Happy 36th Monthday!

Domingo, this past Monday, Labor Day to be exact, you turned 3 years old! Happy happy birthday my wonderful big three year old!



You are so incredible, I am constantly blown away by the amazing things that you do. This past year you have grown and changed so much. If there was even a smidgen of your round soft babiness last year, it has melted away into skinny, scraped up, boyhood. You are turning slowly but surely into your dad. (Just like he's turning into his!) But it could be worse my dear.



Your round tummy and bottom have all but disappeared and you've stretched out so big and tall. We had your 3 year check up a few weeks ago and you are 39 inches tall, and weigh 34 pounds. You are between 75-90% for height, and 75% for weight. The doctor said you are progressing perfectly, and said what a smart cookie you are.



This was no surprise to me of course!
You are such a strong willed and spirited little boy. You want things your way and do not have a problem letting the whole neighborhood know it. We are working on expressing ourselves appropriately, but it's hard. We are also still struggling with sharing. It is so hard for you to let go, even for a moment, of your prized possessions, which happen to be all of them! But, you are getting better, especially with your cousins. I am hoping that this will continue to get easier as we start the next transition next week as you go to your very first day of SCHOOL!



I cannot believe you are going to preschool next week. I am so excited and nervous for you. We've had lots of talks about what school will be like, who your teachers are, all the fun you'll have together, and that Mama and Daddy will get to come to school some times too. You seem pretty excited about the prospect, particularly the possibility of playing with new and different toys.



Another big step we've made over the last few months in preparation for school is POTTY TRAINING!! You are getting so good and letting people know when you have to go, and are having fewer and fewer accidents. Of course, accidents sometimes happen, and you are usually the first to point that out. But so far, the whole process has been a lot less stressful and difficult than I feared. I think we owe it to Esther in part, because she was the one who pushed me to get it started by letting you run around "free range" so to speak, and also in part to your kind of fastidious nature.

As you get bigger, and as your sister does too, your relationship with each other is changing too. You still sometimes get so excited and overwhelmed with the desire to hug and squeeze her (but you would never hurt her) but mostly you just want to keep her from eating your toys.



She on the other hand, still worships the ground you walk on. We are trying hard to teach you to be a caring and kind older brother, because handling that kind of devotion is a big responsibility.



So far I have brought out some old standbys that Tia May used to say to me when I would fight with my sister and brother. And I really think that this is the best part of being your mom, the way my whole world has shifted and I now finally understand and appreciate the things that my parents told me when I was little.
I remember hearing every time I would fight with my sister or hit my brother, that I had to take care of them because when we grew up, they would take care of me. I know you don't believe it now, but it's true.

I remember hearing people talk about having children and how your life is never the same afterward. I believed them, but I didn't understand exactly what they meant. It's not my life that has changed, it is my whole self. I cannot really remember my life before I had you, it's like remembering a dream. I have become a much less selfish person. I've found reserves of patience and creativity I had no idea I possessed. These last three years I've known you have made me a better person. I learn from you every single day, and it's a lesson I look forward to with all my heart.



Love, Mama