Three Years {Riley}

Three years old. THREE. YEARS. OLD. How did that happen? I could swear this was just taken yesterday:

But it wasn’t. It was taken exactly three years ago, on the day Kenny and I welcomed our firstborn son into our family. And life would never be the same again.

He started out at 8 pounds 9 ounces and 21.25 inches long. Now, at three years old, Riley weighs 34.2 pounds and stands just over 40 inches tall. (I’m taking both boys to see Dr. N in a couple of weeks so I’ll post official stats then.) He wears a 3-4T in shirts, a 2-3T in pants, and a size 9-10 shoe.

I started a new tradition this year: the birthday interview. I of course got the idea from Pinterest, and I think it’s going to be so much fun chatting with Riley about the questions and seeing how much his answers change from year to year.

Here’s what’s been happening with the wonk potatoes in the past few months:

• He is defiant, stubborn, and headstrong, but at his core he is a very sweet boy. And he continues to amaze Kenny and me with how smart and observant he is and how fast he picks up on things.
• He knows Mama’s, Daddy’s, and Grandma’s favorite colors. And he loves anything green.
• He knows what street we live on and that it’s in Louisiana. He also knows what letter lots of words start with: mama, daddy, Nola and Nopsi, Grandma, blue, jewel.
• He has a bit of an obsession with peeling stickers off of things.
• He wipes his mouth/nose on anything and everything (rugs, ground, me) but is getting better about asking for a Kleenex.
• He is very demanding, specifying what he wants you to do or where he wants you to sit or how he wants you to play.
• He makes up words for sounds he hears: ki-neh ki-neh for Nola’s car; ee-ler for oven; cock-a-den for my texts; mocken mocken for his toy fire truck; etc.
• He finally learned how to jump. And he is good at picking things up with his toes.
• He was very attached to me a couple of months after Rory was born. And he has been very whiny lately, which I am having a really hard time with. I can’t. take. the. whining.
• He used to hide when he needed to poop and tell me to go away and not look at him.
• He still has an accident every now and then, and he still wears a diaper overnight, but he is basically potty trained. Hooray!
• He is now using his pronouns correctly.
• He can sing his ABCs.
• He knows his birthdate.
• He tells me almost every morning that he doesn’t want to go to school. And he has cried on the way there a number of days. Hope that gets better soon.
• After less than two weeks at school, he knows the prayer they say before eating lunch (“Bless us, O Lord, for these thy gifts….”). I was so impressed when he busted out with it at the dinner table one night, unprompted.
• He started calling me “Mommy” a few months ago, to which I always respond, “Who’s that?” After a couple of weeks, he provided me with an explanation: “it’s a nickname!”

Three years old.

Happy Birthday, my sweet Riley-bean. Daddy and I love you very much!

Note: The birthday boy is actually a little sick right now (and has been since Wednesday), so he has been hanging at home with Rory and me and isn’t able to have his special birthday celebration at school today. Fingers crossed he is better for his party tomorrow.