The good thing about not getting to this post on Matt's birthday means that I'm able to include some information from his 3-year check-up last week. Matt measured at 39 inches and 35.6 pounds, both around the 85th percentile. (Some of Matt's buddies are starting to pass him in height, but he's still one of the taller kids.) The pediatrician was pleased with Matt's progress and health.
How to describe Matt at three years of age? He is funny, fun, imaginative, talkative, intelligent, focused, silly, independent, affectionate, exuberant, vocal, goofy, helpful, smart, and sometimes stubborn. Like any three year old he likes pushing limits (with Mom especially), he demands attention, he likes hearing and doing some things over and over, and he has days when he can be picky about what he eats or does. But the trade off are those moments when he climbs into a lap to read, when he wants to play a game or solve a puzzle together, when he wants to talk about something to learn more about it, and when his observation skills and ability to pick things up allow him to make connections. His comprehension is better and richer, and his interests are deeper and broader now that he's three.
Matt often enjoys activities that involve sitting down and concentrating, like reading, puzzles, and building or constructing. He is really enjoying his Lego Duplos and magnetic blocks. His engineering pedigree comes through pretty strongly when he is taking things apart and/or putting things together, like the take apart vehicle he got for his birthday. He still likes playing in the sandbox and driving his cars and trucks around. And he's a big fan of stickers, although he will paint, color, and draw, too. He also enjoys physical activity, like running after friends at the park, jumping, kicking, throwing, and sliding. He seems to be enjoying his recent sports activities. He has shown some nice improvement in soccer and is fond of kicking, but it's still way too early to tell which sport(s) he'll choose. And Matt likes to help with chores, especially loading the laundry, setting the table, and wiping up and sweeping. He's great at cleaning up toys at every place except home, where he'd rather keep things set up for next time.
Matt speaks a lot and well. The pediatrician noted how clearly he spoke, which is something that has happened within the past few months. He still has trouble with words like spider ("fider"), smoothie ("foovie"), and a few other diphthongs. His speech pattern is much closer to an adult's, although there are still some phrases he says just a little bit differently. He still has to figure out a few finer grammatical points when it comes to pronouns (himself instead of "hisself," for example, and "Where are they?" instead of "Where are them?") and past tenses (caught instead of "catched," for example, and other irregular verbs and participles). But his mistakes show he has a pretty good handle on the basics. He is also fond of rhyming and making up words a la Dr. Seuss (Fox in Socks is one of his favorite books).
Matt's interests are still very much the same as they have been: vehicles, including trucks and trains; dinosaurs; and animals, including insects and other bugs. He also has a soft spot for robots. He continues to love Curious George, Winnie the Pooh, and Thomas the Train and friends. A few other characters don't make the absolute favorites but are well liked include Cat in the Hat, Clifford the Big Red Dog, Pete the Cat, Elephant & Piggie, and Lightning McQueen (he really just likes the fact that the vehicles have expressions - the actual stories aren't very important to him).
One area that we've seen a lot of change in the past six months or so is Matt's imagination. He now makes up increasingly elaborate play situations, and he can keep a narrative going for quite a while. He loves "fixing" vehicles and roads for his vehicles, constructing items for and/or driving around his imaginary friends the polar bears and their friends the mice and lady bug, doctoring people or animals (including dinosaurs), and preparing food and drink in his play kitchen. I've also heard him carry on "dialogues" among the various participants in his set-ups, like the dump truck and train in his new construction site.
Matt enjoys being around people. He tends to enjoy following around kids who are about six months or so older, although he has decided he's had enough of the rough housing the 3 1/2 and 4 year olds like to engage in. Matt does seem to prefer to play with friends than play on structures at the playground (although he is big into slides again at the moment). That said, Matt plays well by himself at times and can take the initiative to find something to do on his own. Matt is still figuring out his role as big brother. He can be possessive of his toys and space, which may become an issue once Andy is mobile. But he likes that Andy finds him funny and tries to help, singing "Itsy Bitsy Spider" when Andy gets upset or looking for a toy or pacifier to give him.
Matt dresses himself, although he doesn't always choose to do so, and can put on some of his shoes by himself, too. One of his favorite things to do right now is deliberately choose mismatched socks. He is still in 4T shirts and 3T pants, although probably not for too much longer. He seems to have outgrown most, if not all, of his size 9 shoes, and his size 10s fit pretty well.
Matt is somewhat pickier as an eater and prone to having favorite items. Most recently peanut butter crackers were his preferred food item. He still eats a decent amount of fruit and vegetables, though.
