Grahammers at 3 years

The day my baby turned 3.

Typical picture attempt. 

Waking up to his birthday balloons.

He will always be my baby. So how the heck is he 3 now?!!! Even reading his 2.5 year post, I can't believe how much he's changed!!! Mostly verbally. This kid was a late talker, but now he talks all.day.long. And I LOVE it. I always said going from 0-1 kid as a stay at home mom was SO MUCH LONELIER than going from 1-2 kids. Maybe also because I was living in a new city with like one friend, but seriously, having a kid who talks to you is such a sanity saver!!! Anyway, Graham. HOW I ADORE YOU. We are so, so very thankful for our 3 years with you.

Age: 3 Years

Stats: 37" tall (50th %) & 33 lbs (50th %) ... After he caught back on his weight gain as a baby, he's been pretty steady at the 50th % for height and weight the rest of his life.

Clothes: 3T. He moved into 3T right around his 3rd birthday. He's pretty much followed the sizes/ ages really closely, which makes him easy to plan for. 

When Daddy's not eating a meal with us,
we almost always end up here.
Graham always requests it, and I think it's so stinkin cute.

Favorite Foods: CUPCAKES! I think he really discovered this love when Owen turned one, but he didn't know what they were called (we're mean parents and hardly ever give him dessert), so he would say "eat happy birthday! eat happy birthday!" Hahaha. And now he thinks any birthday party we go to is ONLY to eat cupcakes at. It's pretty much a disaster every time we go to a birthday party where they don't serve cupcakes til the end. Yikes. For weeks before his birthday, he would pray every night for cupcakes and balloons. Now that he knows baby Jesus's birthday is coming up, he prays every night for "cinnamon cupcakes" (what we'll have Christmas morning to celebrate). This kid cracks me up... He also loves pizza and ANY and all fruit. Still not big on veggies, so we shamelessly bribe him with a few "bunny crackers" after dinner and he happily agrees. Veggie muffins and smoothies are staples.

Graham asks to push Owen every time.
#momwin

Words: He is a walking commentary on whatever is happening around him or whatever he's thinking. He wants to be in EVERY conversation I have with adults- on the phone, with neighbors on the sidewalk, friends coming over to visit. "Graham's turn to talk!!!!" He declares, and then jabbers about the vacuum making loud noises and the minivan doors going open and shut and building bridges for his cars and trucks. It's pretty comical. He is funny about verbalizing his emotions, consistently saying things make him "sad" (Owen taking his toys or knocking over something he worked on) or "scared" (loud noises). He also has memorized a ton of books and recites them with emotion, which is pretty great. "The Pigeon Wants a Puppy" is my favorite one because he really gets into it. Hahaha. He loves making up new lyrics to songs, so we're constantly changing the words to familiar tunes because he requests to sing about the splash pad or carousel or tools... or poop. Hahaha. Lately when I tell him the day's activities, he'll respond with "Yeah, that'd be good."

"Throw the ball" song in his beloved Music Class. 

Activities:

Music class (A favorite of Graham's since he was a baby. He still LOVES it.)

MOPS (He got moved up to the 3 year old room, which has toy tools, so he's pretty much in heaven.)

Children's Museum (He's still obsessed with the carousel.)

Playdates

Grocery shopping (He would grab a plum first thing every week and carry it all around the store, until they went out of season. That was a sad, sad day. Luckily he befriended Mr. Jim, a worker, so that gives him something to look forward to every week now. Mr. Jim is the best and even gave him a little Hot Wheels car a few weeks ago! I'm telling ya, Graham is quite a charmer.)

Favorite friends: He kinda has friends now! Haha. He loves to play with Elodie, Chet, Chapman, Liam, Cori, Charlotte, Jonathan. And of course, we always remind him that Owen is his best friend. ;)

Favorite Things: Being center of attention. Graham at first was quiet and cautious and reserved, but this boy has come out of his shell! He can still be those things when he's uncomfortable in an unfamiliar environment, but he has become quite the little performer in the last year. We had Andrew's family over for his 3rd birthday, and you would think this kid had a stage and a mic. Quite the entertainer. I LOVE seeing his little personality blossom!! He LOVES Teddy. He comes EVERYWHERE with him. Pretty cute. His favorite toys are blocks, cars/ trucks, and tools. Favorite books lately are these series: Pigeon, Clifford, Dinosaurs, Little Critter, etc. He also loves going to the "tool shop" with Daddy and Owen. Andrew will occasionally take them to Lowe's, etc, and as soon as he mentions it, Graham will literally drop whatever he's playing with and immediately say, "Bye-bye Mommy!" and start walking to the door. It's their special "boy time!" and we all love it. He also loves helping me in the kitchen, especially dumping things in the blender, stirring things in a bowl, handing me things when I'm washing dishes. Pretty presh.

Give this kid a mic!! 

Mom's Proudest Moment: Seeing him grow in kindness and thoughtfulness with Owen. He's had a hard time sharing since Owen's learned to walk and is more on "his turf" with toys, but lately he will offer Owen toys consistently without being prompted. And just seeing him be comfortable enough to let people see the real Graham- silly, loud, funny, engaging. He really is a little ray of sunshine.

He loves helping Daddy do anything!!
So stinkin sweet. 

Dad's Proudest Moment: Being able to remember and recite his favorite books and how much he likes to read.