Aidan’s Favorite Things {3-Year-Old Edition}

All the favorites from the life of my favorite 3-year-old boy!

Last year, I posted a list of my older son, Aidan’s, favorite things. I always like hearing other parents’ experiences and picking up new tricks, so I wanted to share some of ours.

It went over pretty well, so I thought I would do it again this year. I thought about including Andrew in this one, but his interests are still pretty basic, so I decided to stick with just Aidan this year. Andrew can join the party next year! 

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Food

Aidan likes pretty much all food. He goes through the normal 3-year-old moods of not wanting to eat certain foods on a given day, but I can’t think of anything that he won’t ever eat. Until this spring it was asparagus, but when I tried it again this year (without comment or hesitation), he ate it just fine!

Here is a list of his top 10 favorite foods:

• Peanut Butter
• Bacon
• Bananas
• Any other kind of fruit
• Cheese
• Cucumbers
• Bread
• Chocolate
• Baby carrots
• Meatloaf/Meatballs

We don’t do much processed food at our house anymore, but I do allow it on occasion (balance and moderation, that’s my philosophy!). Here are some of Aidan’s favorite treats:

• #1 – Ice cream!
• Dark chocolate chips
• Dark chocolate covered nuts (cashews are his favorite)
• Granola bars (we don’t keep them at our house anymore, but he loves getting them at Grandma’s!)

Toys

As you may know from my brain-boosting toys post, I much prefer toys that require imagination and problem solving over high-tech toys that do everything for you. And Aidan loves them, too!

Here are a few of his favorite toys right now:

• Waffle blocks – These things are great! They help develop problem-solving skills, and they provide hours of fun for Aidan. They can be used indoors or outdoors, but so far we’ve kept them inside. 

  

• Lincoln Logs
  
• Wooden blocks
  
• Kinetic Sand – My mom has this at her house, and Aidan loves to play with it! It’s mess-free and tons of fun!
  
• Water Wow pens – These reusable coloring books are fantastic! All it takes is a little bit of water in the pen, and Aidan can color pictures without any mess. Once the water dries off the page, the picture is clear and ready to be colored again! These are great for travel and for keeping him occupied (and quiet) during waiting times.
  
• These animal puppets – Aidan loves playing with these puppets and talking to them. His favorite one is “Mr. Giraffe,” and he talks to him as though he’s a friend. He even tells him, “I love you Mr. Giraffe.” 
  
• Boxes, cardboard tubes, my exercise bands … you name it, Aidan can play with it! It just goes to show you that you don’t need fancy, expensive toys for kids to play and have a good time. In fact, most of the time, I think simple is better! 
• Play cooking set – We make a lot of cakes in our house with this cooking set, with some interesting ingredients, such as Aidan’s ketchup, salt, and pepper cake. Mmm, yummy … 
• Tractors, trains, and anything that goes “vroom!”

Books

Aidan LOVES books, and he’s an equal opportunity enthusiast. There aren’t very many that he hasn’t liked, and he pretty much likes them all equally. 🙂 

But I can think of a few that have been treasured favorites. Here are the top 10:

• Giraffes Can’t Dance
  
• Tractors (Usborne Big Machines)
• Berenstain Bears books
• Beginner’s Bible
  
• Curious George books
• Jamberry
  
• Clifford books
• Duck in the Truck 
  
• The Little Engine That Could
• Winnie-the-Pooh books

Related Post: 5 Children’s Books That Will Inspire Your Kids to Greatness

TV Shows

Most days, Aidan’s screen time is very limited, but when he does get to watch, these are his favorite TV shows:

• Thomas & Friends
• Curious George
• Super Why
• Paw Patrol
• Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
• Dora the Explorer
• Bob the Builder
• Daniel Tiger

Movies

• Happy Feet 1 & 2 – He loves to shuffle his feet around like Mumble, and we have a hilarious video of him doing the stomp dance at the end of the 1st movie. 
• Curious George
• Thomas & Friends
• Veggie Tales
• Balto
• Finding Dory
• Minions
• Kung Fu Panda
• A Turtle’s Tale

Activities

• Building
• “Helping” in the garden – We give him a stick and let him “hoe” with us. He also helps pick the beans, and does pretty well at it! We may lose a few things here and there, but it’s worth it to build the foundation of a good work ethic and working in the garden! 
• Going on tractor and 4-wheeler rides
• Swimming in the pond (with his life jacket, of course – Andrew has this one that is great for babies!)
• Playing outside – digging, climbing, playing with sticks, taking rides in his wagon or car
• Cooking with Mommy – I wrote a few helpful tips for cooking with kids during the holidays last year that you might find interesting!
• Playing with his brother
• Blowing bubbles – This no spill bubble bucket works great for little ones who aren’t very good at holding their own bubbles! 

That’s a little taste of what my 3-year-old son is into these days. Did you discover anything new that you hadn’t heard of before? Do any of you with preschoolers have some suggestions? I’m all ears! Feel free to leave a comment below.

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