Dear sweet boy of mine,
Is it true? Can it be? Are you really, truly turning three?!
Where did the time go? Didn't you just turn one? Sigh
I've just spent the last hour watching videos of you. When you turned two last year, I thought you were such a big boy. And yet moments ago, as I watched footage of you from 365 days ago, I found that a part of me wants to shrink you back into that little two year-old. You are so big now... even so much bigger than you were just six months ago.
At three, you can spell your first and last names and are working on your middle name. You know mommy, daddy and Gracie's full names (first, middle and last). You know your birth date. You can count to twenty and recognize numbers one to fourteen. You are learning about money and despite always wanting to give a dollar to the Children's Miracle Network at WalMart & Costco (which is really great and helps sissy... which you know and is why you want us to give the dollar!) you save all change you can get your hands on for the Jeep you want to buy someday! You know your upper and lower-case letters by site. You're doing great with phonics and have started to recognize a few sight words. You are working on writing your name and have the "P" and "O" down pat. You continue to enjoy playing on the computer and are great with the mouse. You also do a pretty well finding the keys to type your own name. Reader Rabbit is one of your favorites of our software. You also love the "painting" and "drawing" program we have. Online, your favorite game site hasn't changed - - it's pbskids.org and you love playing the "Clifford" games. You are also really great at memory on the computer and can easily play a twenty-square game without much repetition of things you've already seen.
Your love for sports has grown exponentially. For your age, you continue to exhibit impressive coordination. You bat and throw lefty and righty - - the jury's still out on what you will "be" because you still switch back and forth a lot - - but you appear to be leaning toward south paw. You love asking me to run really far from you, drop kicking a ball and seeing how far it will go and how accurate you can aim. Some of your favorite things to do in the late afternoons (while Gracie and I are at therapy) are to play "tennis" with daddy in the driveway, hit pitched balls in the front yard or at the baseball field and shoot hoops and practice dribbling in the backyard. We have had to raise the hoop yet again to keep you challenged! This summer, you will play soccer for six weeks with your friend Danny through our local community center. You still love riding your bike (tricycle) and easily manage a bike with training wheels. You're a pro on the razor scooter now and enjoy riding it around the block or to the park.
Your active imagination has been sending us on "explorations" lately... where we find imaginary animals and insects hiding all throughout the neighborhood... or in our pockets. We've been on "shape" expeditions, too, where you will tell me every shape you see as we are walking. You tell wonderful, silly stories about any and everything. Books are beloved and you can spend forever reading, especially at night. Thanks to Nana, most of my childhood books are now yours and Gracie's. Every couple of weeks, I bring new ones out and it's like you've won the lottery! You love it! You're not unlike your friend, Curious George, wanting to know how things work, how they are put together and what happens when you take them apart... even if they aren't supposed to be taken apart!
You've been to the movies twice now... both times you saw "the dragon movie" - - once in 3D and once "with no glasses." On both occasions, you were incredibly well behaved, never budging from your seat. The second time, you stayed awake the whole movie (you fell asleep the first time with ten minutes left!), but sadly, refused to share your popcorn with daddy! We can't wait to take you to see Toy Story 3 and the live show, Walking With Dinosaurs later this year.
I lovingly refer to you as the "social director" because you are constantly making new friends and wanting people to say hello to each other. You don't hesitate to make friends at the park, confidently saying, "Hi, I'm Preston. What's your name?" You frequently request to call Nana & Papa and Grandpa John. You prefer to dial yourself... so we just tell you what numbers to press. Then, you chat away while Daddy and I remain in the background providing "translation" as needed. At school, you have lots of fun, though you still beg not to go sometimes. However, once you're there, you walk right in like you own the place and sometimes even forget to say "bye." The best is picking you up from school... you come running, grinning ear to ear, yelling, "Hi Mommy!" or "Hi Daddy!" Then you run back because "I have to say bye to all my friends." You love your friends and chatter about them all the time, especially Addie, Jonah and Danny.
You continue to be a loyal protector of your sister. When others acknowledge you, they'd sure better acknowledge her. You are so eager to see her and often tell me how much you miss her when she's at school. You love getting on the bus with her in the mornings and faithfully sign, "Have a good day! I love you!" You wave to her disappearing bus while we sing "Wheels on the Bus." When you see her later in the afternoon, you never forget to ask how her day was. You often now ask how she's feeling and seem to be more acutely aware that she's different and more fragile from yourself and your friends. You constantly feel the need to help her, even when she doesn't want it. At the same time, though, you are a typical brother and get easily annoyed when she wants to be close to you. I can be in the kitchen and hear, "Gracie... stop touching me." And, while you will push her hand away, you are (almost) always very gentle and if she doesn't stop, you just get up and move. And, like sisters should... she just follows you! The other night, you let her sit in the big recliner cuddled up with you. She was so happy and cozy, she fell asleep and you said, "Shhh... mama, Neener is asleep. Tiptoe."
You say some of the most hilarious things ever... which is good, Bubba, because there are moments when you are testing my patience to the very last thread and then you bust out with something so funny, I can't possibly keep a straight face! You're pushing limits and testing me (and seeking consistency with those limits) in ways that you never have before. There is an anonymous quote, "Mothers of little boys work from son up till son down." It is so true! From the moment you hug me and say, "Good Morning, Mama," you are going non-stop. The busier, the better. Regardless of how busy you are, how ragged you run me, how much you're refusing to listen and how many times you push my buttons and the limits I set for you (which is nothing more than the typical three year-old stuff that you're supposed to be trying to get away with), one thing is certain, you are my "sonshine."
You have taught me things about parenthood that I hadn't yet learned with your sister. You've expanded my heart and awakened the child in me who loves to run and skip. Because you're not preoccupied with a million things at once, you really observe the world around you. By asking me, "What is that over there?" or "Do you hear that sound?" you've taught me to pay better attention to my surroundings so I don't miss something... like the hummingbirds flitting around at the end of the driveway yesterday or the cloud that looked like a Christmas tree last week. You've taught me that there is a lot I still need to learn - - more than I thought! It's amazing to watch you grow and change, Bubby. You are a sweet (albeit snail-stomping!), caring and compassionate little boy who brings so much joy to those around him. As with your sister, I learn more from you than I could ever hope to teach you. Thank you, Bubba, for bringing me endless joy and pride... it's a privilege to be your mommy. I love you so much.
Happy Birthday, Nugget.
With my whole heart,
Mommy
Is it true? Can it be? Are you really, truly turning three?!
Where did the time go? Didn't you just turn one? Sigh
I've just spent the last hour watching videos of you. When you turned two last year, I thought you were such a big boy. And yet moments ago, as I watched footage of you from 365 days ago, I found that a part of me wants to shrink you back into that little two year-old. You are so big now... even so much bigger than you were just six months ago.
At three, you can spell your first and last names and are working on your middle name. You know mommy, daddy and Gracie's full names (first, middle and last). You know your birth date. You can count to twenty and recognize numbers one to fourteen. You are learning about money and despite always wanting to give a dollar to the Children's Miracle Network at WalMart & Costco (which is really great and helps sissy... which you know and is why you want us to give the dollar!) you save all change you can get your hands on for the Jeep you want to buy someday! You know your upper and lower-case letters by site. You're doing great with phonics and have started to recognize a few sight words. You are working on writing your name and have the "P" and "O" down pat. You continue to enjoy playing on the computer and are great with the mouse. You also do a pretty well finding the keys to type your own name. Reader Rabbit is one of your favorites of our software. You also love the "painting" and "drawing" program we have. Online, your favorite game site hasn't changed - - it's pbskids.org and you love playing the "Clifford" games. You are also really great at memory on the computer and can easily play a twenty-square game without much repetition of things you've already seen.
Your love for sports has grown exponentially. For your age, you continue to exhibit impressive coordination. You bat and throw lefty and righty - - the jury's still out on what you will "be" because you still switch back and forth a lot - - but you appear to be leaning toward south paw. You love asking me to run really far from you, drop kicking a ball and seeing how far it will go and how accurate you can aim. Some of your favorite things to do in the late afternoons (while Gracie and I are at therapy) are to play "tennis" with daddy in the driveway, hit pitched balls in the front yard or at the baseball field and shoot hoops and practice dribbling in the backyard. We have had to raise the hoop yet again to keep you challenged! This summer, you will play soccer for six weeks with your friend Danny through our local community center. You still love riding your bike (tricycle) and easily manage a bike with training wheels. You're a pro on the razor scooter now and enjoy riding it around the block or to the park.
Your active imagination has been sending us on "explorations" lately... where we find imaginary animals and insects hiding all throughout the neighborhood... or in our pockets. We've been on "shape" expeditions, too, where you will tell me every shape you see as we are walking. You tell wonderful, silly stories about any and everything. Books are beloved and you can spend forever reading, especially at night. Thanks to Nana, most of my childhood books are now yours and Gracie's. Every couple of weeks, I bring new ones out and it's like you've won the lottery! You love it! You're not unlike your friend, Curious George, wanting to know how things work, how they are put together and what happens when you take them apart... even if they aren't supposed to be taken apart!
You've been to the movies twice now... both times you saw "the dragon movie" - - once in 3D and once "with no glasses." On both occasions, you were incredibly well behaved, never budging from your seat. The second time, you stayed awake the whole movie (you fell asleep the first time with ten minutes left!), but sadly, refused to share your popcorn with daddy! We can't wait to take you to see Toy Story 3 and the live show, Walking With Dinosaurs later this year.
I lovingly refer to you as the "social director" because you are constantly making new friends and wanting people to say hello to each other. You don't hesitate to make friends at the park, confidently saying, "Hi, I'm Preston. What's your name?" You frequently request to call Nana & Papa and Grandpa John. You prefer to dial yourself... so we just tell you what numbers to press. Then, you chat away while Daddy and I remain in the background providing "translation" as needed. At school, you have lots of fun, though you still beg not to go sometimes. However, once you're there, you walk right in like you own the place and sometimes even forget to say "bye." The best is picking you up from school... you come running, grinning ear to ear, yelling, "Hi Mommy!" or "Hi Daddy!" Then you run back because "I have to say bye to all my friends." You love your friends and chatter about them all the time, especially Addie, Jonah and Danny.
You continue to be a loyal protector of your sister. When others acknowledge you, they'd sure better acknowledge her. You are so eager to see her and often tell me how much you miss her when she's at school. You love getting on the bus with her in the mornings and faithfully sign, "Have a good day! I love you!" You wave to her disappearing bus while we sing "Wheels on the Bus." When you see her later in the afternoon, you never forget to ask how her day was. You often now ask how she's feeling and seem to be more acutely aware that she's different and more fragile from yourself and your friends. You constantly feel the need to help her, even when she doesn't want it. At the same time, though, you are a typical brother and get easily annoyed when she wants to be close to you. I can be in the kitchen and hear, "Gracie... stop touching me." And, while you will push her hand away, you are (almost) always very gentle and if she doesn't stop, you just get up and move. And, like sisters should... she just follows you! The other night, you let her sit in the big recliner cuddled up with you. She was so happy and cozy, she fell asleep and you said, "Shhh... mama, Neener is asleep. Tiptoe."
You say some of the most hilarious things ever... which is good, Bubba, because there are moments when you are testing my patience to the very last thread and then you bust out with something so funny, I can't possibly keep a straight face! You're pushing limits and testing me (and seeking consistency with those limits) in ways that you never have before. There is an anonymous quote, "Mothers of little boys work from son up till son down." It is so true! From the moment you hug me and say, "Good Morning, Mama," you are going non-stop. The busier, the better. Regardless of how busy you are, how ragged you run me, how much you're refusing to listen and how many times you push my buttons and the limits I set for you (which is nothing more than the typical three year-old stuff that you're supposed to be trying to get away with), one thing is certain, you are my "sonshine."
You have taught me things about parenthood that I hadn't yet learned with your sister. You've expanded my heart and awakened the child in me who loves to run and skip. Because you're not preoccupied with a million things at once, you really observe the world around you. By asking me, "What is that over there?" or "Do you hear that sound?" you've taught me to pay better attention to my surroundings so I don't miss something... like the hummingbirds flitting around at the end of the driveway yesterday or the cloud that looked like a Christmas tree last week. You've taught me that there is a lot I still need to learn - - more than I thought! It's amazing to watch you grow and change, Bubby. You are a sweet (albeit snail-stomping!), caring and compassionate little boy who brings so much joy to those around him. As with your sister, I learn more from you than I could ever hope to teach you. Thank you, Bubba, for bringing me endless joy and pride... it's a privilege to be your mommy. I love you so much.
Happy Birthday, Nugget.
With my whole heart,
Mommy
A few notable things you've said recently...
It's been so long since I've done this... I've been keeping an email draft saved over the last several weeks and trying to type things as you say them. Note to self... get better at making note of the cute things Bubba says before he becomes a teenager and stops saying cute things!
- Said last weekend as I blew your hair dry because you were cold... I had to ask you to repeat it because I couldn't believe my ears!
"Ahhhhhhh. This is the life!"
- On Daddy's birthday...
You sang the entire "Happy Birthday" song the minute he opened the door from work.
You then proceeded to tell him, "Hurry up, Daddy. We bake cake for you. We need to build candles. Mommy, Daddy need a hat."
I promptly grabbed some scrapbooking cardstock and made a makeshift party hat for Daddy.
- A few weeks ago...
"Where is God?"
Where do you think God is, buddy?
"The North Pole!"
Daddy explained to you that God is in Heaven and is all around us... to which you replied, "Heaven is beautiful."
- This one makes me laugh every time I think about it...
"Mommy, where is your pee pee? "
Mommy is a girl, I don't have a pee pee.
"You're not a girl, you're mommy!"
- A sign of the times...
"Mommy, who you texting?"
- Said at 2am on 3/12 during your second round of the "ick" that invaded our house:
You sat up from sleep, looked straight at me and said, "Mommy, I need my bucket."
You then proceeded to "grip," which, for some reason (especially since you have pretty good pronunciation), is what you call, "throw up."
On the same day, on the way to the doctor, you held your little bucket in your lap all the way to the doctor, even while you slept.
Big, sweet, so sick boy.
- We were driving a frequently traveled route and passed a newly planted area by the nearly finished fire station. You noticed a large crevice that ran the entire length of the planter.
"Mama... fire station almost finish."
Yes, buddy, you're right.
"Uh, oh... dirt is cracked. Guys need tools to fix it."
What kind of tools do you think they need?
"Ummm... rake and tools."
Do you think they'll need a shovel...? (Silence for almost a mile)
"Mommy... they no use a shovel. Shovel make a big, giant hole!" (Said as though you were thinking that your mama wasn't all that smart afterall!)
- "Mama, this is for boys only."
I know this post is really long... I just don't want to forget the little details as time passes and slowly erases the clarity of exactly how he was as he turned three!
- A few weeks ago...
"Where is God?"
Where do you think God is, buddy?
"The North Pole!"
Daddy explained to you that God is in Heaven and is all around us... to which you replied, "Heaven is beautiful."
- This one makes me laugh every time I think about it...
"Mommy, where is your pee pee? "
Mommy is a girl, I don't have a pee pee.
"You're not a girl, you're mommy!"
- A sign of the times...
"Mommy, who you texting?"
- Said at 2am on 3/12 during your second round of the "ick" that invaded our house:
You sat up from sleep, looked straight at me and said, "Mommy, I need my bucket."
You then proceeded to "grip," which, for some reason (especially since you have pretty good pronunciation), is what you call, "throw up."
On the same day, on the way to the doctor, you held your little bucket in your lap all the way to the doctor, even while you slept.
Big, sweet, so sick boy.
- We were driving a frequently traveled route and passed a newly planted area by the nearly finished fire station. You noticed a large crevice that ran the entire length of the planter.
"Mama... fire station almost finish."
Yes, buddy, you're right.
"Uh, oh... dirt is cracked. Guys need tools to fix it."
What kind of tools do you think they need?
"Ummm... rake and tools."
Do you think they'll need a shovel...? (Silence for almost a mile)
"Mommy... they no use a shovel. Shovel make a big, giant hole!" (Said as though you were thinking that your mama wasn't all that smart afterall!)
- "Mama, this is for boys only."
I know this post is really long... I just don't want to forget the little details as time passes and slowly erases the clarity of exactly how he was as he turned three!
9 comments:
Happy Birthday Preston! What a good boy and brother you are!
Happy 3rd Birthday Preston! What a smart young little boy you are! It is amazing w/ all of the things you know how to do at just turning three years old! I know you make your Mommy and Daddy so proud and you are such a great "big" little brother to your sister Gracie. Have a wonderful day Preston!
Kim
p.s. - I love the "pee - pee" story!!! I cracked up, read it to my 18 year old and we cracked up together!
Happy Birthday, Sweet Preston! You're 3 and you are the epitome of sweetness! I love your imagination and caring heart and love of people - these things are so inherently you and are such special parts of what make you YOU!
Preston,
We are going to have so much (actually too much) fun together in Ms. Jenna's class. My mommy says we are both "busy, busy boys" and my daddy says "that is a good thing". Thank you for sharing Gracie with me; you are the best brother (and she is the best sister).
Happy Birthday, Preston!
Love your friend,
Danny
What a sweet and funny boy Preston is. I can see how much joy he brings to your entire family. You write such amazing messages to your children. They are so blessed to have you as their mom. Happy third birthday to Preston and happy "birth" day to you!
Love,
Mary
Happy 3rd Birthday, Preston! I hope you had an awesome day!
Kristi, I just love this letter you wrote to Preston--all the experiences and emotions you captured. I can just picture Preston reading this when he's an adult and thinking back to what a wonderful mom he had for writing all of this down. You're an amazing mommy!
LOVE hearing Preston's infamous quotes - Brian and I were cracking up! I cannot wait to see him hopefully soon as I don't want to miss this adorable stage. What you wrote about him made me want to give him a BIG fat hug! You are raising a wonderful little man and I am so proud to be his auntie :) Happy Birthday again to Preston! XXXX
Happy Birthday, Preston! What a joy you are! Kristi, this post makes me positively giddy about getting to parent a little boy!
As usual, my dear, your comments, quotations, pictures, and thoughts are all just wrapped up in the most perfect blog package. :) Read this after we spoke last week, but didn't have a free hand to respond in the moment. (We must pick up our phone tag again-still want to hear your story :) ...but I love logging back on just to see Gracie sportin' in her wheelchair over and over again! I cannot believe our "babies" are 3!! :( :) xoxo Barecca J
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