What I LOVE about you being 3 years old

I love that you teach me so much. When I get frustrated, you'll tell me to take a deep breath and "keep trying" or you'll make a suggestion for another way to do something and say "is that a plan, Stan?"

I love that you are willing to try new things and remain pretty flexible. You always tell me, "You have to try it first before you know if you like it".

I love watching you think. It's like I can see the wheels turning in your head. Spawning off of trying new things...One day, while we were riding in the car, I mentioned that I wasn't sure if I liked a certain children's television show. You thought for a second and said, "Mommy, have you ever watched it?". Quite honestly, I hadn't, so I told you that. You replied with, "How do you know if you don't like it, if you have never watched it? Maybe you should watch it and see." Blow me away.

I love going to the park with you and watching you swing (though not in excess amounts of time, you could swing all day, just ask Aunt Jill). We have our deepest, most interesting conversations on the swings. I don't know if it's just the relaxing atmosphere and that you are in your element, but you talk and talk for days on the swings. One day, out of nowhere you told me that you were "just breathing in the air that the trees make for us". Another day, you spied two black birds and named them Jack and Jill and once they flew away, you began to sing the black birds song. It's just little things like that make me smile.

I love going on nature walks with you. Everything that is nature you are quick to point out, investigate and inquire about. Your questions never get old. I like the challenge of a preschool explanation. When we saw a dead baby bird yesterday, you were adament that his mommmy was going to come back and make him better because he was sick. Of course she was.

I love my time with you.

I love watching you converse with others. I love their reactions when either they have no idea what you are talking about or they can't believe they are having that conversation with you. The other day while on a walk, you stopped a man and his son and said, "How's it going?" and then you had to know, "Where are you going?" They were great sports about talking to you.

I love that you are know what you like. You get dressed everyday in an outfit of your liking and you must wear the same shoes, everyday. Your black, maryjane crocks are IT. You have so many cute, fun shoes and you won't wear them. Only the black shoes. You've also learned to put them in the shoe basket so you know where to find them as we've had some scares with missing black shoes.

I love listening to you prepare for a baby brother as best as you know how. You talk about what he'll say, "ga ga ga" and you'll talk about what you'll do together. It doesn't matter that we try to tell you how tiny babies don't do much yet, you are preparing for a sibling...that is so special!

I am going to love the age difference in you and your baby brother. You are so independent and understanding that I will hold these qualities near and dear to me when he arrives. Soon.