Levi is THREE!!!

Levi Olin, you are 3 years old today! Every day with you is an adventure and you surely do make me earn my Momma paycheck ;) I started reading parenting books and spend a lot more time praying than I used to. You are strong, energetic, sweet, thoughtful, consistent, love a daily schedule, and I could go on and on about how proud I am of you and how happy I am to be your Momma. Here's how you've changed over the past 6 months: 

- You took your first plane ride and our first family vacation to Daytona Beach, FL at the end of September. You were a bit nervous and out of your element at the airports and on the plane, but overall you were a champ and very brave. 

- The first day of vacation you were tentative about the ocean waves, but from day 2 on, you were in the waves and playing and always finding an adult to go with you in to the water. What fun! 

- Your vocabulary and communication skills have really grown! You use words like 'volcano' and 'delicious'. But I'm so glad that some of the words you say still remind me that you're only 3 -- like "dood" for good and "hungee" for hungry. I will be sad when you start saying those words correctly. I enjoy hearing you talk; you do stutter at times, but if the person listening is quiet and patient you are able to talk much easier.

- A typical day looks like -- breakfast of "Sausage... eggs... and juice" at least that's what you ask for every, single, morning. After breakfast is learning time and plenty of play time. At lunch you inform me which show you want to watch before naptime, which is always "Octonauts", and then 2 books and a nap. When you get up you play some more and we have supper, during which you make sure our evening looks the same as always, "Take a bath. Watch a movie. Go to bed." as you like to say. You love your routine and if anything is going to be out of the ordinary I do a lot of prep work with you the day before so you can prepared for whatever is different.

- You started potty training in July and took to it like a champ. You earned a gummy bear every time you tried going the first day which was very rewarding, but backfired a bit the next day when you didn't get "rewarded" every time. You did pretty well by the end of the first week, esp. during the day! You only wear pull-ups at nighttime now because you sleep so hard and have a difficult time waking up. Plus you drink lots of water -- which is fantastic!

- You follow along as I do school with Zeke in the mornings. You are learning the days of the week, months, and can count up to 12. You know your ABCs and are getting pretty good at the memory game. You write with your right hand and have started your first tracing book.

You picked your own pumpkin at Osborn Farm

You were a cute pirate for Halloween!

- We carved pumpkins for Halloween. You made a few slices/dots in yours and called it good :)

- Enjoying a dum-dum after trick-or-treating. You had a blast and would have probably gone further if we'd had more time!

Getting ready to enjoy Pop-Pop's birthday cake! 

- I love seeing the three of you play together. You like to do whatever Zeke's doing and Zoë copies you.

- You sat down and pulled Zoë into your lap and asked me to take your picture. You love your brother and sister very much!

- You like to help me in the kitchen. We bake and cook and you help set the table for meals. You are a wonderful helper!

Thanksgiving 2016

- You took your first gymnastics class the end of the year and did a great job! You learned how to somersault, jump backwards and sideways on the trampoline, and hang from the bars. You liked running around and jumping off of things onto the mats.

- You enjoy animals and seem to be very good with them.

Picking out our Christmas tree at Osborn Farm

- You have gotten very fast at riding your bike. You balance well and like to pull your feet up as you glide down the hills. You sometimes go faster than I like, but for the most part you stop at the end of the sidewalks and wait for us to catch up. You love to ride that bike and we probably better get a helmet on you soon!

Before we wrap things up, let's do a little birthday interview to make note of some of your favorite things in life as you turn 3...

Favorite food: "lizards, more lizards, and grasshoppers!" ...      
         I exclaimed, "What do you like to eat?"
        L : "I don't know" with a shrug of the shoulders.
-- Moving on... --
Song: My favorite song is "Jingle Bells"
Color: My favorite color is red like this {pointing to shirt}.
Drink: My favorite drink is applesauce and more juice and more pizza. 
Movie: My favorite movie is pigs and donkeys and showers. 
Book: My favorite book is Lion King.
Things to do: My favorite thing is applesauce and gum beary sauce {gummy bears}. Play games. I like to do gymnastics.

{These are all direct quotes, people. I love that he used full sentences!!} 

Levi, I hope you have a wonderful birthday today! I love you so very much and cannot wait to see what the next year holds for and with you! I hope you have fun as we take you to your first movie theater movie and out to eat lunch on Thursday and you get to spend special time with both Daddy and I. It's so fun to get to know you better when it's just the three of us. I hope you'll always know how important you are and how much we love you!