Dear H, 3 years old

Dear H,

It may be a fourth kid phenomenon, but these past three years have been a blur. You were a chubby, smiling baby in my arms and - blink - you are now a blonde-haired, long-limbed little boy.

Sometimes I think back to when we were trying to decide about having a fourth baby and I want to go back in time to shake myself, "OF COURSE you want another baby! He is going to be kind and adventurous, tender and brave, friendly and funny. He will bring more joy and completion to your family than you can even imagine. Should you have another baby? The answer is YES. ABSOLUTELY. NO QUESTIONS. DON'T YOUR DARE HESITATE."

I don't even want to imagine our family without you. You are quick-witted and hilarious, charming and serious, a book-lover, a thinker, a gentleman, a traveler - all things that came to mind when we initially picked your name.

Your favorite things to do include playing with your cars & trucks, riding your balance bike, reading stacks of books, and going places.

Indeed, you are the kind of two-year-old who is a pleasure to take to Costco. I mean that. We never once had a shopping cart melt-down. You sit cheerfully in your seat (with impeccable posture, I might add) and wave at passing shoppers with a winning and sheepish smile. Sure, you enjoy samples as much as the next person - but you have excellent manners, using your "pleases" and "thank yous" without prompting.

On that same note, I have full confidence in leaving you unattended with a pile of markers. I can only think of one time when you drew on anything other than paper.

In general, if anyone in our family is going anywhere, you want to go too. The car wash? The grocery store? Your sister's volleyball game? You run to get your shoes. Your favorite place to go, however, is Ma's house. You walk over to her house two mornings every week and they are treasured times. I bribe you back to our house with...salad (your lunch of choice).

When people first meet you, their most frequent comment is about your vocabulary. It is extensive and you speak thoughtfully, with complete sentences and words that seem large for your stature. You especially describe types of trucks with ease - excavator, backloader, bulldozer, etc.

Final Thoughts - You look up to your dad and love following him around the yard as he works. You also adore your sisters and they are equally smitten by you. You are quick to talk about Jesus and you are the first to volunteer to pray at the dinner table. All in all? It's a wonder and a joy to have a little boy. We are all exceedingly grateful for who are you and we can't wait to see what God has in store for your life.

OTHER NOTES

• Favorite Books - The Circus Ship, The Chimpanzees of Happytown, Dig Dogs Dig series, The Berenstain Bears series, and Miss Nelson is Missing (which you refer to, most appropriately, as "The Swamp").
• We visited Flagstaff in February and took the girls skiing for the first time - where you promptly informed us that you do not like the cold. You stood there in the ice and snow, refusing to put on a coat and asking to go home. The only sweater we could convince you to wear was a grey button-up that "looked like daddy's."
• You stopped nursing on Jan 21, 2019 at the age of two years and five months. This is approximately the same age as when your sisters weaned. (All of you stopped nursing during the day at about age one and then continued nursing at night until two and a half or so).
• You potty-trained - quickly, easily, completely, and mostly without accidents (including at night) - a couple of months before your third birthday.

* I write letters to each of my children on their birthdays so that they will remember and I won’t forget. As Sheldon Vanauken so aptly put it, “Writing has something of the timeless about it – a breath of eternity.”