hearty or keen enjoyment, as in eating or drinking, or in action or speech in general:
to dance with gusto.
Synonyms: enthusiasm, delight, relish, zest, spirit, fervor.
As I was meditating on what life has been like in the company of a three-year old, there were many nouns and adjectives on which I could have settled...
For the sake of this blog, however, I am choosing to focus on the positive.
It is true...we are only four months into it, but this age has already proven to be a difficult one (as many of my friends warned me it would...but who wants to hear that when they are in the midst of dealing with a 'terrible two-year old'), fraught with new-found attitude and back-talk, bedtime battles, outright rebellion and disobedience, boundless naughtiness, big-brother bossiness and bullying, etc., etc. However, I was telling my husband that although parenting is an awful lot of work, it also makes life interesting and exciting again (which on many days overshadows the frustration and exhaustion). To get to experience the first snow-fall of the season, the first viewing of the decorated Christmas tree, the first sun-porch visit by Jack Frost...all of these, through the eyes of a child, brings a sense of joy and outright fun back into one's life.
So yeah, we'll focus on the positive.
Gusto. That is definitely a dead-ringer description for the manner in which this little boy of mine takes on the world.
Gusto. That is definitely a dead-ringer description for the manner in which this little boy of mine takes on the world.
Oops, did I say "little" boy? Not entirely accurate I suppose. Being at the 95th percentile for height and weight means that this 3 year old is the size of an average 5 year old. Too bad his mother swore she'd never let him play football...
Add to his large size a good amount of unabashed exuberance, (there's that gusto again) and a boundless activity level (this child NEVER sits still) and we are left with something very similar to a german shephard puppy. Clumsy and Large. Easily Excitable. Loving and Eager. Equal parts obnoxious and adorable. Bottomless Pit and Live Vacuum Cleaner.
On the one hand, it feels like a very short time has passed since going from this
to this
(photo credit: darling husband)
But on the other hand, it certainly feels impossible to remember a time before we had children. (Though sometimes we longingly try so hard to remember that time).
So how has this three-year old been passing the time these past few agonizingly long and cold winter months?
Spending quality time with cousins...
at a little impromptu Valentine's Day hang-out
or a 'we're so glad they came to visit from Seattle' hang-out
He built his very first snow man
(ok, true confessions, his parents built it...and had a lot of fun doing it)He's had plenty of epic icicle battles with Daddy (too bad icicles are clear...loses the effect on film)
He's also been making great use of some wonderful Christmas gifts he received.
Like these great magnetic tiles that have provided endless hours of entertainment (thanks Auntie R & H!)
Or his new best friend (thanks Oma and Bopah!)
Or this great (noisy) little number that brings back those childhood memories (thanks Mimi and Grampy!)
Or this this fun fishing set that his father made for him
or his hand-sewn super-hero cape from his mama
You do understand that it truly bestows superpowers, right?
I mean, look at that air time. Even Spiderman would be impressed.
Lastly, he's been spending plenty of time making his little brother laugh (when he's not making him cry).
Don't get me wrong, most days I feel like a referee, doing nothing but calling shots, breaking up fights and disciplining appropriate players appropriately. Nothing makes me angrier than to see my one child hurt my other child. But then nothing melts my heart more readily than to see this big brother's love for his little bro. Like the concern he demonstrates when his little brother doesn't get doled out an equal portion of goldfish or when he's falling asleep in the car and shouldn't be (don't want to ruin that blessed naptime!) and he diligently works to keep him awake, or when he hears his brother crying and immediately comes running over and starts belting out 'The wheels on the bus' to soothe and distract him.
Many days they are tripping, throwing pillows, stealing toys, wrestling, and yelling at each other...but then some days, it's this
and it makes my heart sing.
This little guy has been busy growing up into a big boy.
He's been learning to do big-boy things. You know, things like peeing while standing up (what on earth do you do about those last little dribbles?!), learning how to safely wrestle with little bro (how to strategically throw a pillow or do a slide tackle without causing him to slam into the coffee table), how to correctly hold a crayon (no matter how often I show him, he is just not grasping this one...no pun intended), how to take off his shirt (why do those elbows always end up in the neck hole?), how to correctly don his Buzz Lightyear underpants (upside down, inside out, backwards...it's never actually the right way).
He even got his first 'big-boy' hair cut (Daddy orchestrated this one when I was away...much to the chagrin of myself and my entire family!)
We love you.
