Cohen, 3 years old

We’ve had the pleasure of being parents to this little guy for 3 whole years now. He’s changed so much in those three years. These past six months we’ve seen so much change in Cohen. So what is Cohen up to lately? Let’s dive into who Cohen is at 3 years old.

First Cohen’s speech has improved so much. One big thing we worked on with Cohen was him initiating communication. We started small with getting him to tell us what he wanted to eat. Then he just took off from there. He uses words for everything most of the time. He likes to copy a lot too…especially his big sister. Even though we have seen a huge improvement from him he still has some catching up to do. He’ll have a lot of help come this fall when he starts preschool. He qualified to continue services through the school district. He’ll be attending five days a week in the morning for 2.5 hours each day. It will be a big change for Cohen (and mom) but it will be so good for him.

I just hope those preschool teachers are ready for Cohen. He has become the stereotypical little boy. He loves to wrestle. Which I blame his sister for this since she likes to play wrestle with him. He loves to run around screaming and just recently added screeching to this fun activity. I’m really happy he learned that one. He loves being rough and tough. He is always hitting cars into things or banging on things or jumping around or throwing something. Thank goodness we can still turn the tv on to get a little break from all the non-stop action.

Even though he has become quite the handful at times with his new way of playing, he continues to be a sweet loveable little boy. He still really likes to sit close to us when we’re on the couch. He gives the best hugs and kisses. He has really opened up socially lately too. He once would shy away from almost everyone to now giving hugs and kisses without coercing. He used to shut down and sort of go in his own little world when he was shy with new people. Now he just ignores them but isn’t bothered that they are there. He’s playing more and more with the other kids which probably contributes to his rough play (kids love rough housing together plain and simple).

I feel like overnight Cohen changed from my little baby boy to my big boy. He just seems older. He looks older. He acts older. I’m continually surprised by the things he’s willing to try and do. Now don’t get confused that he’s willing to try new foods or anything. He is still very picky but we have been successful in getting him to eat fruit again. He will now eat bananas again!! He’ll eat strawberries and peaches and pears and pineapple. We just had to put our mean parents pants on and said he had to eat one piece of fruit before he got another serving of the item he wanted. And it worked! It was risky because with Cohen he’d just rather go without. Try it with a vegetable and that is exactly what will happen. Try it with anything but fruit and that is what will happen. But baby steps are better than no steps.

The kid still likes to eat just not what we would love for him to eat. His stats prove he is getting calories somewhere. He weighed in at 32 lbs (54%). His height was something we need to check again in 6 months. He only grew .25 inches this past 6 months putting him at 35.75 inches (13%). This was a concern for the doctor not because of the height itself but because his growth rate stalled. So we’ll go back in 6 months to see where he is at.

The stats comparing Sevea and Cohen were really interesting this time around as well. Sevea was 31 lbs and 34.75 inches. So she weighed only 1 lb less but was 1 inch shorter than him. He really seems to have thinned out but I think his big head just makes him still seem chubbier than what I remember her being at this age. His big Buddha belly really is disappearing.

This little guy is truly a delight to be around. Sure I want to pull my hair out (mostly just during daycare when he seems to turn off his listening ears) but I also can’t give him enough hugs and kisses. He makes us laugh each and everyday. We know this next year will be one full of new adventures for Cohen. We’re excited that we get a front row seat to see it all!