Three Years Old!!

Three years ago, I was embarking on the most amazing, challenging and rewarding adventure of my life--motherhood. I had a tough labor and was recovering from a c-section and suddenly had this little person to take care of. A million thoughts ran through my head. Could I do this? Would I be a good mother? Would I love him enough? Would he love me? Thank goodness I was blessed with a special little boy who has made being his mommy the easiest thing in the world. Sure, we have our moments, but spending my days with him (and now with his little sister too) is a privilege and one that I wouldn't trade for anything in the entire world.

At three years old, John Grayson:

• LOVES dinosaurs! Love is probably an understatement for how JGray feels about dinosaurs. Maybe obsession is a more appropriate word. He will read any book about dinosaurs and is especially fond of dinosaur encyclopedias (the more facts, the better!). He will watch any television show about dinosaurs (History Channel, Science Channel---he is definitely my child!). He has dinosaur models that he plays with. He digs for dinosaur bones in the backyard. He wants to be a paleontologist when he grows up (yes, that is the word he uses). And he has even told us that when he grows up, he's going to discover a new dinosaur in Africa called 'caveosaurus'.
• Is potty trained!!! Mostly. On July 3rd, he announced that he was using the big potty and hasn't turned back. Best of all, it didn't require any pressure from Mommy and Daddy. Bribery was still necessary (we now have a constant supply of popsicles in our freezer), but now he goes most of the time without asking for a treat. He doesn't like to ask other adults to help him, so he wears Pull-Ups to the gym and to school, but we're still very proud of his progress so far.
  
• Talks, a lot! The boy will talk to you about anything and everything. He's gone from simple sentences last year to soliloquies this year. If he doesn't think you're listening, then he'll just talk louder and keep on talking. Makes for fun car trips :-)
  
• Loves to dance. "You Can't Stop the Beat" (JGray just calls it "Stop the Beat") from Hairspray is his favorite song. He will dance and run around in a circle until he falls over. Seriously, until he falls over. John Grayson is also learning the words to Stevie Wonder's "Uptight." It's amazing how many lyrics he can remember.
• Loves school. He went to preschool last year and had a wonderful time. He made great friends without Mommy's help and seems very excited to start school again in September.
• Took swim lessons for the first time this summer. They were a little hard core (we had to leave him there and they wouldn't let him cry his way out of doing something). Now he swims like a fish and one of his favorite things to do at the pool is to jump off the side. Over and over and over again.
• Runs! Everywhere. He loves to run and has even started telling us that he "needs to work out." John has taken him to the track at the high school a few times and he's been able to run an entire lap. We may have a future cross country runner and marathoner on our hands!
  
• Is still a good eater. Although pizza is his favorite food, he loves fruits and vegetables. Especially watermelon. And the kid still drinks 4 glasses of milk a day. We keep telling him that that if he gets his height and size from the Schmitt side of the gene pool, then he can play any sport that he wants to.
  
• Cannot wait until he's big enough to help Daddy with all of his chores around the house. Anytime that John is fixing something, John Grayson will grab his tool box and run over to help. He likes to tell us, "When I be big, I help Daddy."
  
• Is remarkably persuasive for a 3 year old. He'll tell us what he wants to do and then for added emphasis will say "That be good idea."
• Loves to spend time with his MaMa and Pop. Sometimes I think he would leave us and move in with them permanently.
• Had a blast in Chicago this year with his Grandma and Grandpa. Since he's a "big boy" now, he was able to do activities without Mommy and Daddy and still talks about how much fun he had. He was even great for the flight, thanks to a portable DVD player and a bag full of lollipops, goldfish crackers, animal crackers and fruit snacks.
  
• Says the cutest things. He'll put his head up against John's and say, "Mommy, we your boys?" He was holding up a William & Mary sweatshirt and I asked him if he wanted to go there someday. He said, "No Mommy, I marry you."
• Sleeps with a giant pile of books in his bed. Most kids have stuffed animals to keep them company. John Grayson has books. He keeps at least 2 dozen books in his bed to read before and after he sleeps. Hopefully this love of reading continues!!
  
• Is the best big brother in the entire world. I had no idea how he would react to a new little person invading his space, but he amazes us with his infinite love for his "Baby Delia." He gives her constant hugs and kisses and always wants to help. He likes to say "I love you Baby Delia!" when he goes into her room in the morning. Now that Delia is crawling, we're hearing "NO!" a little more than before, but overall, he's a wonderful big brother. He's already promised me that he will always take care of his little sister. I plan on holding him to that when they're in high school together.

Happy Birthday, my sweet angel! Thank you for giving me three of the best years of my life. I cannot wait to see what amazing things you show us in the years to come!!!