jaden & the tricycle – HAPPILY EVERLY AFTER

a three and a half year old boy riding a tricycle may be no big deal to you, but it’s a pretty big deal to me. then again, let me reintroduce you to my jaden.

jaden has always been so overly cautious. he wouldn’t do anything that could potentially bring him harm. he didn’t walk until he was seventeen months. he didn’t like slides. he didn’t even have an interest in riding the baby trains at the mall. until recently, he hated anything remotely adrenaline inducing. he would rather do math workbooks than go to the playground. he chose to watch youtube videos about photosynthesis over a play date with friends. strange right? at least it was to me!

while he was never advanced in any of his physical milestones, cognitively he’s been off the charts. at ten months old he knew the entire alphabet. at fifteen months he was on to phonics. by eighteen months he was sounding out three letter words. i was really impressed at two years when he knew all 50 states, could do simple addition and subtraction, and could finish a 50 piece puzzle in less than five minutes. then by two and a half, it seemed only natural when he was reading full sentences. to add to that he’s always been super clean and neat and finds joy in things like perfectly lining up all 200 of his crayons in order by color. i’d be lying if i said i didn’t worry that because of his nerdy and quirkiness he’d get picked on at school.

for now, my worries have subsided a little because jaden has turned into an adventure-seeking boy. i’m no longer that crazy mom that tries to force their kid to ride the swings or go down the slide. instead, now i’m shouting out words like “be careful!” or “are you sure you don’t need my help?” he’s still very much into workbooks and reading but that’s now balanced with things like pretending to be a pirate or swimming or riding his tricycle. socially, he’s finally come out of his shell. i frequently hear him introducing himself to a random kid at the playground saying things like “hi, i’m jaden. what’s your name?” or “i’m a boy and i’m three” or “this is my sister everly.”

it feels a little backward, but i’m more proud when i see him playing than when he is reading. every kid develops at his/her own pace. from seeing jaden grow from the minute the umbilical cord was cut to the big bad three and half year old he his now, i have no doubt that he’ll one day become a well-rounded and successful individual.

next on our to-do list is meat. this boy has been a self made vegetarian for two years now. for him, it would be great to get some more protein and iron in his diet. for me, it would be nice to cook just one meal for a change instead of tofu and carbs for jaden, while the rest of the family eats steak or chicken. we are getting there. i need to frequently remind myself, baby steps, baby steps…

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

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