THREE.

Well, I blinked and he turned three.  This precious boy is more than I ever could have imagined him to be.  I never knew I needed a son until Reid Preston came along.  This is all about our little blonde haired, greenish (that used to be blue) eyed boy…

Sidenote: The fabric in his outfit looks really weird in these pictures!  It's black and white check. :) Mumsie made it of course!

In a lot of ways, Reid is a typical first born.  He is independent, a little bossy (but not necessarily confrontational), and cautious.  He needs to stand and access a new situation for a few minutes before deciding if he is going to participate.  He is also loving, patient, musical, smart, and creative.  

He likes to help me with a lot of things, but he especially loves to help me cook!

I love seeing his imagination come alive!  I always wonder where some of his little ideas come from, like the other night when he wanted us to put koozies on our hands and act like roller skaters!?

I love how excited he gets to tell me things when he gets home from an outing with Daddy or time with his grandparents.

He answers questions in complete sentences.  For example, if I say, "Reid, did you wash your hands?" he will say, "Yes I did wash my hands" instead of just "yes".  I think it's so cute.

He is definitely getting more inquisitive.  Surprisingly, we haven't entered the "why?" phase yet, but I'm sure it's coming.  He usually asks things like, "How does this work, Mommy?"  He also wakes up almost every morning and asks, "What are we doing today, Mommy?" or "Where are we going today, Mommy?"  He always adds Mommy to the end of his questions and sentences and I just love it.

  

He loves watching videos of himself.  He thinks he's pretty funny and so do we!

He is an amazing big brother.  He really is.  He is very patient (most of the time), comforts Georgia when she's sad, and loves to make her laugh.  

He has such an animated voice and an expressive face!

I'm proud of how well he shares with his friends and hope he's always generous with others.  

He LOVES music.  Nothing makes him happier than when we have family band time.  He gives each of us an instrument (even Georgia Kate), lines us up, and we all march around the house playing our instruments and singing.  We usually sing the Aggie War Hymn or Spirit of Aggieland, but sometimes he will let us sing other songs. ;) The joy on his face when we do this is priceless.  He is starting to actually sing more and I cannot get enough of his precious singing voice.  The sound of kids singing has always made me so emotional (even when I was teaching)!  There is just nothing sweeter!

He loves cars, trains, and trucks, especially firetrucks.  

  

This is a work in progress, but he is pretty good about using his manners and saying "please", "thank you", "excuse me", and "no, thank you".  Like most 3 year olds, he thinks that if he asks nicely he will always get what he wants. :) It makes me laugh when he says, "no, thank you!" when I ask him to pick up toys or if he needs to go potty.

His dimple.  It's been there since he was a tiny baby and it is still one of my favorite things about him.  He just has the sweetest little grin.  

He is just such a happy and joyful kid.  I love how excited he gets about the littlest things.  He is content and grateful and I pray that he is always this way.

We did our own little photo shoot earlier this week and this is my FAVORITE picture.  I feel like it captures him perfectly!

Big brother and baby sister...

The place where we went to take pictures is right by the fire station, so I thought I would surprise Reid and take him to see the firetrucks and take his picture on one.  He would not smile and was so serious! That is so him though.  He just takes everything in.  

He was excited about the fireman hat that they gave him! 

I am overwhelmingly grateful every single day that this boy is ours.

Happy 3rd birthday, Reid!! We love you to the moon and back!

3 year stats...

Weight: 39.8 pounds (97%)

Height: 39 3/4 inches (93%)

I did a simple little birthday survey with Reid this year!  He answered every question without hesitation…

What is your favorite color?  purple
What is your favorite toy?  firetruck
What is your favorite thing to eat?  cookies
What is your favorite restaurant?  Alicia's
What is your favorite thing to do with Mommy?  grill (his pretend grill)
What is your favorite thing to do with Daddy?  the baby pool
What is your favorite thing to do with Georgia?  the piano
What is your favorite book?  Wake Up
What is your favorite show?  Barney
What is your favorite place?  zoo
What is your favorite animal?  elephants
What is your favorite thing to do at Grandma and Grandpa's house?  throw the ball on the stairs
What is your favorite thing to do at Mumsie and Poppies' house?  find Easter eggs
What is something that you don't like?  the dancing bunny