My baby boy turned 3 on the 15th of the month. Peter and I joked that his continuous disobedience and rebellious behavior was a big finale to the terrible 2's. And in a sense, that seemed to be true. Aside from slapping Lydia in the face (leaving a bright red Jeremiah's sized handprint across her cheek), his birthday was uneventful...as in he pretty much behaved himself. It was as if he woke up, realized that he was three, and matured in a matter of 24 hours. Is that possible???

We had planned to celebrate his birthday with a zoo outing with friends and family, but the weather threatened to be rainy, so we had a gathering at our house. Everyone ate and chatted and had a grand time. The kids played out in the yard until it was time for the opening of presents. He got another pair of rainboots which he promptly stepped into. Boy was he ever proud of those. He also got some Dr. Seuss books. And silly bandz. Gobs of silly bandz...which I keep finding all over our house. He got a set of super soaker water guns. We immediately told him that those were outside toys. He also got some cars. He loves cars. Peter and I got him a fun little blue t-shirt that had a bright green pea on it that said "Give Peas a Chance". But I think we really hit the mark with the last three gifts. First, he opened up his Toy Story beach towel with Buzz and Woody on the front. The excitement was building. Next, he unwrapped his Buzz Lightyear lunchbag for school. Talk about eyes the size of saucers and a jaw on the floor. And the final gift...a Buzz Lightyear backpack. Within minutes, the backpack was stuffed with his birthday cards, cars, books--pretty much all of the gifts he could fit into that tiny bag. He also proceeded to "pack his lunch". That consisted of a bag of Salt and Vinegar chips, some plastic monkeys from one of his games, and his wallet which contained $3--two bucks from G'mommy and one from Mr. Chris, our mailman. He wore that backpack and carried that lunchbag until he went to bed. Makes me smile.

It's been nearly two weeks since my baby boy turned 3, and today I'm seeing that he's really and truly growing up. This afternoon after lunch, I took note of how carefully he unfolded the kitchen step stool and steadied it in front of the kitchen sink. I watched as he moved the handsoap closer to himself so he could neatly pump one squirt of soap onto his little outstretched hand. I grinned as he turned on the water full blast as usual but then slowly adjusted the water to gentler flow and temp. And I wish I'd had my camera to capture how skillfully he scrubbed his little hands clean of his sticky lunch remains. And how he cupped his hands and gathered water to rinse off the crumbs around his mouth. And how he turned off the water and went right for the hand towel so he could dry off his hands and face so he wouldn't drip water all over the floors. It may seem like a trivial or mundane event to add to my blog. But today, it was a milestone.