Happy Birthday My Sweet Little Man!

When do things start seeming real? Time is just passing so quickly for me. I sometimes feel as though I am just flying by my own life and merely waving in the distance. Little man turned 3 today and I am just in disbelief. Of course at many times, these past three years have felt like the longest years of my life, but I blinked and here we are.

Landen continues to have a larger than life personality. It is amazing how much he has grown this past year. My life has suddenly gotten so much easier because he is so much more independent. With that independence also comes that strong-willed personality he has had since he was a baby. The boy came out screaming and he will still let you know exactly what his feelings are at any time or place. He is also still extremely loving and sweet. He hugs and kisses on all of us all the time. Just the other day I hit my elbow on something and yelled "Ouch!" he ran over hugged me and asked "are you ok Mommy?" He had such a tone of empathy and sweetness it made me feel instantly ok. When our fish died a couple of weeks ago Ashley started crying and again he ran over to her. He started hugging on her and said, "It is ok Ashley, I am here for you." I am not making that up or embellishing the story. He really said exactly that. I couldn't believe it and my tears started rolling. Not over the silly fish, but over my little boy getting to be so big.

He also continues to be a clown and makes us laugh all the time. At school he is also quite the personality. He loves all of his friends and his teacher has told me that all the kids claim him as their "favorite" friend. Today for his birthday he told me that all of his friends gave him a birthday hug and he just beamed. Well, I could obviously go on and on about my baby boy, he is truly one of the loves of my life and I am so lucky to have him (wildness and all).

Last year in his special birthday post I listed his favorite things. As I read over the list I was a little shocked at how much he has stayed the same in some of his likes, but I thought it would be fun to do the list again. As my mommy memory disintegrates daily, I need these yearly reminders.

Favorite color: Last year he was a pink and purple man, he has moved on to green. I think J is very happy about this.

Favorite food: Nuggets and french fries. If a restaurant does not have these items he will loudly proclaim his displeasure. Luckily, he will eat the "all veggie" nuggets at home, so at least I can fool him into healthiness sometimes. He also loves oranges, hot dogs, muffins, cinnamon rolls, donuts and anything sweet. Eating is still not his strong point. He will literally go two or three days without eating anything.

Favorite Drink: Sadly, if he had a choice it would be Dr. Pepper. He may not look a thing like me, but he obviously inherited my fine taste in beverages.

Favorite toys: He loves trains, cars and trucks. Playing on the computer is also a big thing for him to do. He also loves drawing, doing play-doh, cutting paper, building with Legos and taking things apart.

Favorite parent: Last year it was Daddy, this year it is me. That's right ME! My brainwashing worked.

Favorite books: He has two books in particular that he loves, a train book and a fire truck book. I can't stand either one of them because it is just a bunch of pictures labeled and he insists on telling me each one. It is torture after reading it a thousand times (at least!)

Favorite movie/tv show: He watches tv this year, which is a big thing for him. The only thing he asks to watch is Caillou but he will watch most things that Ashley watches.

Favorite household chore: Ok, so he doesn't really have a favorite one, he likes them all. He is my neat freak, which is just fine with me. He hates things to be messy, out of place or dirty.

He is still about as "all-boy" as you can possibly ask for. He is really into sports right now and told me the other day that he wants to be a "sportsman" when he grows up. I asked what that is and he said "I would play football, soccer, baseball, golf, basketball and hockey every day all day."