Happy 3rd Birthday, Little Man!

My amazing son, I can't believe it's been three years already! You're smiley, intense, hot-tempered and rough-and-tumble. Happy birthday, my darling boy!

Little Man is quite a talker. His mouth can't usually keep up with his brain, so he'll stumble over his words in his excitement to get them all out. He will talk to anyone and is the only one of our children who appears to never have gone through a shy phase. His only volume is "deafening," so quiet situations -- like church -- are a bit stressful with him.

His smile is still his most notable feature. It really lights up his face! And he loves to laugh. I've learned that if he's in a bad mood, I can (sometimes) get him out of it by acting silly, tickling him, or roughhousing with him. His favorite is when I pretend to be a bulldozer, "scoop" him up, and "dump" him onto the couch or his bed.

Little Man is most definitely a physical child. He crashes into me or his sisters without a word, flattens whatever they're building, and even repeatedly kicks trees. MJ and I often find ourselves looking at each other in bemusement at Little Man's behavior! MJ said the other day that anyone who's ever had a boy has thought, at some point, that their son was brain damaged. I laughed -- it's true.

Given the option, he will run instead of walk, yell instead of talk, throw something instead of putting it down gently. His temperament is still very mercurial, and I've given up hope that this was just a phase in his babyhood. His temper rages hot, and I am trying my hardest to teach him how to manage it! Fortunately, he is a RULE FOLLOWER, which comes in handy mostly during naptime and bedtime -- he will not get out of bed (unless his twin is in the room with him -- she will eventually get him to misbehave with her!).

He's the only one of the kids who goes through obsessions. He's been in a baseball phase for a while now, and will turn almost anything into a baseball bat. Consequently all long, thin things inside the house have been locked away for the time being (mops and brooms, yardsticks, toy golf clubs, etc). He's also obsessed with his toy drill, which he has a particularly hard time sharing. His latest interest is pirates, and he walks around yelling, "AAARRRRR MATEY!"

Little Man, unlike his sisters, isn't very interested in drawing or writing. He'd much rather listen to music, and is the one who asks most frequently to listen to something (usually the Frozen soundtrack). He is often non-responsive; we often have to call his name 3-4 times before he'll acknowledge us. Caught up in his own thoughts? Imaginative? Or just male? 

We don't know yet whether he's right-handed or left-handed. He bats lefty, but often throws righty; he eats with utensils in his left hand and will hold markers and crayons in either. For now, he has a left-handed baseball glove, and we'll see how he does. We bought him a baseball tee, and he loves to whale away at it in the back yard. But mostly he lectures MJ on "what baseball players do." 

He still sucks constantly on his two middle fingers, but his belly button is perhaps even more important to him. He keeps a finger in it, or presses toys against it, and even puts his fork there. It must comfort him somehow? Given the opportunity, he will take our fingers and put them inside his belly button.

Little Man is slowly moving out of size 2T clothing and into 3T, so I suspect (as usual) he is about average size for his age, if slightly short.