Ethan Three Years

Wow, Ethan is a preschooler. It's a little sad to know that we are done with the 'toddler' stage, but just one look at that sweet, sweet smile and I can't help but want to smoosh him in a giant hug.

Ethan is really becoming such a helpful little guy around the house. He is so proud when he gets to help with cooking, emptying the water from the dehumidifier, clear the dishes from the dishwasher or picking up the newspaper. One of his favourite things to do is the pull up a chair while I'm cooking and help or watch me. When he plays, it's the same thing. He loves to play cook and is usually found in by the play kitchen making soup or cakes.

His speech has also evolved so that we and others are now able to understand him most of the time. He tends to have some trouble with pronouncing blends like 'sp', 'bl', 'sm' etc. Because of this, there are some words that only we can understand because of context and repetition on his part. The funniest times are usually when he is trying to get something across to us and Maddy is the only one who is able to understand him. My favourite expression is, "Wa dat mell?" (What's that smell'?) The look of disgust he usually has on his face, along with his uncanny dog-like sense of smell, cracks me up!

Ethan's love for food is still as strong as ever. Today I was on the computer and he was at the table eating some strawberries. The house was quiet and I could just hear the crunch of the bites he was taking. I looked over at him and he was totally engrossed in eating. He reminded me of the McCain's Super Fries boy. Some of his most content moments are when he is enjoying some kind of food. The down side to this is that he is always wanting food and the times when we don't give it to him, it usually results in BFFT (Big Fat Fake Tears). The tears are actually there and there are many, but we can tell they are fake. He has an amazing ability to turn them on and off just like that. Maybe we should put him into acting.

He is becoming a bit of a jokester around the house. Some people are surprised to hear this because when we are in the company of others, Ethan is usually reserved, if not serious. When he opens up, though, look out! He loves to do things over and over just to get a laugh out of us and he loves the idea of 'beating us to the punch'. He recently likes to climb into his car seat and scramble to do up the top clasp. Then is bursts out, "You missit!!" I don't know why, but he gets a kick out of it every time.

His favourite thing in the whole world is still his beloved Woa Woa. I have had to get over the 'yuck' factor of toting that thing all over the place. I just make sure that the second (hidden) one is washed and always ready for a quick swap-a-roo when the current one starts to smell bad. Ethan thinks I'm just a whiz at washing Woa Woa really fast because I'll take the dog from him, go into the laundry room, make a bunch of washing noises and return with a 'newly laundered' Woa Woa in a matter of seconds.