Personality Updates (Age 3)

Today's Sesame Street is brought to you by Caleb, Eli and Thomas!

The boys at this age are really into trucks (all types), motorcycles, bikes, fast cars, helicopters, airplanes, rockets, robots and t-rex's. Their absolute most favorite thing in the whole wide world though is TRAINS. The obsession is so bad I only let them have their trains and had to hide the tracks because they were driving me insane. If they had it their way they would play with their trains (tracks included) all day long but it's frustrates them soooo bad when their tracks don't come together as they want or when certain trains cars are too tall to go under their bridges or when their trains fall off the tracks, and on and on and on. I just can't put up with all those melt downs so I did the only thing I could think of. Maybe someday they will get their tracks back...

There is no official leader in this group and nobody picks on anyone else. There are times two will play together and one will be off doing his own thing but they rotate nicely and there are no two that are always together. They are truly equal among each other.

The boys love assigning family members to anything they see three or more of, especially if it's in their newly assigned colors. For example Eli was looking over my shoulder as I was reading the Costco coupon book and he pointed to a set of colorful knives and as he pointed to each knife he said "Eli, Thomas, Caleb, mami, papi!" Like I just mentioned the boys now have assigned colors Thomas is red (or orange), Eli is blue (or yellow), and Caleb is green (or what ever other color is left). When they were younger we never assigned colors because I just never thought of it or cared for the idea and it also wasn't ever necessary (like to tell the boys apart). I'm not sure how it happened, it was quite a subtle transition but since the boys have developed a preference for certain colors, namely Thomas and Eli always fighting over red, it was just the easier thing to do. And to my surprise the boys have fully embraced "their" colors. In a world were everything is shared and so little is actually theirs I think assigned colors gives them a sense of ownership they may have been lacking before. For example, if we get them new toys I try to find them in their assigned colors (but more typically you will see them wearing clothes in their colors).

The boys continue to all look very different to us and often Phil or I tell each other "Caleb looks so much like Eli today" or "man Thomas looks just like Eli in that picture." I'm sure we sound crazy to anyone reading this but it's true. I recently had to convince Phil that people honestly can't tell them apart, he seemed to think that people just like saying that they can't tell them apart, you know for the novelty of it or just to say something. But it's true, even people they are around a lot still have to look for identifying markers were as Phil and I just look at them and know who is who. We both just can't get how people don't see how different they look! I even can hear differences in their voices.

Caleb, or as he pronounces it Cay-lep

Caleb

Caleb is very affectionate and will give anyone a hug that wants one. But be warned, if you let your guard down he'll do something sneaky and unexpected (like take the glasses off your face) and it will usually be accompanied by his little evil laugh. He loves to push his brothers buttons and it annoys the heck out of them as you can imagine. He hates wearing pants and socks (I'm glad I won the battle over keeping his underwear on though). He's pretty chill and is the most easy going of the three. He doesn't sweat the small details like his brother do. Phil and I are very grateful for that! That also means he usually gets to pick last (though I try to make up for it in other ways). He is our resident daredevil and always looks like he's been in a battle with scratches and bruises. And I can't forget to mention he loves kitties!

Eli, or as he pronounces it Ee-i

Eli

Eli is as cute as a button and often reminds me of a little squirrel being very industrious and deliberate in his actions. He is quite the spitfire and when he knows what he wants he will tell you. He's is the most chatty of the three and I think he will become the spokesman for the three. He's kind of bossy and likes to try and be the leader but of course his brothers are having none of that, ha! He is as smart as a whip and he often learns things first. His brothers often learn from Eli or they'll hear me praising him and want to learn it too (I'm pretty sure C and T would not know their ABCs if it weren't for Eli). He is very inquisitive and is always asking me what stuff is. Eli gets punished the least, the boy knows to stop while he's ahead, this makes me wonder if he's more obedient or just smart? Perhaps he knows mom and dad's limits better than his brothers. Eli is a screamer and resident Drama queen (or is it king?)! He can be quite emotional at times.

Thomas, or as he pronounces it Tah-masssss

Thomas

Thomas is our big lovable dork and I'm not sure how to convey that in words, maybe you just have to be around him to see it. He over pronounces the s in his name, and repeats things over and over again to make sure you heard him. And not to mention, he tells the same old tired joke over and over again. If there's two of what ever he'll say one for Thomas, one for Eli and none for Caleb?! (that's his joke) Thomas has lots of great facial expressions. He's a very in-opportune child because after I get done yelling at his brothers for doing something naughty they did he jumps right in and does the thing that I just finished yelling at his brothers for. Seriously, he was two feet away and saw the whole thing play out! He gets punished more for being the straw that broke the camels back. He's pretty stubborn (or maybe you call it determined) and most cautious of the three.