Josiah is officially three and a half, and I think he's on the verge of some big changes. In the past few weeks, I've seen bits of confidence on his part: putting puzzles together, drawing, going down slides, trying his new scooter. He's not changed overnight or anything; he's still very timid, but like I said, I think his confidence is growing, and he's more willing to take on some challenges.
The biggest change in the past six months has been potty training. Praise the Lord! He is now in complete control of the situation. Around Halloween, a switch just flipped with him. Perhaps it was all the candy lying around that gave the incentive (we had broken down a month or so before that and started dangling sweet treats as a reward. It still didn't seal the deal.) I mentioned before that he seemed very much in control of the situation, but was choosing not to follow through. After he decided to change his way, he showed spectacular control. He was working the system! He'd push out the smallest little bit, enough to earn a treat, and then return five minutes later to earn another one. Overall, I've been amazed. He's had 2-3 accidents since October, including a bout with diarrhea. It's been so freeing for him to be able to know he needs to go, head there himself, dress himself, even get his own sanitizer. I'm so thankful to not be living under the cloud of potty-fear that I was in this summer.
He's also made big strides in self-sufficiency. He can mostly dress himself when we lay out his clothes for him except button-up shirts and shoes. He can put toothpaste on his toothbrush, and clean himself in the bathtub. He get into his car seat by himself, but not buckle all the way.
We also had our first parent-teacher conference last week. I was really curious how he was doing because I don't get lots of opportunity to chat with his teachers. I wanted to know if our perception of his strengths and weaknesses matched what happened in class.
The first thing his teacher said was, "Josiah is very smart." Well, doesn't that just make a Mommy glow? They had given him an aptitude test, and he'd done very well. I was also glad to hear he tried really hard. Many times when I try to teach him, he gives me wrong answers on purpose or stalls. I'm glad he's not doing that in school! She mentioned how wonderful his memory is, that he remembered each of their monthly Bible verses, and that he'll remind her if she's repeating a book she's read to them before.
I also wanted to be sure he was behaving well in class. She said he obeyed well and followed instructions. She mentioned that he doesn't really play much with the other children, and when he does he plays with the girls. Part of it may be his personality or age-related, but we want to be sure to encourage him to interact with other kids. He does play well with other friends outside of school. Part of the issue might also be that most of the boys in his class are little rough and wild, which the teacher admitted as well.
Speaking of playing with others, he is really cute with his brother. He's really good at getting Micah's funny bone. It's adorable to watch him giggle at Josiah doing something silly. Sometimes he'll be really sweet with him, comforting him in a "Mommy" tone ("Don't worry, Micah. Mama and I are here with you. It'll be all right"); sometimes he scolds him ("No, no, Micah; that's not what God says to do"); sometimes he encourages him ("Good job standing, Micah.") He did strike Micah for the first time, lightly, for snatching on of his toys. I'm sure we'll see more of these incidents in the future!
He's also been asking some intense spiritual questions and making good observations. For example, we were reading the story of Joshua and Jericho. Josiah observed the bricks were falling down without the "sticky stuff" (mortar). I told him there was mortar, God was just so big and strong that we knocked the walls down. Josiah asked, "But God's not a mean guy. Why did He do that?" Wow. Parent challenge! The next day, the boys were eating lunch, and I gave them both a kiss on the head and told them I loved them and was thankful for them. Josiah said, "And there's nothing that will stop you from loving us." I said, "That's right, nothing can stop me from loving you." He replied, "Sin stops us from loving." From a 3-year-old?
