William at 3 Years Old

As of this morning, William now weighs 29.25 lbs, has a head circumference of 19.75" and is 37.5" tall.

I honestly cannot believe that 3 years have already gone by. How in the world did that happen? I've had people repeatedly tell me that they feel that way about their teenagers, so I know that the time will definitely not slow down over the years. I will have to just try to enjoy my years with my little man as much as possible! He is so fun lately and doing so many new things and expressing himself in so many new ways that its hard not to have fun.




He loves to sing lately, both by himself and with me. Sometimes he will request a specific song, such as "ABC song togever mom?" or "twinkle star song togever Mom?" He will run around humming to himself all day long and is just the biggest chatterbox you will ever meet. His favorite question is, "whats that?" and asks it about everything and then will repeat whatever it is you told him several times. Tonight he opened our utility drawer and pulled an item out and asked, "whats that?" I told him it was a wine opener, and then he proceeded to say, 'wine opener' perfectly. Its like hes trying to learn about and catalog the whole world right now. Hes got a mind like a steel trap too and remembers everything I tell him. Sometimes thats a good thing and sometimes its not.

His favorite books lately are these pop up books about dinosaurs. He amazes both Michael and I with his memory and ability to pronounce dinosaur names. He even remembers the facts that we tell him about each dinosaur species and will repeat them every time we read the books. Though generally hes pretty spot on with his pronunciations, there are two in particular that make me chuckle a bit. When he says, 'Brachiosaurus' it sounds just like "broccoli-saurus," and when he says "T-Rex," it sounds just like "teeth-rex" (which really is also an accurate description). This is just one more example of how sponge-like his brain is these days!

Hes been really interested in the concept of birthdays lately and talks a lot about his friends' birthdays and the fact that Nora's birthday just happened and that his is after Nora's. He likes to tell me that she had one candle because she is 'one years old' and that he will have 3 candles as he will be 3 years old. I mistakenly mentioned off-hand that maybe he would get some trains for his birthday because I knew he liked trains, and now thats all he can talk about. First thing in the morning and right after nap I will go into his room and he will bolt up in bed and tell me all about all of the amazing trains he is going to get for his birthday *facepalm.* I had better deliver on that one! Suffice to say, you really have to watch what you say around him now. You can just see the wheels constantly turning in his little head as he takes it all in.

William  recently started noticing my nails (I am a Jamberry aficionado) and has started asking for pretty nails as well. I let him choose a color from my stash of nail polish and then at his request, I will paint his finger and toe nails. Just last week he asked for red polish and after I was done painting his nails, he looked at them and exclaimed, "boootiful nails!" Hes also discovered temporary tattoos after a garbage man gave him some, and so at the moment he is sporting garbage truck tattoos and red fingernail polish like a bad ass. I figure there is only so long he can get away with that before society starts limiting acceptable male behaviors, so I am more than happy to indulge him in his love of pretty nails!

Speaking of painting, hes starting to discover art and LOVES to color with pens, crayons or colored pencils, chalk or paint. Watercolors are his most recent discovery. I have actually waited until just this week to introduce paint to him, as I was afraid of the mess. He started asking me to paint, even though hes never done it (maybe he saw it in a show or in a book?), and so I bought him a watercolor set. I am so glad that I waited because he is just the perfect age for that activity right now. He can sit there, engrossed with painting for HOURS and actually makes really pretty artwork, all with very minimal supervision. I know even a few months ago that would not have been true. Hes really made so many leaps and bounds (in language as well as cognitive and physical ability) in the last 6 months from toddler to kid, he amazes me!

So far I love this age. I love his intelligence and desire to learn about the world. I love that he is so sweet and mostly very obedient but has his own opinions too. I love that he loves to read, sing and create art. I love that he sings to himself and counts everything. I love that when he counts, he always forgets '16' and says number like "27, 28, 29, 2010" instead of 30. I love that he is starting to understand logic more and more and I can reason with him frequently. His meltdowns all end with a request for "a hug!" and he can turn on a dime from dejected and sad, to telling me that "I'm happy mom!" I'm sure as we get into the 3rd year there will be more challenges and challenging behavior, but for now I am really enjoying him all around. Hes my little buddy and though the endless stream of words can be overwhelming at times, I wouldn't trade it for the world. After all that is how he will learn about life and how to live it! I feel so lucky to be there to witness this education on life. Happy 3rd birthday my precious little guy!