Happy 3rd Birthday to my Little Man!

J -

Today you will celebrate your 3rd birthday with Daddy, then school, then finally with me during dinner.

What you will probably remember the most is the McQueen theme, since Daddy & I upgraded your crib/toddler bed to a twin size McQueen car bed. 

3 years ago today, Daddy & I shared an awe of meeting you for the first time.  Today, we are teary eyed to see who you have become.  I thought you changed a lot the previous 2 years, but this past year, wow.  You have grown & developed so much.

You started preschool around your 2nd birthday, and with it your vocabulary has just grown leaps & bounds.  I often get complimented on how well developed your vocabulary is & how well spoken you are.

- You can do your alphabet, and know most of the letters 

- You can count higher than you are willing to most days.  I know this from you telling me that "36" was on your nightshirt recently.  Focus is still a challenage for you, so when you get to 20 you are done

- This year you started counting items.  We learned you could do this during potty training

- First passport stamp (Atlantis)

- First haircut, and curls seem to be a thing of the past  :(

- Speaking of potty training, you pretty much self trained within a week of being allowed to pee standing up 

- This year you have really started showing how independent you are, and we have probably begun a series of many struggles on who really is in charge of the situation

- Saying The Pledge of Allegiance was an unexpected development you mastered this year.  It started in September, and by Christmas you had even mastered "Erica" into "America"

- In December you were 39 inches tall & 35.5 lbs.  This puts you in most 4/4T clothes, and you wear a size 9 or 10 shoe depending on the manufacturer

- In the Spring you started riding your tryke, but by fall you had moved onto your bike.  You were riding to & from the park like a pro

-  This past summer you drove Grandpa P's boat for the first time, and really learned to swim well with your life jacket on in our pool

-  You love water & warm weather.  Snow, not so much.  It's pretty to look at, and celebrate, but you'd prefer to be inside drinking hot chocolate & watching Mickey

-  You need activity to expend all your energy... You'd spend all your time in the basement playing, if we'd hang with you

-  Imaginary play has recently become to be a big part of your play time.  You cook in your kitchen, but more recently you've started making up stories to go along with your play... Mickey's house, Elmo's truck, *the guy* etc... It is so much fun for me to listen to you when you don't think I'm paying attention

- You really started expressing an interest in sports this past year.  Basketball, soccer, floor hockey, etc... Anything that you can play & get us to join you in doing

- First Blackhawks game (in the Theatre seats no less)

- First Bear's game (in the United (aka Cadallic) seats no less)

This past year you've really grown from a baby to a little man.  A little man who loves his thumb, and we are not sure what we are going to do about that...

Days of snuggling you to get warm are coming to end as you say "don't snuggle me" wanting your space.  Recently, during the blizzard days, you snuggled up to Daddy & fell into a 14 hour deep sleep.  We both sighed over how sweet you were, knowing these days are short lived at this point.

We are so proud of the little man you are becoming & looking forward to watching you contine to amaze us with your development.

Daddy & I love you so very much!

Love, Mommy