Rhett is THREE! – Peanut Butter Fingers
There’s one thing about our youngest baby’s birthday that brings a few swirl of reflective feelings. Has it actually been three years since I’ve held a new child in my arms? Are we actually three years faraway from the infant days? Is my child actually now not a child anymore!? All the above solutions are true however, on the identical time, my infants will all the time be my infants.
As a toddler and as I grew up, my dad would all the time say to me, “You’ll all the time be my little lady.” The sentiment behind these phrases felt stronger to me than I feel he realized. Now, as an grownup, I really feel a brand new sense of depth behind his phrases. Whereas on the floor they appear like a father assuring his daughter she’ll all the time have her dad, now that I’m a mom, I really feel the depth of what he might have been making an attempt to convey. I really feel it fiercely for my sons. They’ll all the time be my infants. They’ll all the time have their mom behind them, cheering them on, loving them unconditionally, supporting them, encouraging them, studying from them, rising with them, praying for them and wanting the very best for them.
Rhett is three years previous and whereas three appears so previous in comparison with the gurgly child days, on the identical time, it appears so very younger. Although we’re satisfied Rhett thinks he’s each bit as large and succesful as his large brothers, moments pop up each single day that make us understand our little man continues to be simply that… little.
He nonetheless wants and desires Mother 1,000,000 occasions a day for love and luxury. His playful persona will activate a dime if one thing tragic occurs… ya know like a granola bar breaking in half. He’s exploring his independence with a ferocity he exclaims in a yell-scream — “I do it myself!” (And should your persistence attain new heights in case you don’t let him strive.)
Rhett’s vocabulary exploded proper after his second birthday and it’s been so enjoyable to have the ability to speak to him and watch him be taught and develop and talk in new methods. Rhett says the cutest issues from the second he wakes up and I all the time sit up for going into his room within the morning as a result of I by no means know what he’s going to say. A number of the time he’ll start his day by telling me, “I like Peppy” (our canine), reminding me, “Moon goes down, solar comes up! It’s morning time!” or asking concerning the climate. “It wet at this time? A pleasant day? It sunny at the present time?”
Ryan and I joke that the amount at which our youngsters talk appears to have solely elevated with every baby we’ve had. I’ve little question delivery order performs an enormous function on this as a result of the squeaky wheel will get the grease and all that however daaang does Rhett love yell-talk.
Rhett is fascinated by his large brothers, animals, cooking and baking with me within the kitchen, automobiles and vans (particularly rubbish vans, fireplace vans, Jeeps, Porches and Mini Coopers aka “Mini Groupers”), books, Picasso Tiles, trains, Pepper, puzzles, Biggie Beads, coloring, dancing, slicing paper, swimming, water slides, “serving to” Mother and blowing off the driveway with Dad. Speaking with Rhett, studying with Rhett, enjoying with Rhett… it’s all simply so yummy at this age. Peak cuteness for positive!
Rhett additionally loves faculty and talks so much about his preschool lecturers and associates. His superb lecturers have praised Rhett’s listening abilities, willingness to assist, kindness towards his classmates and his skill to self-entertain at preschool and I can’t look forward to Rhett to fall in love with preschool much more now that he’ll be going 4 mornings every week this fall! He’s a social child whose curiosity is immediately piqued by making an attempt new issues and preschool has been essentially the most unimaginable factor for him. He nonetheless doesn’t love separating from me at drop-offs (I blame Covid for this as he wasn’t separated from me as early or as usually as his large brothers) however Rhett rallies shortly and his lecturers guarantee me his fussiness stops inside a minute of me leaving. He simply desires to ensure I get hit with slightly mom-guilt at drop-offs.
Three-12 months-Previous Challenges
Ryan and I usually joke that Rhett didn’t get the “chill child” memo that always appears to come back together with having a 3rd baby. From day one, Rhett has saved us on our toes and isn’t the laidback third baby you hear a lot about. He performs exhausting, laughs exhausting, screams exhausting, resists exhausting and loves exhausting which makes him so splendidly enjoyable however so intensely exhausting generally, too. Please know I share this from a spot of overwhelming love for our big-hearted, big-feeling little man.
If one thing units Rhett off it may be exhausting for him to come back round and discover his calm once more. I shortly discovered that when Rhett has these moments of intense feelings, one of the best ways to assist him settle down is to drop every little thing, maintain him, love on him after which distract him with a narrative, one thing foolish, and so forth. Whereas this seems like a fool-proof plan, it may be difficult whenever you’re alone with three children, dashing out the door on a busy morning or making an attempt to get mainly something carried out round the home. I’ve all the time mentioned mothering Rhett is straightforward if all I’ve to do is mom Rhett. Isn’t that the reality about parenting younger children basically although? It’s usually all of the different stuff that makes parenting really feel exhausting whereas once we’re capable of drop every little thing and focus solely on our youngsters, it feels so purely fantastic.
Considered one of our different newer challenges we’ve had is Rhett’s nap time. Oh my gosh you guys, Rhett fights his naps with such depth. He screams his little face off when he sees me coming his technique to scoop him up for nap time and whereas I can all the time get him to settle down and settle with just a few tales earlier than placing him in his crib, he hardly ever sleeps today. Rhett will fortunately stay in his crib for greater than an hour quietly enjoying however I really feel like a toddler this younger nonetheless wants a nap, proper!? Chase and Ryder napped till they have been nearly 4 so that is blowing my thoughts. Rhett truthfully doesn’t appear drained in any respect when it’s nap time however then round 4:30 p.m. day-after-day the fussiness and neediness kicks in and I can inform he wants extra sleep. It’s a problem I don’t anticipate ending quickly as Rhett can be in preschool till 1 p.m. and Chase’s faculty pickup is round 2:40 p.m. so when is that this child purported to nap through the faculty yr?! One blessing of Covid for our household was having Ryan working from house so he may stick with the monitor whereas Rhett slept so it is a new(ish) problem for us. Final yr I often paid a neighbor to take a seat in our home for one hour within the afternoon when she was out there so I may do Chase’s faculty pick-up whereas Rhett slept however she’s not out there usually so it’s difficult enterprise. Proper now early mattress occasions for Rhett are the reply to our no-nap dilemma however man oh man I want I may rely on common naps for our little man.
Little Brother Life
We like little brother Rhett! He thinks Chase and Ryder are the COOLEST and after they’re all enjoying collectively, Rhett fuses his large brothers collectively and refers to them as “Chase-Ryder.” He observes them in a means that makes it so apparent he’s absorbing every little thing they do and committing it to reminiscence so he can attempt to do all of it, too.
He’s courageous and adventurous and by no means shies away from trying one thing his large brothers are doing, even when the ability or exercise is properly out of his (nearly) three-year-old wheelhouse. That is superb as a result of Rhett is all the time studying and rising and tackling new abilities nevertheless it may also be difficult. We don’t need Rhett to really feel like we’re holding him again however there’s that entire “maintaining you secure” factor that may make Mother and Dad really feel like a moist blanket to Rhett generally.
We’ve discovered to let Rhett strive what he desires to strive (when it’s secure) and he’ll usually shock us along with his skills and willpower. Working example: Rhett’s swimming! His swimming abilities completely skyrocketed this summer time. Although we nonetheless require him to put on a life jacket within the lake and ocean, within the pool he’s life jacket-free and may leap in and swim to us and leap off the aspect of the pool and swim to the ladder. When top restrictions don’t restrict him, he’ll go on any waterslide he can and smile so large the entire means down. It’s so enjoyable to look at and once I put on goggles and watch Rhett swim underwater, it’s much more enjoyable as a result of the child truthfully grins from ear to ear when he swims underwater. We name him our little guppy and he’s definitely taken to the pool in a brand new and crazy-fun means this summer time!
So far as Rhett’s relationship along with his large brothers, it’s totally different relying on the brother and what number of brothers he’s enjoying with without delay. By way of one-on-one play, the five-year age hole between Rhett and Chase signifies that Rhett seems to be to Chase for assist and safety slightly bit extra. Chase is affected person and inclusive with Rhett and likes exhibiting him new abilities and video games. Rhett additionally loves bringing books to Chase for Chase to learn to him which by no means ceases to soften my mama coronary heart.
The 2-year age hole between Rhett and Ryder means there’s much more ardour concerned of their dynamic. This ardour could be fantastic — they chortle so exhausting and play so creatively collectively — nevertheless it may also be difficult as nobody elicits intense screams from Rhett greater than Ryder. This usually boils all the way down to Rhett interrupting no matter Ryder is doing and Ryder telling him “no” which, at nearly three-years-old, is mainly the worst phrase in your entire world to Rhett. (Their dynamic jogs my memory a lot of Chase and Ryder’s dynamic at this age when Ryder was in Rhett’s footwear.)
Rhett copies Ryder all day lengthy and has picked up on a whole lot of Ryder’s pursuits, making them his personal. Rhett observed Ryder’s love for puzzling and shortly discovered to fly by way of Melissa & Doug puzzles beside Ryder whereas his large brother tackles larger puzzles. When Chase is at college and Rhett has Ryder to himself, he follows Ryder all over the place. They’ve the loudest and cutest dance events collectively and can line up automobiles and trains and provide you with essentially the most inventive video games to play. Rhett is usually pleased to take heed to Ryder’s concepts and I’ve discovered myself telling Ryder to provide Rhett a “job” after they play as a result of Rhett does very well with listening to Ryder’s ideas and it appears to stop fights after they have separate roles of their playtime. (Fights over coveted toys are nonetheless essentially the most intense fights they’ve round right here.)
Having three boys, three brothers, is actually one of many absolute greatest blessings in my life. I pray so exhausting that the closeness they share proper now lasts a lifetime and watching their relationships develop and strengthen brings me a lot pleasure. Whereas Rhett is just too younger to totally grasp the idea of gratitude, he doesn’t appear to be too younger to comprehend his large brothers are his favourite playmates and clearly loves them so, a lot. It’s a sense that’s one hundred pc reciprocated.
Random Issues to Keep in mind
- Favourite Meals: Yogurt, pouches, cucumbers, carrots, ice cream, hen nuggets, toast with butter and honey, contemporary or dried mango, Easy Mills almond flour crackers, Bobo’s chocolate chip bites, lollipops
- Favourite Colour: Inexperienced
- Favourite Books: Little Excavator, Pete the Cat Books, any seek-and-find books, Little Blue Truck Leads the Way (he cracks up on the line, “Higher transfer it Little Beeper!”)
- Favourite Music: “This Little Mild of Mine”
- Favourite Present: Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Octonauts
- Favourite Animal: Canines
- Wake Up Time/Mattress Time: Bedtime is correct round 7:30 p.m. however when he doesn’t nap, he’ll go to mattress as early as 6:15 p.m. Get up time is round 7 a.m.
Likes
- His large brothers
- Pepper (aka “Peppy”)
- Automobiles, vans and trains
- Outside adventures
- Driving his bike
- Books
- Constructing with magnetic tiles and blocks
- Creativeness video games
- Lining up numerous little toys
- Puzzles
- Coloring, portray and craft tasks
- Cooking and baking with Mother
- Biggie Beads
- Dancing
Dislikes
- Preliminary separation from Mother
- Being informed “no”
- When his large brothers have one thing he desires
- Naps
Three-12 months-Previous Favorites
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