My Little Man

So, I did an update on Max a couple weeks ago, and had every intention of following it up with one on Canaan that week. But, alas, it didn't happen. So, here we are, a few weeks after Canaan's 3rd birthday, with an update on my little man. PICTURES AT THE END!!

Canaan Stats
3 Years Old
3 ft, 1.5 inches tall
30 lbs

Brother
Canaan is doing great at this big brother thing. I wonder if he remembers 10 months ago when he was an only child. Perhaps it is a vague memory. I was thinking tonight about how Canaan had the first two years of his life alone, with no competition for attention. Even now, he enjoys a lot of my one-on-one attention, since Max is little and sleeps a lot and doesn't talk yet. Max won't have this one-on-one privilege until he is older and Canaan has left home.... Anyway, Canaan does well as a brother.

Now that Max is scooting across the floor and grabbing his favorite toys and books, Canaan'screative abilities have kicked into high gear. He tries to get Max's baby toys and put them all around Max, before he gets out his own beloved play things. Unfortunately, Max has eyes only for Canaan's things. He already knows what certain favorites Canaan has and prefers those toys.

Canaan also has started to try to guess what is wrong with Max when he cries. I am sure this comes from my guesses as to what the problem is! Sometimes, he thinks Max is tired and needs to go to bed. At other times, he declares that Max doesn't want to go there or do that. Then there are the sweet times where Canaan will try to run get something for Max to try to make him happy.

Canaan is also having to get used to the fact that Max is growing up. We used to say that Max couldn't do anything. So when we were trying to coax him to say his first words, Canaan would look at us with a silly grin and exclaim, "Nooo, Max is a baby! He can't talk." Now that Max has started to move around, Canaan has become a bit curious with how excited we get when he started taking his first 'official' crawls. (Yes, it has happened. Mommy and Canaan's world is about to be turned upside down!) So, Canaan gets down every once in a while and tries to crawl to us too, expecting a big round of applause, I guess! He has even learned now that he must now put toys UP, high out of reach, instead of just a few feet away from Max's exploring hands and mouth. And, Canaan remains very vigilant about which toys of his that I have declared "off limits" for Max, because of tiny pieces. He quickly will yank that toy- I mean, rescue that toy- from Max's clutches when he gets a hold of it! Oh, he is preforming well the duties of an older sibling!

All By Myself
The older he gets, the more I hear this phrase! Here are a few things Canaan does, all by himself!
--Canaan still throws away all Max's diapers, sometime without me asking him to.
--He can put on his underwear and pants on. Sometimes he can get his shirts on by himself, but this is a new thing.
--He can climb up into his carseat (if we don't mind a shoe mark on the seat).
--He can sing the 12 Apostles and the Books of the New Testament, as well as numerous other songs.
--He can spell and write his first name by himself. Though it isn't always in a line, all the letters are there when he is done!
--He can say a short prayer.
--He can lead a favorite song during small group.
--He can count easily up to 20, and counts to 50 with a bit of prompting.
--He can also count to 10 in Russian.
--He can say and recognize his ABC's. He for sure knows all the capitol letters and most of the lower case letters.
--He can line up a deck of alphabet cards in line from A-Z on his own, though at times it comes out backward. He loves doing this, because I give him a jelly bean or starburst for it! :)
--He knows his birthdate and how old he is, as well as how old he will be next year!

--He can clean up his own toys.
--He can put away his own clothes, though they aren't neat and folded-but in the drawer!
--He sometimes helps me put forks and spoons away in their drawer.
--He likes to pour in the ingredients to things I am making and stir them up. He can almost crack an egg by himself. He cracks it, and then drops the shell in with it at the end. Oops!
--He can quote several of his books to me, word for word.
--He can wash his hands in the bathroom sink.
--He can take his plate and cup into the kitchen and put it in the sink.

Why?
We went through this very trying phase a few months ago. When everything was "why?" Now, it seems to have subsided, but it seems like kids go in and out of this phase all through their growing up years. So, I assume it will come upon us again, where we will be explaining things in circles until we run out of answers and patience and demand some quiet time!

Loves
Canaan loves to play. He remains a true boy, loving his cars and trucks. His favorites are the models from the movie Cars, though he has other 'favorites' as well. Canaan also loves to read. About as long as we'll read to him, he will let us. He has certain books he can quote to us, which he enjoys reading to his English speaking friends. It seems that he sees new things each time he reads, he asks new questions, some of which are unanswerable! He also is in a kick with puzzles again. He goes in an out of these phases. Right now, he enjoys doing jigsaw puzzles; about 24 piece is his limit to do it alone. He also likes to play with his train set, but he also likes to destroy it when he gets bored playing. The same with his large lego blocks and a small construction set he received for his birthday. Build and Destroy. It must be a boy thing!

Talking
As you know, Canaan is an avid talker. His vocabulary increases every day. He is constantly listening to us and picking up on new words or phrases. And he is always saying something that makes us laugh!
--Because we are talking about moving, Canaan asked if we were going to take the walls and the kitchen sink with us to our new apartment.

--You aren't Mommy anymore. You are a jungle gym!- said when he was climbing all over me!

--But which Daddy am I going to have?- cried Canaan when Daddy has to go to work.

--Does somebody need me?- said when he was feeling left out.

--Oh, sure. I guess I can. - when I asked him to clean up his toys.

--Ok, this hand is free now. That means I can. - said when I asked him to throw away Max's diaper for me.

--Is Daddy going to be gone forever??- when he saw Daddy ride off our on friend's scooter.

--Mommy, look at my nose. It is gross!- in the context of buggers and snot!

--Oh crackers, where are you?- said when he was hungry.

--My food goes in my mouth, to my throat, to my esophagus...to my legs!- when being silly!

--But the other boys don't hold their hands. --exclaimed when I told him to hold my hand when we crossed the street. We'd just passed some older boys who didn't hold each other's hands in the street!

--He is going to his homeland.-He is picking up that 'Biblical' vocab!

--Mom, Thomas was being mean to Henry. That is why he is all by himself.

--My toes said 'Yes!'-when I asked him a question, he replied by moving the end of his foot up and down.

--After I told a story to Dougle about how Max burned himself, Canaan followed up with this series of questions: Why was the oven on? And why was he (Max) next to the oven? And why did it burn him?

--Which way did we come from?!-Canaan loves talking about directions: left and right, as well as knowing which way we will go and if we came from the same direction. (This is where one-way streets are confusing to him, because we have to go back a different direction than we came!)