My boys are 3 years old! They have grown up so much since last year, its amazing the difference between a “new” 2-year-old and an “old” 2-year-old. They are now talking like big boys.  Granted, we still can’t understand about 20% of what they say, but they try so hard to get it out.

The boys have definitely turned into little boys and there is no more baby in them! It kind of makes me sad, but at the same time, I’m loving watching them become their own little person.  They are ALL boy and love to run, jump and climb, like any other 3 yr old boy! I would call them highly active, not hyper. They love playing outside in the backyard or at the park climbing on the jungle gym.

For their birthday we got them a big play set for the back yard that they call their “castle”.

The boys are all into cars and trains these days.  They have also just started pretend playing.  They tell me all the time, “we pretend” when they are “cooking” on their grill.  I walked in their room the other day and they were “pretending to wash their hands” with the hand sanitizer.  Not sure how they got it but they did and it was everywhere.

This fall they started a parents day out program at our parents church (which we recently started attending) 2 days a week, and love it! It’s great for mom and dad too because that gives us each a day where we have about 4 hours that we can get stuff done or run errands with only 1 baby in tow – its amazing how much you can get done with 1 baby vs 2 or even 3!  When I went back to work after my maternity leave with Harper I went part-time, so I’m working 3 days a week now and am able to be at home a little more with the kids.  Luckily, one of those days that I’m off is a day the boys go to PDO.

The boys just had their 3 year check up today and passed with flying colors :).  Hayden weighed 34 pounds and was 38.25 inches tall (85%) and Ian weighed 30 pounds and 37.25 inches tall – as always, an inch shorter than Hayden. They are doing well with their sleep, eating (even though Hayden is very picky and Ian won’t drink milk anymore – like at all) and reflux/tummy issues.  We have both boys on a daily probiotic and I think it has helped quite a bit with digestive issues they had a few months ago. They both have seasonal allergies, Hayden not as much as Ian, and take Zyrtec as needed.

We have been slowly potty training the  boys and they do pretty well when we put them on the toilet to go, but they don’t do as well keeping underwear dry.  We haven’t really just put them in underwear much, simply because we haven’t had a free few days in a row to really work on it.  We plan on doing that around Christmas when Jonathan and I are both home for a week.

When Harper came along, it through the boys for a loop for a while.  They were off their schedule and mommy and daddy weren’t as accessible to them as often as they were since we had to take care of a pretty needy baby.  They were starting to act out some and were both having problems sleeping, but after things got semi back to normal and we had a routine again, our boys were back. Of course, they are your typical 3 year olds and visit time out on a daily basis for some reason or another.

These boys love their sister – they are always checking on her and trying to give her a hug or kiss.  They like to kiss her goodnight before going to bed every night and they love to climb up on her crib side rail to look at her.

The boys generally play well together and its great that they always have a friend to play with. They do fight over toys like any toddler/preschooler would and they have been known to push one another, which leads to an automatic time out in our house and afterwards they have to hug and apologize to their brother. They really do love each other and get along great most of the time.  Ian tends to be the one that we’ll find playing by himself with his cars or reading a book, and Hayden does do well playing trains by himself, but prefers to play with someone else most of the time.

Hayden is our thinker, always has been….he has the mind of an engineer and it seems like it’s always on.  He’s tries to figure out how things work and loves to take things apart – not always put them back together though.

He is a sweet boy and loves giving hugs and kisses now. He likes to sit in your lap or by you on the couch when watching curious george or daniel tiger.  When he is tired, he is a cuddle bug.

He is still pretty picky – mainly due to textures that he can’t tolerate (he gets that from me), but loves his chicken nuggets (from Costco only), peanut butter sandwiches, and any carbs – bread, chips, etc.  He will only eat apples and bananas, no other fruit and no veggies.  But, he loves an organic spinach/cheese pizza – go figure!

He is a sweet boy and loves giving hugs and kisses now. He likes to sit in your lap or by you on the couch when watching curious george or daniel tiger.  When he is tired, he is a cuddle bug.

He loooves his trains! He has 2 different tracks that he plays with and he still loves his train table that he got last year for his birthday.  He is a happy camper when we let him sit and watch steam engine videos on our ipad.

This boy loooves his sleep, and is definitely a morning person (not sure where he gets that from because neither me nor his dad are).  He is ready to go to bed at night and sometimes will ask to take his nap.  But when morning comes (anywhere between 600-700) he is up and at em! Ian usually keeps Hayden up at night but Hayden wakes Ian up in the morning (which is not good sense Ian is NOT a morning person).  He still takes about an hour nap every day and goes to sleep usually around 745-800 and sleeps all night.

Hayden loves to “cook”.  We bought them a little grill and some play food and they are always cooking us lunch.  He got a little chef outfit for his birthday and loves to wear it.  He was helping daddy fix their dinner in this picture.

Hayden is a ham! he loves to joke around and goof off.  His laugh is contagious and you can’t help but laugh when you hear him.  When he smiles his eyes light up and his smile will definitely bring a smile to your face.

Hayden is a great helper and loves to have a task at hand.  He is someone who needs to feel needed and when he is asked to help you he gets excited.  I call him my OCD baby because he likes things to be in order and if they are out-of-place he will let me know.  He will be the one to put his cup or plate in the sink after he eats, or throw away a wrapper after he’s opened something.

This kid will go places and will more than likely be the leader doing it!

Ian is our Mr. Independent and the one to say “me do myself” many times throughout the day.  He loves to do things by himself like a big boy but not too big to ask for help.

Ian doesn’t care as much as Hayden as to how things work, just as long as they work! He is not as detail oriented as Hayden but is just as particular.  He loves to have things a certain way and has to have the same things every night when he sleeps – his animals, blanket, taggie, paci and flashlight!

Ian has a special name for Hayden.  He calls him “Zeus”, yes Zeus…like the greek god.  Of course he didn’t choose this name from greek mythology, but we have no clue where he came up with this or how it started.  One day he just started calling him that.  He even has us calling him that sometimes.

Ian is definitely our night owl and not a morning person.  He will keep Hayden up at night talking or trying to play.  We sometimes have to separate them at night because they end up playing instead of sleeping and when we do that Hayden goes straight to sleep where as Ian will lay there talking or singing to himself.  But Hayden usually wakes Ian up in the mornings and he is a mr. grumpy pants when that happens.  Ian is best when he is left to sleep until about 800 and wakes up on his own.

Ian can be a cuddle bug too, when he wants to be. He loves to cuddle with you on the couch or in the recliner after his nap. He will be the one to get upset when mommy has to leave to go to work – not always, but sometimes.  We have found that Ian is our homebody, he prefers to stay home and play rather than go somewhere.  He gets overstimulated if he does too much in one day.

Ian may not be the leader of the group, but he is strong-willed enough not to be persuaded into doing something he doesn’t want to do.

This boy loves his stuffed animals.  His bed is mostly animals and blankets and you’ll find him under them all! We’ve gone in there a few times and he has a teddy bear over his head.  He also loves his cars.  He can never have too many cars and will play with them for hours if we let him.

He loves to watch curious george and never gets tired of that little monkey! He was going through a mickey mouse phase where all he wanted to watch was mickey – “me watch mickey mouse?” all. day. long. But he isn’t into it that much anymore. He is a happy camper when he gets to sit and watch cars or mickey on our ipad.

He is still our reader and loves books, I will find him sitting on the couch reading a book at times, but he would still prefer us to read them to him.

Ian has always been a good eater, he will eat most any fruit and some green beans.  He will try some new foods occasionally and we tell him its ok not to like them, but he does need to try them.

Ian’s laugh is infectious and I love to hear him bust out laughing at something.  I love to see him get excited about something because his eyes show how excited he is.

I can’t wait to see what this kid will do!

Both of my boys have great manners.  We have always taught them to say please and thank you and now we find them saying it without us asking or telling them to say it.  I love to hear them say “tank you” in their little voices.

I have two of the best kids around and I couldn’t have asked for better boys.  I love them so much and now that they are talking, I love hearing what all they have to say!

Here is our annual picture with the boys in front of the house.  And for fun, a look back as previous years: