Will - Three Years Old

My dearest Willum,

You are sleeping soundly, taking a nap, and cuddling with your Lovey after a long morning with Mommy. We have had a great day. You went to your 3-year well visit with Dr. Trey and did such a great job - I was super proud. We took your doctor kit that Uncle Steve & Aunt Mary gave you for Christmas, and you had fun giving the doctor a shot, listening to his heart, etc. You willingly got on the medical table and laid down so he could listen to your heart, look in your ears, etc. You didn't have to get a shot, but you did get your finger pricked and, although you didn't like it, for the first time you did not cry at all! Today, you weighed 31 pounds and measured 38 inches high (about 50th percentile on both).

After your doctor's appointment, we met Daddy for lunch and then went and picked up you Buzz birthday cake for your party tomorrow. You were SO excited about it. All you wanted was for your cake to have Buzz, Woody, Slinky and Zurg on it - and it does!

So, as I listen to the silence over the monitor as you nap, I thought I'd FINALLY sit down and tell you some of the things you are doing at 3 years old.

Every night, you sleep with Buzz, Woody and, of course, your Lovey. And its the blue bunny Lovey - I can't trick you with different loveys anymore. There is only one that you love and have to have to sleep with. I'm afraid you have a very serious habit of sucking on your tongue the minute you hold Lovey or when you get sleepy. You stick it out and suck on the back of it (kind of hard to explain). Lord knows you will definitely need braces one day.

You are a very good sleeper, although lately you will stay up for a long time after we read stories to push the buttons of Buzz to make him talk. Daddy and I have gotten used to that. You go to sleep around 8ish (depending on how on top of things Daddy and I are) after bath and reading 2 stories. After stories, you always want me to lay with you. You'll ask, "you lay with me?" And when I start to get up you'll ask for "one more minute." Somewhere along the line I must have gotten frustrated and said that I would give you 30 seconds because now, after one more minute, you ask for "forty seconds!" You play for a good while after lights out though so I guess you don't fall asleep until close to 9 each night.

My favorite is when you wake up in the morning and come toddling into our bedroom with Lovey, Woody, and Buzz in tow. You usually don't do so until around 7. You climb up into our bed and cuddle and watch morning cartoons. I absolutely love this time in the morning. You are so sweet and I can give you tons of kisses and hugs and you give them back.

You are a huge talker! You speak very clearly and most people can understand just about everything you say. It seems like every day you surprise Daddy and me with what you can say and understand. Like the day that you said "actually, lets do ___." Daddy and I looked at each other and laughed - did you really just say "actually" and in the right context? Yep! You'll stand there with your hands on your hips after you've created something and ask "so, what do you think?" You are also often concerned about how people are feeling and will ask "Mommy, you happy?" (Of course, sometimes you'll turn that around when you are mad and yell "I'm NOT happy!")

You love to tell stories - your favorite by far is the Three Little Pigs. You're kind of obsessed with that one. You make me read it many nights in a row and, I'm sorry darling, but it is BORING to read. But you love it and can tell it to us, especially when the big bad wolf goes down the chimney and falls in a "pot of boiling water!"

You love to have books read to you and also love to read them back. Its hilarious, and often impressive, to listen to you try and read the story back to me from memory or from the pictures. Along with reading 3 Little Pigs, you can read the entire Hungry Caterpillar story (from memory).

You also love to sing. This morning, you sang the whole "Jesus Loves Me" song without messing up any of the words!

You can almost count all the way up to 20 (you get a little lost in the teen numbers) and can easily count up to 10 objects. You know all your colors, and you have no trouble identifying the letter "W" as being part of your name. You don't know the rest of the letters yet though.

Your favorite lunch by far is a peanut butter sandwich with the crusts cut off and cut in triangles (no jelly). You have that almost every day that you are home for lunch. And you don't eat it like the normal person would - no, you have to take it a part and eat/lick the peanut butter out of it and then eat the bread.

You really are not a picky eater - you eat a lot of veggies, especially raw broccoli dipped in the dill dip I make and green beans. Your favorite combo is fries and chocolate milk, and you love Bapa's steak and Grandma's chip dip. You also have a passion for chocolate and fruit snacks!

You really do not like to play by yourself, which can be a little frustrating at times. But its hard to resist when you come over and ask "you play with me??" "Come, you play with me!"

We tried potty training boot camp at school and home this past week and it didn't go so well. You will pee and poop in the potty but not on a regular basis. You went through about 5 pairs of pants a day this week! Clearly, being wet does not really phase you. So, for now, you are back in pull-ups and we'll give it a try again later.

Now that you are 3, I definitely see what all the fuss is about with parents saying the 3s are way worse than the 2s. You are coming into your own and can be quite defiant as you test boundaries and slowly learn about consequences. Your tantrums can be ... well, quite mind-boggling, and sometimes I want to just tear my hair out! You've gotten good at repeating some of the phrases we use, turning them on us - such as "Stop it," "Chill out," "Don't you touch that/come here/etc." And we are working on teaching you that you do not talk to Mommy & Daddy or other adults that way.

Your favorite phrase (that sometimes is sweet and sometimes is super frustrating) is "I do it." You say that a WHOLE lot. And we better hold on tight for a wild ride if we don't let you do it. Usually, its sometimes as simple as climbing into your chair in the car, or getting a bowl of snacks or moving something from one room to another. But you'd think the world was coming to an end if we don't let you do it. Whew!

But, William, you are such a sweet, adventurous, very outgoing boy. There is never a dull moment with you, but there are so many many wonderful moments that they make the hard ones easy to get through. You are not shy in the least and love to talk to strangers (often embarrassing Mommy and Daddy along the way).

I love you SOOOOOOO much, and even though I know the next year will have its challenges for all of us when your sisters arrive, I know that you are going to be such a wonderful, caring and helpful big brother to them.

Love,
Mommy