3 years, 1 month

Dear Son,

I have a three year old! It's still surreal to say it out loud. I have a three year old.

You are getting so tall, and heavy. It's a task to carry you around. You like us to tote you around still. You get so tired when we are out and about... you plead with us to carry you. It's a workout, you are killing my back, but you are hard to say no to. In the mornings you insist on me carrying you down the stairs... sometimes I am so delirious, I fear we'll both tumble. I like how you do the full body baby monkey hold in the mornings though.

You're charming and loving. You randomly and frequently say you love me. What more can I say? My heart melts when you do this.

You're smart and strong willed. Your reasoning techniques are sneaky and when they aren't sneaky, they are repetitive and carry on for too long. The nature of the 3 year old beast, but MY you can hold a greedy thought. You are good at slamming doors when you don't get your way or are caught off guard with my plans for you. I try to stifle laughter when you go out of your way to open a door only slam it.

You're a comedian, kidder and tease. I love it when you say you are "just kidding." We get a kick out of you asking us 30 times a day if your joke, story or site you see is silly too!

You never seem to run out of energy. I know this is a given for people your age, but my goodness, you never stop until the lights are out and you are forced to sleep. Speaking of which, I have to report you've slept in your bed for 2 weeks now! Another testament to me that miracles are real and I am a frequent partaker.

Your voice and word emphasis is indescribable! The way you say Daddy or Mommy at the end of a request. The way you quickly say "duh" instead of "the" in your sentences is darling. I wish I could capture your speech completely. It's so sweet and adorable.

You are trustworthy. I love that I can take a shower or sleep in and know you won't get into trouble. You'll eat your breakfast, watch your chosen show, or play with your toys in your bedroom. I can hand you your allergy medicine and gummie vitamin and know you'll down the medicine first and then that yummy gummie treat. I can walk out of the dining room when you have markers and know you'll replace the caps when you are done and leave them at the table.

All in all, you are still impressing me with your constant growth and abilities! I love you so much and I am very grateful you are a part of my life. You are loyal little friend. You have your moments where you don't like me, but you recover quickly and we can laugh again. Thanks for your continual resilience. You teach me more about myself as the months go by. I know your memories are sticking now. I only hope I can make them good ones.

Love you always,
Mom

Once upon a time...

Liam was only a week old... and he couldn't say NO to my kisses (and then wipe them off when I plant them on him anyway).

Real Live 3 Year Old

Liam had an hour long melt down last night.

He was punching me and carrying on and on and on... I had to do the "hold" - you know, in my lap in the straight jacket position for awhile.

I'd let go to give him chances to calm, but he'd go for the punch again and again.

It was all my fault.

But it's so impossible to predict.

He was all primed to go to church nursery (where Joslyn and other friends were) so I could go to a class down the hall.

He would not stay in the nursery - he wanted me to stay with him.

So I told him there was no point in us being there if I couldn't go to my class... and then he insisted on going to my "big kid" class with me.

He sat still and quiet in the class on my lap for .09 seconds.

Then he wandered and disrupted.

I scooped him up, boisterous protest began and we left the building.

He wouldn't let me put him in the car seat.

So I took a risk and drove him the two blocks home unchained.

Then when he wouldn't stop screaming (and throwing punches), I left him in the car and went in the house without him.

No worky. More tears and demands.

We got in the house somehow... and upstairs somehow.

It went on and on.

After holds and trying to reason with him on why we left the church... I was able to get us out of the hallway and sitting on his bed.

He cried some more.

I think having his dad out of town the last two weeks must have taken it's toll on him... there were more reasons for this fit than one, I could tell.

I asked him if he needed hugs or kisses or for me to go away... he said no to all.

I don't know why it ever stopped or what distracted him, but I was glad to get his pj's on and be done with the noise for the night.

He actually stayed in his bed all night long. Completely wore himself out.

Maybe bedtime fits aren't so bad after all.

Fun Day

I took Liam to Disney on Ice over the weekend. Joslyn and Kara went with us! The kids had a great time and I was glad we were all able to go together. The funniest part was on the way home... the kids were cracking each other up and we couldn't stop laughing at them from the front seat (and taking photos). They are such an entertaining pair!

I have to report that night when we went to bed, I was snuggling Liam and he said out of the blue, "Mom, you are my best friend!"

I told him he was my best friend too and I loved him so much!

Inspiration on boys

God bless D for sending me this article about toddler boys and their tendencies. I seriously have been worried about Liam's violent words and actions lately. Being raised in a girls only household, I have never really had to deal with crazy little boys. (Even my dad would comfort us by reminiscing of his days as a little girl.) So this gave me great comfort today.

Reading that article also reminded me of the conversations I had with Liam this morning.

"Mom, I am Lightning McQueen and you are Sally, okay? You talk Sally."

So we had a very interesting exchange as Sally and Lightning McQueen. It felt weird like I was playing barbies, but we were just talking with no props. Plain silliness.

Then right before I left him with the sitter, he said, "Kate had two trees! And we have two trees too! In our back garden!"

That's right, Liam. In our back garden. ;)

Some Bunny Has a New Friend

Saturday, I called the right (or wrong) neighbor for some quick advice... before I got off the phone she asked me if Liam would like a baby bunny. I hesitantly said we'd stop by and see the bunny... yeah, we committed to taking it off their hands.

First we went around town to get the bunny food and a cage. Also, we stopped by the local arts center for a kids superhero day. Liam got to play games, eat super hero candy and also made a mask. The local heroes (ie, the firefighters) came and talked to the kids about their job and also show them their fire truck. The siren part was the big hit!

Anyway, we went to pick up the bunny and Liam held him so nice while we drove home. He helped me put the cage together and loved feeding the bunny a sliver of carrot. We played and lounged the rest of the day.

Liam hasn't named the bunny. He is "boy bunny" whenever we ask.

Finding Snow Part II

Tuesday night we took Joslyn so her parents could go stand in line to vote. Ian had suggested we go up the mountain again to find snow (Ian heard it had reached a little lower on the benches since our last trek on Sunday).

We took Joslyn along and were so happy to have her cuteness with us! She and Liam played in the snow like champs and didn't want to leave after the cold had set into their tiny fingers.

We stopped and got them a treat then drove Joslyn home. The kids were so funny in the back seat. They were talking jibberish back and forth, then laughing at themselves... true laughter turned into fake laughter that turned into real laughter again. They were darling!

Random Cat Taunting

This morning Liam and I got a big laugh at Orion's expense. I was taking down the pumpkin window covers and pulled a big piece of packaging tape off one corner. I am not sure where my mischievous streak came from so early in the day, but I immediately said to Liam... "Hey watch this!"

I put the big strip of tape on Orion's head and we watched him creep backwards and fight to get it off! We were belly laughing for quite awhile watching that poor cat struggle in the funniest ways! Then Liam saved him and took it off.

Can't beat a nice hearty laugh first thing in the morning!

Finding Snow

I know I have mentioned Ian's love for snow before. This year is no different. Daddy heard there was snow on the mountains, so on Sunday evening we went and found some. It was a fun drive up the canyon and up up up the mountain! Liam was so excited to go on this little adventure!

Liam first tasted the snow


and then started throwing it!

Saturday Night Art

Saturday wasn't the funnest of days for Liam. We went to Park City to do some shopping at the outlets... not the most kid friendly of activities. The one highlight was playing on some slides while dad hiked to find the car. When Ian got back with the car, Liam fought us wildly on leaving.

Understandable.

We went to our favorite place, Sweet Tomatoes, for a late lunch and he did his best to behave there. He actually had two helpings of pasta and went to town on a blueberry muffin too... oh and I almost forgot the croutons. Carb overload.

As lame as that place was for him, he still wasn't too excited about getting back in the car. The pains of following Mom and Dad around on a Saturday. Life sure is tough.

So when we got home, I decided we better do something fun for Liam. While Liam was coloring and I was putting away dishes, I remembered I wanted to try mosaics with him. So I went and got the construction paper and brought it to where Liam was coloring. I gave him a pair of scissors and got a bigger pair for myself. We started cutting squares... lots and lots of squares! The non-artistic mom made images with glue and Liam worked to cover all the glue up!

Here are the mosaic results: