Dear Ryan,
Okay, so I missed writing to you on your 3rd birthday, but better two months late than never, right? I have an excellent excuse - you and your brother keep me and Dada BUSY BUSY BUSY. If we're not playing in the basement "romper room" (well, you guys play and we try to tame the chaos) or reading books or going for walks around the neighborhoods (when the weather is nice) then we're out and about having adventures with our friends.
I can't believe what a wonderful little boy you are turning into. Yes, there are moments that test my patience (which, admittedly, I've never had a whole lot of in the first place), but you are generally a curious, generous, loving, charming, helpful and well-mannered little man.
You absolutely dote on your little brother (except when you don't). You are developing sharing skills, making sure Jack has plenty of toys to play with (preferably ones you aren't playing with) and being quick to say you're sorry and giving him a gentle kiss when you don't play so nicely.
You also fill the role of substitute parent on occasion, chiding Jack for putting a fuzzy pom pom ball into his mouth or climbing out of his high chair onto the kitchen island (yep, my bet is our first ER visit will be with Jack). But you also make sure his stuffed lovey Duckaroo is always at hand, and you even picked out a toy for him unbidden one day when you and I were out shopping together.
Your vocabulary is huge - I try to write down some of the more elaborate stories you spin, but it's hard to keep up with all of them. Last week when I told you that Daddy's plane had landed and he was on his way home from the airport after a business trip to Portland, you said "No, Dada will get back on the plane and the plane will bring him to our house. The plane has a hook on the back that will carry Dad's car home too!" I think we have too many references to Mater, the tow truck from Cars, around the house...
You're doing incredibly well at daycare - Becky says you are gentle and kind to the other children (who are your age or younger, with your brother being the youngest of all), and you take a 2 hour nap every day at her house (the same cannot be said for the days you're home!). You bring home lovely crayon "drawings" and tell tall tales of your daily adventures.
On days that I don't work or on the weekends, you're most content to play at home - between the stacks of books we pick up at the library (Berenstain Bears and Dr. Seuss are particular favorites), the big basket of toys inhabiting the living room, or the elaborate kitchen and cookware set in the basement, you and Jack have plenty to keep yourselves occupied.
The bar in the family room has become the "fix-it garage" where the bigger toy cars and trucks and your tool box live. When all else fails, you like to pull cushions off the couches, which become airplanes, beds, dinosaurs, forts, etc.
You're always interested in helping me and Dada around the house (except when it comes to picking up your toys, of course). Here's you today helping fix the bathtub faucet:
At your 3 year check up in December you weighed in 31 1/2 lbs. (25-50th
percentile) and 36 1/4 in. tall (25th percentile). Your appetite and
adventuresome palate remain - your favorite foods right now include
lemon essence prunes, apple slices with spoonfuls of peanut butter
(eaten right off the spoon, of course), and yogurt smoothies made with
strawberries, bananas, and... spinach.
Love you forever,
Mama
