Art had his three year check-up and he's in great shape.  He's a little over 40" tall (96th percentile!) and weighed around 37 pounds.  He's a big boy, but we didn't need the doctor to tell us that. 

The nurse had him do vision and hearing tests, but she said that it's not really vital until kindergarten, so if he isn't able to follow the directions no problem.  She showed him a card with four shapes on it and he had to identify them; circle, square, house and heart/apple shape.  Then he sat on a stool and was supposed to identify the shapes on the chart accross the room.  Now, I know he has great vision because he picks out the craziest things far away while we're driving.  Still, he didn't identify the first few lines of the vision test.  Then, when they were pretty big, he could tell what they were.  "Square…Circle…" Pause.  It was that heart/apple thing.  She skipped it because he didn't really know w hat that was. Neither did I, really, either.  It was kind of weird.  Then she pointed to a house shape and Art said, "Egg."  Ok!  We're done with that one! No big deal. 

The hearing test was quite the same.  He wore the headphones, she told him to raise his hand and say, "I hear it!" if he hears the beep.  She would push the button and he would just sit there.  She'd say, "Can you hear that?" and he'd say, "Yeah."  Then you just say, I can hear it!  She tried again.  Same thing.  One more try…  No response from Art.  She said, "Hello?" and he said, "Hello."  Ok!  No biggie.  Moving on…

Meanwhile, in Lewis's corner…

Lewis is definitely right handed!  When given a choice he will use his right hand to pick things up.  He also can use his pincer grasp to pick up small things like cheerios or baby "puffs", but he is not interested in eating them.  I've tried many times, and I will keep trying, but even if he likes it when I give it to him he just doesn't seem to want to pick it up and put it in his mouth.

But we do have some progress on the crawling front!  This morning Lewis pushed himself backwards on the floor!  This is a good first step towards crawling as he realizes his arms can move himself.  On the rug he also lifted his butt up in the air and walked his feet a little bit.  He didn't move anywhere, but this is progress!

The last couple weeks we have seen an explosion of interest in animals talking. “Crocco” his new crocodile, finger puppets and the lion and lamb puppets Ben found at IKEA for Art’s birthday. “Can you make the ____ talk?” Fill in the blank. It could be an elephant, a giraffe or a horse. Last night he wanted to have the lamb on his hand after bedtime books to make the lamb talk. I asked if the lamb was going to say goodnight. “He isn’t going to say anysing,” Art replied. Then I turned out the light and kissed Art goodnight.

Later that night I checked on him and the lamb was still on his hand. I wonder if he’s still there this morning…
– jess

"Is this your car, Papa."
"Yes."
"It's smelly in your car. Why Papa?"

A notable occasion in our home–all dishes were dirty.

Now that we realize Art is just being a normal three year old (hitting his brother, melting down about his apple being cut in incomplete circles) our biggest wish for our family is that Lewis learns to crawl.  I mean, we really want him to crawl, but we are blessed with such simple wishes.

Today we are thinking of Nora and her family.  We wish for you a really good scan!!!  Love to Nora!

Art has really been getting into pretending his stuffed animals can talk, think, eat, poop, pee, dance, or, as seen here, eat a cinnamon roll for breakfast. This crocodile was a birthday present which Arthur named “Crocco.”

Cleaning up after making icing.

Jessica made a beautiful chocolate cake.

About that last post. Jess and I are feeling alot better. In part because Arthur has been back to his normal loving self all day, but also because that was a feeling we felt and aren't as much now. My mother and Jessica's Aunt Nance, after reading the post, also gave us some wonderful motherly advice and support. I hope Nance doesn't mind me sharing some hers it here:

———-

"Part of the joy (and sometimes sorrow) of being a parent is watching your kids turn into different people as they grow up and develop and learn about the world they want to be in. What's fascinating is not knowing who that person is going to be eventually…  I can say, though, that generally kids turn out better than you could ever imagine, especially if they know they are loved and will always be safe with you."

"After Art has one of his crazy moments and knows he's made you mad and then feels really bad about it, talk to him about how he's feeling and let him know that you're not going to leave him to figure this out on his own. Don't make a huge deal, but let him know that he hasn't disappointed you and that you understand not everyone can always be perfect and that you're all there to help each other get through each other's difficult times."

And don't worry about losing that sweet Art. He'll be back and be more wonderful each time."

It’s hard to describe, but being around Art lately has been really sad for both of us. Watching him grow up from a baby to a walking thinking toddler has been a joy. He could get absorbed with an object, and idea, or us. But in the past couple weeks it seems as though he’s become more self aware, and experiments with his boundaries with less reservation. He’ll hit Lewis, make noises he knows are too loud, or talk in nonsense words and dance around when we ask him to get dressed or brush his teeth. Giving him a time-out or getting mad with him confuses him, even scares him. It’s almost like something takes him over and he doesn’t know what he’s doing. And by the time he realizes it it’s too late, Lewis has been hit or his chance to go to the zoo is past. And he cries really hard and in a way that’s especially heartbreaking. Jess and I just had a good little cry about it. Right now it seems like something wonderful about Art has been lost forever. In time I know things will change again, but right now it’s sad.