THREE

On this day three years ago, I became a mother!
It was the most exciting moment of my life to have my husband leaning next to me and my mother standing close when they laid that sweet, healthy baby boy on my chest.

And now...

...we've got ourselves a fun-loving, sweet as can be little toe-head that sleeps in a big boy bed, is potty trained, attends pre-school and is the best big brother I could have hoped for for little Ryan!

I heard once that it is truly important that you find a way as a mother to enjoy your child; to work on enjoying them and if you wonder if you really do, ask yourself these kinds of questions along the way:

If I was a kid, would I want to play with him/her?

If I was a teenager, would I want to associate myself with them?

If I was in college with them, would I want to be their roommate?

You get the idea...

This idea has always stuck with me and though I am only at the beginning of that stage of questioning, I can answer YES! I find Logan to be SO MUCH fun and quite an entertaining little fella. The things that come out of his mouth crack me up and I just love watching him interact with others... kids and adults alike. He is tough yet tender, aggressive yet gentle, pushes the limits and yet likes to please. I find him to be a great combination of all things that can make up a 3 year old, so who wouldn't enjoy that!?!

He had school this morning, so we woke him up as a family singing "Happy Birthday." He was in pretty deep sleep, so this is the face we got.

Celebrating his first birthday as a school kid (2 days a week anyway) I thought it only appropriate to celebrate there as well. The teacher made a HUGE deal out of it by having him wear the birthday crown, reading to him the Birthday Bear book and allowing him to be the line leader. The kids made him a card and you could just tell how happy he was!

His class- 13 kids/2 teachers
The birthday boy- the only one not facing the camera!
(If you click on the picture, you can see it bigger)














The special boy!



















Logan and Mommy















Cupcake face




















Logan, here are some things about you that daddy and I just love:

-Oh that smile... and the laugh that usually accompanies it!
-How adaptable you are... you can spend time away from home, with or without us, and you just fall right into routine and enjoy the adventure.
-The way you love animals... talking about them, reading about them, watching movies about them, playing with all your animal figures- we find them everywhere**
-The way you ask "should I" instead of "can I"... some examples: "should I have a popsicle?" "should I have some of your cereal?" "should I go outside?"
-The way you always want to play with us... even if we don't always want to, we love that you like it when we do! Oh and how you always wait for daddy to get home so you can jump with him! "Daddy, get your play clothes on and we can jump!" said with that big smile!
-The way you LOVE your little brother... again, even if it drives us crazy that you won't leave him alone, we would prefer this kind of attraction and affection much more than the alternative! It's just precious to watch!
-Your brain! You remember things that we don't even remember and you always want to make sure and double check details if you are unsure... names of characters in movies, people we have met or go to church with, places that we have visited. AND, if we don't pay well enough attention, you are very capable of beating us at Memory. There's no letting you win, as you can do it on your own!
-That blonde hair you have. We don't know how long it will last, but people comment everywhere we go and when we let it grow a little (which mommy is more in favor of than daddy!) the curls you have are just precious!
-The way you ask us to lay with you at bedtime for "10 seconds" and then within 5 seconds you say "ok, that's 10 seconds!" and then are ready for us to leave. :-)

And sweet boy, we love you... everything about you... the hugs and kisses, the voice and vocabulary, the tantrums and the moments of pure joy! You changed our lives forever when you entered the world 3 years ago and we would never want to go back!



**As noted earlier, we find his animals everywhere! This one's pretty clever- the tiger hanging by his tail on the door handle in the bathroom!






















Side-note: It's times like these that I am truly thankful to be a stay at home mom! I look back over these last three years and I realize that I have gotten to be a part of every thing, every day! Sending him to school a couple days a week now has been a nice thing, but I still LOVE the days when he is home and we are doing our normal routine.
I love the slow mornings eating breakfast together and talking about what we are going to do that day and where we might go.
I love the rides in the car when he asks a million questions and wants things explained to the minute detail, even if the baby is crying.
I love the rides in the car when there isn't talking but instead we are singing our worship music together.
I love the lazy days when his nap time comes around and I realize we are both still in our pajamas.
I love that we have playgroups and church things that he gets to be with kids and I get to be with other moms, and then we get to leave there talking about God and Jesus and how blessed our family is.
I love having the time and energy to sit down and do fun things with him (play-doh, coloring, painting, computer games) knowing that someone else isn't getting that pleasure while I am at work.
I love that my kids get to see their grandparents whenever they want. Me being home allows for playdates with Grandma and Grandpa spread throughout the week and long trips to Granas and Papas at different times throughout the year. Truly a blessing!

AND, I love and appreciate that my husband has a job that allows me to be at home every day with these two kids of mine, soaking in all that they have to offer and filling them up with all the love and gentleness I have to give. It may not always be easy and we may not get to take trips, drive fancy cars and live in a custom home, but I am my kids mom and I wouldn't want it any other way! I understand that some moms just can't make this happen for their families for one reason or another, and that is why I want to take a moment and acknowledge how blessed I am and thank God for entrusting these boys to me, working it out for us so that I can do what I do! I should also thank my husband here for working so hard to provide for us and being such a hands on dad when he is home, which makes the job I have even better!