Happy birthday, Duplo!

It’s sad that the last time I blogged was almost two months ago and was also a birthday post. It’s been an absolutely crazy rollercoaster of a two-month period, and I will blog about it once I get the chance.

But today is Duplo’s third birthday, an occasion that warrants my full attention. 🙂 Here’s what our Duploman is like nowadays.

1. Duplo has favorites. His favorite color is blue. His favorite foods are chips, broccoli, cheese, peanut butter and jam sandwiches, chocolate milk, strawberries, blueberries, and candy, in no particular order. His favorite kind of ice cream, apparently, is “brown,” or chocolate.

2. Duplo and Lego are playing really well together now that he’s old enough to play with Lego and not just beside him. Their play is so fun for me to watch and listen to sometimes, especially when it involves Owl.

3. Duplo got a little stuffed snowy owl for Christmas from Lego, and he named it, quite creatively, Owl. He loves Owl. Owl got left quite a few places because Duplo would never put him down, even when we left the house, so we finally made a rule that Owl doesn’t leave the house. We even made a sign on the door with a picture of Owl on it and the words “No Owl” with a circle and a slash through the picture. Owl just had his third bath because he gets filthy from the way the kids play with him. On Friday, Lego filled his bead/incentive jar, and so he wanted to go get an owl too as his reward. Lego’s owl is named Speckles, and so far Speckles and Owl seem to be getting along swimmingly. The only downside is that they both talk in very high, squeaky voices. For hours on end.

4. Duplo still loves to color. He still struggles sometimes with coloring on things he shouldn’t, like the carpet (Sharpie one day during time out) and himself (almost every day). He has started drawing “real” things, most of which I can’t identify but which he can tell you about and you can kind of see after you know what you’re looking at.

5. He also is learning the alphabet. He knows the letters now and is just starting to learn the sound each letter makes. He can write very legible D’s and A’s, and often will write them all over his drawings.

6. He’s having a hard time with being three so far today. I think he really liked the idea of himself as a two-year-old. Otherwise he’s had a great birthday.

7. Duplo just learned how to pedal his tricycle. He goes really slow on it, but he propels himself forward, and he can steer. Both boys love going on bike rides together now, even though Lego zooms ahead and has to wait for us to catch up before he can zoom ahead again.

8. Duplo is still really affectionate. We get such wonderful hugs from him, and he’s quick to tell us, Owl and Lego included, that he loves us. Sometimes I’ll just be doing dishes or something and he’ll wander in and say “Mama I love you” really quickly and be on his way.

9. Duplo’s a pretty good singer. He likes to sing the ABC song, “The Itsy Bitsy Spider,” and “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” the most. He’ll also ask me to sing songs from time to time. His little voice is surprisingly on-pitch.

10. Duplo listens to things and asks about the things he hears all the time. “What was that?” he’ll ask. “What?” we’ll reply. “That.” Oftentimes, it’s a sound I hadn’t even noticed. If I press him, he’ll kind of make the sound, and then I’ll finally notice it and tell him what’s making it if I know. Sometimes I wonder why sounds fascinate him so much.

11. Duplo is a mellow sort of child who generally gets along with everyone, is adaptable, is cheerful (unless he’s really hungry, in which case he has massive meltdowns), likes to be silly, and is easily entertained. We love having him in our family.

Happy birthday, little buddy!