Happy 3rd Birthday Xavier

{Pull up a chair. This is a long one!}
THREE years I have had the privilege of being a mom to this great kid. It's been a life changing 3 years. Xavier's birthdays mark changes in me just as much as they mark changes in him.

So, what is my 3 year old up to these days?

- Xavier still remains to be tall for his age. He is about 40 inches and 37lbs and wears a mix of 3T - 5T clothing. This child has the appetite of an adult some days. It seems he's always asking for something to eat. He works it off though because he is on the go all day. A few favorite foods lately are yogurt, pizza, cantaloupe, bagels, raisins, and ham. He has just started taking a small liking to noodles (something I always thought all kids loved...apparently not).

- Our boy is sleeping pretty well these days. He's averaging about 11 hours at night and still takes an afternoon nap. The plan is to get rid of his "binker" (that he only gets when sleeping) now that he is three. We've been talking it up and he seems on board. I'll keep you posted on how that goes :) Xavier is fully potty trained during the day but not at nap and night.

- X's loves to talk and has a lot to say. He knows what he wants and is more clear about it lately. He also likes to mimic us. I will hear him repeat phrases that he's heard Walter and I say. Often times it's when he's talking to Wes. Case in point - I heard him tell Wes the other day "Wessa, stop whining and tell me what's wrong." X is able to string together activities that occurred over the course of the day or understand the idea of things happening in a certain sequence. This makes it fun to have conversations with him. One thing that kind of makes me sad is that lately he's calling me "mom" more instead of "mommy". I didn't think that would happen this soon and I'm fighting it!

- This fall Xavier learned how to pedal a tricycle and he's starting to get the hang of riding a small bike with training wheels. He loves to run and jump and pretend to fall, but is terrified of being held upside down. X is very interested in puzzles right now.

-Xavier likes being a big brother to Wes. He shows Wes plenty of love and likes to hug and kiss on him. He is always wanting to know where Wes is. On the other hand, X has many moments where he likes to have control over Wes. He will often get specific ideas about what he wants Wes to do or play with. Sharing is a constant struggle. Lately X seems to notice the differences in what's acceptable for Wes vs. himself. And he often wants what Wes gets. He's even been asking me to nurse him lately because he sees me nursing Wes. Sorry buddy, that's not gonna happen! Thankfully a few minutes of snuggling is an acceptable solution to him!

- As of now X knows all of his uppercase letters, some of his lowercase letters, all numbers, everyone in our family's full name, his birthday, phone number, and address. He actually has a pretty good memory. He knows several street names in our subdivision and will tell you what street we are on when we drive home. He has also memorized several books, which is really cute to hear him recite. We will probably sign him up for pre-school in the fall. For now he goes to Sunday school at church every week, babysitting at our weekly small group, and babysitting during my MOPS meetings twice a month.

- As all kids do, X has a few little quirks lately. He has given up eating meals at the table with us. He now sits at the island on a barstool for every meal. (It's not a battle I'm going to have - he's eating and that's all I really care about). So on Thanksgiving we had a beautiful table of 12 people and then there was X sitting with his back to everyone eating on his barstool :) X has also decided he can't enter the house through the garage when we come home. He insists that he go in the front door and everyone else use the garage door. Also, if we go places and they have automatic doors everyone must enter, then he waits for the doors to close, then he comes in on his own. Same goes for non-automatic doors. And so help you if you are a stranger and don't know about this quirk and try to kindly open the door for him. He will MELT DOWN on the spot. It's made for some interesting outings :)

Here's a little "then and now" comparison for fun!

We can't wait to see what's in store for this boy in the next year to come! We love you!