A Letter To Sam As He Turns Three

Sam -- you are THREE YEARS OLD! I can't believe that you are already three. How did THAT happen?

You wear a size 5 disposable diapers and most of your clothes are 2T or 3T with some 4T thrown in as well. You are so tall and skinny (29.6 pounds (including clothes) and 39"). You are so close to being potty trained, I think! You pee on the potty quite often, when we make you, even on the big potty. You just don't seem super-interested to be self-motivated. Once we move to Ontario we will make a big effort and I don't think it will take very long! You don't even ask for a "covered up blueberry" every time you pee on the potty anymore.

You used to sleep really well at night, but you have started having "bad dreams." You sleep with one of your hockey sticks so you can "hit the dreams away" but every once in a while you end up sleeping in the hallway outside Mommy and Daddy's room. You have adjusted really well to your big boy bed (which is just a mattress on the floor at this point) and don't come out of your room when you're not supposed to. You have pretty much given up your afternoon nap in the past two weeks but you are okay to hang out in your room for some "quiet time." I think you need the break since you wake up every morning asking, "What's happening today?" as well as announcing, "It's da-aa-ay!" You still like to read in bed and listen to Kim Thiessen's For Such As These most nights.

You still eat okay, but not great. Breakfast is still your best meal of the day -- usually consisting of two yogurts and then oatmeal or toast or Daddy's Crispix or a banana muffin. You don't eat a lot of lunch, and sometimes not a lot of supper either. You still eat a pretty good range of stuff but don't really like potatoes. Before supper we each say one thing we are thankful for and lately you have been saying, "I'm thankful for anything" which means "nothing" but after Mommy and Daddy and Rachel go, you usually have something to share. You eat in your booster seat and lately we have gotten rid of all sippy cups so you have water or iced tea or orange juice in an IKEA glass.

Sam, you are such a good big brother to Rachel. You love her so much and she adores you! You like to play with her, give her toys and make her laugh. You make her so happy and she laughs so much with you. You have also really started to enjoy playing with Rachel in your bedroom. You give her toys and run around and she just watches you.

You love Kindermusik and gymnastics and playing with your friends from New Mom's Group, especially Olivia. She is your best friend. You and Naden and Kelsey also play together a lot.

You also like to play on your own with your trains or your cars or with books. You take all your toys and just take over the whole living room with your games. I love how you can play independently for so long. You like to sing and listen to music and play your guitar with Daddy. You also like to play downstairs by yourself. You take toys down there and play for hours. You also like stickers and put them everywhere! Your favourite video right now is the Baby Einstein Water Video.

You are so into letters and words and numbers and reading. You can spell a few words (stop, Sam and exit) and like to know how words are spelled. With help you can often sound words out and you're pretty good at it too!

Sam, we love you so much and look forward to every day with you.