Time has been flying by so quickly since you joined our lives. It really seems like just yesterday that I awoke in the middle of the night when my water broke - but it really was 3 years ago. I cannot believe how quickly you have been growing or how full you make my life.
So much about your personality has emerged in this last year. You have a wonderful sense of humor and you love to laugh. Whether it is because your toy falls off of an object over and over again or whether it is because you have made yet another poop joke, your laughter is like music and it makes me smile.
You still give the best hugs, hands down. You wrap your arms around our necks and squeeze and make the best "Umm-umm" sound while you do it. And you can squeeze quite hard. :) You still love to snuggle up to us pretty much any chance you get and I hope it stays that way for a while.
You have made some new friends in Wisconsin and your ability to share and take turns is growing each day. You still have to be reminded sometimes, but I think that considering you are an only child starting over in a new place, you do quite well.
It seems like overnight that your stranger anxiety as faded away. One day you were clinging to my side at the mall and the next you were running full speed ahead away from me. One day you were hiding your head on my shoulder when a stranger spoke to you at the grocery store and now you walk up to them and shake their hand and offer your name and age and whatever random thing is currently on your mind. As much as it makes me happy to see you bloom, this change has been a scary one for me as I am constantly nervous that you will be snatched up by some stranger. Based on your daddy's idea based on Finding Nemo and the diver who took Nemo away from his daddy, we now warn you of "DIVERS" in public and you typically come back pretty quickly. Thank goodness.
Your vocabulary astounds me - we have complete conversations about all kinds of things and you string together so many words that I don't count anymore. You ask insightful questions (about the world around you, about how things work, about death, about pretty much anything you could think of) and most people that meet you think you are at least 4. You constantly ask "Why?" and "When I get bigger, can I do XYZ?"
You sing ALL.THE.TIME. Loudly. And you make up songs about things that you see around you. I have had people comment on your singing talents in the grocery store more than once.
We read several books every day. You go in search of specific books in your collection and find them pretty quickly. You can even "read" the books to me - I love to hear you read "The Monster at the End of the Book". You can say your alphabet and can recite numbers into the 30s but you like to skip some numbers in the teens. You also recognize quite a few letters and numbers but working on recognition has been a bit tough as you get frustrated - you want to be able to form each one PERFECTLY and when something isn't just right, you don't like it one little bit. (I think you get that from both your mommy and your daddy.)
You help around the house and love to help me cook. You actually helped me to make the cupcakes that we had on your actual birthday.
You love to play with trucks and balls and your dogs (although "play" could be translated into chase and choke). You love to ride your scooter or run around the block. You love to jump and climb and you challenge us to try to do what you can do. You love to dig in the dirt and play in the sand and try to pick up bugs. You have started a rock collection.
You are such a sweet little boy and I am so glad you are a part of our family. It wouldn't be the same without you. We love you!
Mommy and Daddy
