You Are 3!!

Dear Clark,
Sunday was your birthday and YOU TURNED 3! I can not believe that you are 3. As I sit here and eating a big slice of your leftover Mickey Mouse cake and watch you sleep in your big boy bed on the monitor I am still confused how you got so big so fast. You are getting so big and learning something new everyday. You are probably tired of me telling you how smart you are because I tell you all the time. You speak in full sentences, you ask great questions and you are so observant of everything around you. You make your daddy and I smile everyday with something you do or say. You are also testing our patience with some of your antics lately- but hey,that is your job! We are also so very excited to see you become a big brother. It is a role that we know you will fill so well. You talk about the babies and talk to the babies and are already showing interest in helping mommy get ready for the babies.  I could go on and on. You are such a bright spot in our lives and we thank God everyday for you. You love with your whole heart and teach us so much each day. I cannot even begin to describe how much you are loved. Here are a few things you are up to and into these days.

ALL ABOUT YOU

Height/Weight:
We are not too sure! We go to Dr. Warner next week for your 3 year check up. You have not been to see him one time since your 2 year check up (yes- NO SICK VISITS!) but we think you weigh between 35-40 lbs. You are looking very long an lean these days (like your daddy- NOT your mommy) and it is most apparent when we look back at pictures from your 1st birthday.
Your interests:
These days you are into Mickey Mouse. You usually take him everywhere you go. You sleep with him and drag him all over town. We wash him all the time as his white gloves are usually grey from all the love you give him. You are also into Lightening McQueen from the Disney movie CARS. The new movie comes out soon and you get so excited to see the trailer on TV. We will be taking you to see it, hopefully at the Drive In. You are obsessed with all things CARS and are currently wearing 3 CARS band-aids.  You love Buzz Lightyear and Woody from Toy Story. Toy Story 3 came out this year and you have enjoyed watching the movies and all things that go with that. You are still a huge Thomas the Train fan and drag your trains out nearly everyday. You can name almost all the trains and call them all by name. You correct us if we call them the wrong name. You like to play in your sandbox, ride your bike, play golf with daddy, help mommy cook, wrestle with daddy and Barney, sing songs, color, play with play dough, eat fruit snacks, go for wagon rides and point out things while we are driving. Just to name a few!

Your Favorite Foods:

• FRUIT SNACKS (we are pretty sure you might turn into one.)
• Macaroni & Cheese
• Chips- any kind. You love Chips & Salsa, Cheetos- any chips.
• Cheese
• Yogurt
• Bananas
• Strawberries
• Pizza

Sizes:
You wear a size 9 shoe, size 3T pants and some 4T shirts. You are not wearing diapers anymore! You love to pick out your underwear everyday. It is so exciting for you when you get to decide between Nemo, Woody, Thomas, Mickey and all your favorite characters. Mommy does not really like character themed clothing so you get characters on your underwear and pjs and that works for now!

What you LOVE to watch on TV:
You enjoy PBS Kids, Disney Jr, and Nick Jr. Lots of shows can grab your attention like Backyardagains, Wonder Pets, Jake and the Neverland Pirates, Fresh Beat Band, Chuggington, Dinosaur Train, Super Why, and of course Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. No- you don't watch them all each day, but these are ones that if they are on you will stop to watch.


Other GREAT things you are doing these days:

1. You are a great shopper- Mommy can take you anywhere; Target, clothing shopping, Kroger, anywhere! You love to ride in the cart or your stroller and watch people. I hope you keep this up. You make it very easy to go places!

2. You are surprising us with all kids of interesting questions these days.

3. You are very polite when you choose to be. You say Thank You, Please, Yes Mam, No Mam, Yes Sir and No Sir. You learned how to shake hands and you say your name and then you even reply with Nice to meet you mam/sir. It is super cute! You like to joke with daddy and call him mam. You think it is SOOOOOO Funny. (So do we)

4. You LOVE your big brother Barney. You two play well together and even fight like brothers. We love to watch you interact with him. Many people cannot get over how well you two interact. Barney is a BIG boy, but he is very protective of you and puts up with a lot from you!


5. You are quite the jokester. You say the wrong names of things on purpose. You call daddy mam on purpose. You tell people you are 7 on purpose. When we sort things or play games you pick out what you know is wrong to make me laugh. I think there will be a lot more of this to come! You laugh hysterically when we catch on to you. You are very quick witted (like your momma) and it is so funny.


6. You love to give kisses and hugs! I love that sometime at night you have only been in bed like 5 minutes and you will get out and come back into the living room for one more kiss. You also say "I love you too" when we tell you how much we love you. That just melts my heart.


7. You talk about the ways you are going to help mommy and daddy with the babies. You tell us if they cry we will need to give them milk. You tell us we need to buy them cribs. You tell us we will need to pat their butts to keep them from crying. When we buy something new you ask "Is that for your babies". You are in for a treat little man.

I could go on for days about all of the things I love about you and all of the fun things you are doing these days. You really are a sweet little boy and I hope you stay sweet forever! I know all of our lives are about to change as we add to more little ones to our home and hearts. I know I have enough love for everyone, but my prayer is that you continue to feel that love and know that you are a special boy and you will always have my heart no matter what. No matter how busy I am, or how many babies are crying you are my special guy. You taught me and continue to teach me everyday how to be a better mommy and I thank you for that. You have taught me so much that will help me be a mommy to your new brother and sister. I love you more than words can express and I hope that you will always know that.


Your Birthday Celebration:
For your birthday we had a party at the Explorium in Lexington. It is the Children's Museum and it was so much fun. You wanted a Mickey Mouse cake and that is what we had. You helped me plan the party by telling me who you wanted to invite. When we were shopping you would pick out things you wanted for your birthday. It was so much fun because you are starting to understand that it is your special day.

Your friends Drew, Jack, Layton, Luke, Ben, Nate, Jackson, Ethan, Christian, & Ella came to your party. Mamaw, Papaw, Grammy, Grandpa and Uncle Stephen were there too. You got all sorts of fun gifts and did a good job opening them all by yourself and thanking everyone for what they got you.
After cake, ice cream and gifts, we all got to go play in the museum and you had a wonderful time and I am pretty sure your buddies did too. It was a great party and a great day celebrating YOU!

Now mommy is on summer break from school and we get to spend lots of time together and that makes me very happy. This is our last summer of just the two of us and we are going to soak it up together.We are going to go to the library on Tuesdays, we have a baby pool in the back yard and we have no real agenda. I have a feeling we are going to do a lot of reading, watching Mickey, playing outside and laughing and I can't wait!!

Love you so very much!!
MOMMY