Daniel is 3!!!

Mr. 3 year old!

Daniel is such an incredible kid! I am so proud of the kind, smart, playful boy he is becoming. I could probably write pages and pages about him, but here are a few of the things that I think are most important to remember about who he is right now.

He is active! He moves constantly. He is seldom seen walking in a straight line unless he is balancing on a log or curb. He weighs 29 lbs, which puts him in the 25th percentile, which is where he's been since he was 9 months old. 

Two things that Daniel will sit still for are books and movies. He doesn't really have a favorite book at the moment. Every time we go to the library we come back with a stack of about 10 books, and he usually loves them all. We recently checked out "If I Ran the Circus" by Dr. Suess, which is a long and difficult book to read and understand, but we have read at least twice a day since we got it. His favorite shows to watch right now are Dora the Explorer, Go Diego Go, and Curious George.

He talks non-stop at home, but he gets pretty quiet when asked to say something to someone he doesn't know very well. We have lived on the camp for 5 months now and he recognizes all the full-time staff here, but only recently has he really started talking to any of them. Hopefully he won't be too overwhelmed this summer when all the summer staff arrive. 

He has a great vocabulary, and often says things that just blow me away. He likes to use the word "amazing" to describe even the most common things. Instead of saying "I don't think so" he says "I think not", which sounds super cute and intellectual coming from the mouth of a 3 year old.

Some words that he still has trouble with are:
computer - he says "puteeter" or "tacuter"
pin-wheel - he always calls it a "wind peel"
warmed up -  he calls it "getting warmed off"

He still can't pronounce L's or R's at the beginning of words, so Levi is still "Wevi" and running is still "wunning".

He loves being helpful. He will help his dad with any task, and especially loves working in the garden with him. Every time I get the broom or vacuum out he helps by holding the dust pan or winding and unwinding the cord.

He has been using the potty exclusively since February. He has done really well, only having occasional accidents when we are out and about and he is too distracted or I forget to make him go when we have access to a potty. He is always dry through the night too, so he is totally and completely done with diapers. The only incentive we used was jelly beans, which he was all for, but he was also very motivated by the cool big-boy underpants and the whole idea of being a "big boy" and using the potty like dad :)

His prayer list every night is, in this exact order, "Aiden, Caris, Jeph and LeAnne, Big Aiden and his family, all the people at church, all the people at camp, Sophie and Teddy, Hope, and Gramma and Grampa. And the sunshine, and the rain." Sometimes, if we've done something extra special that day, or seen somebody we haven't seen in a long time he will add them to the list, but for the most part, this is who he wants to thank God for every night.

Here are some photos of our big guy over the last few months.

sleeping soundly with his beloved cat :)

A picnic lunch at one of his favorite places, the park!

Hot dogs on the beach!

He loves building his train tracks.

Learning how to use chopsticks. He is pretty good about trying new foods, and he has recently started eating decent portions at meal times.

Helping Dad in the garden with a hammer! What could be better?

Jumping! He will jump off of just about anything.

One of his favorite games in Cootie Bugs.

Our sweet little boy, 3 years ago :)