A Letter To My Three Year Old
My sweet, sweet boy. Another year has passed and I’m pretty sure this one flew by even faster than the last. I look back to last year and a lot of you are still the same, but then there’s so much that have changed as well. Mommy always says – same same, but different.
You are still the same sweet, kind and loving little boy. When someone cries, you immediately get upset as well and make it your mission to reassure them, and I can immediately see how uncomfortable you get when you’re unable to make them laugh and wipe their tears, you might even attempt to wipe their tears for them in the most gentle little way. You say things like “don’t worry its okay”, “be careful, don’t get hurt”, and notice when people are sad on tv and videos without them crying or actually saying it. And mommy’s heart just swells, because all I’ve ever wanted to do was raise a kind and loving little boy.
You are still stubborn, and you know exactly what you want and how you want it, just like the Velcro on your shoes needs to lie perfectly on top of each other (no matter how tight it needs to be pulled), your long pants or shirts need to be rolled up (even in the freezing cold) or the laces on your shoes need to be tucked in so that they look “pretty”. This has lead to more than just a couple of breakdowns, since mommy doesn’t always understand exactly what you want and sometimes it’s just not possible, but I do believe in allowing you to develop your own personality and style, so I let you be most of the time. Also, I have learned to choose my battles wisely. You are not afraid to fight for what you want and speak your mind freely.
You are still wild, free and fearless. You love to climb trees, slide down poles and jump of high things, because “I’m batman, I can” or “spiderman won’t get hurt, its okay”.
You still love your cars and dinosaurs and boobie is still your favorite kind of meal BUT
You are not little anymore. I have watched my baby become less of a baby and more like a toddler, and then spent the last year watching my toddler, become less of a toddler and more like a beautiful little boy. You wake up in the mornings and greet me with a “good morning mommy” before you tease me with the wettest kiss you can give. You get out of bed yourself and go to the toilet like “a big boy” and then demand a marshmallow before breakfast. You are mischievous and think of little naughty shenanigans all day and if we give you just enough time, you might just even implement your little plans – just like the time you wanted to “paint” mommy with food coloring, decorated ouma’s threadmill with food coloring, poured ouma’s makeup into different little bowls, hid the keys and then said “ha ha ha got you”, filled mommy’s shoes with water and hide inside the cupboards to send us into a frenzy if we can’t find you. Just the other day you hid oupa’s bakkie’s keys and watched us look for it for hours. We asked you a trillion times if you might have had it and checked all of your usual hiding spots. You looked genuinely surprised when I told you that oupa’s bakkie keys are gone and we cant find it and when we finally reached breaking point, you jumped up and said “okay Ill go fetch it, fetched it, handed it over to us and carried on like nothing really happened, leaving us in pure shock.
Your imagination is so magical and develops more and more each day. You love putting ouma in “jail” as you play police police or drive wildly in your fire truck to try and extinguish your next fire. You also use the junglegym pole to slide down because “Im a firefighter ouma” and I’m pretty sure ouma’s secretly drinking some calming meds at the moment. You can now name your dinosaurs and can tell us what they eat, making sure that we know that we are meat too and therefore your t-rex can and will eat us too. My boy you take mommy on so many exciting little adventures and there’s never a dull moment with you.
Mommy is your best friend, although Tay and Skylar come in at a close second. Mommy doesn’t mind even though it can be tiring at times. You are like a little energy bubble that just bursts and so much energy and light flows out.
Being 2 has also been a rather exciting and big year for you with so many transitions, transformations and firsts. You started a new preschool and stole your teachers’ heart, you even got the joyful award at prizegiving because you are always cheerful and happy. You made new friends and went on many fun adventures, including your first wilddrive. You started with dance classes, music classes, judo classes and rugby and I loved being your greatest supporter! You also had your first athletics event for school, but you are yet to finish the race – I loved watching you though. You had your first ouma and oupa day at school and are now fluent in both Afrikaans and English. You attended your first launch party and did your first “professional shoot” for a clothing brand we both love. Your greatest achievement this year was that you left your nappies behind. Yes, you are completely pottytrained now and nappies are a thing of the past. You use the toilet like a “big boy” and surprised everyone with how easily you did it.
This year you also started showing us what you are interested in and I love watching your personality grow. You love music and has shown quite the interest in musical instruments, something that mommy would love to pursue this year. Your favorite food is pasta, fish and chicken and you definitely don’t like carrots. You are not a sweet tooth but can finish a whole bag of crisp chips by yourself and love marshmallows. You love being outdoors, climbing and riding your bike, but you are not the biggest fan of sports. You love to get dirty, but don’t like being told what to do. You also love to help mommy with chores and can hang your own washing, and make your side of the bed. You still love your boobie, but usually fall asleep without it, you are not dependent on it anymore. You love dinosaurs, cars, trucks and trains, superheroes and tools. You love to help oupa braai and build things. You are a real little boy. You like to dance and are fluent in silly and cheeky. You are a real little actor and love pulling funny faces and acting out things that you see on your videos. You’re a little trickster, and definitely a master debater. You always have something to say and need to get the last say. You love your cousins and friends, but you prefer older kids above kids your own age. You also love to help mommy in the kitchen and can drive your Ybike flicker like a pro.
My boy you are funny, cheeky, miscievious, sweet, wild and kind with a dash of stubborn, and a whole bunch of naughty. You drive me up the walls sometimes, but you are everything I have ever wanted and everything I have ever imagined. You are perfect for me and I love you more and more every day. This past year has been far from terrible, it was terrific and our best year yet. I am excited to see what the next year holds for us! Cheers to another 365 days of new journeys, new firsts, new lasts and new adventures. Thank you for giving me the chance to be your mommy! You are by far my greatest gift and blessing.
Mommy loves you MOST, forever and always my sweet boy! Now and forever more. Happy 3rd birthday!
