Mercifully, 3 1/2

My dear and sprited, curious and independant, free-willing, bright, (and all those other euphemisims for WILD BEYOND COMPREHENSION) darling baby Casey is turning 3 and 1/2. It is about time.

You see, many many older-style baby and child development books concur with my personal experience with the phenomenon that is the major shifts that can frequently accompany turning 3 1/2. Why 3 1/2? Whats the difference from 3 or 4? With some children, it can be monumental. For example:

Casey at 3 was still very much "if you put him down on the ground (meaning out of the high chair, stroller, or cart) he will most likely run away to China." He didn't care one iota for numbers or letters. He did not care too much for storytime. Or rules. Or me. Or clocks. Or clothing. Or danger avoidance. He did wierd things at all moments, and talking to him about it felt about as useful and futile as, well, talking to a little cat?

I know lots of kids, Greta and Mickey included, who did the colors numbers letters shapes thing at like 19 months. this isnt about that as much as it is about no matter what baby-circus tricks they might be trained to parrot back, the 3 1/2 year old seems all of a sudden to genuinely care about this stuff.

Casey, who literally plugged his ears when I sang the Alphabet Song, who, when asked how old he was would say something like "BooBeePooPeeBum" or perhaps give you a raspberry with tightly shut eyes, now sits down and tries very hard to write! He draws. Letters. Shapes. He wants to make you a letter, he wants to write his name, his age. He wants to know where Miss-a-gan is on 'da globe, and wants to cook and measure according to the recipe, not what he feels like throwing on the floor.

In other words, he has rapidly and dramatically "caught up with" where I kind of thought most 3 1/2 years old "should be" (i know, i know, we are all unique flowers but still I worry) literally overnight. So cool!

He wants to be good. To do right. Way more than he used to. He IS rascally, he IS a class clown, he DOES march to his own drummer, and he DOES NOT live to make Mommy So Proud. this is very different from Greta and Mickey, and very difficult sometimes. But I am so glad that he is the way he is, and this new positive attitude is so welcome! If someone gets hurt, he immediately cares, goes to see if they are ok, and sadly he did not do this before. I worried! I thought he might be mean for real. I thought he might be irrepairably damaged from the arrival of his brother Charlie at such a tender age. He was just turned 2, we were planning on quietly homebirthing a little baby for him to oogle in the morning, and instead, Mommy goes to the hospital for a WEEK and can't walk or play with him for a MONTH. It was really hard for him, the whole Baby Charlie thing.

I even secretly thought he was goin to jail sometimes. But now, I really see the light. I am happy for Casey. I think he is the most like me, we are both fire signs, and when I was a kid, that LAST thing I wanted to do was behave. I placed the value of making the crowd laugh over ANYTHING, often to my own detriement, even well into adulthood. Can you imagine?

; )

Looking forward to 4!