Threenager

It's Ashy Boy's third birthday and he has fully entered that special time of life when you have all the fight and turbulence of a teenager, but the reasoning of a three year old.  This kid has always been passionate, but 2 and under is easier to deal with, 3 and up seems like willful rebellion and he has me going 2007 Britney at times.  Honestly, I consider shaving my head every night at bedtime.  It seems less painful than pulling it all out.

This year he has weaned, moved to a big boy bed, started sleeping  through the night (finally), had his first swimming lessons, learned he was going to be a big brother, starred in his first movie (he even threw a fit and walked off set...diva) , attended his first Royals game, begrudgingly adjusted to brother being at school, mostly potty trained, learned a zillion new things and gave the whole family a run for our money.

Even though he is a handful, he brings me great joy every single day.  They say a kid that sings to himself is a happy kid.  So, despite the rocky moments, I know he is happy and aware of how loved he is.  His latest masterpiece is singing his favorite baseball player's name (Morales) over and over again to the tune of the Star Wars theme.

He can do every single thing by himself.

He doesn't like the inside of his pockets to be white.  I have to convince them that they are a very light blue, or gray, to get him to wear jeans.

If River is reading a book, Ash repeats everything he says and then tells me he read it too.

He loves trying the monkey bars at River's school.  I still have to hold him, but he insists on practicing every time I drop River off for Kindergarten.

He has been the biggest lover and cuddler of Jelly Bean (Baby Girl Bear).  He nuzzles my pregnant belly every chance he gets, especially after bedtime.  He asks how many weeks along I am and then sticks out his little pot belly and says he's a week farther along than me.  He only wants to sleep if I lay down with him and he can sleep on Jelly Bean, but then he complains Jelly Bean is too bumpy.

We had a goal to be out of diapers by his birthday and it wasn't going well until two weeks ago.  He is completely out of diapers during the day, but I put him in a pull-up at night.  He wakes up dry most of the time.  I can't call him potty trained yet, because I am still reminding to go and making him sit on the potty to try, even when he thinks he doesn't need to go and then it turns out he does.  It is a major improvement from a few weeks ago when he was fighting me so hard about it, it seemed like he was regressing.  The change came from getting stickers on the Potty Time app and me assertively telling him to try going potty, even if he doesn't think he needs to, rather than passively asking him if he needs to go and then aggressively making him go after he has told me no.  I am happy with the progress and the small diaper break before the new baby comes.

He loves playing the Star Wars Lego video game and is constantly conspiring to play on days other than Saturdays, the day I allow video games.  He is cute and a master manipulator, I mean negotiator, but I've gotten pretty good at withstanding his adorable voice and long lashes batting away at me.  Daddy on the other hand... well... we've just decided that what happens when mommy's not home is best left unsaid.

He couldn't decide on wether to be Anakin Skywalker, or Darth Vader for Halloween.  He finally picked Anakin, but told me, "Mom, most times I'm Anakin, but sometimes I'm a little Darth Vader."  Truer words have not been spoken.

He still loves his brother more than anything in the world.  He hated not being able to go to school with River and his little heart broke every time we dropped River off for awhile, but now he has realized one on one time with mommy has its perks.  Thank goodness it is just half day Kindergarten.  First grade is going to rock our world next year.

He wants to name the baby Twinkle.

His favorite shows are Clone Wars and Octonauts.

His favorite books are The Golden Egg and The Night Before Christmas.

His favorite song is When Daddy Comes Home and Daddy Ate An Apple...which I made up, because ain't nobody going to make Bear eat fruit or vegetables.

He loves spaghetti and pizza.  He does pretty well with fruit, but faints at the sight of veggies on his plate.  Thank goodness for green smoothies, which he drinks with gusto.

He still has the most adorable toddler run and I still haven't been able to catch it on camera.  It involves a lot of arms swinging side to side (sometimes flamboyantly) and hips swinging side to side in the opposite direction.  It is the cure for any bad day!

You might not ever figure out what is going to set him off... butter on his toast, no butter on his toast, the fact I even made toast... but at the end of the day, no one will hug you more, love you more, give you more kisses and tell you you are beautiful more times than Ashy Bear.  He fights hard, but loves harder and the rest of us are completely enamored with our little blondie.  Ash, you had us from the very first cry.  Happy Birthday Love!