How can you be three already? Every day I look at you and ask myself where my tiny baby went, for he's been replaced by a talking, playing, silly little boy. I am amazed at the growth you have made the past year, and I'm sure I'll be surprised by you in the year to come as well.
We celebrated your birthday early this year because we knew that your baby brother might be making his entrance to the world a little early. This was the first year you really got into your birthday, and it was so fun! You kept talking about your "firetruck birthday" and you were so excited and eager for it to get here. Although it was laid back and not super fancy, I think it was a huge success, mostly because of Gabby's creativity! She designed the adorable invitations (that I never sent out...oops!), and helped with the decorating and designing. We held the party at the neighborhood clubhouse, and even more than a month later you still talk about your firetruck birthday whenever we drive into the neighborhood. What a fun day!
Checking out the presents!
Gran Gran helps open the presents, and all are interested!
Trying out the new toys
Sweet Miles recognized his gift - I think he thought it was his!
The Octonauts gift! He was done with the party after this - all he wanted to do was play with the Octonauts and the Gup-A! (Also, look at my giant belly! I don't miss hauling that around! Ben made his appearance 6 days after the party. We are grateful that he waited until after the party!)
Blowing out the candle...
Oh, wait, nope... looking at the Octonauts!
So happy!
At least someone enjoyed the cupcake!
Three is not a great age for sharing, apparently. We see this face often!
Happy Hannah!
Notice the awesome matching shirts? Thanks Gabby!
A hug from Matthew - how sweet!
This was about as much of a cupcake that he ate... he was not a fan!
Likes - As you get older, your likes and dislikes become more and more clear. You love vehicles of any kind, especially construction vehicles and firetrucks. I'm always on the lookout for trucks and construction equipment when we're driving, and when you're not with me I'm sad that I don't have anyone to get excited with! (I guess that officially makes me a mom of boys, right?) We bought you a road rug for your birthday and you love to sit in your room and play with all your cars. I confess that I'm not nearly as entertained by this activity as you are - I guess I need to practice more, because I'm sure I have many more years of playing cars!
You also love books, which makes me so proud! The bookshelves that your Daddy made have been wonderful. You love to sit on your beanbag chair and pick out books to read. The teacher in me likes to switch out the books often so that you have a variety of topics and types of books to read, as well as seasonal selections. You love to read and be read to, and one of my favorite things to do is read with you. (This is also one of the few activities I can do with you while nursing Ben - you'll bring me a book and say "read this to me with one hand" - how fast you have learned!) Right now your favorite books seem to be non-fiction books about trucks or ocean animals, and then you enjoy many picture books - the Llama, Llama series, Clifford the Big Red Dog, and Splat the Cat stick out in my mind. I hope and pray that your love of reading continues to grow!
You like love TV, and watch more of it than I care to admit! There were many days when I would come home from school, exhausted and weighed down (literally) and I would suggest watching a show together. It was nice to cuddle together on the couch. One big change that has happened over the past year is that you have gotten into "Octonauts". You never request Mickey anymore! You have become obsessed with anything and everything Octonauts, and have learned quite a bit from the show. You were given quite a few Octonauts toys for your birthday and you love to play with them. I love hearing you narrate your made-up adventures! You are so creative and imaginative! Because of your love for Octonauts, I have been wanting to take you to Sea World and/or an aquarium. Hopefully this summer we can go see some of the animals that you have been learning about on the show.
Dislikes - Much the same as your likes have become easier to identify, it is also very easy to know what you dislike - mostly because you tell us, emphatically! You dislike being told no or not to do something. Sometimes you say to me "Don't say no, mommy. Say yes!" Haha! You don't like to stop playing. You don't really like to leave the house, you're definitely a little bit of a home-body. You don't like to stray from routines. Lately you don't like for us to do things that you think you can do on your own. All of these dislikes have been challenging - three is definitely more difficult than two. But you are growing up into your own little person, and the struggle for independence is part of it. I hope that your dad and I can take a deep breath and remember that when you are screaming "No! I don't want to!!" at us. We love you so much and we can't wait to see what your independence brings.
Eating - I'm pretty sure that you live off of goldfish and peanut butter bars (peanut butter granola bars). You have such a limited diet, but I try not to worry about it. I'm definitely not going to win Mom of the Year as far as feeding you goes - there are days when you eat a peanut butter bar for breakfast and dinner! I like to choose my battles, and that's not always one I want to pick. You do love fruits, especially raspberries, blackberries, grapes, apples, and oranges. You like lunch meat and PB&J sandwiches, and you love chips and snack foods of any kinds. You favorite food is chicken pot pie, which you call chicken pie. You request this weekly, and you love to help make it. We all eat it for dinner and then you eat the leftovers for breakfast and dinner until it's gone. (You'd eat it for lunch too, but I don't think you realize that it's an option!) You also like to eat it cold, in fact you like most leftovers cold. I don't think that you like to wait when food is hot, so you just always ask for it cold. You still don't like sweets (are you sure you're my child?), except lollipops and the occasional cookie. The director at your school keeps a jar of dumdums, and you like to get one every day on the way out. You like to crunch them rather than lick them - you call yourself the cruncher! It reminds me of the old commercial with the owl and the tootsie pops - How many licks does it take to get to the center of the tootsie roll pop? You are the owl, crunching away at the lollipop!
Things you are saying/doing - Goodness, what things are you not saying and doing?! You amaze us with the things you say. I hear a lot of myself in what you say (for better or worse!). The other day we were talking in car about making chicken pie for dinner. You were asking me if I had bought everything to make it. I said that I had and you exclaimed "Good, good, good, you're a smart girl!" We tell you often how smart you are, and you sometimes say "I know!" Hahaha good luck to your future teachers! You often say that something is a "good idea", and I think that is because we say that to you a lot. Sometimes you'll talk about something that you know you shouldn't do - either because it's dangerous or not nice. I think your brain is thinking things over and you need confirmation that the rules and expectations haven't changed. One of my favorite things that you say is when we do something for you, even if it no big deal, you will say thank you like it is the greatest thing anyone has ever done. For instance, one time I poured you a cup of milk and you looked at me and said "Oh, thank you Mommy!!" It warms my heart!
You do so much also - you are able to do more and more by yourself. It makes me so proud, and makes my heart ache a little bit at the same time. Gone are the days when you need Mommy to do things for you. "I can do it myself," you say all the time. After your 3 year appointment we took away your pacifier. You had gotten extremely attached to this pacifier that had a moon and starts on it - Moon Paci, you called it. We knew it was time to get rid of it, but we had been putting it off. After the doctor mentioned something about it affecting your teeth we took it away. It was a struggle at first, but now you are fine. You still ask for it each night, and when we say that it is gone you say "I miss it a lot, Mommy". It breaks my heart a little bit, but I know it's for the best. And although I know you don't need it, it seems like one of the last vestiges of your babyhood. Do all parents feel this bittersweet? I want you to grow up and learn and do new things, but I want to freeze time as well. Maybe it is because of Ben, but you just seem so grown up to me. You are this big walking, talking kid with opinions and thoughts and stories to tell. And I love that! But I remember when you were tiny, and you fit in the crook of my arm. I remember holding you, rocking you, nursing you, and watching you sleep (mostly because you slept in my arms... haha). And remembering that is helping me to cherish the moments that I have now, with you and your brother, because I know how fast they go.
Speaking of your brother, you have been wonderful! I know that will probably not always be the case, but you have adjusted to Ben's arrival with amazing grace. You love to look at him and hug him. "I hug Ben," you always say. You love to look and touch his tiny feet and hands. You alert us if he starts crying, and you will comfort him if we don't react right away. There was one morning where Daddy and I were getting ready in our room and I hear Ben crying in his bouncer in the living room. I come out to check and find you leaning over his seat and rubbing his head saying "don't cry Baby Ben." What a sweet big brother you are! Andrew Lucas, you are a joy to us all and we are so blessed to have you!
And now some recent pictures of your adorable three-year-old self:
My sweet boy, sleeping.
The beloved Moon Paci.
We took a family outing to Zilker Park. Andrew loved the firetruck!
We were taking Ben's one month photos and we tried to get Andrew to pose for a three year picture. This is the one non-blurry one of the about 20 that we took. Getting a three year old to sit still for a picture = impossible!
Jumping on daddy's back!
Jonathan asked Andrew to make silly faces for the camera... Here are the many faces of Andrew!
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