fitz {three years}

{three years} I am realizing that I never did Fitz’s two and three-quarter year update (or the last day of school for any of the kids) back in June. But here we are in September! 🙃

Back in April, Fitz started swim lessons. After finding such a great swimming program for the girls (it’s SwimGuru, for any local Seattle families) I couldn’t wait to get Fitz started and take advantage of his school schedule that allowed him to swim on weekday mornings (his non-school days). Two-and-a-half is still pretty young for swim lessons, but we are around water quite a bit in the summer and I would love to have three swimming kids by next summer! He started out with twice-per-week lessons which was a lot (logistically) but so great for exposure for him; also having the same swim coach was super helpful too. At first, Fitz only wanted to stay vertically in the water, but with some patience and using toys in the pool, his coach was able to get him horizontal and even to look down at the bottom of the pool!

Fitz was doing really well in the spring; he could back-float on his own, do short swims underwater, and “dive” for toys underwater. We took the summer off, partly due to cost and partly due to not wanting the structure of bi-weekly lessons over the summer. But just this past weekend Fitz re-started weekly swim lessons and it went pretty well!

Fitz’s last update was all about his ear tube surgery. He’s still doing really well and he hasn’t had any issues with them healing or any ear infections. Yes!

BUT, when Daphne brought home a cold in June from school, everyone in the family got some sniffles. Except for Fitz. He was fevering and pretty sick with a terrible, lingering cough (so bad that his coughing would make him sick). In the past, we would take him to the doctor and he would have an ear infection. This time, his ears were clear and draining well, but whatever virus it was moved into his lungs. A chest x-ray later told us that it was either an airway restriction or pneumonia. So the doc gave him an inhaler and breathing treatment, but since his oxygen levels were on the lower range, she wanted us to bring him back in the next few days. We were able to see our usual pediatrician for Fitz’s follow-up appointment, and, another chest x-ray later, he was diagnosed with pneumonia. Which was a bit of a relief because he could be treated with a round of antibiotics (because of course this was days before we were headed out of the country on our summer family trip to Whistler). After the antibiotic, Fitz was pretty much back to normal and managed to stay pretty healthy for the remainder of the summer! This fall and winter might be another story – wish us luck.

We travelled a few times by car over the summer for a few trips. In early July we took a day trip (and ferry ride) out to Orcas Island to drop Eloise off at Camp Orkila. Then we headed north to Whistler for a week for our (small) family trip in mid-July. And then out to the Oregon coast for a trip with my family in late July. Fitz tends to do well (bordem-wise) but still gets motion sick in the car. If he’s had anything to eat recently, he can get sick, even on a really short car ride. Dramamine seems to help so much but we always have to be prepared!

After an entire summer of Play Street (where we close down the block in front of our house once per week) and many trips around the block, Fitz is an absolute whiz on his scooter. He can ride while balancing on one foot and very nearly keep up with his sisters. We are working on him using the brake though since he wants to drag his foot instead (which is ruining his shoes). Though he wants to ride his scooter more frequently because he’s so much faster on it, Fitz is finally tall enough for his balance bike and has been “riding” it a little bit. He’s got great balance, so I think if we can encourage him to ride the bike a bit more, he’ll master it too!

Things Fitz Says:

“Eloise, can I see the bubble gum pouch?” (He wanted to see her blow a bubble.)

“Mama, can I have 2 flamingos?” (pieces of mango)

Dribbles basketball: “I’m a basketball hooper!”

Puts his spoon on it’s end at the breakfast table: “He’s not standing up very well.”

“These carrots smell like Olaf!” (Olaf is a snowman character from Frozen who has a carrot nose!)

“Can I listen in your ear?” (which is what he says when he wants to tell you a secret or whisper something in your ear.)

I heated up his pancakes, but he wanted them cold and frozen: “These aren’t frozen. These aren’t frozen! Not cool!”

What is your name? Fitz.
How old are you? (shows me three fingers) Three.
What is your favorite thing to do? Uh, I don’t know. (And then he started pointing at everything close to him.)
What do you want to be when you grow up? Be a dinosaur.
What is your favorite food? Uh, hats? Eat hats. Mac and cheese.
Who do you like to spend your time with? Eloise.
What do you do really well? Good at scooter.
What makes you laugh? (laughs) In my crib.
What is the best time of day? Nighttime.
What are you afraid of? Uh, the monster.
Who is your best friend? Eloise. Daph.
What do you like to do with your family? Cake. Eat cake.
What do you love to learn about? Books.
Where do you like to go? To the library.
What is your favorite book? Colors.
If you had one wish, what would it be? Colors.

And here are Eloise and Daphne’s two year updates.

Happy, Happy Birthday to our sweet guy!

M