Nun Night Three Year Old

Four years ago to this day I was playing Bingo.  I was having what I now know are contractions every few minutes, but at the time I was convinced that they were just Braxton Hicks.  Four years ago I was on the verge of becoming a mama and I had no idea what I was in for.  I couldn't foresee this little boy that stands before me now, so very nearly four, so ready for something big, yet so young still in so many ways.

This last year has been busy, we have had so many adventures, you have welcomed another little brother into your life and you have done it beautifully, despite the fact nothing really went to plan. Every day we have played, explored, socialised, learned and loved.  This has been the year that you learned to read, to add, to subtract, to ask such intricate questions, to climb, to run with a football, to open a ringpull, to dress yourself, to play memory and to work a tablet.  

You are about to turn four which means school is on the horizon and in so many ways you are oh so ready.  You cannot wait to dress in your smart blue uniform and head off into your purple classroom.  You want to make new friends, play with their toys and discover more about yourself and the world.  You are starting to ask questions that I struggle to answer, and I hope school will encourage your curiosity even further.  We have been discussing electricity a lot recently, you are so fascinated by it all and how things are made is another great topic.  My to do list for the week includes things like googling the inside of a telegraph pole, finding out the temperature that fossil fuels are burned at and coming up with the best answer for how rocks got onto the earth.  You challenge me every day, and I love being on this journey of learning with you.

You are still so big and you talk so well, that people assume you are older.  I know this will be the year I start carrying around your passport to avoid paying for you on busses and trains too convince them you are only 4.  You seemed to skip age 4-5 clothes completely and went straight into 5-6, but we have a few bits in the next size up that already seem to fit.  Everywhere we go, you make friends, you are confident and sociable and you find the children the same size as you, which usually means they are at least a year older.  You love having a playmate, which is no surprise when you are growing up with brothers so close in age, and I love seeing how easily you form friendships.

You are a wonderful big brother, you are bossy and you lead, but you also listen and love with all your heart.  Most of the time you and Archie are the best of friends, but you are brothers and that means that you need to fight too, it is an important part of your relationship.  You adore baby Finn, you treat him like a teddy bear and I love the way you hold his hand as he falls asleep.  I see a lot of you in him.

This year you got glasses and you have taken to them well.  You wear them happily every day, and love showing off the Spiderman on the side to everyone you meet.  You look like you were always meant to wear them, they suit you so well.

As a three year old you were confident, curious, cheeky and playful.  You wanted to be big, but you wanted to be a baby still too at times.  You still kiss me goodbye, you still want my magic kisses when you fall and you can still fall asleep in my arms.  You want to have sleepovers with your friends though, and to play just out of my sight and to butter your own bread.  You ask questions constantly, and sometimes I am amazed about your understanding of the world. 

I wrote you a letter as you turned one, as you turned two and as you turned three, and every year I read them all again, marvelling at how far you have come. how big you have grown and how I can see your personality developing more every year.  It seems strange to think how many more changes will have occured between now and your next letter, but I don't need to think about that really, I am busy with now and that is how I want to stay.  I want to enjoy everything just as it is, capture you just as you are and celebrate your birthday tomorrow as an amazing milestone we have reached together.

Sleep tight my gorgeous three year old,  for tomorrow is a big day.

Love Mummy xxxxxxxx