Dear John on Your Third Birthday

To our dearest John on your THIRD birthday,

My goodness big boy! You are growing faster than we can keep up.  We just celebrated your third birthday, and we're trying to wrap our minds around how this keeps happening faster than it felt like it did the year before.  

You are three whole years old.  That's pretty big my darling boy.  You love to remind us of it most days.  Every time mommy (mom as you call me) and daddy call you our baby, you are the first to point out that you are "not a baby AT ALL" and that you are either a "big boy" or your recent favorite "a grown up man."

I'm putting a few pictures from birthdays past throughout this little note so you can see how much you've grown in three years of life!  You love looking at pictures of yourself as a baby and talking about what things were like when you were a baby.  I'm not sure if it's the upcoming arrival of your baby brother or if you're old enough to understand that you were at one time a little baby, but something has definitely piqued your interest.

We absolutely adored you as a little baby, but I find the longer we know you, the easier you are to love.  And the more you just feel right for our family.  You challenge mommy and daddy to be better people and help us to work on our patience occasionally as well. ;)

So much changed for you since your last birthday.  We moved to Florida, and you love it here!  You love your family so much, but the other day I asked you if you wanted to move back to Mississippi and you told me that you thought you'd like to stay here in Florida because you really love your home here. It made mama feel so much better to know that while you do miss your family, you're happy with where you are.

Speaking of conversations...you can have a very long and detailed conversation these days!  Your speech skills are one of your biggest strengths and you do A LOT of talking my dear.  I think being from a line of long winded people may have helped your verbal skills out a bit, but I also think that words are going to be one of your life long skills.  You use words everyday that surprise me since I had no idea that you knew of their existence!

Mommy has had the pleasure of spending all her time with you over the last year while Daddy has been hard at work completing his intern year of residency.  The good news is that we have all survived and we're as happy as ever! Daddy told me the other day that this year has been one of the best of his life, and I'm pretty sure that's mostly because you've made life so exciting for him.  Daddy does work a good bit, but when he's off, he is desperate to spend time with you and for you to drag him on one of your latest adventures!  You both have a mutual love for spending time at the beach so we do A LOT of that.  Daddy has picked up surfing while we've lived in FL, and you just recently have started trying it out some too!  You tell me a good bit that "surfing is a little scary sometimes" so I think it may be awhile before your ready to get out there on your own. ;)  You may have inherited some of mom's fears of trying new things, but your dad won't let it stop you, I promise. 

This year with you has been one that I will never forget.  Spending all day and night with you has only gotten easier and more fun as time goes on.  I was nervous that we would get bored with each other so quickly, but I find that we make pretty great company for each other.  I'm pretty good at keeping you fed and happy, and you are exceptional at keeping me entertained.  Although I have sustained several sword fighting injuries over the year, I have never been at a loss for hysterical stories to tell dad as soon as he walks in the door.  I have had the pleasure of seeing you grow up before my very own eyes.  I have seen your coordination improve leaps and bounds over this year.  I have watched you learn new words, new shapes, new concepts, new everything.  I have been able to take you to see all of your very favorite things like trains and farm animals.  Every second you teach me something, but mostly you have taught me about the beauty of unconditional love and sacrifice.  You have shown me that true joy comes from forgetting about one's own needs and learning to focus on how to serve those around me.  Motherhood is exhausting, but my goodness do you make it worth it.  Every single moment.  

Mommy has spent her working life as a social worker helping kids who had troubles going on in their families, and I think about those kids a lot when I'm with you.  Not to toot my own horn because I don't mean it in a bragging way, but my heart is forever grateful every time that we sit down to a meal or laugh our heads off over something silly that we live the life that we do.  We are blessed beyond measure for these moments together my darling boy.  Not every family is filled with joy and laughter and not every family has all that they need.  My prayer for you and for me and dad is that we never take  any of it for granted and that we always remember to thank our Lord for all he has given us.  We are healthy, we are whole, and we are at peace.  We couldn't ask for more.

You are interested in so many things that it is hard to narrow it down to just a few, but I will do my best.  You love animals as you always have and still get all giddy anytime we see something that looks remotely like a farm.  I'm pretty sure that you have a future in the farm life if you want it.  You still prefer to go to Animal Kingdom over all of the other disney parks, and you get excited over the most mundane of animals (and the big, exciting ones too of course).  Your joy is contagious to all those around.  No one can squeal quite like you can over a cow sighting. ;)

Your most recent love affair is with volcanoes.  You love to know everything you can about them and will watch youtube videos of volcano eruptions for as long as we'll allow.  You got a build your own volcano kit for your birthday, and you are desperate to get started on it!  

You still love pirates, but your imagination has taken off and you love to dress up as all sorts of characters!  You have a big box full of random dress up clothes, and it's your favorite spot in the house.  Some days you're a prince or a knight.  Others you're a shark.  And recently you've decided that sometimes you're a bad guy who eventually has a change of heart and becomes a good guy by the end of the day.  Your imagination is so vivid that we have to be careful about what movies we watch or stories we tell because they often reappear in your dreams!  Daddy told you the story of the boy who cried wolf and you dreamed of "red eyes" for days afterward.  Mommy usually gets cast as the princess or damsel in distress instead of the heroine I think of myself as, but it's ok because I'm usually offered a dance with you in the end.

You have recently become very interested in sports as well and love to spend time outside throwing, swinging, kicking, etc.  I do my best to play sports with you, but you have told me recently that I'm "not very good and catching and throwing, but that dad will teach me how soon."  Sports have already become a bit of man time in our house as you slowly inch me out of your athletic time, but I'm so glad that you and dad have fun playing together outside.  

You love to spend as much time as you can at the beach or at the pool.  This year you've been way more afraid of the water than you were last summer, but I can't complain too much because it keeps you safe.  We did swimming lessons early in the summer, but decided just to take it easy and make swimming fun since you were pretty nervous after your first few weeks of swim lessons.  Now you love to play with us in the pool, but you're still pretty timid when it comes to going under water.  I bet next summer you'll be swimming all by yourself though.

You have very recently finally decided that you're interested in recognizing and learning about letters after mom worried about it forever.  Now I've traded my alphabet worries for nutritional worries because you are not interested in any foods at all.  You have always been such a great eater that this picky eater thing took me by total surprise! I have to remind myself that this is a phase for all kids, but I'll have to say that you are stressing me out with this one dear!  The foods you will eat are chicken nuggets (of course...I've let you make me into that mom), edamame, carrots, yogurt, fruit, fruit, and more fruit.  That's basically what you live on with a few other things thrown in sometimes.  

We had a physical while getting you ready for school and you are 39 inches tall and 34 lbs!  You are shaping up to look just like daddy looks.  Tall and lean.  I hate to inflate your self esteem too much, but you are beautiful.  You have big beautiful eyes, tan skin, and a smile and dimples that knock me out daily.  You are a looker my man, but dad wants to make sure you know that even attractive men make good priests.  He's got big plans for you. 

I would love to be able to name all of the "new things" that you've learned recently, but they are far too many to name.  You love learning, but you are really a hands on learner.  We are a little worried about what you'll do when you start real school because you are totally annoyed by being quizzed about what you know.  If it's a game about letters, you are all in.  If I quiz you on letters, you get them all wrong on purpose.  Same is true with numbers, colors, shapes, etc.  You do not like to be sat down and questioned about your knowledge.  It makes me laugh because I know that you have to be really smart to sing your abc's out of order on purpose when someone asks you to do so.  You're not fooling me my love!

You have some friends that we met up with for play dates, and you love spending time with them.  Recently, you haven't always shown your best side to your friends, but we're working on it! I think you decided the terrible two's were not for you, but I have a feeling that the challenges associated with being three are ones that you'd like to give me a healthy dose of.  Your friends' parents all adore you though and say that you're very polite so maybe I'm more sensitive than I should be (or they're kinder than they should be).  For the most part, you continue to be a pretty social butterfly, but you do seem to prefer adults to kids.  I think that will change some when you have a brother to harass play with.

Speaking of which...you are preparing to be a big brother!  I was so nervous about how you would react to the news, but so far, you show nothing but excitement.  I'm not sure that any of us know what we're getting ourselves into, but you surprise me daily by including Sam in our family when you talk and putting things you've outgrown into his room.  You told me the other day when I was getting you dressed for bed that "we need to pass down these pj's to Sam because I'm way too big for them now."  I think you are really excited about getting to be the biggest boy in the house.

You are also starting school this week.  You are going to go on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and you aren't quite as excited about this new adventure as you are about big brotherhood.  You have not cried or been upset about it, but you haven't exactly been loading up your book bag and getting excited.  I think you're going to love it, but if you don't after a couple months, then we may let you drop out and try again next year.  This will be the only time in your life that we let you drop out of school so don't get too used to the idea. ;)  I really don't have any major concerns about it though.  I'm pretty sure you're going to love having your own space to go and play without your mama watching you like a hawk.

Mostly what I want you to know is that you are so very loved.  Mom and dad have to force ourselves to not talk about you every time we get a spare moment.  You are not perfect and you never will be, but you are so enormously good and we cannot get over how much joy you have brought to us.  You are funnier than I can express in this letter.  You love to say something silly and when we all laugh at you, you say "we are joking right now."  I have no idea why, but that statement makes me laugh the hardest.  You have the kindest heart and genuinely care if someone is not happy.  You have a totally inflated self esteem and tell me all the time that people are sad "because they're missing you" or "because you had to go home" or "because you couldn't play with them."  I wouldn't trade it for the world though because confidence is so important.  You can sing like a son of a gun and love to play all instruments.  I'm always shocked by how musically inclined you really are.  You genuflect at church before you enter the pew and my heart melts every time.  You love to read your bible book, but seem more interested in David and Goliath at the moment than in any of the miracles Jesus performs.  My prayer is just that you remember them later in life when you are in need of your own miracle.  You love your family so much.  You name each person in our family by name during your prayers, and even though it may be a tactic to delay bed time, I still think it is so sweet that you want to do so.  

I could go on and on, but I should probably stop.  This next year will be another year full of changes for our family as we get to see you become a big brother, a classmate, and the other million things you will do this year.  I cannot wait to watch you!  God blessed us more than we can say be making us your mom and dad.  Know that you always have our hearts, our love, our support, our attention, our lives.  

We love you to the moon and back,

Mom and Dad