Our big 3 Year Old!

Happy Birthday, David!!! (you struggle to get three fingers held up)

Wow; how time flies! It is incredible to see how our little miracle from the Lord is growing up into a little boy! I still thank the Lord for you upon every remembrance!

It is also hard to remember how I was despairing only a few months ago at your lack of comprehension and comprehensible verbal skills. My, how things have changed! This month seems full of verbal triumphs!

You can name most of the colors, but we are still having a hard time getting the correct color correlation. Much of the time, everything is "green," your favorite color. You have begun to count now too. It often sounds like this though, "2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 4!"

How hard it is to remember when you were such a picky eater too! You will now eat so much more (although still not a daring eater). You still love your pb&j sandwiches more than anything else. You love to be like your Daddy and call almost all your drinks, "my coffee."

Along that lines, you want to help regularly too and do what we do. You have helped with the trash so many times this month, most often without any prompting! (...and don't mind the diaper-clad child. This is the last summer you can run around like that and it has happened a few times.)

You copy your Mommy and call your sister "little one." You are getting more adjusted to her and now trying to interact with her in a more suitable fashion.

This last week, you went around informing everyone that you are named David. You are very friendly and will even strike up conversations with complete strangers and introduce yourself.

You are a huge cheerleader of others! This trait is so sweet. I loved it (and had to laugh) when last week, I found you in your room doing an easy puzzle. When I asked you to finish the puzzle, you requested that I do it. After you showed me where to put a piece, I put it in. You then said, "Yeeaahh!!! There you go! Good job, Mommy!" and applauded me! :)

I love how you say "OK" to everything (often said in such a way as to suggest that whatever we said was your original idea). Another common phrase is, "there you go!" Love it! You are no longer scared of the dark. This makes for a far easier bedtime experience.

One of your favorite phrases is "I not go night-night. I wake up." We have dropped all pretense of napping this month, and I have allowed you to not even climb into bed but stay on the floor in your room and play with cars or trains. Often, I find that you have gotten tired enough that you conk out on the floor anyway.

You also LOVE to play Mario Kart with your Daddy. For a 3 year-old, I am so impressed!!! You have even placed as high as 7th or 8th place (out of 12). What hand/eye coordination!

I have transitioned you into almost all 4-5T shirts and 3T pants (although you can still wear some 2T). You comfortably wear size 9 or 10 shoes.

I am so thrilled to see the little boy you are becoming: a boy full of life, full of joy, full of compassion, and unexpected occasional tenderness. My greatest prayer this year for you is that your understanding of Jesus and his sacrifice on the cross becomes real to you. Thank you, Lord for this precious son!