As we come up on Liam's 3rd birthday on January 19th, I marvel at the progress he has made.
He still seems so much like a baby in so many ways - he still asks for his bottle, still likes to be bundled up and carried like a baby after his bath -- all of the things he missed as a baby, he, rightfully, asks for now. And he gets them.
But the progress he has made is amazing. He is starting to get interested in the potty again - especially since LaLa started rewarding his efforts with M&M's over Christmas and I've continued here. One day he asks to go on the potty for pee and poo and will keep a dry diaper all day - and the next day he will have nothing to do with the potty. It's a control issue at this point and because I suspect that his potty training wasn't a pleasant experience and he has had so little control over his life thus far - he can have all the time he needs to train himself.
His articulation may be poor, but his language has grown with leaps and bounds! It's so interesting to watch a 2 1/2 - 3 year old mind learn a new language. He's getting some verbs now although they may sometimes be a little mixed up:
"My car walking snow again." (My car is driving through the snow again.)
He is having a hard time with "my" and "your".
Mommy: "Liam, you're going to start sleeping in your Lightening McQueen bed when your 3!" Liam: "No, I sleep in MY bed.
Mommy: "You mean mommy's bed?"
Liam: "Yes, MY bed!"
Now, you might think that he thinks MY bed is HIS bed - but this "MY" instead of "YOUR" repeats itself in other situations. He's never actually said the word YOUR - hmmm.... maybe he does think everything is his!
One of my favorite Liam language stories happened when he was brushing his teeth one night. He had only been brushing one side of his mouth for quite awhile, so I said, "Liam, brush the other side, too." So he put the toothbrush on the outside of his cheek and started to brush.
"No, mommy, I brush INside!!"
Today, Liam started putting himself in a time out! He swung a rubber tube and hit Kyra in the face. Not hard, she wasn't hurt at all, but he knew it was a no,no. He went running (in his hilarious little baby run) toward the time out chair, yelling, "I sawwy Dywa! I sawwy Dywa!"
(I'm sorry Kyra) and climbed up on the time out chair. He sat himself down, looked at me and said, "I in time out!"
He is very much mommy's boy, but still outgoing, friendly, polite, and independent. He likes to do things himself. "No(a word I hear more than I care to lately) mommy, I do it!"
And when he's successful -- a beautiful big smile and a shout, "I Did It!!!" He is amazing at saying "Dank ew" - I almost never have to remind him and very good at saying "Peez".
His boisterous "Hewwo!"s have been replaced by a wave and maybe a quiet "Hello". I'm afraid he has learned this from his sister, Kyra. He's still an appropriately friendly little guy and if you're one of his favorite people - he'll run right over and hug your leg.
Liam loves his sister immensely. He tries to do everything she does -- which, in many cases, is not really a good thing -- but it's so sweet that he looks up to her that much. She loves him, too--- she loves to mother him, teach him things, and she is mostly a very sweet, kind big sister to him. When she talks to him in her sweet big sister voice and he responds in his sweet little brother voice - I just want to squeeze them both! Of course- those aren't always the voices they use with each other. There still remains t some serious sibling rivalry in this house. (I've ordered the book Siblings Without Rivalry, but haven't had a chance to start it yet. ) I think
we're at least to the point where the rivalry is fairly normal. We had a rough start, but we've come a long way.
This week-end, Liam will have a small Lightening McQueen birthday party. He wants to invite 2 girls to the party - Ella and Avery. Ella is 3 and is the little sister of Avery who is Kyra's friend. We have playdates with them a lot, but he never really plays with Ella, so I'm surprised at his choice of guests. I also invited our 3 year old neighbor, Skylar, who he plays nicely with quite often. Liam keeps saying "No Skylar. Ella and Avery hmmm Liam's Party!" Very puzzling - I hope he's polite to Skylar when she comes! He wants chocolate cupcakes with chocolate icing. Another chocolate lover in the house!
On Tuesday, we'll celebrate with just the 4 of us. It will be a bittersweet day as it always is on my children's birthday. I think of their birthparents and I know that their birthparents are thinking of them. I wish I could somehow let their birthparents know that Liam and Kyra are happy, healthy and safe.
My favorite thing that Liam has learned? " I wuv you, mommy" followed by a hug and then his little hands on the sides of my head for a loooonnnngggg Liam kiss. He's just too cute for words.
