Skyler Update: Three and a Half Years Old

You ready it correctly, this little boy is three and a half years old. It’s truly hard to believe!

It’s time for a new Skyler update, along with a list of favorite things that he’s loving at this stage of toddlerhood. I’ve also included my personal list of faves from a parenting perspective, so don’t miss those at the bottom.

The days are long, but the years certainly are short. Every stage of parenting him proves this statement to be true, but man, time seems like it is flying by more than ever right now. Our little boy isn’t little at all sometimes, and here’s the latest peek into our days.

Thanks so much for reading today!

Skyler’s Three (And 1/2) Year Update

Skyler is technically three years old, and a lot of the information from his last update post could still be applied here. But, to avoid being repetitive, let’s catch up on some of the newer behavior and milestones that are worth pointing out.

Sky at 3.5 is smart, witty, creative, funny and the life of the party all around. He is still a BALL OF ENERGY from the moment he wakes up until his head hits the pillow for the night, and I’ve accepted that as our new normal.

Skyler Hesington - 3 Years Old - May 2021 (3)

He is all boy and will not stay still for more than a minute or two, tops. He loves to wrestle, climb, jump, dance and make up his own songs. He is all about super heroes and has a serious adoration for anything having to do with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Raphael is obviously his favorite turtle, and he will tell you even if you don’t ask.

Sky loves playing with his toy figures and his “little toys” collection (as we like to call them) is getting a bit out of hand. He gets attached to a certain set for a period of time, and they have to go everywhere with us … including on the highchair tray during dinner time. (I pick my battles and this is not one of them.)

There are a lot of quirks to learn about this dude at this age, but they’re all coming from an incredibly kind heart. Skyler is a jokester most of the time, but he’s still my snuggle bug who loves to cuddle up to read a book or watch a movie. He loves people and making them smile!

Stats & Milestones

We are still taking new headshot photos every other month or so to turn in for castings. (Skyler is currently signed with a modeling agency here in NYC, and he goes on photo castings to get gigs every now and then. He’s liked the experience and has started a great savings.)

I take the photos myself at home, and it always amazes me how grown up he looks!

Skyler Hesington September 2021 - 3.5 years old

Current stats:

Weight: ~30 pounds

Height: 37.25 inches

Clothing size: 3T tops, 2T bottoms

Shoes: 6.5 (T)

We take daily walks, go to the playground, visit playrooms that feel safe and explore the city here and there. Skyler loves doing new things together like going to the movies, seeing puppet shows, visiting new playgrounds and parks and just getting out-and-about. You can always read more about those outings in Friday Favorites posts.

Travels

The pandemic definitely slowed our travels down a bit, but Skyler has still been to a lot of different places over the past 3.5 years. At three years old, he’s been to Florida several times, Michigan four times, Arkansas and Missouri four times, Texas three times, Vermont, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania.

Flying with him has become easier as he’s gotten older, and he loves wearing his headphones on the plane to watch movies from his own seat. We recently took a long road trip to Michigan, and upgraded his carseat with the addition of a toddler car seat tray (both linked below under Toddler Parent favorites). That was such a good call!

The tray became something he instantly asked for each time we got in the car on that trip, and it made the hours spent on the road go by faster for all of us. He had his snacks, his toys and anything he needed within arms reach.

He did, however, get sick a few times on the way out. It was so sad. Unfortunately, Skyler got his motion sickness from me, as I also get very queasy on road trips through the mountains and winding roads. We got the word to go ahead and try Kid’s Dramamine after a few episodes, and it made a huge difference. We only needed half a dose, and he didn’t get sick for the remainder of the road trip. I’d call that a huge win!

(See more of my tips for traveling with a toddler/infant here.)

Likes & Dislikes

Skyler is a happy kid and does just fine entertaining himself most of the time. He has very needy moments (especially when Scott’s traveling – woof), but he is relatively independent and simple things like his action figures, books and stickers go really far.

Also, he’s hilarious. He tells stories and jokes all day long.

Some of his favorite things to do include reading books together, playing with stickers, painting, creating “artwork” and crafts, cutting things with his baby scissors, playing with sand, wrestling, dance parties and watching learning videos. He LOVES playing in the water and going to splash pads.

He really enjoys being around people and loves going to pre-school a few days a week and kid’s church on Sundays. He has a handful of friends his age that he has play dates with, and he likes to go out and see new things.

He does not like being barefoot, unless he’s at the beach. He does not like hanging out in his underwear and always has to have shorts or pants on, even if it’s for just a few minutes before the bath. He does not like being wrapped up in blankets and kicks them off within a minute or two after I tuck him in every night. He doesn’t like sitting in a high chair a second after he’s done eating, and he’s over the bibs. He’s a big boy now after all.

Eating

We’re still loving the Ikea Antilop High Chair for the bargain price of $22, as well as the Toogel Hook On High Chair (this one breaks down really easily for travel, too!) that stays attached to our dining room table. It’s nice to have the choice to use either one depending on where we’re eating in the apartment.

Skyler goes through phases of liking and not liking the same foods, depending on the day. I’ve heard this is completely normal, and his latest dislikes (that used to be loves) includes cucumbers, blueberries and applesauce. It’s so funny. That said, he will typically try almost anything if we ask him to. Usually. He’s a pretty great eater.

He asks for waffles, yogurt and fruit every single morning, so we are trying to add variety with other things like eggs, chicken sausage, toast, avocado toast, oatmeal, etc. But he will ask for waffles ten out of ten times.

Some of his favorite foods include Happy Meals (although I have been trying to make more chicken and homemade sweet potato fries at home to satisfy the ask), strawberries, raspberries, grapes, apples, oranges, carrots, edamame, spaghetti, and soup. I think he loves soup so much because they have homemade chicken and veggies or chicken and rice soup at school. He still loves his low-fat milk and drinks a full cup of it in the morning and before bed. And he’s all about the desserts and sweet treats.

Sleeping

Oh, sleep. Getting on and sticking to a regular sleep routine has been the hardest for us over the past year or so. I think the pandemic had a lot to do with it, as our typical night time routine got interrupted most of the time with more zoom calls, more virtual meet-ups in the evening hours, and more nights with Scott at home.

Don’t get me wrong, I am very thankful for his company when he is home at night with us, but it’s also a lot harder to get him down before 9 p.m. with the extra wrestling, play time and video chats with family after dinner. That said, Sky’s sleep routine is all over the place.

We’re in a hard spot with daytime naps because he drops them completely most of the time. I’m okay with that, but the challenging part is when he gets over-tired right before dinner time and crashes at like 5 p.m. He’ll sleep for two hours if I let him (I usually don’t!), and it just messes up the rest of his night. He will not go to bed before 11.

Skyler Hesington September 2021 - 3.5 years old 3

I’ll encourage him to skip his nap unless he seems to really need it. Again, the tricky part is consistency since he takes a nap at school. I’m sure his body is really confused. So, we’re just rolling with it as much as we can day by day. Some days we’ll take an afternoon walk and he’ll nap in the stroller, and other days he’ll be go-go-go until he crashes at 8 p.m. without one.

Thankfully, he’ll usually sleep through the night until 7 a.m. or so. If he’s really tired, he’ll sleep until 8 a.m., but wakes up at 6:30 a.m. on occasion, too. Every day is different.

Skyler’s Current Favorites

Here is a narrowed down list of things that Skyler has been loving lately.

Micro Kickboard Mini/Maxi Scooter! (We originally purchased the Mini, which would have been fine for a year or so but ended up returning it for the Maxi, which is the next size up and should last until he’s 10+. Micros have the best scooter reviews from our neighborhood parent forums, and the lean-to-steer handles are key. We got the one with LED wheels, of course.)
Pop Its – my goodness, aren’t all kids into these right now?
Crocs – with the charms (important factor). He loves these for water-play or anytime, really.
Disney Deluxe Figure Play Sets – he is obsessed with this aliens set, along with the Luca figurines.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – anything from action figures and t-shirts to the movies.
Dinosaurs – he still loves his zoo animals, but has a new found love for any and all dinosaur things, especially sets like this one.
Superheroes – The Incredible Hulk, Spiderman, Batman, Superman, Ironman and more.
Magna Tiles – loves, loves, loves these and we take a few everywhere we go.
Floor puzzles! We have and especially love some from Melissa & Doug.
Letter Magnets – anything he can play with and arrange on the refrigerator or dishwasher.
Binoculars for bird watching on our walks! (Ours were gifted, but these are similar.)
Robots – he’s been very into robots and asked Santa to bring him a robot dog this year. He delivered and we now have this guy to play with every day. It’s awesome!
Little Golden Books – we have quite the collection right now, they’re quick and fun reads for him at this age.
Sound books – loves to push the buttons as the books prompt him, and we read them continuously throughout the day.
Musical instruments – this was a gift for his third birthday and it’s been a hit every day we’ve had it. He also has this ukulele/guitar and loves making music!
Cars, Trucks, Planes, Trains – basically anything that drives or flies.
Car Activity Play Rug – we found a large one at Marshall’s, but I love this one that is smaller and easier on the eyes.
Portable night light – we have this hippo light he is obsessed with! It glows in the dark, has a timer, a dimer and changes colors. It’s currently unavailable on Amazon but find it here and similar ones here, here and here.
Sand Toys – absolutely loves digging in the sand and making shapes and animals from sand molds right now. We have this set, and this one is adorable. So are these little guys!
Learning Tablet – we got this one for him last November and it has been the best purchase. Games, learning tools, books, lullabies and movies all in one spot!

My Favorites For 3.5 Years

And here’s what we’ve been loving for him!

desktop marker caddy – we all love this one that swivels, for organized, quick and easy access to markers.
Ofie Mat – this play mat has actually served as a RUG for our living room over the past three years, and it’s just now time for a new one. I’m currently ordering it again and had to add it to the list. It’s great and looks a lot easier on the eyes than the typical play mats.
Graco Tranzitions 3-in-1 Harness Booster Car Seat – I polled the mom forums from our neighborhood after realizing that it was time to invest in a bigger, transitional carseat that isn’t too bulky. This one was one of the top recommendations at a good price, and we really like it.
Toddler car seat lap tray for the long car rides – this is serious game changer for road trips! A must-have IMO.
Cleansing Balm – one of my favorite Beautycounter products that I use as a cleanser and overnight mask on myself but, most recently, have been loving as a substitute for Aquaphor on Skyler. This balm is fantastic to use on cuts, scrapes and dry skin patches.
Usborne Books – they’re another level of quality and interactive, and we all love reading them. We especially their sound books! Check out my friend’s shop if you don’t already have an Usborne consultant.
CamelBak BPA-Free Water Bottles with Straws – we have this set, and a few of the printed patterns, and the stainless steel option has been my favorite since the paint doesn’t chip.
Gap Character Shop – I’m not the biggest fan of character clothing, but Skyler has a few items (the pjs are awesome!) from this shop and they’re adorable. More found here! We also love the graphic tees that feature superheroes.
Velcro Sneakers (any brand really, but Vans, Converse, and Adidas are our go-to! Some of my faves include these, these these and these.
Clean Sunscreen! I’ve mentioned this sunscreen stick before, and I still use it on-the-go with him. We both use this mineral sunscreen lotion every day.
Toddler-sized Masks – we have a variety from Old Navy and Gap. FYI, the Old Navy brand runs a little snugger. Also loving the super hero packs.
Zak Kids Dinnerwear Sets – We received this set from a friend for his birthday and the quality is great. Sky gets excited for his food in them! (You can also find them on Amazon.)
Outfits – my favorite finds are always at Gap (there’s always a sale so look out for them), Old Navy, Target (Cat & Jack brand is adorable) & Walmart (adorable tees, sweatshirts, and joggers for $3-5!) I’ve also been finding a lot of affordable Nike and other sporty wear at Marshalls.
Water Shoes for splash pads and outdoor water play. We have a pair of hand-me-down Native shoes along with the Crocs listed above.
GB Pockit Stroller – perfect for solo city commutes. We don’t use this every day, but I always have it handy for longer trips out and travels.
Toddler Bombas socks – Santa brought him a variety of calf socks and ankle socks years ago and they’re just now in need of replacement. They’re the best.
Echo Dot Smart Speaker with Alexa – makes playing music for toddlers so easy, not to mention help turning on/off lights when your hands are full!

Phew! Those lists just keep getting bigger. I always find it helpful to see what is working for other families in the toy and kid supplies department, so I hope you enjoyed a first-hand look into a lot of our favorite things for his age.

Hesington Family — *Lily Raya Photography*

If you’ve made it this far into the post, bless you. Thank you for following along the journey of parenthood with me, and I really do love putting these updates together every six months.