Hunter turns 3!

Happy 3rd birthday to our first baby boy! Can't believe you are already three years old. 

Leading up to his birthday, if you asked Hunter how old he was going to be, he would say "#3 August" haha.

Hunter is still a pretty easy kid in general. He is showing signs of the threenager stage, which is to be expected, but overall he is a good kid with a sweet nature. We are noticing he has: more opinions, whines about random little things, isn't napping as well as he used to, likes to do things himself, prefers riding his bike to riding in the stroller, and tests his boundaries with us. Even so, he is getting easier to reason with, as his vocabulary is exploding and we can communicate more than we could when he was two.

Hunter has been going to daycare on Fridays for a couple months and we all love it. He is making friends and is able to do some activities outside of the house and separate from Wyatt, which is nice. We are adding on Mondays and he will start going twice a week next Monday - yay! Also, both boys are going to start going to Gramie and Pop Pop's house every Wednesday and the boys can't wait! This will be a big help for me as well, as I am getting more and more pregnant keeping these two busy all day is becoming difficult. Hunter also started swimming twice a week. Now that he is three he qualifies for sports - I'm not sure who is more excited about this, me or him!

He has been pee trained for over four months and tells us when he needs to poop, but is still fearful of pooping in the toilet (grrr). We have been working on that one since January and are really ready for it to pass, but trying to let him do it at his own pace. 

He still goes to bed at 7pm and wakes around 6:30am everyday. He is a rule follower and still stays in bed even when he is awake (yay). However, he loves to loudly sing "twinkle twinkle little star" at the top of his lungs to let me know he's ready to get up. 

Hunter is talking a lot now and we can have conversations, which has changed our relationship a lot! Instead of most of our interactions being one-way, he gets to have a lot more say in what we do, how we do it, etc. I have to say I am enjoying it! Now that we have a three year old and an 18 month old, I realize how much easier it is when they can talk. Wyatt is struggling to convey his needs right now and I can't wait until he can talk more as he gets older.

These days Hunter is tracing his A, B, C's, building magnatiles (he is really good!), getting dressed with minimal assistance, making his bed, throwing away his trash, putting his dirty dishes in the sink, helping me bake muffins, putting his dirty clothes in the laundry, putting toys away, and helping Wyatt put his shoes on. It's pretty amazing what toddlers are capable of doing at a young age if you can put up with the snails pace and messiness of it all. Some days are more challenging than others and he doesn't always get it done, but we try.

For Hunter's birthday morning we took him to Crema for a special breakfast treat. He chose the biggest cinnamon roll and we sang him happy birthday. On Friday, we brought cupcakes to Dianas and she did a special party for him with all the kids - it was so cute! Saturday night we had our families over for pizza and cake and it was perfect for a three year old.

Thank you Hunter for making me a mom and for being the sweet boy that you are! This is going to be the hardest year yet with a new baby brother on the way and Wyatt turning two, but I have no doubt you will be a great example to your little brothers - love you!