Social interactions at 3

We have been quite proud of Joel for trying to reach out and make friends lately. We encourage him to approach kids in his preschool class and on the playground and strike up conversations. Joel has been trying, but it seems other three-year-olds aren't quite ready for him yet.

The other day at preschool, Joel was putting his things in his cubby (like a mini-locker) and another boy was doing the same at the cubby next to him. Joel said, "Hi, I like Thomas the train, do you like trains?" The other boy looked at Joel's Thomas backpack and said, "My backpack is way cooler than yours." Now what kind of 3-year old talks like that? "Way cooler"? Come on, I really hope he's not getting that attitude from mom and dad. Joel didn't seem bothered by it though, thankfully.
Then at the park the next day, Joel saw a boy with a "Cars" shirt on (a recent Pixar movie) so he decided to try to make a friend. This boy was a little older, maybe 4 or 5 years old. Joel said, "Hi, I'm Joel. Do you like trains? Because I really like trains." The boy just stood there and stared at Joel with his mouth hanging open. Joel then said, "Why aren't you saying anything?" Then he walked back to Jorie and said, "Mommy, why isn't that boy saying anything?"

At least Joel should have no problem making new friends in Iowa! Here's a recent tower that Joel built with legos. He said he was building "Chicago".