Atlas is Three!

My little boy is getting to be not so little anymore! How did this happen? Of all of my kids birthdays so far, this one seems to be the most surprising. Like saying “Atlas is Three” still feels so weird to me. How can Atlas be 3 years old?? I guess it felt like he would forever be 2. One reason is because he started talking so well when he was still 1, so it felt like he was 2 early. And now he still is showing lots of 2 year old tendencies even though his vocabulary continues to grow, like super sensitive whinyness, attention span, and his listening and obeying skills need a whole lot of work. Just this month I started to see the end of the tunnel of the twos. For example, we went to the library and he stayed within view and didn't run off on me, he didn't disrupt story time and he didn't whine when we had to leave. Woohoo!! The days when I see glimpses of the behavior of a 3 year old are so nice. He’s getting there! So far for my kids' twos are way harder for me than threes, and four with Jane has been awesome!

Mostly muddy from Jane's muddy hugs. Haha!

The 2's have not been kind to my sweet, content, chill little dude. Instead now he's my rough, stubborn, busy, big guy. Don't get me wrong I still love him just as much and he's definitely still Atlas. It's just that the chill, content personality has taken a backseat for now. I still see that chillness in there from time to time, but being 2 and having a rough, strong willed, energy filled big sister has rubbed off on him I think. Also becoming the middle child has made him very defensive of any attention and anything he feels belongs to him. He cares deeply about things being fair and he wants to do everything Jane does. It's hard because he's just not old enough to do many of the things Jane does. I see how this could be hard for his little mind to understand. I think for those reasons and a few others he's a pretty whiny kid at this point... As time goes on and the baby needs less of my full attention and he gets old enough to do most of the things Jane can do I think it will become something I forget used to be a problem!

Wearing his excavator shirt and "Woody" boots, playing with his ambulance.

He is still sooo much into every thing BOY! Trucks, especially monster trucks, cars, trains, planes, robots, tools, dirt, and dinosaurs! When I sit down to teach him something he learns really well, but his stubbornness and independence keeps him from obeying when I tell him he needs to hold my hand while we're in a parking lot. He is picking up lot while I'm doing preschool with Jane and most of the time he's just in the room playing and not seeming like he's paying attention. He knows a lot of letters already I had no idea he knew. He knows all of his shapes and colors for sure. Also he knows all the different names of the construction vehicles in his books! ;)

3 going on 13?? Haha!!

In stark contrast to Jane he will sometimes tell me, "No! I want dad!" when Jane won't even let almost anyone do anything for her but me. Atlas is just a man's man. He wants to be just like dad and he if we go anywhere without Sam, like a playground or restaurant he finds an guy who's older than him and starts talking to them. Normally about what he considers to be things guys enjoy, like monster trucks or his scrapes and bruises. ;) Haha! He is so tough! When he gets hurt he cries for a few seconds says he needs me to kiss it and then he's on his way again. Despite him being so hard headed and not afraid to get hurt, he gets scared easily. I think he has some sensory sensitivities. He is sensitive to loud noises and he hates the way certain clothes feel and he completely rejects food if he doesn't like the texture. He's definitely more of an independent player because he can entertain himself very well with simple toys and books, but Jane needs someone else to be interactive with her to make things personal and exciting for her to stay entertained!

Just too cute!!!

This portrays their friendship pretty well.

I love how to figure out how to work together and have fun!

Atlas and Jane are best friends, but definitely still fight like brother and sister. The fighting stems mostly from selfishness for sure, but it also comes from them being almost complete opposites too. As time goes on I see less fights and more imaginative play together. They play “mommies and daddies” a lot. Just the other day they were pretending they were fans at a monster truck show and then they were the monster truck drivers. So Atlas is getting some influence in there too. I love to see what they imagine and watch them find ways to play together and have fun! I hope to continue to foster a relationship where they root for each other. When I was growing up I felt like when my brother won, I won. I see that in them sometimes, but there's still way more self serving pursuit than I would like. But you know they're 4 and 3, so we've got time to work on it. ;) They are very attached to each other. Now that they're in the same room they can't fall asleep without each other very well. And if I take one of them somewhere without the other they say something like, "Atlas should be here!" or, "Where's Jane?". So even when they're screaming at each other I know they love each other. Atlas loves Alexandria and really loves to give her kisses. But most of the time he's just telling Xan, "That's my toy baby!". That's about the extent of their relationship so far.

Weight

Birth: 8lbs 7oz

1 Year Old: 22 lbs

2 Years Old: 27 lbs

3 Years Old: 32 lbs

A couple months after Atlas turned 2 he decided to be a super picky eater. Some meals he won't eat almost anything at all. As you can see he's thinned out considerably. He's still healthy! But he has lost any thickness he had as a baby.

Height

Birth: 21 1/2"

1 Year Old: 29"

2 Years Old: 33"

3 Years Old: 36"

When Atlas was born he was tall, but within a few months he leveled out and became average height. Now he's actually short for his age. I come from a short family and Sam from a tall family. So it's hard to know if our kids will turn out tall or short! Still pretty sure he'll shoot up as a teenager. ;)

Firsts

I am continuing the tradition of finding unconventional "first" throughout the previous year. We've got everything from holding baby sister for the first time and his first goose egg injury. ;) I think I found one from each month of the year. So fun to see his growth throughout the year. Man! Do those hair cuts make a difference!

Belly Bump Nap - March 2018

Holding Baby Sister! - April 2018

Hunting for Easter Eggs - April 2018

Pair of goggles - May 2018

Eating dirt... - June 2018

Buzz cut - July 2018

Goose Egg - July 2018

Ride in the new (to us) van! - August 2018

Playing Pappaw's piano - September 2018

Playing Dad's Guitar - September 2018

Falling asleep sitting up - October 2018

Falling asleep standing - November 2018

Making a friend - November 2018

Drawing on himself with a sharpie - December 2018

Being so scared he hid under a table - January 2019

Water Balloon fight! - February 2019

Favorites

So much fun!

Atlas continues to love being outside!! Just this past month I've started to let him and Jane play in the backyard while I watch from the window. There is something about being outside that helps them get along better than being inside. He loves to explore and has told me a few times, "Go away, Mom." He wants that independence to discover the world on his own already! I'm not ready to let go yet, but I do try to give him space as long as he's within eye sight and not doing something dangerous. Which reminds me... Goodness, this boy! He got to the top of a playground structure and stuck his head out at the opening of a rock wall. It was above my head, so I put my hand out and said, "No, Atlas go back down the stairs." Next thing I know he's jumping to me!! :O I caught him as he was going over my shoulder. He scares me so much sometimes! He's had a goose egg, a black eye and countless bumps and bruises. Such a boy! I have to be really careful with him because he's not scared of danger. But as soon as a controlled/safe fun thing comes around for him to try(for example jump houses and slides at pump it up) it turns into "No! It's too scary!" Somehow he's scared of safe things! No matter what I do I cannot convince him to try something if he doesn't want to even though I know he will love it.

Sleep eating, a common sight.

I miss my fantastic eater! He became so picky when he turned two. He lives for french fries and potato chips/cheetos and fruit snacks. ;) I have a hard time getting him to sit down for meals these days. I never thought that day would come. He loved to eat so much. I guess at two he realized eating was something he could control. Basically one of the only things I can't make him do and he's not giving up that stubborn pickiness just yet. Other favorite foods are cheese, yogurt, Go-Go Squeez pouches, chickfila nuggets, sausage, spaghetti and meatballs, cookies, candy, strawberries. Since we cut out nap time around 2 falling asleep eating started happening pretty often. It's so adorable.

Atlas sharing his cars and trucks with his sisters.

This boy still loves his toys! His favorites lately have been his Hot Wheels Monster Trucks. He loves anything transportation related. His most recent favorites have been Buzz Lightyear and his new Air Force One plane he got for his birthday that we've lost twice around the house already. (I can't find it at the moment) Atlas has special hiding places around the house I don't know about because a small toy or book will go missing for a week or more and then he'll come around the corner with it in his hand and I'll never know where it was hiding out. Haha! My little squirrel hiding his nuts. ;)

Atlas knows how to chill and watch a movie

This boy loves TV a little too much. He whines every time we're done with shows no matter how long we've been watching. It only lasts a minute and he moves on to his toys, but he seems like he's always asking to watch a show, play the kindle, listen to music on the iPod or play a video game. Some of his favorite shows are Ask the Storybots and Storybots Super Songs, Mater's Tall Tales, Supertruck and Paw Patrol. His favorite movies have mostly stayed the same, Wreck It Ralph, Wall-E, Big Hero Six, Cars and Lego Batman. A few new favorites, Toy Story, Monster Trucks and Iron Giant.

Waiting for Jane's dentist appointment.
He picked out a car magazine on his own,
plopped down and entertained himself.

Atlas has always loved to read! He will go to a bookshelf and just start reading all on his own and stay entertained for around 30 minutes, as long as a sibling doesn't come interrupt him. He loves to read with me too. If I had the time to just sit and read with him all day I think he would let me. He has some favorites, but basically he loves anything about transportation, robots or dinosaurs. A few others are 1000 Things That Go, You Choose, A squirrel's Tale, All Better, Little Bear Needs Glasses. HE LOVES BOOKS!

One of his very favorite things!!

Atlas LOVES the trampoline, he jumps and jumps and jumps until I tell him it's time to come inside. He also really loves to swim. Just this past summer he started enjoying putting his head under water and started to make some forward motion in the water. I have a feeling he's really going to learn to swim this summer! Other favorite activities include wrestling with Sam, playing in the dirt, going on Pappaw rides and video games. Recently he is enjoying listening to music with headphones too. I already mentioned the Kindle right? Oh man does he love that thing. It's hard to get him off once he starts. So we try to limit the kindle to when I really need him to be entertained, like at Jane's gymnastics practice or a doctor's appointment. His favorite video game is Mario Kart and he's just started to like Sonic Racing.



Atlas used to be my homebody, but now he gets upset if he gets left behind, which happens sometimes because he's hard to take along some places (like gymnastics meets) with his current listening skills. Some of his favorite places to go are Pappaw's(not Marmee's, haha!) house, Park Day, The Library, Urban Air, and Humble Area First Baptist's playground.

Birthday Party at the Humble Playground!

It's interesting, I could almost start a dislikes section to Atlas's year. Haha! I don't like to be negative, so I won't. He is very passionate about what he doesn't like though. For example, Pump it Up or uncomfortable jeans. ;) He is very selective when it comes to clothes and especially shoes. He knows which ones he wants! Even when he does get upset about something not going his way, like having to change out of his polar bear footie pajamas. Usually, He throws a small fit and then gets over it. He moves on pretty quick and seems to forget it ever happened. I love that when he gets hurt all he needs is a kiss from momma, he'll let me know if I didn't kiss the right spot though! ;) Atlas coined me Momma. Before, I was a combination of Mom, Mommy, Momma with Jane, but to Atlas I am always Momma. I love it. It's really amazing to get to be a boy mom. Most days I'm still figuring it out, but it's always fun! :) I keep imagining him taller than me and a kiss from momma doesn't make it all better anymore. But for now, please excuse me while I go hug my little boy a little tighter, so I can have the courage to let go when it's time.

Happy 3rd Birthday Atlas! We love ya buddy!



1 Corinthians 16:13
 Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong. 
Let all that you do be done with love.