Abe @ age 3

I need to catch up on Abe and his 3rd birthday celebration. But for now I am going to document who this sweet boy is at the age of 3, so that hopefully years from now I can remember it even better as I reflect back. I just put him to bed tonight so bedtime routine is fresh on my mind. Sometimes Jeremy puts him to bed and sometimes I do. When Jeremy puts him to bed, he is flown as an airplane and he crash lands into his crib. (Yep, still in his crib and I have no intentions to move him out in the near future.) He normally asks for me to put him to bed. We have had a pretty sweet nighttime routine for a couple of years now. I sing you are my sunshine to him (twice. Because after I sing it once, he ALWAYS says "two sunshines") and he always sings it with me. And even though this little charade has gone on umpteen times or so it still melts me to hear his sweet little voice sing along. So he gets this brief cuddle time before nap and before bedtime. I love it. He naps in the afternoon for about 2 to 2.5 hours. Then he gets between 11-12 hours at night. They say that children do most of their growing during their sleep time. And he is growing for sure! People have been assuming he was 3 since this past summer. He is currently about 36 1/2lbs(86%) and 39inchces tall (78%).

He has a very sweet disposition about him. He loves to cuddle, be held or sit in a lap. He is very affectionate and easily speaks his heart. It's not uncommon for my eyes to meet his and for him to very seriously and sweetly say "I love you, mommy." Goodness, he makes me feel special and loved. I didn't even know a three year old could do that. He listens well to correction. And is normally quick to correct an off behavior. He has a silly side and loves to make his family and others laugh.

He adores both of his big brothers and typically wants to do what they are doing. He especially loves to jump on the trampoline with them, play with trains with them and do puzzles and Legos with them. The key words here are "with them". He typically wants to play with them and does not play by himself as easily. I will admit that Abe struggles with sharing toys with his brothers. He can be a bit possessive of things. Like the rest of our crew, he loves loves loves books. He loves to be read to. But I also often catch him sitting on the floor flipping through pages of books. He loves it when I get out the paints so he can paint. He would paint every day if I had the energy and time. He also really enjoys playing outside. And eh...he also loves TV, our tablet and cell phones if he can sneak one. Not my favorite of his favorites, but these are definitely part of his life on a regular basis.

Abe has a huge fascination with fire fighters and firetrucks. This has been going on for some time. In fact, today he told me all on his own that he was going to be a fire fighter when he grows up. So I'm very hopeful that he and Pax will work together at the same fire station. :) He also loves construction vehicles, ambulances, police cars, monster trucks and trains. The puppy fascination that he had at this time last year has moved on and now it's fire trucks.

After being around some babies recently, Abe often tells us that he wants a baby. I just encourage him to ask God to bring us one. :) And then there are other times when he tells me that he is still my baby. Sometimes he wants to be a big boy and do it all himself. And sometimes he is perfectly content to take advantage of his rightful place in the family as the baby. It just depends on the moment and his mood.

Abe is a great eater. He didn't love the spaghetti I made last night. But on most days he'll out eat all of us if I put some cooked cauliflower and broccoli in front of him. He loves most veggies. all fruit, yogurt, cheese, chicken, bacon, sausage, rice, beans, oatmeal, granola, crunchy tacos...so I wouldn't ever call him a picky eater. And I've had a picky eater at my table for many a years now, so I'm grateful Abe is still easy when it comes to food.

Abe is such a special part of our family. I regularly tell him that I'm so glad that God gave him to us. He's our baby. The big boys still call him our baby. And they love him like crazy. God gave us another sweet and perfect gift when Abe came along. It's a joy to love and raise this boy.