It's hard to imagine that this once coneheaded baby boy:
Is now this THREE year old little dude. Amazing
Anyway. Here's the letter. :)
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Happy birthday, sweet Prince Aaron! I can’t believe you’re THREE!
What a year it has been. It’s so hard to imagine that at this point last year you could only say a handful of words and phrases. And it’s true what people say…once you start talking you’re never going to stop!
We moved into our new house last year right before your birthday. The first time many of our family members saw it was during your second birthday party. You LOVE being here. You love the backyard with your swing and sand box, I think you are happy that you have the freedom to roam all around the house.
We spent a lot of time in the pool last summer. You were a tad iffy about it at first but as the season wore on you warmed up to it. I think it helped that I got you your very own pool and that made you more comfortable with the water. We had Uncle Bob (you call him Uncle Bob the Builder) come over and he and daddy built us a gate on the upper portion of the deck. We had to do this after poor Jenna fell in. You were very worried about her and after the gate was built you kept saying, “AJ safe. Jenna safe. No doggies go in pool!”
We also spent a great deal of time over at Sullivan Park. You just loved swinging on the swings there and we were amazed that you could almost touch the ground with your feet. You got brave and went on the big twisty slide a few times but it sure made me nervous when you wanted to do it by yourself. You often told me, “I do it SELF!”
During the month of August we went back to New York for Grandma’s wedding to Bob (You call him Bob-Bob every so often). We had a lot of fun on the big airplane but you had a hard time since your sleeping schedule was so off. You really liked staying at Aunt Linda and Aunt Eileen’s house and taking walks with them to Tsatsawassa Lake. And of course, you really, really liked hanging out with Buddy and Tess. You really made Grandma’s day during the wedding. When she walked down the aisle with Aunt Linda, you said in a very sweet voice, “Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiii Grandma!” It was so cute!
In the Fall we took you to your very first pumpkin farm. It was so much fun until you got your first bee sting. You were extremely miserable the entire time we were there (despite a pony ride, a pumpkin donut, a hay ride, and a ride on a pumpkin train!) and you cried for nearly 5 hours. We still enjoyed watching you pick up pumpkins and decide which one you wanted for your very own.
You did NOT like carving the pumpkin with daddy and grandpa and me. You refused to touch the insides of the pumpkin and you kept saying, “Ewwwwww! YUCK!”. I got it on video because it was so funny.
You also got to go Trick or Treating for the very first time! You got the hang of it right away and we were very proud of you for saying “TRICK OR TREAT!” and “THANK YOU!” when you got your candy. That is, until you started saying, “MORE CANDY PLEASE!” at a few houses. That just made us laugh. You did NOT like it when you saw a teenager wearing a scary mask and you cried about it the rest of the way home. I don’t blame you a bit. It *was* a scary mask!
On Thanksgiving we had only grandpa at our house. Uncle Timmy and Aunt Kathy were going to come up for our big meal but guess what? It snowed like crazy! In November! So they came up the next day and we spent the rest of the weekend with them.
Christmas time was probably my favorite time of year with you this year. I think you started to understand the gift buying and opening tradition. I was able to buy you a few gifts right under your nose! You especially liked helping me pick out presents for daddy and for Jack. You helped me bake some cookies and you loved looking at Christmas decorations when we would take a drive at night. You and daddy were very nice and you left Santa some cookies and you left his reindeer some carrots. When daddy unlocked the fireplace opening so Santa could come down, you peered up it and said, “Santa? Are you up there?”
On Christmas Day the joy in your face was just awesome. When you saw all of those gifts that Santa left for you, you were so happy. It truly made my day to see the happiness in your face. You loved each and every gift and I just savored watching you open your presents so carefully. It is definitely true that the meaning of Christmas is reflected in a child’s face. Your favorite gifts were your Thomas pillowcase I made you, your Matchbox cars, the cool train table Uncle Bob the Builder made you, and of course – YOUR DIRT DEVIL JUNIOR VACUUM CLEANER. That thing went with you everywhere.
In January we finally had enough snow that we could take you sledding! We got your red sled out of the garage and took you for a spin around the block. You LOVED it! You even had fun pulling the sled yourself. You were too cute all bundled up in your snow gear.
During the beginning of February, we took a trip to Florida to visit with Grandma and Bob-Bob! We had a ball. You just adored being at the ocean and digging in the sand. You didn’t even care that it was only 60 degrees and you didn’t even care that you couldn’t go in the ocean. It was chilly! We did a lot of fun things while we were there including going to a big aquarium. You really liked the big manatee. They’re mommy’s favorites, too. You were a trooper the whole time we were there. You slept on an air mattress like a big boy and you didn’t seem to mind that the room wasn’t dark like you like it at night. What a good boy you were on that trip.
When we got back home we were able to start up with Storytime at the library again. I think you looked forward to Tuesday mornings very much. Miss Angie at the library did an excellent job and you really enjoyed being able to check books out of the library. I think we read every single Thomas the Tank Engine book at that particular library!
In March we found out that your brother or sister went up to Heaven. You named this baby Coconut. I don’t know why. You always would ask me how the Coconut in my belly was doing, so we decided s/he would be named Coconut until we found out if it was a boy or a girl. When you came with us to the ultrasound we told you that Coconut had gone up to Heaven. You thought about it for a minute, nodded, and then said, “With Nana (my mom) and Papa (daddy’s dad)?” and we said, “Yes”. You answered, “Okay.” And that was that. You seemed to understand without really getting it.
The month of April was fun. We went to a different storytime and you had even more fun. Miss Barb at the library really loved having little children around and you loved finding out what Miss Barb had in her stack of boxes. We still sing, “Going to the library in my little red wagon” and you fill in the appropriate, “Bump, bump, bump, bump, bump” at the right time. Your favorite activity was planting seeds and you were just amazed that you had 2 sprouts of green coming out of your little cup after just a few weeks. I was sad when Storytime ended. It’s always fun being at the library and I love it that you love to read.
We also drove in Uncle Jim’s big, big van (according to you) down to Aunt Kathy and Uncle Timmy’s for Easter. Uncle Timmy was in New Orleans so he wasn’t in Ft. Fun. You thought that Uncle Timmy was helping to clean up the big thunderstorm that happened last year. You were partly right. But I thought that was very smart of you to understand that! We had a yummy meal and you just loved hanging out with Nikki (whom you refer to as Nicholas) and Julie (whom you refer to as Julie Boots) at your own table. And of course you ate like a champ!
You were able to see Nicholas and Julie Boots a few weeks later at their house. Daddy and I dropped you off there so that we could go to a baptism. Uncle Bob and Nikki took you to Meijer and they even took you down the vacuum cleaner aisle! They got a chuckle out of the fact that you know so much about vacuum cleaners!!!
Daddy and I are worked on your big boy room and your birthday present is a BIG BOY BED! You were very, very excited and every time we picked up something new for your room you would exclaim, “Hooray! I can’t wait for my big boy bed!” When daddy was painting a few weeks ago you would often pop into your room to check his progress. We both laughed when you said, “Hey daddy, you’re doing a pretty good job!” It made me very sad to take down your crib and pack away the last of your babyhood. It’s weird to think that you slept in that very crib since you were a month old. You’ve gone from taking up only 21” of it to nearly 3 ½ feet!
And the biggest thing of all that happened this year is that we said bye-bye to diapers! You are officially potty trained! I am so proud of you and of this accomplishment. We let you lead us and when you decided it was time we went with it. Your success becomes my success. I am one proud mommy.
When you turned one I had a hard time. I was very sad because I couldn’t remember a lot of your first year. Lack of sleep does that! And last year when you turned two it was okay because you were still just a little boy. But now? Now you’re THREE WHOLE YEARS OLD!
And because you’re three you’re learning a lot about the world around you. You are extremely bright and you pick up on things very quickly. You often get frustrated when you can’t do something but if I help you then all is right in the world. You do have your bad moments full of tantrums, whining and crying. You settle down after a time out and a reminder of why you’re being disciplined.
You really like singing and I find that you like to change the words to songs. The other day I heard you singing “How much is that doggy in the window?” and instead of singing, “I do hope that doggy’s for sale” you changed the words to ON SALE. It made me laugh. Since you’ve been born daddy and I have sung “You are my sunshine” to you ever single night before we put you down to sleep. It’s a little bittersweet that you now sing it to US instead of the other way around.
You are one hilarious, funny little boy. You have me laughing more times in a day than I can remember. I have been writing down a lot of your funnies and I have been e-mailing them to our family and friends. You bring a lot of joy and laughter to this house and I can hardly remember what we did before you were born. Well, there was sleep. We did a lot more of that!
The year ahead is going to be very exciting. You’re going to start preschool in the Fall and you’re very excited. Every time we drive by the church where you’re going to go, you say, “There’s my school! I can’t wait!” It’s probably going to be a lot harder on mommy than it will be on you. I have never left you with anyone other than family members so it might be a little weird for me knowing you’ll be cared for by someone I don’t know very well. But you’ll do great and I know you’ll flourish and benefit from the program.
We love you so much, sweet boy. Every night before we go to bed daddy and I come in your room to check on you. Seeing you sleeping so peacefully makes everything right in the world. You are our precious boy who is growing so much before our very eyes.
Even the bad days are good days because they end with a kiss and a hug from you.
Xoxoxo
Love,
Mommy.
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