Dear Connor - 3 Years, 6 Months

Dear Connor,
They say that the age of 3 is harder than the age of 2, but it doesn’t seem that way to me. I think the age of 3 is more frustrating than the age of 2, but at least you are a little more lucid and can be reasoned with.

Except when caterpillars are involved. A couple of days ago, we discovered caterpillars in the back yard. Well, in the yard, on the deck, on the porch and last night in the upstairs bathroom. I picked up one for you to hold and in no time at all, you were attached. Shortly after this, I decided that you were occupied enough for me to go to into the house for a moment, but I left the back door open so I could still hear you on the porch. A minute later I heard a blood curdling scream followed by hysterical crying and ran to the porch to fight the wild jackals that must have snuck onto the porch causing you to scream this way. Instead I found you pointing to the caterpillar that had fallen from your hand to the porch floor, as you sobbed, “MOMMY IT’S GETTING AAAWWWWAAYYY!” I was a little bit confused by this drama, as the caterpillar was about a foot away and moving at a rapid rate of 4 feet an hour, but we picked him up and put him back into the cup that you were carrying around.

This drama happened again and again, each time the caterpillar attempted to climb up the side of his container. You snuck it into the house behind me when I went in to make you a drink. I saw the empty cup in your hand and asked where your caterpillar was. “He’s climbing now.” You said. “Where?” I asked, cringing. You pointed to the kitchen table where the caterpillar was just trucking along the side.
Soon you were begging to be able to keep it in your room and sleep with it. We negotiated hard on this one and ended up making a house from an old aquarium that no longer holds water. After additions of rocks, dirt, moss and sticks I was able to talk you into putting your caterpillar into his new home.

Yesterday, Daddy was outside with you as you collected every caterpillar that you could find. The terrarium that we built now has 21 caterpillars that you feed and mist daily. You tell them goodnight and want to go and visit them first thing in the morning. It’s all so sweet that if I thought I could handle cleaning a cage once a week, I’d get you a hamster or another equally amusing rodent. But it would have to sleep in your room… and those things are nocturnal, you know.

You’ve been going to swim lessons for over a month now and you’re doing great! Daddy takes you to your lessons so I haven’t actually seen you in lesson mode yet, but the reports are that you can hold your breath under water and swim 10 feet. The first time I heard this, I’m not sure if I was more proud that you could do it or relieved that you had learned a skill that could one day save your life. Daddy says that you are an independent swimmer, wary but not afraid of the water. You love the waterslide and the other two boys in your class. Now, if I could just get you to stop asking me every second of the day, “Are swimming lessons tonight?”
I love you,
Mommy