three years old

dear nashy boy-

today you are three. not nine. part of me doesn't want you to ever be nine. part of me wants you to stay my little three-year-old dude forever. but another part of me can't wait to see you turn into a grown up boy. you have all the makings to be such a wonderful person.

yesterday we went to the shoe store with emmy. haven, little miss independent, went crazy. she was throwing shoes, running and screaming, spilling her mash-up. so i decided we better go. you weren't too happy about that. you threw yourself on the floor and screamed. so i took haven and said i would see you later. but you got up and followed me all the way to the car where we waited for emmy to finish shopping. and then you said, "mamma, are you happy?" and i said "no". and you said "mamma, are you mad?" and i said "yes". and then you said, "well, i will make you happy. i will eat lunch and carrots and make you happy." and then i may or may not have cried. you are so aware and so willing to do what it takes to make others happy, even eat your carrots.

there's a lot more to you. many things that make us all love you as much as we do. but most important is that you care about other people and want them to be happy. you're already doing pretty darn well for a three-year-old, so we'll leave it at that.

happy third birthday, little dude. we love you more than the world.

mamma