Three Years Old: What's your name?

Puddintane, ask me again and I'll tell you the same! "What's your name?" is your favorite game right now. The correct answer is Pim to your Pom, at which point we bargain for each other's names and make up increasingly unpronounceable multi-syllabic sounds to call ourselves and each other.

The game started at the dinner table, but has moved to a broader stage. I still find it slightly awkward to play in public, it's strange to hear you ask me my name, but usually we jump right in. Although in the early days you played with your Daddy, too, this has become a game for you and me alone. I must admit sometimes I'm not quite in the headspace to make up name after name after name, but it's such an intimate Mama/Miriam thing that I play on whenever the fancy strikes you.


You also love to have me sing to/with you whenever we're in the car. We've moved from the "We're going to preschool..." song to The Grand Old Duke of York to Apples and Bananas, which you listen to intently, and I'm sure will be singing on your own in no time.


You love wordplay. You ask us to repeat phrases and immediately adopt those that entertain you. You continue to be a very verbal kid, although we seriously wonder if they know this in preschool. Your teachers are working with you on "the Puppy thing." Concerned that you use Puppy as a barrier against joining into the group, they're encouraging you to bring Puppy to circle time, then put him in your cubbie till nap time, then into the box again until it's time to go home.

You've commented on this: Jan doesn't let Puppy go to the playground. And we remind you that Puppy doesn't go to the playground at home, either. It's a hard transition, but it seems like the right hting. And the way you joyfully greet Puppy when it's time to go home is pretty adorable.