Keshav's 3-year-old birthday!

Wow, when did my baby become a big boy?  I can't believe he's 3!  This past year has been filled with a lot of changes for Keshav.  We moved into a new house, he started sleeping in his own big-boy twin-sized bed, he started using the potty, and, most importantly, he became a big brother!  He has really embraced the role of big brother and loves to take care of Vidya, give her hugs and kisses (see video below), and protect her!  He also helps me all the time with diaper changes, and he loves to teach her everything he knows.  Right now, he is trying to teach her how to say "ball."  Overall, he has dealt with all of these changes really well, but he has had his "terrible two" moments!  Hopefully three will be less terrible and more terrific!

He is learning so much everyday!  He is now able to read many words, up to 5 or 6 letters long!  He can sound out consonants, and he understands the concept of long and short vowels and is working on being able to recognize which one he should use in the words he sees.  He also understands sounding out blended letters such as "th" and "sh."  He is very good at quickly recognizing common sight words such as "the" and "and."  He can write many letters, and he loves to write his name on everything!  His drawings have also become very beautiful!  He likes to draw the sun with all its "rays."  He will also draw stick figures and different shapes.  And Daddy is very happy to see how good Keshav has gotten with math!  He is able to count up to 100 with a little help and loves to count all the different things he sees.  He also can do basic addition and subtraction on his fingers or using objects to help him count.  He is understanding the concept of money and knows how many cents each coin is worth.  He is such a curious child and is always looking for ways to learn more!

In addition to the academic knowledge he is gaining, he is also showing a lot of artistic abilities and creativity!  We have started to do many arts and crafts projects together, and he is always asking me to "set up a new project for me!"  We do a lot of painting, play doh, drawing, glueing, constructing, and destructing.  He loves playing with things that make big messes like sand, our oats/beans/rice bucket, colored foam, and shaving cream.  His favorite toys to play with right now are all his puzzles (he can do up to 35-piece jigsaw puzzles on his own), board games, Duplo and Lego blocks, balls and tubes, and Goobi (magnetic sticks and balls that can be made into different shapes).

He is as active and energetic as ever!  He still loves going to gym class and is now able to do a forward roll on his own, walk across the balance beam on his own, do donkey kicks, spiderman walk, and gallop!  He has become so good at climbing all the structures at the playground too!  He loves to climb rock walls and "wobbly ladders," and he will do all the biggest slides at the park!

His personality has developed so much over the past year!  He will wake up in the morning (most of the time) with a big smile and a "good morning Mimi!"  He is not shy to tell you he loves you, and he'll stretch his arms out wide and say, "I love you THIIIIIISSSS much!"  He will also express when he is angry or sad, and he is learning how to use his words to talk things out when he is not feeling so well.  While the temper tantrums are still there and can be quite intense, he is a child that understands a lot when you try to explain things to him.  And some of the things he says are so hilarious!  He makes us laugh so much, especially the way he imitates what Vivek and and I say.

I decided to start doing yearly birthday interviews with Keshav now that he is able to articulate things so well.  Here is a video of his 3-year-old interview, and while he was quite distracted throughout, he did such a great job!  You will definitely get a glimpse of his personality through this video, but come and visit him, and he will show you what a sweetheart he is!