't want to see Amos for a whole year! We were so thankful that we had been given such good news and hope (as we always do) that Amos' brain continues to work and grow well, and that we don't have to have any sort of major surgery anytime soon. If we do, it will be ok, but we'd prefer not to!

-This Spring, Amos has become more interested in his little bike and while he can't yet do the pedals and steer at the same time, he loves riding it around the house, pushing it with his feet! He's also into trucks and stacking, yesterday, doing a bit of both! He's so creative, he often makes anything into a toy or game!!

He also loves to go to the library so we go at least once a week. We have a few in our area so there's a nice variety. Amos always loves to play the computer games and is really close to completely mastering the mouse!

Amos is doing so well as an almost 3 year old! But there are a few things we're going to focus on in the coming months:

-POTTY TRAINING!! (yikes!)

-BINKY REMOVAL!! (again, ugh!)

-Socialization--how well he plays/interacts with others of his age. Right now, he's got a bit of a social anxiety thing going on where he's really shy in a new situation or place and will start singing loudly, drumming, or will completely hide and refuse to interact.
So it seems that we hibernated too well this winter: Amos stayed well but lost his ability to be comfortable around new situations and people. I am sure though, that we will be able to work on this, especially as it gets nicer out, and that Amos will enjoy more and more being with people!

-And of course, Eating and Weight Gain!

We'll see how it all goes as we approach his third birthday!!