Life with Leo: So THIS is what a 3.5 year old says and does!

Leo befriends a cheetah outside a local toy store.

Leo has been growing in leaps and bounds lately; it's really hard to keep up! The pace is so fast it seems like he is literally bigger and older each week. Along with the all the ups (like his increased curiosity, great talking, and helpful/affectionate nature) come the usual moments that test Mommy and Daddy's patience. Overall, though, three is truly an amazing age and I love watching this almost surreal transition from baby to toddler to little boy. I couldn't be prouder. So here are some highlights (in words and pictures) of what Leo's been saying and doing since he turned three over six months ago!

Spiderman gets ready to attack his Mexican food.

What he's been saying

Eve - “Would you want to work at the airport when you grow up?” Leo. “No. It’s too loud and it gives me a tummy ache.
Leo was sitting on the couch and Eve asked, “What are you doing?” He responded “Waiting for you guys!”
“I like red. Strawberries are red. Tomatoes are red."
“You want to hear my good news and bad news? I can’t find baby lion but I found porky the bull. (He finds baby lion). I’m bringing 2 friends!”
At the park bathroom, when Leo goes to dry his hands under dryer after washing them, he notices soap on his hands still and says, “Oh maaaaan!” with great emphasis. :)
"Here’s my pillow and blanket...in case I tired in the car,” says Leo holding his blanket, pillow, and stuffed animal as we’re heading to Home Depot.
“I want Daddy’s Ryan Howard cup!” (This exclamation made Daddy very happy).
"Some people DO have ideas and some people DON”T have ideas. Why?????"
A 6 year old boy Leo did not know was playing with some of Leo’s sand toys at the park. The boy was making food with the sand, and kept asking aloud if anyone wanted to “try my food.” After a few minutes, Leo must have felt bad for him, because he said “No thank you, not right now. I’m making a cake! Maybe I’ll have some later.”
“They look like Santa Claus, but they’re gnomes.”
“I put him in my backpack. This way he won’t get wet.” Said by Leo in regard to how he’ll carry his stuffed animal out to the car in the rain.
Mommy “Do you want this one?” Leo, “Yes, that one.” Understands “this” and “that.”
Leo looked at a decorative tea cup that I’m very sentimental about. Leo “What’s that?” Eve “That’s a teacup I bought in Korea.” Leo “It looks like a cheeseburger.”
"I am a grown up.”
Leo “I want to watch football.” Eve “We don’t have football on TV right now.” Leo "I want to watch soccer.” Eve “We don’t have soccer.” Leo “I want to watch football.”
Leo “Grown up college scares me.” Eve “Why?” Leo “I don’t know. Do they have cookies there?"
“Daddy, let me tell you a story. Weeeeell, there was a green apple. And the boy took it away!” Then the next iteration (to Mommy): “Weeell, a birdie was eating a green apple. And a green bus took it away!”
Leo sings Mommy a new song “Here comes the daddy bear, here comes the daddy bear” and then goes on to explain that “I’ve been practicing in my room!”

Leo shows off how high he can climb at the park.

What he's been doing

Current interests - Art, reading, counting, instruments, snails, Super heroes, especially Hulk, Captain Hook, trains, Roary the Racing Car, going to amusement parks, puzzles, baseball, and cooking.
Leo is spelling out printed words very well now, for example, the titles on his books. He points to each letter, says it, then moves to the next letter. Sometimes, he reads the word backwards like "Thor" is, according to Leo, R, O, H, T but more and more he is spelling them from left to right. Last night, he knew every letter in Silver Surfer except for the S and U!
Leo is fully potty-trained during the day. Diapers are a thing of the past. Leo LOVES flushing the toilet.
Leo talks about the baby, "Bobby," he will have when he is a grown-up, specifically according to Leo, age 37. He has named everything Bobby from an orange with a face we drew with sharpie on it ("Orange Bobby") to a wooden rocking horse. Other iterations include Bob and Baby Bobby. He talks about taking Bobby on rides at Santa Cruz when he is bigger (like the infamous Double Shot). Once, he talked about how sometimes he has good dreams and sometimes he has dreams that scare him a little, like when he dreamt that he couldn’t find Bobby (his “little baby”) and was calling out “Bobby, where are you?”
Leo correctly identifies most local highways by name.
Leo does impersonations from his great grandfather, Nonno, to Bobby Brown (yes, THAT Bobby Brown). Oh. Rich Little would be impressed.
Leo sings ALL the time and when he's not singing he's humming. His favorite song to sing is Puff the Magic Dragon. Other favorites include Wheels on the Bus, One Two Buckle My Shoe, ABC Song, It’s Raining It’s Pouring, 3 Blind Mice, portions of Bob Dylan's Hard Rain, the theme to Roary the Race Car, You are my sunshine, Twinkle Twinkle, and Knick Knack.
Leo asks "Why?” often. Very often.
Leo is throwing and catching really well, His throws are hard and generally in the right direction.
He has transitioned from standing and staring at the baseball to swinging and hitting the baseball!
Leo just completed 8 weeks of Daddy and Me soccer and is an awesome dribbler and kicker!
Leo still loves lots of hugs, kisses, and tickles and his new favorite thing is going for a piggy back ride on Daddy :)