You have changed a lot since our last letter to you, and now that you're three years old, we thought we would write to you about what you're like right now.
You had your 3-year-old well-child visit at the doctor's office about two weeks ago. You love going to the doctor and spent the morning prior to your appointment peppering Mama with questions about what it would be like. Asking questions, particularly those including the word "why," is one of your favorite pastimes. You barrage us with questions from morning until you fall asleep at bedtime. You weighed in at 29.6 pounds and 36.5 inches tall, which are about the 27th and 20th percentiles, respectively. The doctor commented that you're at an average BMI, which is great! It's nice to have you be a bit more sturdy right now.
You definitely do seem bigger to us - taller and heavier than a few months ago. In fact, you've gotten big enough that it's no longer easy to carry you around for very long. Mommy and Mama did a lot of carrying with both you and your sister on our recent trip to the midwest and we were SORE when we got home. Whew!
Mateo, you have changed and grown so much since your second birthday that it's hard to put it into words. You've always been a talkative guy and your abilities in that area have continued to develop over the past year. We need to start writing down more of what you say! This morning, I said (rhetorically) as you were swinging back and forth with one hand on the windowsill and the other on the couch, "Mateo, how did you get so big that you can do that now?" You said, "I just grew and grew and my bones got bigger and now I'm big enough to do it!"
One of your favorite things to do these days is to play pretend games. Any sort of game will do, although you prefer those that you make up, and those which require you to be some sort of character. You also just learned to play Hide and Go Seek, which you think is fun, but baffling. Other favorites include Toll Taker, in which you drive in circles around our dining room table and Mama or Mommy collects tolls as if you were going over a bridge, and Chef, in which you cook up lots of delicious concoctions using your kid kitchen and play food.
Age three has brought with it more energy than ever before, which is hard to believe. I think we could power a nuclear reactor with you! Your happiest time of day is definitely morning. You wake up at oh-dark-thirty, as my mom would say, but you do it so happily that it's hard to be upset. You wake up wanting to read and play with water in the sink and clomp around the house and all that stuff. We've tried explaining the concept of sleeping in to you, but it is totally foreign to you at this point! Someday, we will sleep past the wee hours of the morning again.
Speaking of sleep, you have lots of stuffed friends in your room and bed with you these days. Your favorites include two large stuffed bears, a lion, a tiger, and a panda. And Birthday Bear, who was Mama's Care Bear when she was small and now is yours.
Of all the things you like to do, I'd say reading books is still your favorite. We had your little preschool parent-teacher conference today and your teachers said the same thing. You love stories and being read to. You're starting to recognize some words on the page, which is really cool, and you love to recite books to us from memory. I remember doing this as a kid and feeling very proud that I could read like a big person, and I'm sure you feel the same way.
Of course, one of the biggest changes this year has been that you've started preschool. We're extremely pleased with your school and look forward to several more years of being involved there. In addition to telling us how well you're doing at school, your teachers mentioned that you can converse in both English and Spanish. We've noticed this at home, too, and think it's amazing. Mommy has done a wonderful job consistently speaking Spanish with you and it's starting to show!
Oh, and that reminds me, since you and Mommy both go to school these days - you now hold conversations on the phone. These can be either pretend or real, and sometimes both at the same time. A few weeks ago, I was putting clothes into the dryer and listening with amusement to your pretend phone conversation...until I turned around and realized that it wasn't pretend! You were talking to Mommy on my cell phone! I have no idea how you got the phone or how you called her, but you did both things. I felt a bit sheepish, but really it was quite funny and cute.
Finally, things are going better with your behavior lately (knock on wood, knock on wood) and with your relationship with your sister. We all went through a difficult patch this fall and we still have a close relationship with our friend the timeout, but things are going much more smoothly than they were. You seem to have remembered how to be gentle with your sister again, which is greatly appreciated by all! Case in point: she fell yesterday and you went right over and gave her a hug and kiss and some gentle pats, and she stopped crying! Sometimes, you two even play together for a few minutes. Hopefully this is the beginning of a great sibling relationship.
You've been sleeping like a champ and eating well and all that good stuff. You're in a good spot, kid! In this week of thanksgiving, we are so, so thankful that you are our son. We look forward to all the adventures this year will bring.
all our love,
Mommy and Mama
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