Three Years Old

Dear Seth Man,

Part of me can't believe you've been in our lives for three years--how did it go by so quickly?  But another part of me can't believe you're ONLY three--you're so smart, so independent.  I actually had a freak-out moment yesterday thinking I needed to register you for kindergarten next year.  Thank heaven I still have two years before I have to deal with that!

Here are some things I want to remember about you at age three:

*The way you say your name: "Sech."  That's not even quite right--you have some strange Eastern European 'ch' sound going on...

*Your imagination is in high gear right now.  You spend a good chunk of the day being "Seth doggie/fish/car/etc." and addressing me as "Mommy doggie/fish/car/etc."

*Scripted conversations are a big hit right now, too.  Seth: "Say, 'Seth, what are you doing?'" Me: "Seth, what are you doing?"  Seth: "Nothing."  Repeat.

*You also like reversing roles.  You'll tell me "you the little boy and I the mommy" and then proceed to tell me to clean up or go to my room.  Which kind of makes me feel like a rotten parent, if that's what you think being a mommy consists of...

*Cars are still your absolute favorite.  Of course, now the cars are having conversations and living in family arrangements, but they're still the toy of choice.  We tried to supplement you with some animals and army men, but you pretty much just dump them into your dump truck and drive them around.

*You LOVE books.  Several times a day you try to lure me into your room to read to you.  You would be content to lay there and listen for hours.

*You also try to lure me into your room to play monster trucks.  That one just isn't as tempting for me.

*You are 100% potty trained, with the exception of nights.  You're even good for naps.  I love it!

*We're currently working on getting you to put on your shoes and pull up your pants/underwear after a bathroom run.  You know how to do it, you just choose not to.

*3T shirts, 2T pants (and those sometimes still fall off your skinny little waist), size 7 shoes.

*Things we hear a lot: "Why?"; "You play with me?";  "That's my fwavorite/that's not my fwavorite"; "I can get another present" (I need to record you saying this--you say it like it's something slightly scandalous); and, of course, "I don't want to!"

*Friends you ask about often: Brie, Angelina, Lianna, Ethan, Brynn & Tristan.

*You still have pacifiers for naps/bed.  Hoping to get rid of those sometime this year.

*You LOVE the waffle blankets.  All eight of them.  I have to sneak them into the laundry because you'll see them and pull them back out.

*You're still in full-on wimp mode.  Daddy tried to put on Veggietales for you the other day and you freaked out when the bully showed up.  Veggietales!  Basically you'll watching Signing Time & Blue's Clues.  Awesome.

*Current favorite activity?  Pulling out either Life or Monopoly and running around distributing money while saying, "I'm the money man."

*"Holy gosh!" --makes us laugh every time.

*Favorite foods: cottage cheese, bananas, plain rice/noodles, bread with sugar and cinnamon.  And, of course, any sweets you can get your hands on.  Fondant is your favorite (so, so gross).

*You've started singing songs to tunes.  You used to just chant the words, now I'm hearing some musicality.

*You also ask me to make up songs.  "Sing about the race cars crash."  "Sing about Baby Cafrin crying."  "Sing about the Lamanites fight the Nephites and take their stuff."  I'm getting really good at improvisation.

*You adore your baby sister.  You'll race me up the stairs to get her out of her crib.  You love making her laugh and piling her toys on top of her.  You're an awesome big brother.

*The first thing we hear from you in the morning is, "I want my chwocwat miwlk".  You insist that it be warmed up.  In fact, we've been warming up all your beverages since you were a baby.

*You play by yourself 95% of the day.  You're a very independent young man.

*In Nursery last week, your teacher announced that it was time for singing time.  You said, "No!  You can't sing, I'm sleeping" and proceeded to lay down on the floor.  Your leaders often find you  laying down under a table when you get overwhelmed (and with 25+ kids in the nursery, you get overwhelmed a lot).

*You love being in the tub.  Sometimes I'll just put you in there so I can fold laundry without you jumping on the piles.  You insist on bathing with 7 cups, several cars, and your crocodile.  Bubble bath is preferred, but not necessary.  And you still throw a fit every time we wash your hair.

*Anything is the past is "asterday".  Anything in the future is "tomorrow."  And you frequently try to tell me that Sunday is "not special" because you want to go play on the swings.

*It's been several months since you've woken us up in the middle of the night crying.  Not sure if it was the nightlight we put in or just a maturation of some type, but it's great to only have one kid waking us up at all hours of the night.

*Phone conversations with Daddy/Grandma/anyone last about ten seconds before you slip in, "I love you! Bye!" and push the phone back at me.

*We've instituted a nightly clean-up period, as well as introducing the Gunny Sack.  Most nights you do pretty well with cleaning up, but some nights you'll announce, "I'm yazy" and refuse to clean up.

*You know all your letters, numbers up to 12, and are starting to recognize some sounds.  When I hung up your birthday banner, you were so excited: "Look!  Two 'P' for 'poop's!"  Obviously Daddy was in charge of teaching the letter 'P'.

Seth man, I love you so much.  Being your mommy is the greatest job in the world.  I'm trying my best to make sure I take the time to play with you, to make you laugh every day.  Thank you for being so good, so obedient.  You make us look good!  I'm grateful for every day I have with you--they go by much too quickly.  Happy Birthday, Little Man!