36 Months

Dear Hyat,

You are three years old.  You have no idea how hard that is for me to believe.  I know, of course, time passes and you get older, but when you were born I had no idea what I was in for.  How every stage of your life would be so amazing... How I would desperately want to hang on to you as my baby boy, yet be excited for you to grow up and reveal more and more of yourself to us each day.  I had no idea how a mother's love could grow beyond the day you were born, yet each and every day you dig deeper into my heart. 

The last month has largely been about your birthday.  You have been so excited to be 3 on your next birthday.  You have been talking about it constantly.  But we had fun and enjoyed this new stage where you not only tell us you are big boy, but prove it by doing things yourself.  One of those things is wanting to wipe your butt.  I should be thankful for this step of growth, but right now I can only be amused as this usually means that I find you have stashed an amazing amount of toilet paper in the toilet and I am really not sure that you have actually accomplished the mission, but baby steps right?

Lately we have really enjoyed your goofy side.  You have so much fun making us laugh and have just the right amount of goofy to make it happen.  Sometimes it is telling us off-the-wall stories and sometimes it is the tricks you come up from spinning 360s of the couch to just thowing your body to the floor, or a combination of both.  All I can really say is, keep it coming.  We love laughing with you and hope to for a long, long time!

Even though you can be incredibly goofy and outrageous, you have this sweet side to you that is hard to put my finger on.  It is the way you lay your head on my shoulder as I put you back to bed at 2 in the morning, or when you wake up and come into my room and peer over the side the bed and state in a soft voice, "Mommy, I am so happy to see you!'  One morning you came in at about 5:45 and asked if you could get up.  I was warm and cozy and bed and rather than walk you back to bed like the usual drill I lifted you up in bed.  You instantly fell asleep (which never happens - usually you fidget and wiggle and drive us nuts) with your arm on my back. You rarely hold still and snuggle so they were precious moments. 

Your love for tractors and trucks has continued.  You have really enjoyed our recent trips to the library and fall for book about tractors, trucks, firetrucks and such.  It has been so much fun to explore new books with you and to empower you to choose new books to bring home.  Though sometimes we end up with duds - like really bad poems about various dogs... All in all it is a great experience.  The only trick is getting out of the library with less than 20 books and before your sister ramsacks the joint!

Speaking of your sister, you seem to love her just like I thought a big brother would.  Though you can go from stealing her toy or tackling her to comforting her tears in a matter of seconds, overall, you are sweet to her and add a lot of love to her life.  You are constantly my helper and often watch out for Embrie to keep her from diving down the stairs while I load up the car or helping her hang up her coat.  She is a lucky girl to have you.  

I am not sure I will ever totally understand your relationship with your dad, but I figure that is okay because the only two people that need to are you and your dad.  You love spending time with your dad -- I think part of it is his disregard for order and his ability to welcome chaos into play.  If I leave the two of you alone for more than about 20 seconds of free-play, I am amazed at the amount of destruction that can occur.  However, in the end I am constantly reminded that the mess doesn't matter - what really matters are the smiles and laughs that are being shared and the memories being made.  You, your dad and Embrie are good for me that way.  You also love learning things and your dad is amazing teacher... He is constantly challenging you with knowledge and you soak it up.  I am so thankful you have such a wonderful father to help guide you as you grow.  

We had a blast celebrating your 3rd birthday.  It was so much fun to watch while you knew you were in the limelight and to enjoy it.  Thank you so much for sharing your life and your love with us.  We are truly blessed to get to be your parents!

BIRTH day

And just a little reminder of how far we have come... Hyat, I love you dearly, and I am so thankful that I get to be your Mama.  It seems like we have come so far, yet I know we have so far to go.  So many more memories to make, milestones to reach and laughs to share.  I will never forget the sweet baby first delivered to my arms and I will look forward to the man you will grow to be.  I love you Hyat Christopher Reece!