3 Years 3 Months

It's a catch 22 with kids at this age, if I'm being honest. I mean, they're so freaking adorable that you just wanna scoop them up and breathe them in. But they're honestly so freaking crazy that much of the time you just want to put in ear plugs and lock yourself in your room. The summer is just beginning, but the whining has been a definite thing, and if history repeats itself with Johnson kids at this age, it may be a while before that gets better. But they're so darn cute that it's hard to be mad for long, and this little guy is very, very demanding and vocal about needing Mama snuggles.

But he's bubbly and personable and a friend to everyone, and it's fun to watch him continue to grow.

Physical Development

Ryan moved on up to 4T clothes, even if they look a little big on him. There are a few pairs of pants that we had to put back in storage as they were just falling off his little tiny waist. He's now up to size 12 shoes. He is fully day trained for potty, but still wears a pull up at bedtime, which is usually full by morning. If I'm being honest, he has been by FAR the easiest of my boys to potty train.

Sleep Habits

Ryan takes pretty short naps these days, but he still naps most of the time. He usually takes about 45 minutes to an hour at daycare, and at home on the weekends, we might eek 2 hours out. I definitely prefer the days he doesn't, however, as he goes to bed MUCH easier and tends to end up staying in his own bed on those nights.

The "occasionally" snuggling in my bed thing has become more like a routine these days. If I ever heard or felt him crawl in with me, I'd definitely take him back down to his bed, but I never hear him, so I just wake up to him in bed next to me in the mornings. I'd like to get him back to sleeping through the night and not feeling the urge to come upstairs, but that may be a ways off.

Speech Development

Ryan will talk your ear off all day long. It's exhausting! He loves to talk and talk and talk, and if he isn't talking, he's usually got his fingers in his mouth and playing with either his hair or mine. He talks mostly like a big kid these days, but does still let some baby talk linger, like, "My do it" instead of "I do to it". (Basically, replaces anywhere you would say "I" with "My"). He has begun calling "Moonies" "Movies" now too, which just breaks me :( He's so cute!

Eating

Ryan has been going through a major food strike lately. I mean, he eats for sure, but it's always whatever he feels like eating, and getting him to eat the food I've actually prepared is like pulling teeth. It's exhausting! However...the one thing you KNOW he will ALWAYS eat is a cookie from Hardee's. It HAS to be from Hardee's, though, or he throws a major fit.

He does still love his snacks, though. His favorites are Gogurts and Applesauce pouches, and, as with all my kids, wants a "Kitty cup" (which is a sippy cup with milk in it) regularly.

Toddler Behaviors and Discipline

The whining and tantrums have not really lessened at this point, but it helps to keep busy and distracted when we're able to be outside and finding new adventures. He's just becoming much, much, much more opinionated, which makes it hard when we're trying to cater to the whole family of 5, and not just him. It's a difficult lesson to learn at any age, but especially when most of the time, he doesn't get any say in his schedule.

Likes

• I mean, between Kinsley and Ryan, I am covered in littles all day long most of the time. I don't dare sit down, or I find it extremely difficult to get up lol This kid LOVES his Mama!
  
• Sucking on those two fingers, which is now usually only when he's very tired (morning, before bed) or if he's overwhelmed or scared or needs comfort. With everything we've been going through as a family, it hasn't been a priority of mine to help it stop. He doesn't tend to do it when we're out, just at home or daycare probably (he used to at Jody's)
• Candy! With the Riverfest parade, he was ALL about collecting as much candy as he could.
  
• Roasting marshmallows over a fire.
  
• He is big into Team Umizoomi, Justin Time, Word Party, Incredibles 2 and, really, just in general being in control of the Roku remote lol
• Being "one of the boys". He LOVES his big brothers.
  
• His siblings - Kinsley too :)
  
• Parades! This kid LOVES parades, and has this huge smile on his face the ENTIRE time.
  
• Farming with Grandpa
  
  
• Exploring
  
• Playing at the park. (Also, scaling the walls lol)
  
• People in dress up costumes lol
  

Dislikes

• Not getting to do whatever he feels like doing.
• Not being in charge.
• Not being catered to.
• Cookies that are not from Hardee's
• Being told "no"
• Not getting his turn first for tractor or 4-wheeler rides

:: THREE ::

Physical Development

Well, we've stepped into the 4T realm, and the clothes aren't too big :( We're going to eternally have the issue with his pants falling off, since he has such a tiny waist, but otherwise, he's growing perfectly! At his 3 Year well child check, he was 36lbs and 3'4" (40"), so quite a bit smaller than his big brothers, which seems crazy since he started out so much bigger than him!

Sleep Habits

Ryan still naps most days, but the naps are getting shorter and shorter, and I was just not prepared mentally for that. Also, on those days he naps, bedtime tends to get stretched out a bit.

He's still not a huge fan of bedtime, which is frustrating, but once we start reading, he snuggles right in. Every night, after 3 books, 2 songs and a prayer, he says, "I'm just going to play with your hair for a little bit, okay?" in the most adorable voice. I wish I could capture it, but when I've tried, he won't say it. It's so cute.

Speech Development

So.many.words. Oh my goodness does he like to hear himself talk. He's funny and very articulate and uses these words I don't even know where he could have gotten them from. He likes to uses phrases like "seriously, guys" or "oh my goodness" or "that's what I'm talking about", and I have no idea where he got them from. #HeGotThemFromHisMama

Eating

Ugh, the milk and snacks dilema continues. I'm so freaking tired of him asking for milk and snacks. I simply don't have the stamina or energy to enforce the "you must eat supper" thing, so I just try to keep all the possible snacks in the house healthier, like fruit or veggies or beef sticks or cheese or maybe an applesauce pouch or something, so that when he DOES snack, he's at least getting something from at least one of the food groups.

He is really getting a heck of a lot better about not being so messy while he eats. He still gets it on his face, but he otherwise keeps it mostly on his plate, which is SO helpful!

Toddler Behaviors and Discipline

We're delving straight into the world of the threenager, and while I am prepared, I'm not sure I'm prepared enough. ::sigh:: This is the age where all those rules you thought you had for all these imaginary kids goes out the window half the time.

Discipline is HARD at three, because it's so freaking constant. And they have SO much energy. And they're SO determined to break all the rules they used to follow. Three is hard. And hilarious too. And adorable. But also so, so very hard.

Likes

• Mama is where it's at for this kid. He wants to be touching me at ALL TIMES. The second I sit down (and even sometimes if I'm not sitting down), he'll be all over my back, climbing and acting all crazy like, playing with my hair and sucking on those two fingers.
  
• Speaking of finger sucking...thinking this is getting worse. It definitely seems to peak when I'm more stressed out, and well, let's just say I've been stressed out a lot more lately.
  
• Sissypants Jo Johnson - she is, hands' down, his favorite person. These two are fire and ice, but also just the most adorable in the world. They are together probably 95% of the day, and as of late, they've been sharing a room (until we can get the carpet replaced in her bedroom)
  
• School! He started his preschool prep program on his 3rd birthday, and he had an AWESOME time!
  
• His best pal at daycare! They are both going to school, along with another of his favorite friends (who isn't fond of taking pictures haha - we tried!)
  
• Snow! The snow this winter has been EPIC! It's melting now and causing flooding in ALL the places. Entire roads are washed out and all that. But the snow before melting... that was pretty intense! The kids loved playing out in it!
  
• Being 3! He talks about it a LOT. He says he's officially a "big kid" now, and I'd have to agree!
  
• Celebrating! And his siblings ♥
  
• Puddles! Something tells me this spring is going to be EPIC.
  

Dislikes

• Not getting to watch a "moonie [movie]" when he wants to.
• Not getting a "milky cup" fast enough. This kid is IMPATIENT!
• Having to go to bed.
• Mama taking to long to get him a snack.
• Anyone accusing him of NOT being a big kid.

2 Years 9 Months

This little guy is just an absolute riot these days! He is such a great combination of extremely confident and yet so reserved and cautious. He still desperately needs his Mama, and still sucks on those two fingers and plays with my hair when he gets a tired or scared or nervous; the difference being that now if I'm not in close proximity, he'll play with his OWN hair.

Ryan had his first big owie in November, when he ran into a dresser and busted open his cheek :( I was back and forth on whether or not to go to the ER, and kinda wish I had now, as he's got a scar that hasn't really lessened a ton since then :(

Physical Development

Ryan is still easily in 3T clothes comfortably, but he's still got this tiny little waist and bum, so they still fit about as loosely as they did before. Some of his 3T jammies are a bit short in the tummy, so I will need to pull out his 4T ones soon. He's definitely due for a growth spurt here soon, as his pants are still a little long on him, even if he's not typically stepping on them anymore. Seeing as how he's the 3rd boy to wear some of them, the elastic has gotten a little worn on some of the pants, and for a kid with a tiny waist, we've had to retire some of the pants earlier than anticipated. Sissypants is starting to give him a run for his money as far as size is concerned!

Teething

All his teeth are through now! The sleep has been FANTASTIC in our house lately, but leading up to now in the past three months, he has been a hot, whiny little mess. His 2-for-1 tooth isn't super noticeable anymore these days, but I did address it at his last dentist appointment, and the dentist assured me that he would have two teeth to replace it when the time came, when he's in 1st grade or so.

Sleep Habits

Ryan is still napping almost every day, but skips very occasionally. His naps are getting shorter and shorter, though. Where two months ago, he would still nap that 2-4 hours on the weekends, now we're lucky if we get 90 minutes, and it has been less and less coinciding with Kinsley's nap, so that's been hard for me on the weekends. I hate this transitional phase with the kids, where they NEED naps still, but push back so much when it's time for them. I'd rather they just cut them cold turkey at the right time.

While a few months ago, he was really a huge fan of bedtime, lately, he has been balking at it more. He got this little dose of what it's like to stay up later, watch a movie and have popcorn over Thanksgiving break, and now he just wants to do that EVERY night, so he throws a huge fit every night when I say "no". He settles VERY quickly, though, when I start reading books. He LOVES them. He usually sleeps really well in his own bed, but just over the past month, he will occasionally come up and crawl in bed with me in the night and then settle right in.

Speech Development

Ryan is a little chatterbox! He talks nonstop and for the most part talks in broken sentences. Sometimes the way he says things don't make sense, but I can usually understand him. He's funny and silly and if he really likes you, he may tell you to go to "Poopytown" or call you a "Poopy butthole", so obviously we have some filtering to do with his big brothers around.

Eating

Ryan has been on a milk binge for a while now, and while he's not typically super irritable, I think it's teeth. He just pushes his food around on his plate most of the time, and might take a bite or two, but usually it's just "cuppy, milk, Mommy".

He is definitely really fond of "snacks" and will eat most of whatever snack it might be. He is oddly not very overly fond of sweets. If you give him a cookie, there's a good chance that the cookie will sit there with a tiny bite out of it and Cashel or Kendrick will find it and finish it for him. His favorite meal is "cheese and cocks", which means macaroni and cheese and hot dogs. I really hope he never learns to say it right, because it's so adorable when he says it lol

He hasn't been sitting in a high chair OR booster seat both at home and restaurants for the past 2 months for sure, but it has been a while longer. Kinsley has claimed the high chair, and that works for us. He's messy as all get out, but he was just as messy in the high chair too, so we deal.

Toddler Behaviors and Discipline

I'm thinking maybe I'm just so used to them now that it doesn't phase me? But yeah, he's still a tantrummy toddler. He is most definitely testing his limits, and I'm trying my very, very best to not let up my diligence so it will pay off.

I HAVE, however, been trying extremely hard to focus on making sure his needs are met on time, however, to keep the unnecessary tantrums at bay. If he's tired or hungry, I give him a little more slack, especially if I'm an hour late getting him his lunch or supper, or he hasn't had a nap and it's 3pm or something. He's generally a really sweet kid, but he's just a typical tantrummy toddler at this point. I'm very grateful that his behaviors don't seem worse than the typical toddler in light of the hard times his first couple years of life.

Likes

• This kid loves his Mama like no other kid I've ever met! If I would hold him all day long every day, it wouldn't be too much for this guy.
  
• Sucking on those two fingers...ALWAYS. It has actually amped up a bit more recently, since he has been working kinda nonstop on those 2-year molars. They are ALL IN, though, so hopefully that subsides a bit now.
  
• He loves his Daddy so, so very much! We've not been seeing him quite as frequently the past few months, what with the busy activity of the fall, Daddy going through a rough medication adjustment, and the holidays. Mark can't handle the activity level with ALL the kids in tow these day, so it has been a tough time trying to adjust :(
  
• Candy! This kid LOVES candy, and he's always looking for it. My other boys weren't this crazy about it, so this has been new for me. I'm fairly certain his favorite holiday is going to be whichever one gives him the most candy.
  
• Swinging.
  
• Choo Choos! He LOVED his ride on the train up in Duluth to pick pumpkins in October.
  
• He asks to see "Justin Time" on Netflix the second he gets home and the first thing in the morning. Cashel and Kendrick went through a bout with him a year or so ago, so we're all too familiar with every single episode.
• Exploring
  
• Being "one of the boys". He LOVES his big brothers.
  
• His siblings - Kinsley too :)
  
• Snow! He stays out playing as long as he possibly can! I'm really hoping this milder winter continues so he can truly enjoy playing in it for a lot longer!
  
• Cousins! He LOVES going down to the farm in Iowa to see all his cousins.
  

Dislikes

• Not getting to watch a "moonie [movie]" when he wants to.
• Having to go to bed.
• Mama taking to long to get him a snack or drink.

Ryan is just at the sweetest stage overall. I'm so ready for the next phase here without all those darn teeth coming in all the time.

"Pawtrols"

Ryan is obsessed with his Paw Patrol jammies: They are the ones he wants to wear every single night. I need to find him another pair so it isn't meltdown central when they are dirty.

Bookworm

Ryan is really, really into books these days. If we had the time to read twenty books every night before bed, he'd be all for it. I'll ask him to pick out two books for bedtime every night, and every single night, he piles about 20-30 on there, and then throws a fit when we only read 2-3 of them.

:: 2.5 ::

Ryan has overall really settled into the past three months pretty well, but he's getting way more bossy, opinionated, and naughty. Now that he knows so many words and can get across his point and what he wants, he's a lot more sassy, and when he has a tantrum, it's an all out one. Still, I think he's probably the easiest of my kids as far as this stage. My older boys were ridiculously more difficult: Cashel was a biter and Kendrick a pincher, and well...Ryan, although he occasionally will slap you, doesn't do it to the point where he is labeled as a "slapper"...at least for now. He's overall just the happiest little guy, and he makes me smile and laugh and feel loved every day.

Physical Development

Ryan is still easily in 3T clothes comfortably, and the waists on those pants are getting a little less loose than they were 3 months ago. He took it upon himself to start working on potty training (oy!), but we're not going to go hard core until the big kids are back in school to make it a little easier at daycare (and home!)

Teething

This entire quarter has been pretty quiet on the teething front, aside from a few very short spurts of whiny behavior or clinginess. Still no new teeth or bulging gums or anything. Ryan holds the record thus far for the longest teething Johnson kiddo.

Sleep Habits

Ryan is still napping pretty well around 1:30/2pm every day, but the length is variable.

At nighttime, Ryan is such an excellent sleeper now, and even if he's not sleeping, he's just playing quietly in his room. It's SUCH a welcome change from a few months ago, and he's so much happier of a kid now. I love how well he is adapting with quiet independent play, as it used to be that if he was awake, he'd want to be entertained.

Speech Development

Ryan is learning tons of new words all the time, and most of the time, he repeats what he hears, or at least close to it, to the point where if you are even thinking remotely in the same ballpark as to what he's saying, you're going to be able to figure it out most likely. It's great!

Eating

Ryan has been on a milk binge for a while now, and while he's not typically super irritable, I think it's teeth. He just pushes his food around on his plate most of the time, and might take a bite or two, but usually it's just "cuppy, milk, Mommy".

He is definitely really fond of "snacks" and will eat most of whatever snack it might be. He is oddly not very overly fond of sweets. If you give him a cookie, there's a good chance that the cookie will sit there with a tiny bite out of it and Cashel or Kendrick will find it and finish it for him. His favorite meal is "cheese and cocks", which means macaroni and cheese and hot dogs. I really hope he never learns to say it right, because it's so adorable when he says it lol

He hasn't been sitting in a high chair OR booster seat both at home and restaurants for the past 2 months for sure, but it has been a while longer. Kinsley has claimed the high chair, and that works for us. He's messy as all get out, but he was just as messy in the high chair too, so we deal.

Toddler Behaviors and Discipline

Ryan has certainly amped up his tantrums, and the intensity of them leaves bystanders very concerned for his wellfare, I'm sure: Especially when I am extremely nonchallant about them. The thing is, he sounds like he is in horrendous pain or something, but I know there is a slight difference between pain and anger, and about 99.9999% of the time, he's just angry. He no longer gracefully lowers himself onto the floor to kick and scream, but rather throws himself on the ground, and the vast majority of the time, it's because he isn't getting something he wants - ESPECIALLY the ride on tractor of Kendrick's. (The kid is going to be an excellent driver by the time he's 16, right?)

I've been working with ALL the kids on following the 1-2-3 Magic program, and for the most part, it's working alright. For the big boys, it works really well, actually, and I can usually either halt the behavior or they will listen to me to "take 5" almost immediately. If we are in public, they will just ask me where they have to go for their "take 5" time. However, with Ryan, he just likes to count along with me while being deviant and watching me like a hawk, and when he ends up having to take 5, he throws the motherload of all tantrums and refuses to listen when I tell him that he has to be CALM before his 5 minutes starts, so it goes on FOREVER.

I HAVE, however, been trying extremely hard to focus on making sure his needs are met on time, however, to keep the unnecessary tantrums at bay. If he's tired or hungry, I give him a little more slack, especially if I'm an hour late getting him his lunch or supper, or he hasn't had a nap and it's 3pm or something. He's generally a really sweet kid, but he's just a typical tantrummy toddler at this point. I'm very grateful that his behaviors don't seem worse than the typical toddler in light of the hard times his first couple years of life.

Likes

• He is OBSESSED with big brother Kendrick's ride-on tractor
  
• Sucking on those two fingers...ALWAYS. I realized I haven't taken a picture of him doing it lately, though.
• His Siblings! he adores these guys :)
  
• Elmo's Potty Time. I think I'd better gear myself up for lots of poo in the near future. ::sigh::
• Parades!
  
• Trains of all shapes and sizes! His mind is going to be BLOWN in a month when we go on the North Shore Scenic Railroad's Pumpkin Train on our trip to Duluth.
  
• "Coloring" with big brothers. It usually consists of him doing this, followed by biting the tips off all the crayons.
  
• Swinging
  
• Brown Bear Brown Bear. Argh. I just really hate it when my kids cling to this one. I grow weary of reading it every.single.night. The repetitiveness makes me feel like I'm in the Twilight Zone.
• Riding his dang 3-wheeler in the road. I'm CONSTANTLY pulling him back onto the sidewalk. I don't get why that is so hard!
• Being one of the "big kids".
  
• Kinsley Jo...He loves her almost TOO much
  
• "Do it, me, Mama!" This kid likes to take control, and don't you dare try to take his job!
• Picking apples
  

Dislikes

• Being told he can't do something.
• Not having things go his way.
• Not being able to physically do things or get places that he wants to do/go.
• Not having his cuppy before bed.
• Not having his cuppy before Jody's.
• Not getting to "go owwwside" with the big kids.
• Any pjs but his "Pawtrolls" or Santa ones.

Overall, Ryan is a very happy-go-lucky kid. He is really calming down now that Daddy is out of the house, but he is quick to ask to video chat him every night. I'm so glad that he still desires a relationship with his Daddy, even if he's not home with us. He's a good little kid, and adorable to boot! I can't wait to continue to watch him grow :)