Three!

 

Just like that, he's three. We had a big party here at our house on Saturday to celebrate. It was a great party with six little friends and their families here to help us celebrate. The weather couldn't have been better -- a cloudless, warm, sunny day that was made to order. The kids played barefoot in the sandbox, jumped on the trampoline and ran around the yard as if it were a spring day. The theme was construction because at the moment Andrew is pretty serious about construction trucks. So, we took him over to the John Deere heavy equipment store for some three year old pictures. He was too excited to look at me for the most part, but I like the way some of the pics turned out.

When the weekend was over, Greg asked him what his favorite part was -- the party, the gifts, the friends, going to the park on Sunday? No. His favorite part was the cake. He truly is a boy after my heart. I made his cake and it turned out great.

 

Today, we enrolled Andrew in two day a week preschool on base at the Child Development Center. He'll be in a brand new facility that is just amazing. We spent some time in the classroom, which Andrew later described as "awesome." I am a bit nervous about how he will do -- it is much different from the Mother's Day Out program he has been in for the past year -- but I know he will adjust and it will be good for him.

 

And so we keep moving forward. Each day brings new questions -- a game Greg likes to call "stump the dummy" since many times we feel ill equipped to answer. "How does it work?" "Where does it come from?" I'm sure all parents can identify with the seemingly endless questions of a preschooler.

 

When I was a little girl, one of my favorite books was "Where Did the Baby Go?" about a little girl looking back at photos of the baby she once was and wondering why she had never seen this baby, where did it go?

 

When I look at our boy, I often wonder "where did the baby go?" Those first days seemed so hard and so long and I remember thinking we might never move beyond that stage of such neediness. My emotions were so raw and I was so very tired. Now, it's "I can do it myself, Mama" which comes as bittersweet relief. I remember reading a quote that went something like "the days are long but the years are short," and I know now that is so true. Three years. Poof.

 

Happy birthday, sweet Andrew. 

 

 

New Year, indeed

A rare post from me. And to think I used to do this nearly everyday. Well, as you can see, my sweet boy is just that -- a real live boy. The baby is gone. Even when I call him "baby" sometimes he will correct me -- "I'm not a baby. I'm a big boy."
Yes, my love, you are.
A big boy who has changed so much in the past year and yet, yesterday when I went in to wake him from a long afternoon nap, looked very much like that sleeping baby in the picture above. It's enough to bring tears to my eyes.
He is full of questions and demands and imagination. Just today, I missed him and after looking in all his favorite places -- his train table, his reading corner, my room where he makes a "rabbit house" on the other side of the bed and hops around pretending to be Andrew Rabbit, I found him lying on a stack of pillows on the guest bed facing the window, where the sun streamed in. He held a little red coffee cup from his kitchen in one hand and his legs were crossed at the ankles.
"It's a sunny day at the beach, Mama." he said "I'm drinking chocolate milk. Mmmm mmmmm!"
I'd like to say that at this point I am never surprised at what he says, but truth be told he surprises me daily. He is so smart and so observant and sometimes so wise.
This year, we filled two Operation Christmas Child boxes and I explained that some children in the world don't have a lot of toys or crayons and books and we were going to send the boxes to them as a Christmas gift. He happily helped me choose small gifts for the boxes and weeks later, as we began to talk more and more about Santa, out of the blue he told me he had a great idea.
"Santa can take toys to all the boys and girls that don't have any!!" he said "That is a great idea!"
Yes, my love, that is a great idea.
He is turning three in a few days. I don't know how that's even possible, yet here I am planning a construction zone party for next Saturday.
He loves trucks and blocks and building things. He surprises me with how much he knows about such things, the names of the trucks and what each one is for... shapes and numbers and letters.
He gets angry sometimes because he can't read the words in his books, but he wants to so desperately that I think one day, he'll surprise me.
He is such a good boy. And I try to remember to tell him that everyday.
At night when we say prayers, it always goes like this:
Me: God bless...
Andrew: Mama. You Mama?
Me: Yes, I'm Mama.
Andrew: I love you, Mama.
Me: I love you, Andrew.
The days slip by. Weeks seem so short. Before I know it, another month has come and gone. Seasons change faster than they used to and suddenly, here we are at the beginning of a New Year.
I wonder what 2014 will bring for our family, as we transition from this Air Force life into civilian life.
I do know that wherever we end up, my life will be filled with precious moments like the ones I've mentioned here, thanks to my sweet boy. Happy New Year, indeed.