Calder at Age 3

Here's Calder -- all ready for school on his 3rd birthday. I'm really amazed at how much he has grown over the last year, and even in the last 6 months. Aside from physically growing out of the 'baby' look, he's gone from toddler to little boy in a million other ways. At age 3, Calder is smart, happy, curious, loving, sweet, creative, imaginitive, silly, inquisitive, stubborn, and so much more.

He is definitely into all things "boy". Fire trucks, race cars, rocketships, construction vehicles, etc. He spends countless hours racing around the house putting out 'fires', but he also still loves his puzzles and books as well as learning how to spell! And he does have a softer side. Here he is "feeding" his baby! I was so surprised when he started doing this. I'd always heard stories of other kids imitating nursing moms, but I've nursed Tessa for 8 months and he just started doing it! Now he likes to sit in his little chair and say "I'm feeding my baby, and Mommy is feeding her baby!" He feeds his baby "milk from his tummy" and will even sprinkle milk from his sippy cup onto his belly before feeding the baby. :)The kid likes to plan ahead. Instead of constantly asking "why?" like so many other kids his age, his favorite question is "And then?" He has to know what we are doing from the moment he gets up until it's time for bed. If I tell him one thing that we will be doing, he will keep asking "And then?" over and over and over until he's satisfied with the level of detail I've provided for the day. His second favorite question is "What's his/her name?" He asks this about nearly everyone we encounter: store clerks, librarians, nurses, etc. And if there is even the smallest picture of a character in a book -- it absolutely must have a name. We end up making up a lot of names. (This is particularly funny/cute, because as a little girl, I was also obsessed with names!)

I was surprised to find out that fears really started setting in right as he turned 3. He is suddenly terrified of things that he used to love/like or things that he never seemed to notice before. Tops on the list are HAIRCUTS (total nightmare!), monsters, bugs, taking a shower, and the ocean. Oh, the ocean. He absolutely loved it age 1 and age 2. Here's how he felt about it this year:
Calder is an amazing big brother. We honestly could not have asked for him to treat Tessa any better than he does. He watches out for her, soothes her when she cries, and even shares (some of) his toys with her. He loves when Tessa joins us in his bed to read books, and he always asks if she can sleep with him. They can make each other laugh hysterically just by looking at each other. I'll never get tired of watching them together. We are truly blessed to have this very special boy in our lives. Though I sometimes feel nostalgic for the days when I held him as a baby in my arms, I can't wait to watch him continue to learn and grow into his own little person. Calder Lucas, I am so lucky to be your mommy!