3.5

Odie-O, how do I even begin to describe how amazing your are at three and a half years old?

You are standing on the brink of becoming a full-fledged little boy. It must be a very awkward place to be, mostly boy but still part toddler. Most days you handle it so well, yet some days...well, some days you get a whole heap of spankings and spend a good amount of time in time out. More about that later...

You are my Buddy. We LOVE to play together, read stories, make crafts, even clean together. You are my right hand man. You so enjoy spending time with Daddy and me, and the feeling is mutual. We can make almost anything fun just by doing it together. On the flip side, you struggle to play alone. If I set you up with an activity and leave the room to get something done, it is never long before you are at my side again, always eager to be doing whatever I am doing.

The baby part of you still loves to be cuddled and kissed and squeezed. I love that about you and hope it does not change too much as you get bigger. You have a Mama that loves to dole out the touchy-feely-lovey stuff. One of my favorite parts of the day is when you are still sleepy-eyed and snugly-warm first thing in the morning. You crawl up in my lap to drink a cup of milk and get some early morning love. We are quiet together while I bury my nose in your hair and try to soak up these minutes to remember forever. Before I am ready, you pop up and are raring to PLAY, but I relish those few minutes every morning!

You and Noah have a pretty typical brother relationship, I think. Most of the time you love, love each other. The kisses and hugs are easily exchanged; you enjoy playing together. But there are times when you guys fight...I mean really fight. A screaming, pushing, chasing, tackling fight. I know it is probably part of growing up, but it still makes me so sad to watch you treat each other that way. And then there are those even rarer times that absolutely break my heart, Owie: When I catch you hurting Nosy on purpose. I am not sure what is going through your head when you hit him in the gut with a baseball bat or push him down when he is in your way, but it hurts my heart and God's so much. We are emphasizing that you Boys are God's precious gifts to each other: your very own brother to love. Treat each other well and with respect. I pray we can instill this in you.

Daddy and I are working on teaching you Boys how to sacrifice for each other, and you are learning the lesson so well. Just today, Noah was crying for you to share a few of your chocolate chips with him. You visibly struggled with the choice set before you...and then you divided your special choco chip pile in half and passed them over to Nosy. It's things like these that make me so proud of you, Owie!

A few things I hear ten billion times a day:

"Mommy, Mommy, Mommy, watch me!"

"Can you tell me a story while I..." (insert "brush teeth," "take a bath," "eat my lunch," etc.). You are especially interested in my childhood and stories from when you were a baby. You keep me on my toes thinking up new material. My fave story to tell you is about the day you were born!

"Can you play with me?"

"I'm not going to eat!" You did not inherit your appetite from me!

"What kind of hug/kiss do you want?" You give the best octopus hugs and basketball kisses ever!

"Your hair/ dress/ shoes look so pretty today, Mommy!" You charmer, you!

"How do you spell..."

Your personality has remained consistent: You are a keen observer and would almost rather watch other kids play and interact than jump in yourself. I am so proud of the times you move out of your comfort zone and join in the fun because I know how hard it is for you. Your heart is so sensitive, Owie, and I love that about you. You are easily hurt but also quick to comfort others, perceptive of when someone needs a bit of extra love, and easily molded. Your desire is to please us and behave.

You love all things about the Bible and God. I can often find you on the couch with one of our Bibles (or any other long book with tiny words that might be easily mistaken for a Bible), "reading" Bible stories you know by heart or quoting some of your verses. You have an unquenchable thirst that I pray remains with you forever.

Right after I typed this, just look at where I found you! I heard you say, "I lost my Jesus!" I asked you what you were reading, and you told me an intriguing story: Jesus' brother had lost Him. He looked everywhere for Jesus with his "vinoculars" and finally found Him flying high up in the sky. The brother was so happy he had found Jesus!

The majority of our days are wonderful, but you definitely have your moments! Moments of fit-throwing (pictured is the "I refuse to come inside fit") or disobedience. Our struggle the past month or so has been arguing with us and talking back. Who knew such a sweet Boy could have such a smart mouth? We are consistently working on it though, and I know you will eventually learn and comply.

This is a series of pictures I took while you sang goofy, made-up versions of "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star." "Twinkle, twinkle little roof. How I wonder how you woof." Pretty strange, but you crack yourself up! You are so animated! I love it!

You, my Son, are super smart! This week, you read your first real, whole story. (This is a fave website for early readers, by the way!) It was a very simplistic one, but I am so proud of you!! You want to practice reading all the time, which is so much fun for both of us. The book we are working on now is Hop on Pop by Dr. Seuss. You are almost half way through it and doing great! It thrills me to watch you learn so quickly!

Owen, I feel so thoroughly, continually blessed just by being your Mom. I have heard so many stories lately that are similar to yours but with far different outcomes. Things could have turned out so differently. May I never forget what an absolute miracle you are, a true gift of mercy from God. Your very presence on this earth is a marvel. But you are not just here, you are awesome! I am still amazed that I have been entrusted with you. I love you more and more each day.