Ethan turns three

My little guy turned three a couple weeks ago. We had decided this year to keep it relatively low key, no actual party. Although somehow that ended up being more than a three year old could ask for. His Avo and Ava took him to Legoland, he celebrated his birthday with his Uncle Walt (Ethan was born two days before his birthday; many years later of course). He an evening ALL about him with mommy, daddy, Auntie and Brandon and then a night at Chuck E Cheese with just a couple friends. Nothing special, nothing formal. It was right up his ally. He seemed to have a blast. I'll post photos of those celebrations soon. I promise.

Ethan at birth

Ethan at one

Ethan at two

Ethan at three

Letter to Ethan:

I can't believe how fast you have grown up. This has been quite a year of changes for you; two to three has been huge. We put in preschool about a year ago. At that time you were not speaking too much (by choice) and still insisting you were a baby and not a big boy. You are learning so much so fast now it is hard to keep up. You can say just about anything you want and your vocabulary knowledge surprises me all the time. You know all your letters and your numbers up to about 15, although occasionally you can count to 22 without skipping any. You know your shapes and even told daddy what a hexagon was the other day. You love asking us "why" and it is interesting to see your little brain hard at work learning how the world works. You love to tell us how to get places and if you don't know how to get places you will ask us to give you the directions as we go (are we turning left here?). You are an active little guy who has a killer basketball shot and can kick a soccer ball very well. You still love all things cars related and went to RideMakerz with your Poppie and Uncle Walt and built a remote control car recently; you loved that. You love being right were we are. You would rather help daddy work on the car or help me cook something in the kitchen then play with a toy in your room or watch a movie. You are curious about EVERYTHING.
You love reading books and one of your favorites is the Jesus Storybook Bible. You just moved up to the children's church class as church and you are so happy to be out of the nursery. You get so excited carrying your bible to your new class.
You have a stubborn streak and really like things done a certain way and love your routines and structure. You like to have oatmeal everyday for breakfast and you have to sit in your chair at the table. No mixing that up allowed. You notice when a room is clean or messy (recently heard "mommy this room is messy"). You recently started a Star Chart at home with all the daily activities you should be doing like brushing your teeth, getting dressed for school, taking your vitamins, cleaning up your toys, and you get so excited when you earn each star.
You love music and enjoy playing your drum set. You are always drumming on things and have even shown interest in the guitar. Although you don't sing much, we have caught you, on occasion, singing along to songs in the car.
You are not a big eater, although you have recently been see eating chicken; we try to make a big deal out of it though. You will eat when you are hungry as proven by how tall you have grown.
You are about to be a big brother and you are so excited about that. You are often asking me to "open it up" or show you my belly so you can give kisses and hugs to Kinlee. You also like to tell me how big she is getting. When we told you her name, we asked if you could say it. You politely told us no and proceeded to be very quiet. After a couple minutes I talked with you about some flowers on the side of the street. You told me they were pretty and after another short pause you said "Kinlee will like them." You always have to do things on your time and in your way.
Mommy and Daddy love your sweet heart and how much love you show your cousin Madison other family members. You are not a huge people person (a bit like your mom), you don't like big crowds or people in your face, you like to be around one or two people at a time. Some would think you were shy, unless they saw you in your comfort zone and realize you can be pretty active and social then.
We love you so much. You have brought so much joy to our lives and we can't imagine what life was like before you. It is an honor to that God entrusted Daddy and I to be your parents. You teach us more everyday than I ever thought possible.
Happy Birthday Ethan! We love you more than you could ever know!

Mommy and Daddy