Year Three - Year End Review

The dimples and shenanigans just keep on coming, my sweet kid. How FUN this year has been.

10 Things You're Good At:

1. Making people laugh
2. Being charming (you're definitely your Daddy's boy)
3. Being BFFs with the toilet
4. Aggravating your sister (you treat it like it's your job)
5. Putting your dirty dishes in the dishwasher
6. Sweating (you're definitely your parents' boy)
7. Knowing colors, numbers, shapes, and (uppercase) letters
8. Being cautious (there's not a daredevil bone in your body)
9. Putting your clean clothes in your dresser
10. Throwing a ball

10 Things You're NOT Good At:

1. Eating veggies (except for orange bell peppers, cucumbers [sometimes], and carrots [sometimes])
2. Remaining calm when things don't go your way (you're three, I get it)
3. Pedaling your tricycle (could be that you need to be taller; I think it's that you need to be less lazy)
4. Brushing your teeth (sucking the toothpaste off your toothbrush does not count as brushing your teeth)
5. Getting dressed by yourself (I think you need to be less lazy in this department, too)
6. Making me dinner (punk)
7. Eating yogurt without wearing at least 20% of it
8. Sweeping (you ARE, however, exceptionally good at spreading MY pile of dirt around the floor)
9. Being quiet in the middle of the night. You grunt, howl, whine, fuss, and whimper. Daddy and I are 95% sure you do it all in your sleep.
10. Sorting laundry (your method of sorting laundry and my method of sorting laundry are vastly different. One way results in sorted laundry. The other way results in underpants on your head.)

10 Things You Love:

1. Any and all carbs and cheese (bonus points if they're put together in a grilled cheese sandwich)
2. French fries
3. Natalie
4. The Weggo [Lego] Movie
5. Superheroes
6. Singing (you like to duet with Natalie)
7. Jumping on Mommy and Daddy's bed
8. People (again, you're definitely your Daddy's boy)
9. Jeans 
10. Construction equipment (the bigger, the better)

10 Things You Don't Love:

1. Baths (seriously, knock it off. It's not funny anymore)
2. Green veggies
3. Bugs (poor kid, you're a gnat magnet. I guess they're drawn to sweaty boys with perpetually skinned knees)
4. Being on a trampoline or a bouncy house with other kids on/in it (you don't like someone else controlling when you jump)
5. Loud noises (we had to leave a basketball game after 10 minutes because you couldn't stand the buzzer and the referee's whistles)
6. Animals (you're freaked out by pretty much every animal; you usually warm up to them after a few hours)
7. The dark 
8. Bad guys in movies (just like Natalie)
9. Getting dirty/messy (we're working on that, though)
10. Taking turns (What's that you say? A three-year-old who doesn't like to share? That's crazy business!)

Oh buddy, your second year was a blast. The Terrible Twos were nowhere to be found. (It does make me a little fearful of Year Three, but I try not to think about it too much). Your tantrums were all very textbook - you got mad, you pitched a fit, you calmed down a few minutes later, and you were over it. When you and Natalie argue, she internalizes it for a long time and you're over it three seconds later. It could be because you're only three and don't know how to internalize things, but I have a feeling this is simply your personality. You're a peace-maker, a forgiver, a friend.

Natalie and I have had a lot of conversations about you recently. Mostly like this:

N: Mommy, how come Charlie is having fun and I'm sitting over here pouting?
Me: (as gently as I can) Well, love, Charlie has made the choice to be cheerful - just like you're choosing to pout.
N: Charlie's pretty good at being cheerful, huh, Mommy?
Me: Yeah, he is, sweetie.
N: He helps me to be more cheerful. And to have more fun.
Me: Me too, kid.

Natalie is very much like me; you're very much like Daddy. I understand Natalie's habit of internalizing everything and being very moody. So when I see someone (like you and Daddy) who's carefree and good-natured, I'm incredibly envious (and secretly hope that your carefree-ness and good-natured-ness are contagious). I'm itching to see how God is going to use you. You walk around the house singing praise music (Mercy Me is your favorite) and you've recently talked about how "God changed my heart" (after a recent squabble with Natalie) and "God changed my cough" (after a recent bout of an allergy flare-up). One of my many prayers is that you're sensitive to what He says and willingly follow where He leads. I pray you would experience the joy of being right where He wants you to be. I pray your contentment would not be determined by how much stuff you have, how many places you've been to, or how many things you've experienced. I pray your contentment would rest in Him. In knowing who you are by knowing Whose you are.

You're the poster child for Enjoy All The Things, and I'm the poster child for Enjoy All The Charlie Bear.

Hugs and smooches,
Mommy & Daddy

Month 36 - Recap

Holy superhero underwear, Batman! Save for a few accidents (because playing with Legos > going to the bathroom), you're a Toilet Master. You usually stay dry at naptime and you even stayed dry all night one night when your absent-minded Momma forgot to put on your Pullup. Seeing your little superhero-ed bottom brings such a thrill to me (and also brings your pants to the floor because they're now too loose on you).

But not for long. Because MAN, have you hit a growth spurt or something! You spent almost the first three years of your life eating like a bird (unless you've got bread and/or cheese in front of you - then you eat like a crazy person). And now, you're always hungry. Like, always. And I know that's common for boys. "They'll eat you out of house and home," they say. And "they" are correct. You've finally expanded your culinary preferences to include orange bell peppers, green beans (but only to get dessert), and sweet potatoes (again, only to get dessert). You're still not a fan of meat, but you've doubled your meat consumption by adding salami to the list. Salami and bacon are the only two meat (?) products you consume. I can't blame you, though. Pigs are tasty, tasty animals.

We were (are) all sick the week before your birthday. Well, everyone except you. Daddy, Natalie, and I all had some varying form of a cough/cold/flu. But you? You couldn't have been healthier. You loved the 24/7 TV that went on. You loved the dinner out of a bag because I didn't feel up to cooking. You loved having Daddy home from work (even though he was sick). It was all a big party in your eyes. And despite you having a 'cough' (you can't let Natalie have something that you don't have!), I'm enormously thankful that you've stayed healthy through this. And if you must get sick, please kindly wait until I feel human again. I imagine that'll happen in a few years.

Hugs and smooches,
Mommy & Daddy

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Headlines for November 9, 2014:

• Annotate The News: 25 Years Since The Berlin Wall Fell
• Last 2 US Captives in North Korea Return Home
• Teen Saves Cop Trapped in Burning Cruiser
• 2-Year-Old Found After Spending 22 Hours in Woods
• Coroner: Robin Williams Was Sober At Time of Death

October 2014 - Recap

My dear Peach,
Your latest project this month is to create obstacles. Your favorites are the ones that involve twirling and hopping over something. Let me explain:

• Step 1: Hop over my legs while they're propped up on a chair
• Step 2: Twirl 
• Step 3: Climb onto your rocking chair by stepping over the back of it (ER Visit Potential: Through the Roof)
• Step 4: Hop off rocking chair onto a floor pillow 
• Step 5: Twirl
• Step 6: Jump over a pile of wooden blocks (Damaged Feet Potential: Through the Roof)
• Step 7: Ride Charlie's scooter the three feet it takes to get you back to my legs

Repeat until the cows come home.

Another favorite:

• Step 1: Ballet leap across the living room
• Step 2: Fling yourself on the recliner
• Step 3: Frog hop to the TV
• Step 4: Somersault on the floor pillow
• Step 5: Ride Charlie's Batmobile back to the starting point.

Repeat until another set of cows come home.

You came up to me the other day and were all, "Hey Mommy! I have a loose tooth!" And I'm all, "Hey Natalie! You're silly! You're not old enough to have a loose tooth!" And I'm right. You're not old enough to have a loose tooth. You're old enough to have loose TEETH. Your top two teeth are definitely loose (incidentally, 'loose' is probably not a word you'll be able to say when you lose those teeth). In my mind, I keep thinking of how adorable it'll be if you actually get to live out "All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth" this year. But given that you and your brother were The Slowest Tooth Growers in the History of Anyone and Everyone, I wouldn't be surprised if those two teeth are still wiggly when you get your driver's license.

You lack the ability to know when it's safe to joke around and when it crosses over into Too Big For Your Britches territory. Don't sweat it, though. I sometimes suffer from the same affliction. I am chronically sarcastic, and I sometimes (or often) forget that you're only five and don't quite have the social development or life experience to know how to be appropriately sarcastic. And again, I sometimes suffer from the same affliction. I figure this is all a natural part of you growing up. You're testing boundaries to see what is and what is not appropriate to say. And I have to keep myself in check a lot. Even though I might find something you say to be hysterical and clever, if it's sassy and sarcastic, I have to nip it in the bud. Because if I don't, we venture into Friend Territory. And that's not a relationship we're even CLOSE to entering into. We have plenty of time to be friends when you're much older, and I pray often that we, in fact, WILL be friends one day. But for now? I have no need for a five-year-old friend and you have no need for a thirty-four-year-old friend. You need a momma - a momma who simultaneously thinks you're hilarious but has to teach you how to respect those in authority - and I'm honored to fill that role.

Hugs and smooches,
Mommy & Daddy

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Headlines for November 1, 2014:

• Three Trick-or-Treaters in Santa Ana, California, Killed by Driver
• SpaceShipTwo Shattered: What We Know About Rocket Plane's Fatal Flight
• #BringBackOurGirls Victims Were Married Off: Boko Haram
• Think Pink: A Barbie-Themed Hotel Room
• Marine Sgt. Andrew Tahmooressi freed from Mexican jail, immediately returns to US after strong diplomatic support
• Woman Goes Skydiving to Celebrate 84th Birthday