Brody Lawrence Hales
Age: 3 years (and 2 months)
Weight: 32 pounds (this was slightly before his birthday as he was sick so we took him in early)
Height: 39.2 inches
Gross Motor skills: This little guy is completely full of energy and runs, jumps, leaps, climbs on everything. Literally. He likes to play a game where he jumps from the stairs to the floor and each time climbs up a step. (We had to curb this habit.) We had been trying to work on pedaling before the winter came upon us. He has a seriously amazing arm, but a difficult time catching (pitcher? QB?). He likes to show people how to bump a volleyball. Having a boy is definitely different than having a girl. He loves to play rough, which Kayla will allow because Brody makes her laugh, but then inevitably someone gets hurt. He has a tendency to "hit" or step on people as he walks by them. I'm not sure what this is about but we've been talking a lot about nice hands since Tanner was born. He usually very nice hands with Tanner but not everyone else so we are working on that. He's getting much better.
Fine motor: Brody has been working really hard on writing at school. He has a very good grip and just started writing a few letters last week (I, O, R). When I ask him to write his name, however, he always asks me to do it and cries if I make dashed letters for him to work on writing his own name. He may not be super motivated to do what everyone else wants him to do, but when he wants to do something on his own he sure catches on quickly. He is getting a little bit neater with eating, however still the messiest kid I know.
Speech: Brody actually has pretty good speech skills at this point. I am sure having a big sister who is extremely eloquent is helpful. :) He has a few issues which are normal I believe such as L's sound like W's. He likes to say he "needs" something when he wants it. I can't tell you how many times I've told him he doesn't quite understand what "need" means. "Mommy I need a cookie." Um...no you WANT a cookie. He sure does make me laugh though. Among my favorite conversations with Brody:
Brody while I'm getting him changed for swimming class: "Mommy, I take my penis in the pool??"
Mommy (giggling slightly): "Yes, buddy, it pretty much goes wherever you go."
Brody upon finally noticing me breastfeeding Tanner: "AH!!! Why is he eating your meatballs!?!"
(Backstory: I am pretty adamant about using proper anatomical terms for private parts with the kids given my profession and specialization. A while back while in the shower with me, Brody pointed at my nipples and asked what they were. I told him nipples (he interpreted that as meatballs which Justin obviously encouraged.) Now whenever I get out of the shower he asks if he can touch my meatballs. I am always saying we do not touch other peoples meatballs, but was concerned about how he would feel about Tanner eating from my meatballs, so this was seriously a classic. I wish I had been recording it!)
Potty training: So, as a mom of three and two of which are fully potty trained now, I feel like I seriously cannot give much advice to moms at all, besides give them time and let them do it their own way. Potty training Kayla was ridiculously easy, and frankly Brody was even easier, albeit later than Kayla. Shortly after Kayla had her tonsils out in July, daycare/school potty trained Brody for me. Here's the story:
One day, when I picked the kids up and Brody noticed his friends in Kayla's classroom, he wanted to play with his friends. I've been telling him he cannot go to Jungle Bungle (the preschool classroom) until he goes on the potty. He sat at the potty every day at school but would NEVER even sit on the potty at home. The week after this occurrence, There were a couple days where Brody peed on the potty once each day. He would run up to me when I picked him up saying, "Mommy, I got a skittle!!" Then the third day, when I picked him up eh ran up to me saying the same thing, I said "That's great buddy!" Then his teacher came up and said, "Yeah he did great. He was dry all day! I think you can bring underwear next week!" Me: "Ummmmmm WHAT?? I mean I can do that but he won't even sit on the potty at home."
So we went off to dinner with my parents, and low and behold he peed three times the potty while out. The next day at home, he refused to sit on the potty so we didn't push it at home. Sunday night after giving him a bath, he said he wanted to wear underwear so I told him he had to tell mommy or daddy if he had to go to the bathroom. He peed twice on the potty during dinner. The next day I decided to try underwear on him. He did ok, about 2/3 of the time going on the potty and 1/3 of the time peeing in his underwear. I figured he would be better the next day at school, which he was. No accidents! Then we got home and he peed his pants almost immediately. But a few more days and he was pretty much dry! He also had a night here or there where his pull up would be wet in the morning but he basically night trained himself within weeks as well. The hardest thing was pooping which he didn't want to do on the potty, but once we went way overboard with the celebration when he did go on the potty, that problem was solved. I.e. "WOW buddy look at that long snake poopy!!!" Ah the things you resort to as a parent.
So as you can see, my best potty training advice is don't force it and wait until the kid is ready, and let school/daycare do it for you if you can. :)
Likes: Movies, jumping, climbing, making a mess and not picking it up, playing babies with Kayla, playing anything with Kayla, taking food orders (pretend), helping put the laundry in the washer/dryer, wanting to do everything on his own, listening only when he wants to
Dislikes: listening, cleaning up after himself, time outs, answering mommy and daddy's questions
Behavior: This has been a bit of a challenge as Kayla is pretty easy, however, if I'm completely honest, I believe Kayla instigates a lot of the problem. She is very smart and knows how to push people's buttons as well as how to hide it and make it seem like not her fault. Brody is definitely all boy, hitting, kicking, playing rough, but I think he is getting slowly better with the use of timeouts and encouragement to use words. Tanner coming around also has helped I think. He is very hard to discipline because sometimes he is a perfect child, great listening, agreeable, funny and a joy to be around. Other times he is the more obstinate kid I have ever encountered. The other night I was asking him if a rough, red patch of skin on his leg hurt and he just out right refused to even answer me. I could be asking him if he wanted a cookie and he would just put his head down and not say a word, or say he wants Daddy. He been a bit rough but I think he's just at a hard age and time outs seem to be helping.
It's sometimes hard to discipline him because he really is hilariously funny. He loves to make people laugh and will do anything he can to make you smile. And once he makes you smile/laugh, he will continue doing that thing until, well until I tell him to please stop. Or until he gets distracted by something else, because inevitably he will. I've said it from the beginning, but I really think he is going to be the class clown. He has no fear and loves to talk to new people and do things for Mommy and Kayla. I could go on and on about this little guy. I know I say this all the time but he really is the perfect fusion of opposites and I love every ounce of his little being.
