Drayden: THREE years old

Our boy Drayden is THREE years old!!

(just waiting on pictures)

March 1, 2019

He is such a bundle of loud energy, joy, smiles and giggles.

He is 29 lbs and 36.75 inches tall. He is wearing 2T and a few 3T clothes. His shoe size is a 6. He keeps his underwear dry day and night, with the occasional accident during the day. He can now get on and off the potty all by himself and get his underwear and pants up afterwards, unless he poops. He has moved down to the basement with the other two kids and sleeps in a toddler bed in there and has done well for the most part. He comes out more than we want sometimes, but it comes in stages. He also likes to talk more than the others want to hear, and he has to be reminded to be quiet when one of them says they want to go to sleep. But overall, it was a smooth transition. He can almost dress himself, but shirts and socks can be tricky.

Drayden is a pretty easy going little guy, always up for being involved with what the others are doing. He doesn't like to miss out. He is loud, we tell him often to not be so loud, but we keep telling him. He doesn't have an inside voice yet. When he plays, he plays hard. He loves wrestling with Ryken and Ryken equally enjoys it. He loves bouncing balls and any other kind of ball. He enjoys cars and trucks as well. He loves jumping on the neighbors trampoline and playing with any and all kids. He is so social and so friendly. He will come up to someone and just hold their hand or ask to sit with them.  He is our affectionate one. Always touching or being near you. He is a people person. He says hi to most people in the store and is ready to befriend any kid. He loves to talk and sometimes he talks just to be heard and we have to tell him to be quite. He is loud, have I mentioned that? He loves his little sister and calls her "Avonlea Sweetheart" and is always so excited to see her when she wakes up from a nap or when he does. He comes and plays with her often or talk to her. He loves watching on the iPad with Raya and enjoyed playing on the iPad too. It's amazing how easily they figure things out. He loves certain shows, and only a few of them can he watch all the way through. Drayden loves baths and water in general. He loves playing at the park. He loves playing soccer with dad or the kids.  He loves a good cardboard box to play with. He is very ticklish. He does hurt himself quite often. He will fall in the middle of the floor when nothing is around him.  He hits his head on things on a regular basis from just not being careful. He will fall off things as well. Kinda a klutz. He likes the idea of coloring, but he doesn't last too long with it. He likes having books read to him and looking at books. He has started to really enjoy building things with magna-tiles. He is slowly learning his numbers, letters, shapes and colors. Drayden can cause problems a lot of the day, he can be annoying to the other kids and just cause problems. He is curious and touches things he shouldn't and doesn't always stop when asked. He has started learning some of the 10 commandments and catechism questions and sure enjoys singing the Psalms. He has grown a lot with sitting during Sunday school, church services as well as Prayer meeting. He still will need discipline and lots of reminders, but he has come a long way. He is our encourager and thankful kid. He will often tell someone good job when they have done something. He will tell people he loves them randomly and go through the whole family. When he is given something or taken somewhere fun he says "Thank you" several times. It's so sweet and genuine (most the time).

Drayden doesn't not like much, except for your typical toys being taken from you and not getting your turn. He can often cry very easily when he is told no or when there is something that he was expecting to happen and doesn't - but he also has gotten very good at getting himself under control when he starts to cry and we tell him to stop.

He is a good sleeper. He still takes a nap on most days and doesn't fit it too much yet. Sometimes he comes up and says he is ready for a snack, but he hasn't slept. He seems to enjoy crawling into bed and being under his blankets. He likes certain animals in his bed too. He sleeps through the night and sometimes has the occasional bad dream. He goes to bed when the others do around 8:30-8:45pm, but like I mentioned before, sometimes has a harder time settling down -because of his nap. When he wakes up, he informs us he had a good sleep.

Drayden can eat a lot, but he also can be picky. We have been struggling with his eating habits lately in the fact that he has become more picky with lunch, but mainly dinner. When the kids complain about supper, we will take their meal away and give them a piece of bread...well for Drayden is would rather have the bread...so we are trying to figure that one out. Haha. He loves the idea of meals - always ready for the next meal or snack. He gets one snack after nap and then one shortly before bed. He is doing great with drinking out of a cup and really likes milk. He often is the first one to ask for it. He drinks a good amount of water throughout the day as well. He doesn't like to be messy with meals and will often ask for a napkin. He loves treats and dessert when he gets them. He loves a good treat like the next guy.

Drayden is a little boy full of energy and smiles for the most part. His laugh is contagious. We are thankful for the joy, energy and love he brings to our family.

Birthday Interview:

1. My favorite color is: green
2. My favorite toy is: choo choo trains
3. My favorite food is: taquitos
4. One food that I really don't like is: PB & J
5. My favorite thing to watch is: Bubble Guppies
6. Something mom and add always say is: "Good Morning"
7. My favorite place to go is: Ethan's house
8. My favorite thing to do with Daddy is: sit with him and snuggle with him
9. My favorite thing to do with mommy is: sit with her and read books
10. My favorite book is; Thomas book with the noise buttons
11. My favorite song is: Psalm 106G
12. My favorite thing to do outside is: ride my bike
13. My favorite restaurant is: Wendy's
14. My favorite thing to do each day is: getting a ride on Daddy down to bed.
15. Something that makes me happy: daddy
16. Something that is scary to me: dinosaurs
17. My favorite day of the week is: why? Saturday - it's just the best
18. My favorite sport is: basketball
19. my favorite thing about being a big brother is: give Avonlea hugs and watch her play
20. What I would like to be when I grow up: police guy