Cy Turns Three: Happy Birthday Little Man!

Dear Cy,
You turned three years old this week. As you would say, "happy birthday to me!". I have to say, life with you rarely holds a dull moment. You are chock full of energy from sun up to sun down, minus a two hour nap you still day most days. You are growing so fast; earlier this week when we were at the doctor's office for Matthew, I measured you and Charlotte, only to find you both at the same 39" mark. I think you also have about five pounds on her, even being 18 months younger. People are constantly surprised how heavy you are when they go to pick you up. Often I have to remind myself when disciplining you two or in my expectations of your behavior, that you are indeed 18 months younger. Even though you may look the same age as Charlotte, you respond to life quite differently still.

It's great to see how creatively your mind works. Many days you come up with the most impressive lego creations. It makes me realize I better start saving now for a potential lego addiction in the years ahead. You love taking things apart to see how they work. This has caused me to be a bit better at my supervision of your independent play time. The other day, I was on the computer trying to write down some directions for a location we were to travel to out of town, and you kept asking me to use the squirt gun outside. I told you, no, no squirt gun, multiple times, then followed with a request for you to go find something to do. Well, it was quiet for a while, which makes me both equally grateful and nervous. Then I saw you playing with the lid of the salad spinner - the part that you push down to make the bowl spin. You've done this before with no problems, so I didn't worry. Then it was quiet for some time and a tickle of worry entered my mind. I went to find out what you were up to only to see you on the kitchen floor with the screwdriver and the salad spinner top in pieces in front of you. You were so proud of how well you took it apart that I found it rather difficult to discipline you for completely ruining my salad spinner. Needless to say, the new salad spinner is now on the very top shelf, hidden out of reach. But I've learned not to be so sure it won't be found one day.

You're slowly learning to get along better with your sister and most days you two spend many hours playing quite nicely together. Don't get me wrong, a day doesn't go by where sibling rivalry doesn't rear its ugly head, but I've noticed many times where, no matter how much she "bothers" you (Charwotte is bothering me!), you are the first to defend her when she's in need. Often times, when at the dinner table and we need to speak sternly to Charlotte, you will speak up and defend her rather strongly, telling us not to talk to her like that. If Daddy tries to sneak a bite of her desert when she's not looking, you'll practically jump over the table to keep his fork at bay. It's nice to know that no matter how much you two get at one another, I know deep down she is dear to your heart.

I've noticed lately that you're getting better at sharing and will more quickly change your heart when needing to share a toy or your food with someone else. You even get excited to share a bite of your favorite food or desert. When Matthew comes close to you to play with your toys, you've even started searching for one of your favorites to give to him, often without me having to ask you. He loves being close to you and if he's up from his nap before you are, he'll crawl down the hall to your bedroom door and wait by it, hitting the bottom of the door with his little hand. I have a feeling you two are going to grow to be great friends.

When you go to bed at night, I'll tuck you both in, pray with you and then sing a song. Now as often as Charlotte does, you too remind me to pray if ever I forget. You're also the first to call out prayer requests, whether it's that God will help you go poo poo and pee pee in the potty so you can get your truck (which you did - wooo hoooo!!), or for a friend of yours who was going to have eye surgery. It has been fun to talk with you about the things we've prayed for and how we've seen the Lord answer our prayers. "Sanctuary" is one of your favorite bedtime songs and many times you'll ask me to softly scratch your back while I sing it to you one last time. Those are some of the most exhausted moments of my day, but also by far the most enjoyable.

The Lord has definitely made you big and strong for your age, but he has also given you a sweet and loving heart. One of my favorite things you've started doing is telling me, "Mommy, I love you so very much.". It is usually followed by a big hug that just melts me from head to toe. Some days I feel like I could just hold you all day long if time and life would allow it. I pray every night that the Lord would take hold of your heart at an early age and never let you go. I pray that you would grow to be a godly boy, and in time, a godly man. I pray your heart would swell with a desire to seek and serve the Lord with your entire being and that you would find sheer joy and delight in being in His presence. I pray your faith would be so big, it would put all of ours to shame. I pray you would grow to know how deep and how wide and how high is the love of Christ. I pray that in all my failings as a parent, somehow, you would see through them my love for the Lord, and that alone would be the one thing you would hold on to. I pray you would always be able to come to your Daddy and me and we would always point you to the Lord and show you the safety you can find in His arms. I love you so much, my sweet boy. You are a joy and delight in our lives. You bring laughter, sweetness, and fun to our days in ways we've never known before.

Love you to pieces,
Mommy.