3 year check-up

Sam and Seth had their 3 year old check-up a couple of weeks ago. I thought that it would be a good time to document not only their stats, but what those silly little twins of mine are up to:

• They BOTH weighed 31 lbs. and they BOTH were 3 ft. 2 inches. That puts them in the 50th percentile for both categories. (We were surprised because they are SO skinny their little ribs stick out).
• The doctor was very complementary of their intelligence and mellow personalities; it’s always wonderful to get a clean bill of health for your kids and a confidence boost from your doctor on your parenting skills. When we got home the boys promptly humbled me by throwing huge fits the rest of the afternoon.
• Back in June the boys tossed out their afternoon nap, or actually, I did away with it. Surprised? Me too! A year ago I would never had thought this possible, but here’s why: when they fall asleep in the afternoon they are up that night until 10 or 11. Yuck. Also, they would almost always wake-up screaming for a long time. Double yuck. So I still have been putting them down for a “rest” which means that they play quietly in their room. It has actually worked out wonderfully. And if there is something social we’re doing in the evening, or if they’re really tuckered out, I have them nap. Pretty good system.
• They love to sleep in in the morning. They are rarely up before 8:30. I love it!

This is the boys golfing with their cool golf clubs from papa. (I don’t want to bore you with too many words so I thought I’d throw in some cute pictures.)

• Seth and Sam’s favorite thing to do is to pretend family style. “You the mama?” “No, I’m the daddy.” “You the baby?” “No, I’m the brother.” On and on and on. Daily they are baby mice, mama squirrels, daddy puppy dogs, etc.. It’s cute—at first. By six o’clock at night it’s quite annoying. “Come here Seth,” I’ll say. “I not Seth, I’m mama.” Try that for the 15th time everyday. I’ll be ok when this phase is over.
• They talk CONSTANTLY, constantly, constantly. Their speech is quite advanced and they can verbalize anything they need.
• They know all their letters except for about 5 and are starting to get sounds and what letter words start with.
• They are great helpers, especially with their daddy. They love doing “man work” with him!
• They love to build using any media: Lincoln logs, legos, marbleworks, etc. They also “make” the frame of houses and pipe works, etc. (all from Richard Scarry’s “How to Build a House” story).
• They love to be outside and play in dirt, rocks, and water. They usually spent most their day in their underwear. Oh and they go through about 6 pairs of underwear a day because they go from the wet pool to sitting in dirt playing, etc. I love little boy underwear tan lines! I woke them up one morning and they didn’t want to cuddle with me. So I left for a bit and came back to this, Sam had crawled in bed with Seth. LOVE IT!
• It may be their age, or the traumatic VBS experience, or Ben and I going to Hawaii for a week…but Seth and Sam are really struggling with separation anxiety. They have been my little shadows and will not let me out of their sight when we’re not home or other people are around. They also are refusing to go to the nursery in church for the first time in their lives. Oh, well. I’m sure it’s just a phase.
• They have a great sense of humor, love to tease and laugh.

 

This is Seth’s football outfit (wait until you see Sam’s) and his scooter pose.

 SETH

• Seth is my more reserved son, and has many “first-born” tendencies.
• If we have company or go somewhere, he stays VERY close to me. He’s very shy.
• He holds markers and crayons perfectly and loves to color. He can “write his name” meaning that he can write all the letters, just not in the proper order. It’s pretty cool.
• Seth recently went through a huge struggle with ear infections, even though he had tubes in his ears (they were put in about two years ago). Come to find out, the tubes were actually causing the problem because they had partially fallen out and were trapping infection in his ears. The doctor pulled them out in office, and I couldn’t have been more proud of Seth and how brave he was as the doctor did some pretty uncomfortable things to him. He sat perfectly still in my lap and didn’t cry once. My kids may not be able handle VBS, but I guess they can do the doctor.
• He’s pretty patient, can sit and do an activity for a long time, and is good at puzzles.

This is Sam’s “every day outfit” (always just undies) and his football gear (yes, that’s his cape). I love these pictures of him!

SAM

• Sam is more social and will warm up to people faster. When we have other kids over, he will pair off and play with them, sometimes without Seth. He loves babies.
• We’re struggling a bit with Sam and potty accidents. We’re not sure if it’s a power struggle thing, or if he just waits too long. Regardless, it makes for some frustrating incidents!
• Sam is working really hard at holding his crayons correctly. He’s so persistent and earnest.
• He holds his scissors and cuts a bit better than Seth.
• He seems to really thrive off positive reinforcement through words.
• Sam still really loves his daddy and often cries in the morning when he finds out Ben is at work. He can’t wait for Ben to get home at night so they can wrestle. He cuddles with him for a long time on weekend mornings.
• He loves his sports, but even more so, loves the sports gear and always has to be wearing the proper shoes, shirts, etc. He is very hard headed about this!