Asher is 3!

Dear Asher,

Today you are three years old! You are no longer my little baby who came to me after so much hard work, with a bruised head and loud wail. You are no longer our bronze baby who spent so much of his first month under bili lights. You are no longer the chubby legged baby who took baths in the sink. You no longer sleep in a crib. You no longer crawl at the speed of lightning. Nor slide down the stairs in two seconds flat. Instead of incomprehensible babbling, you now speak more words than I could ever count and tell me stories that make me laugh out loud. You've grown from a squishy baby into a solid little boy.

Asher, although you are prone to violence at times when over-excited, you are also so sweet and loving. You give the best hugs and kisses. And you tell me you love me at least once a day without any prodding. You are still very much a mama's boy but you adore your Daddy too. You tell me I'm "fretty" and sometimes for no reason call me "Mudder". It makes me laugh every time. You love your baby sister so much and often tell me how "sute" she is. And you just adore your big brother and sisters, "VuhVuh", "Isaact" and "Frace".

You have the best imagination. You love any pants with pockets because they all have your "phone" in them. The other day your pocket was sticking out so I fixed it and you then demanded that I give your phone back! You are so good at entertaining yourself and playing by yourself. A couple weeks ago you spent days playing with an imaginary baby. You took such good care of that baby. Your imagination will take you far I think!

Some of your favorite things right now: cars, trucks, pretty much any vehicle, superheroes- superman, spiderman, and batman are often your play companions these days, Caillou, Angelina Ballerina, baby dolls, robots, rockets, bugs, rocks, the sprinkler, watching Daddy play video games, playing hide and seek, Elmo, helping cook and clean, climbing and jumping on the couch, going places in the car.

Your favorite foods: oatmeal (you call it "memeal" and eat it pretty much every day, usually multiple times a day), eggs, bread and jam, chocolate chips, rice and milk, beans, granola bars. We need to work on eating more vegetables! And you still love nursing although you now only do it once a day.

Asher, you truly light up my life with your joyful exuberance, your hard hugs, and delightful chatter. Your dimpled smile and twinkling brown eyes make my insides all melty. I love when you put your little hands on each side of my face and looking lovingly into my eyes. You have perfected the puppy dog look to say the least!

I love being your mother. I love getting to share my days with you. I love watching you learn, explore, and grow. Happy Birthday, Asher! I love you more and more.

Mommy