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Dexter’s 3.5 Year Update

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Darling Dexter, you’re 3.5 and boy, haven’t you changed so much again over the last six months. We are hurtling towards the deadline for primary school applications and I can barely believe that in less than a year, you will be settled in your new school.

You are no longer a toddler, but a fully fledged pre-schooler who can talk, draw, craft and use his imagination to conjure up all kinds of things. They say that the age of three can be worse than the terrible twos, but we have found you have become an amazing little boy who on the whole can control his emotions well and is articulate and polite.

Don’t get me wrong, we do sometimes see you kicking off if you don’t get your own way, but it is usually tears or you skulking silently into your room, furious that you’ve been told off, yet always ready to come back a few minutes later with an apology or for a cuddle. You no longer lash out or run away to hide if strangers or people you haven’t seen for a while come to the house. Instead you have become a curious little boy who asks a hundred questions to understand the world around him which we always try to answer to the very best of our abilities.

Dexter posing in his spiderman gloves in the doorway between living room and kitchen

You are still a huge YouTube addict and when you get up in the morning and slip silently into bed next to us, it’s never longer than a few minutes before you whisper, “Can I watch YouTube?” We continue to have no restrictions on watching TV whether that’s YouTube, POP or CBeebies, simply because you are excellent at self regulating and will walk away from the TV yourself to find another activity after no more than thirty minutes. You also enjoy discussing with us what’s happening on screen meaning you are not stuck in front of it like a zombie. You love watching Blaze, Paw Patrol, Ryan’s Toys, Tayo the Magic Bus, SuperWings and PJ Masks.

As well as YouTube, you LOVE getting out and about. We had a short period where you were scared of woods, forests and darker places, but you now love nothing more than a good walk around the woods, or a trip to the beach. We also love going to Martin Mere, Jollie’s Barn, Rufford Old Hall, local farms and big country parks. Of course, it’s been really easy to get out and about loads over the last six months as I’ve been on maternity leave so we’ve had so much opportunity to spend time together. We’ve made so many memories

Deter sat on a red tractor on Leaf open farm day

Talking of maternity leave, I am of course off from work thanks to the arrival of your little brother Felix. Felix is now nearly a year old and ADORES you. You are still working out how he fits into your life and sometimes you love playing with him and other times you ask me if he can go for a nap now. You are always adamant you want to play with whatever Felix has in his hand, but you are also kind to him too, offering to share food or giving him another toy if you have your eye on the one he has a tight grip of. You are excited to see him every evening when I pick you up from childcare and you know how to make him laugh when he is sad. You also sing him nursery rhymes when he is crying and love going to wake him up in the morning when you hear him call out. You can’t wait for him to start at childcare with you and ask em everyday if he is coming too.

Dexter on a wooden path in martin mere next to some ducks

You are still on three days a week at childcare and love it. You know you will be starting school next year and are really looking forward to that too, knowing it’s an opportunity to make even more friends. You are a social butterfly. Although you will shrink back when an adult talks to you in public, if you see another little boy or girl, you are straight over there, introducing yourself and attempting to share toys. You love our neighbour who is the same age as you and hope you will get to go to the same school. You also have a great friend in your childcare setting who we regularly meet up with for playdates and although you guys often fall out over sharing, you love giving each other cuddles and running around together.

Dexter kissing his mummy in the stone doorway at speke hall

Your speech has come on leaps and bounds and although you sometimes stumble over the sequence of words in a sentence, you have a wide vocabulary and will always keep trying until the sentence you want to speak comes out. You mispronounce quite a few words and it’s super cute to hear. You call your toy keyboard a pimano, a peanut butter sandwich a peanut butty sandwich and an umbrella, an uncle brella. You still don’t get that girls are she, and simply call everybody he or ask who is that man? (Awkward when this is in public!) Unfortunately, you can now say Christmas properly after pronouncing it Mimmas all of last year!

Dexter sat on a stone ledge with an ice lolly in his hand at martin mere

Just after your third birthday you nailed potty training in the space of a week. We had tried a few times before your third birthday and it didn’t work (and was very stressful!) I am so glad we waited as you sailed through this time. You have only had a couple of accidents since being trained and were dry in the night pretty much immediately too. We kept you in pull ups overnight until the summer and since we’ve got rid of them, you’ve only had a few night time accidents, which is completely normal and to be expected.

You still sleep amazingly well. 11-12 hours a night and you go down like a dream. You love being read to before bed, before getting tucked up with your bunny and cup of water. Nap time seems to be a thing of the past, although when you do nap, you’re out like a light and can sleep up to three hours easily! You started dropping your nap around August time and although you will have one some days at childcare, you never really have one at home now.

Dexter opposite his brother in tummy time position on the bed

We had our first family holiday abroad for nearly two years in August and you were such an angel. You loved swimming in the pool everyday, always listened to me and your Daddy with the pool safety and loved learning about the culture and language of the Spanish people. We stayed with your Grandad for the first week and you adored spending time with him for the first time properly in your life. You were so well behaved throughout the trip and even loved the aeroplane ride, even though you got a little scared at first.

Dexter riding a toy tractor at a pumpkin field with a pile of orange pumpkins in his trailer

Dexter, it’s incredible to see how much you’ve grown over the past six months and I’m so excited to see what the next six months bring as we hurtle towards your fourth birthday. You make us proud everyday and we just love spending every possible second with you. Thank you for being the absolute best!

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