I may be in the minority, but three has been my favorite age. There are many reasons my three year old is my favorite:
* He still loves to snuggle. When he is worried, tired, or upset, he squishes himself onto my lap and lets me rock him. I know the time will come when he will not fit in my lap. I savor these moments.
* He can communicate. He can tell me if he feels good or yucky, happy or sad.He can tell me if he wants a cereal bar or fruit snacks. He can tell he if his neck or ears hurt. He asks for a snack before his hunger makes him grumpy.
* We can go anywhere easily. I very rarely need to bring the big diaper bag. I keep some fruit snacks and a fruit pouch in my purse and call it good. I donated our stroller to Sandy relief last fall. We walk to the playground, walk through the aquarium and the zoo, and through the mall. Liam is easy to travel with these days.
* He believes everyone in the world is good. I fear the day when he learns the truth, that not all people are always nice. Right now, he is nice to everyone and everyone is nice to him. Since he expresses interest in churches, I took him the Barnes and Nobel to buy him his first Bible. He took the story of David and Goliath out of context.
"Who's that?"
"That's David."
"He's throwing rocks. We don't throw rocks. He should go to 'No Thank You.'"
I didn't know how to tell him that David was the hero of the story. That David was justified in hitting Goliath with the rock because Goliath was mean. I didn't know how to tell him that sometimes it's okay to throw rocks at people. I let him continue:
"David left his rocks on the ground. We should pick them up so nobody trips over them. We can put them int he pond."
The story of Jesus and the beggar confused him. "He has a boo boo. Did he fall down?" I didn't know how to begin explaining to him that his fellow man did this to him. "Jesus is going to help him," I avoided the question. The world can be a scary place. My three year old doesn't need to learn that just yet.
* He makes friends everywhere. The coffee shop, Target, the supermarket, the playground, and the library are all places for him to make friends. If he has a Thomas, a funny hat, or a ball, he has a starting point to create a friendship. Once he's established a bond, he will tell his new friend everything.
"My grammie's name is Bee. Just Bee."
"My daddy makes boats and my mommy's a teacher."
"I have a hat on. It has a yellow ball on top."
Someday, he will learn that making friends isn't always this easy. I treasure this moment while I can.
* He loves to help. He has to help clean, make the bed, shovel snow, pick up. His teacher told me he is one of the best students when it comes to helping clean up. He knows to only make one mess at a time and will clean up his blocks before taking out his cars. It makes me happy.
* Mommy and Daddy are magic.
"That lighthouse isn't working. My daddy will fix it. He will bring his tools."
Mommy's kisses fix everything. There have been a few instances that liam requests ice instead of kisses. I know those will be requested more as time goes on but I love that kisses fix boo boos for now.
* He is silly and has a great sense of humor. My kid is hilarious! We make up games. Our current favorite could be called "Are you a chicken?" It started after reading the Sandra Boynton book by the same name. I will ask Liam, "Are you a chicken?"
"No."
"Are you a penguin?"
"No."
This goes on a few rounds until he chooses an animal he would like to be. When I ask, he will randomly start making that sound.
"Are you a bee?"
"Buzzzzzzzzzzz," he giggles. We make a few more animal sound then he takes over. "Hey, Mommy, are you a dinosaur?"
"Raaawwwwrrrrrr."
"Are you a cow?"
"Mooooooo."
This is hilarious. I promise.
* He finds humor in everything. Last night, we played trains. He let me be Thomas. Anyone with a toddler knows this is the equivalent of a marriage proposal to the three year old. As we pushed Thomas around the track, Liam would block his way with pieces of his play kitchen and blocks.
* His logic is easy. We've been giving him a few more responsibilities now that he is getting older. He helps set and clear the table. He helps sweep. While teaching him to get himself dressed, he announced "I don't want to be three!"
"You have to be three; you ate your birthday cake."
"Oh, okay." He continued putting on his own shirt.
* He is innocent. Someone was shocked when Mike said Liam had a Thomas cake. "He's still into Thomas?" While Liam knows who Spiderman is, he's never watched Spiderman. He knows who Superman is to point him out, but has never seen any of these action heroes in action. He knows that Spiderman swings from building to building and saves people, but he doesn't know what he saves them from. For now, I want Liam to think the worst thing that happen is Thomas being "up there" or Victor falling into the sea (and promptly being saved).
* He has intuition. While making Valentines, we made one for our neighbor, who lost his wife last summer. As we walked over to deliver the Valentine, Liam told me we were bringing it because he didn't feel well. I tried to tell him Valentines were for people we love, he insisted this was because he didn't feel well. "Why doesn't he feel well?" I finally asked. "He is sad. He is sad because he misses Miss ____." He is really good at reading people is adapting accordingly. He is silly when people need a smile and sympathetic when the moment calls. His father is fantastic at reading people. I'm glad Liam is as well.
I'm hoping I enjoy each stage as much as I enjoy the "Terrible Threes."
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