Three

Yesterday was Zachary's birthday and I intended to post this then. But the computer was acting up last night and the last few days I've been entirely too busy losing a few pounds thanks to the stomach virus I caught from the kids. So it's a day late.

To my sweet sweet Zachary,

You are three years old today. Which is kind of weird to me because it seems like you've been around all my life. It's so hard to imagine my life without your sweet little spirit in it. Your spirit fills a room where ever you go and it's weird to me that not too long ago, you weren't even here.



This has been a fun year with you. You learned a lot and you make it clear that you are learning more and more every day. Your newest accomplishment that you like to show off is jumping up and down. You'll be in the middle of intense playing and you'll stop what you are doing to say, "Hey, Mama, watch this!" And you'll start jumping until you nearly fall over. As of right now, you can count to 13 without skipping numbers. After that, you miss a few before you get to 20. You know about 20 (give or take a few) of your letters and you're actually better at identifying the sound a letter makes than you are at giving the name of the letter. One of your favorite things is curling up with me to read, especially your SpiderMan or VeggieTales books. Larry Boy is a favorite as well and when ever it's your turn to pick a CD to listen to, you always choose Larry Boy. I think I know every word to every Larry Boy song ever made.

I love how you get stuck on things...For a while, you had to wear your Superman cape 24/7, until your Grammy couldn't stand it anymore and peeled it off of you to wash it. And then for a little while you had to wear nothing but "stripey" shirts. To this day, the sight of a "stripey" shirt still makes you happy. And that's just so funny to me.

You found your first crush this year. You are in love with the 11 year old neighbor girl. You hug her and kiss her and tell her you love her all the time. You also freak her out by doing weird things like smelling her.

Your personality is really starting to shine. You have this interesting combination of being laid back and kinda uptight at the same time. You're really laid back in your relationships. Most of the time, you let Stephen (and sometimes Marc-Adam) treat you any ol' way. You let him call the shots and you happily follow. But at the same time, when you're tired of something he's doing, you have no problem letting him know. But you are a little fussy about other things. Your clothes can't have the slightest drop of wet on them, or you need an entire change of clothes. And you can't be convinced that your clothes aren't wet or that they'll dry very soon because it's only a drop of water. In fact, once you've set your mind on something, anything, it's very hard (sometimes impossible) to convince you of anything else.


If I had one thing to remember about your third year, it would be the development of your sense of humor. You are so stinkin' funny. We call you "The Comedian". You love to make us laugh....all the time. Even when it's not appropriate. Your daddy and I will be disciplining you for something and you'll make a funny face or start talking in a funny voice to make us laugh. It seems like you have an inate sense of "comedic timing". You learned the value of a good joke and you know exactly how to deliver. You also learned to tease which helps you fit perfectly in to this family. You especially like to tease Daddy when he gets hurt while y'all are playing....you say in a funny little voice, "Aw, you need a band-aid?" And you aren't being sympathetic. It's clear that you are poking a little fun at him. You are my social baby. You are shy at first with people you don't know, but it's obvious you love being around other people because you can't stand to be by yourself. You crave personal time and physical touch. You love curling up at my side (or with your Daddy or Grammy or anyone that you know loves you) and just being with us. Then you'll look over at me and give me a kiss for no reason. Then you'll start to stroke my hand. All day long, you are free with hugs and kisses. You love to play in my hair and face. It seems like if you are within arms reach of me, you must be touching me.

I absolutely love watching your personality blossom. It's hard not to smile after every conversation with you. Sometimes it seems that your personality is too big for that tiny little body of yours. I can't wait to see what you're like when you grow in to it.

I love you, my dear. Thank you for the smiles and the laughter and the kisses. Here's to many many more.

Love,
Your mama