He is potty trained, sleeping in a big boy bunk bed, pacifier-free and full of the most intense emotions that range from the sweetest tenderness toward his baby brother to tearful anger over very important things like forgetting his “special rock” in the car. Ryder’s vocabulary has sky-rocketed and he talks a mile a minute, often repeating everything big brother Chase says on a 0.5 second delay. He doesn’t have an “inside voice” and everything comes out in his adorable husky yell.
There’s always been something so special about this kid and I love scooping him up and hearing his throaty laughter fill the room whenever we play. Ryder is full of adventure and is always up for trying new things that seem well beyond his capabilities. I pray his confidence lasts forever and his “aggressive tenderness” stays with him always.
Ryder’s favorite question is “why?” and even though he rarely seems satisfied with our answers to his questions, I love his curiosity and wonder for our world. He’s physical and excitable and so determined. This kid is Mr. I’ll Do It Myself and shrugs off any offers for help until he’s so frustrated that big emotions overflow.
Ryder loves his friends and playtime but seems to need a break from social situations after a while to check in with Mom for a snack or a little love. This little reset doesn’t last too long before he’s off sprinting right back into the action.
Sleep
Ryan and I joke that Ryder is our kid who never sleeps. Even as a baby, we’d laugh because it felt like whenever we looked at the baby monitor, he’d be there, staring back at us, happily chillin’ in his crib. Go to sleep, you crazy kid!
Fast forward a couple of years and Ryder is still our early riser. This wasn’t a big deal when he was in his own room because he was content to stay in his crib for a while but now that he’s bunked up with Chase, when he wakes up, he yells out for his big brother, turns off the noise machine and throws open the blinds. As Chase says, “Ryder is an early bird.”
As for nighttime, Ryder will often fall asleep easily on days when he doesn’t nap but if he naps, he and Chase will talk and sing and chat away in their beds until eventually one of them tires out.
Ryder has so much energy and happily powers through without a nap for several days until it’s so glaringly obvious he needs one and then he’ll sleep for 2-3 hours in the afternoon. He typically takes three(ish) naps a week and, to be honest, we all like nap-free Ryder better because he often wakes up so, so cranky from his afternoon nap. Oddly enough, if Ryan or I get him up from his nap, he’s much more likely to cry and be fussy for a whiiile whereas if Chase gets him up, he’s more likely to rally and go into play mode. Thank goodness for that big brother charm!
Eating
Ryder is our little snack machine! If I ever ask the boys if they’re hungry and want a snack when we’re out and about, you better believe Ryder will drop whatever he’s doing and sprint over to me for something to eat. Snacktime favorites include apples, cashews, oranges, bananas, string cheese, Simple Mills almond flour crackers, raisins, whole wheat pumpkin muffins, The New Primal turkey sticks and chocolate chip cookie dough larabars.
Favorite foods for mealtimes include quesadillas, carrots, cucumbers, burgers, green beans, pizza, strawberries (Ryder says strawberries are his “very favorite food”), mango, grilled cheese, hot dogs, bell peppers, chicken nuggets and mac and cheese.
Challenges
This isn’t my first rodeo with a three-year-old but man oh man I almost forgot how intense three-year-old emotions can be sometimes. Ryder loves hard, plays hard and feels things very fiercely which can be wonderful and frustrating and completely exhausting. He loooves the word “NO!” and will sometimes look us straight in the eye when we tell him why something is not okay and smile. Like what in the world is going on in your wild little brain, buddy!?
The whole sibling dynamic is one of our biggest challenges and that’s coming from a mom who would also say that the relationship Chase and Ryder have is next-level amazing. They are each other’s best friends and the best playmates and genuinely enjoy being together but man oh man we have some brother battles in this house that drive me insane, too. It often stems from Ryder deciding he wants whatever toy Chase is playing with (or sometimes vice versa) and navigating these battles multiple times a day some days is a lot. Thankfully as Ryder gets older, they’re more easily able to work together to figure out solutions but most of this comes from Chase leading the way (5-year-old perks) and Ryder hopping on board the plan.
Big Brother Role
Though Ryder’s primary interactions at this point are with his big brother since they run around and play together all day long, he absolutely loves his baby brother, too. Ryan and I coined the term “aggressive sweetness” to describe Ryder with Rhett because he loves him so much and wants to hold him, play with him and bring him along on his adventures in an a way that’s equal parts loving and overbearing.
Ryder prefers to communicate with Rhett face-to-face — or rather nose-to-nose — and we’re trying to help him to understand that Rhett likes to choose how close he comes to people and enjoys the freedom to crawl around, explore on his own and choose his own toys rather than have people or toys thrust in his face. Ryder’s interactions with Rhett so clearly come from a place of love — he’s the first one to run to grab Rhett’s pacifier when he cries — but helping him show his love in a gentle way that doesn’t feel overwhelming to a 9-month-old is something we’re working on with him on a daily basis. Thankfully Rhett is a cool little baby who wants to be in the mix of brother craziness and the minute Ryder or Chase walk away from him, he’s off army crawling after them!
Three Year Old Favorites
- Glider Airplanes
- Picasso Tiles (worth their weight in gold)
- Bike
- Scooter
- Plasma Car
- Water Doodle Mat
- Bounce House
- Sprinkler Splash Pad
- Cars and Trucks
- Pop Up Rocket Ship Tent
- Power Wheels Jeep
- Kinetic Sand
- Water WOW! Activity Pads
- Green Toys Helicopter
- Trains + Train Table
- Kitchen Helper Cooking Stand
- LeapFrog Laptop
- Melissa & Doug Take-A-Long Tools
- Go, Dog. Go!
- Little Excavator
- Pete the Cat Books
- The Pout-Pout Fish
- Cars and Trucks and Things That Go
- The Snail and the Whale
- Sleep Train
- Dogs Don’t Wear Sneakers
- Dragons Love Tacos
- The Rainbow Fish
- Clap Your Hands
Vera says
How did you know when Ryder was ready to potty train?
I have a toddler boy that is 3 and not sure when I should start potty training…
My first boy and it’s been about 10 years since I potty trained my twin girls.
Any tips and ideas?
Julie says
Hi! I figured it was time to try potty training because Ryder was showing signs of readiness — he was SO interested in Chase and how Chase went on a “big boy potty” and would also tell us right after he went #2 in his diaper. I asked him if he might want to try learning how to go on the potty, too, and he was ALL IN. It honestly made the whole situation WAY easier than with our first child because he was motivated and wanted to be like his big brother. I also love the book Oh Crap! Potty Training and followed that for Chase and loosely followed it for Ryder, too.
Hope says
Would love to know what made you decide to go to a big boy bed out of the crib and when you did! Also what made you decide he was ready to potty train and get get rid of the paci? How did you handle that having a baby that still has a paci?
Julie says
The big boy bed decision was actually a decision made based on Rhett – ha! We needed Ryder’s room for Rhett when we were ready to transfer Rhett out of our room and into a crib so we sold the big kids on a bunk bed (they were psyched and LOVE it) and the transition was actually really smooth. Ryder had also begun climbing out of his crib so it was tiiime! (With Chase we waited MUCH longer — I was told by blog readers that transferring to a big boy bed is NOT a milestone and not to force it if they’re sleeping well and aren’t trying to climb out. I was so glad I listened to this because his transfer went really smooth, too, and I think a lot of that was because he was older.)
As for potty training, see above for my reply to Vera who had a similar question. 🙂
And you may see more about how we handled dropping Ryder’s pacifier here: https://www.pbfingers.com/catching-up/ Let me know if you have anymore questions — always happy to share!
Brenna says
Thank you for sharing this! My son is a few months younger than Ryder and I can relate to so much about all of this. It definitely makes me feel better to know I’m not alone with challenges and thank you for keeping it real. This age can be tiresome with the non-stop “why?” questioning and “no!” but it sure is fun too!
Nicole says
Man oh man. 3 year olds. I feel ya! I still think 2-3 years old is the biggest change for kiddos, and to this day 3 years old is what turned me from “my child does no wrong and is the light of the WORLD” to grumpy yells at my kid mum. Haha!
Julie says
haha yesss! ryan and i were watching videos of 18 month old ryder and just melting — so small, so innocent, always only sweet. now the fiiiire is here! hahaha!
Catherine L. says
Happy birthday to the 3 year old cutie pie. If you ever figure out how to bottle up that energy of his please send it my way lol. Hugs to Ryder and his beautiful family from south Texas.
Marcee says
Happy 🎂 Birthday Ryder! 🎈
Sure looks like this cutie-pie had a great time!
You are really such an amazing mom Julie. I just love reading your stories and the sweet (and not so sweet) details you share with us. We learn a lot!
Can hardly wait until Rhett starts showing his personality. I can just imagine all 3 of these boys getting together to outwit mom & dad!!
P. S. They are ALL gorgeous 😍 Rhett looks like Ryder a lot & definitely resemble their daddy so much!!
Rebekah says
Happy Birthday Ryder! Thanks for keeping it real. My little guy turns 3 on Sunday, I relate to so much you’ve said about this stage. I’ve followed your page for a long time, so it feels good that there is mom solidarity at this stage. 😂