Lessons From a Three Year Old

 Why does time have to go so fast? I don’t know how many times I’ve asked myself that same question over the last three years. A week after my little boy Aiden was born I wondered where the time had gone. Two weeks, two months, two years, now here we are three years into his life and I find myself asking the exact some question again, why does time have to go so fast?! 

Ever since I had my baby boy I remember people telling me, “cherish every second because before you know it they’ll be grown and on their own.” Although I’m not quite to that point, I can still feel the deep desire to cherish these precious young, crazy, messy and insanely busy toddler years. I know, I know, just wait till he’s a teenager right? Well, according to him he’s “six and a half” so by the time he’s actually six and a half he’ll think he’s 13. My teenager years are comin’ up quick! 😉

The night before this little super hero’s birthday I asked him a few questions. Here is how he responded:

Q: Are you excited to be 3?

A: Mmmmm Hmmmm!

Q: Why are you so excited to be 3?

A: So I can play lots.

Q: What are you going to play?

A: Spiderman and Wild Kratts

Side Note: He’s been obsessed with both spiderman and Wild Kratts. He has been telling me for so long that he is spiderman and that he’s super “stwong” with his big muscles. He pretends to go on Wild Kratt adventures and save lots of cool creatures like chameleons, lions, aye ayes, and baby tapirs (some animals I haven’t even heard of, but of course he could tell you ALL about them). This little boys imagination is amazing.

Q: What are some of your goals as a 3 year old?

A: Suck up nectar like a hummingbird, be WAAYYYYY happier, be super loud (yeah…loved that one), and be spiderman…except spiderman is 40 and I’m just 3.

Haha. I had to chuckle at that one. Those are some solid goals right there! I wish I could set goals like that! 😉

Q: What are you most excited for about your birthday?

A: Spiderman cupcakes! I just WWWUUVVV cupcakes!

I love every single one of his answers. They reflect his curious and fun personality. I wouldn’t want it any other way. He DID get spiderman cupcakes AND a spiderman costume which he wore from the moment he saw it at 7:30 in the morning, until he had to take it off to go to sleep that night. He would have slept in it if we would have let him. He flexed his super “stwong” spiderman muscles all day long, which especially came in handy while opening his extremely well wrapped presents. 🙂

“I can do this!” he said, as he ripped off each strip of paper. “I am super stwong! I am spiderman with big muscles!” I don’t know how many times we paused for a muscle show. 🙂 He was pretty proud.

Little moments like this remind me of how great motherhood truly is. He was so happy and so proud to be three! I loved seeing the smile on his face as I made a giant squid for him out of his new play dough, and hearing him laugh as we had a nerf gun war throughout the house. I loved seeing him spray his “web” catching scary lions in the backyard to protect his mommy.

I hope he always finds joy through play, but also through protecting, nurturing and loving his family. He is such a good boy with such a huge heart. The other day he leaned over to me and said, “I will never break your heart mommy.” I cried of course. I hope that’s true. My heart would truly break if I were to lose my baby boy, not just physically but spiritually. Please keep reminding us to “shhhh” when we are saying prayers, help us to be patient while we wait for Daddy to get home from work, help me to remember the joy of singing nursery songs every day, help me to always kiss you goodnight and tell you that “I love your guts.” I do, buddy. I love you more that words can say.

Thank you for teaching me to have fun in the dirt, find hidden treasures behind trees, and experience joy while making messes with legos and monster trucks. Thank you for reminding me that emails can wait, food can reheat, and mud can be washed clean. Thank you for reminding me to focus on YOU. I am grateful for the things you teach me each and every day. I need to take advice from you more often.

“You’re fine Mom. You’re going be okay Mom. I wuv you so much Mommy.”

I need these reminders on a daily basis. What am I going to do when you turn 5 and go to Kindergarten?! How I’ll miss you.

Happy Birthday to the best boy around. I hope this year brings you more happiness than you’ve ever experienced, more reasons to be super loud (with laughter of course), and more opportunities to save the world. 🙂 I wish you could stay little forever, but I am excited to see who you become. No matter how old you get however, you’ll always be my little boy. For this, I’m eternally grateful.