Oh Sweet Boy. You are THREE today. How is that even possible? Three years ago today, I was laboring and praying and and hoping for you to be born. And three years ago I was able to see you for the first time. In that moment, I became a mama. Your father became a daddy. And you taught us both what it truly means to love.
We are so blessed by you.
At three, you are a fireball. I have jokingly called you a threenager, because you have certainly inherited some of Mama's sass. It gets you in to trouble a lot, but let me tell you a secret: sometimes, Daddy and I have to turn away or leave the room because you're little attitude is precious and hilarious and we simply can't keep it together. We come back to you with stern faces but, oh buddy, do you make us laugh.
You're also such a helper. You love to help give Beesly her food or bring your dishes to the sink from the table. You like to help me set the table and sometimes you even spontaneously decide that it is time to pick up {love it}.
You're cautious about things, too. Unfamiliar situations make you shy and sometimes bring out a little defiance. We try and talk with you through new things, which seems to help. I think you're just a cautious guy by nature.
I think nap times might be a thing of the past. I'm a little sad about it, but you've transitioned to having quiet time in your room instead. It seems to be working pretty well; you only need reminders once in awhile to be more quiet while your brother is sleeping.
You love us all so well, Jonah. You are so affectionate; hugs and kisses and cuddles happen often. We have told you since you were teeny that you're our favorite Jonah and you're starting to spontaneously tell us that we're YOUR favorite. "You're my favorite Mama! You're my favorite Daddy!" It brings such joy to our hearts. You ask everyone how their day was over dinner {I mean, come on. Too cute}. You also relish your role as big brother and seem to truly enjoy making Gideon laugh. Whenever he gets fussy, you'll even start singing to him to try and cheer him up. That's not to say everything's always perfect. We still have to work on being gentle and sharing and not pushing or biting. But we know you love him. It's obvious every time your face lights up when you see him.
You're starting to ask "why" more and more. You're talking constantly and have so. many. opinions. It's sweet and exhausting and endearing all at once. Another one of my favorite things right now is that a few of your toddler words are still hanging around. It's not the remote, it's the fra-mote. Noah doesn't have an ark. It's Moses's mark. It's banamas and mapkins and it makes your daddy and I smile every time.
You amuse us with your toddler logic. We'll ask you why you did something and your response is always, "I have to do it because I have to do it!" {My favorite example of this is when I was giving you hugs and kisses and you told me to stop. When I asked why, you shrugged your shoulders and said, "You have to not kiss me because you have to not kiss me!"} As you can probably tell, you're a little bossy sometimes. It's something we have to caution you about pretty often. I think part of it is just being a three year old. You're figuring out the world around you and it usually comes through making declarative statements and waiting to see what Daddy and I say to them. "Daddy is at work." "Our friends are coming over for dinner." Sometimes you take our answers and sometimes you insist that you're right and we are not.
Your interests are becoming more defined {even as they are ever-shifting}. You love to read. We started making regular library trips this summer and you adore it. You walk through the kids section and pull every book off the shelf that looks interesting to you {they love us there, obviously}. When we bring them home, all you want to do for days is read them over and over. It's so sweet and I hope that you always love reading so much. You also love Legos and building with blocks. Your imagination is starting to take off and we can often hear you playing and talking with your toys.
Music is still a love as well. Currently you love Mr. Phil music {Phil Wickham} and fun music {Owl City} and loud music {MUTEMATH}. You ask for these frequently and even know the words to almost all of Mr. Phil music {his album Ascention, specifically}. Whenever we play it, you raise your arms and start singing which is just. too. much. When you aren't singing other people's songs, you like to play on the piano and make up songs of your own. Sometimes about crocodiles or blocks or Beesly. It's pretty darling.
One of your favorite games lately is one you and I made up. I pretended to be mad at you once evening and said, "Jonah, don't you test me! I'll tickle you!" and you ran away and squealed in delight when I caught you and the tickling began. Now, you'll come up to me with a smile on your little face and, as you're backing away, you'll say, "I'm gonna test you!" It always makes us both laugh so much.
Jonah Matthew, we adore you. Three is definitely a different season, but we're excited to weather it with you. We love your sweet {and sometimes fiery} spirit and feel so lucky that we get to have you in our lives. These simple words I take time to write every so often could never ever capture how deep and completely your daddy and I love you. Our prayer for you is that you love God totally your whole life and that you know how overwhelming His love is for you.
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