Wednesday, August 9, 2017

Holt Turns THREE



THREE.

Y'all. My mama heart can't handle the fact that it's been three years since I first laid eyes on this beautiful child of mine. The one who made me a mama.

1095 days and 26, 280 precious (and let's be honest, some not so precious) hours with him. He has taught me more in the last three years than just about any other human being has in my 28 years on this earth. Because of him, I have a greater understanding of God's unconditional love for me as His child (and how His heart must hurt when I disobey or make bad choices).  Because of him, I have a better understanding of how selfish I am as a human, and I have learned what it truly means to have a servant heart--to put someone else's needs before my own (pretty much all the time).

Motherhood is a calling. It is THE HARDEST thing I have ever done. But it's also the most JOYFUL and REWARDING thing I've ever done too. Motherhood is having your heart walking around outside your body. And this one right here started it all. From the moment I heard his tiny heart beating on that very first ultrasound to the moment I heard his first cry to the moment of tucking him into his big boy bed.

ALL. THE. FEELS.

So what is Holt up to at three years old?

He has a big heart--he is seriously one of the sweetest kids I've ever met. He is very in tune with people's emotions and will say, "Mama, you mad?" or "Mama, you happy?" Or he will notice others and ask why they are mad or sad.

He is extremely inquisitive. I know most 3 years olds ask lots of questions because that's just their brain exploding with learning a whole bunch of things at once. But, my word! Not only is Holt a typical 3 year old, but he is his daddy's child. Meaning, it's like questions on questions on questions. ALL. DAY. LONG. "Mama, what is this?" "It's a bug Holt." "What kind of bug?" "A locust." "Why is it a locust?" "Because that's how God made it." "Why is that how God made it?" Etc, Etc, Etc....
Sometimes I just have to go in my closet and close the door to just breathe for a second.

He has started showing physical affection. He will consciously come give me a hug or want to cuddle on the couch. And at least once a day (but usually much more) he'll say "Mama, I give you a kiss?" And then, "Mama, I give you a butterfly kiss?" And then, "Mama, I give you an eskimo kiss?" Gah, it just absolutely melts me. Everytime.

He definitely thrives on routine and everything being in its place. He is not very keen on change. We have had LOTS of change this year, but he has handled it like a champ. Daniel got a new job and we moved to a new church with new people, we moved to a new house (back into Fort Smith), he got his tonsils and adenoids taken out, and he moved out of his crib into a big boy bed. That's a lot for a little kid to handle and I have to say I have been so proud of him.

He still loves lawnmowers. Everytime we go to Lowe's, we stop and let him "ride" every single one. He has started expanding his love for trucks though--dump trucks, cement trucks, fire trucks, semi trucks, you name it. Oh, and airplanes and helicopters. We live close to a military base so we typically have fly overs by our house and he always tells me, "Mama, some day I want to drive an airplane."

We have started working on memorizing Bible verses with him. Since January, he has memorized three verses and we are working on the fourth. This has been such a sweet time with him! And it helps me memorize them too.

He loves to watch TV. During the summer, it's more of a struggle to fill our time with other things (mainly because Evie makes it harder to get out of the house) but once the school year gets going we stay busy with Mother's Day Out and BSF and playdates. He still loves Daniel Tiger, but is slowly expanding to Bubble Guppies and a few educational shows on Amazon Prime. He also loves Trolls and Moana. And still loves 101 Dalmatians and Lady & the Tramp.

Probably the biggest news this year is that he is potty trained!! We still put on pull-ups for nap and nighttime but other than that, he is in underwear and fully goes to the potty without prompting! Also, he 's a little obsessed with going in the urinal (LOL).

He still takes one nap a day from 12/12:30pm-3:00pm. I usually have to wake him up! Bedtime is till 7:30pm and he normally sleeps til 7:30/8am. He is a really good sleeper!

I have started writing down some of the funny things Holt says! Enjoy!
 "Mama/Daddy, you hur (hear) me?"
"Daddy how you make that fire? Because daddy is a man, son. Holt is a man."
"How you doin dad?"
"Don't worry it bout it mama"
"I need to put on my swim-soup (swimsuit)"
"Mama is drinking out of the toilet daddy" (referring to when I had a stomach virus)

His vocabulary and understanding of what is happening around him is astonishing to me. He is to the point now that I can have little conversations with him which is crazy! I cherish those little moments of asking about what he learned at church or Vacation Bible School or what all he did on his latest adventures with Melly and RoRo.




Weight: 36 lbs. (85th percentile)
Height: 38 1/4 inches (75th percentile)

Holt Parker,

I am so proud of you. You have handled this last year so incredibly well! You are a great big brother to Evie and have started trying to "play" with her in the playroom. You love to have tickle fights with her and chase her around the house. You love to spend time with me and daddy but you also are so brave in doing things by yourself or with new friends. You are so smart and I can't wait to see how much you learn in "school" this year! You fit so perfectly into our family and we are so glad you're ours! Love you to the moon and back little man!

Love, Mama

Photo dump (from the last 6 months):
















































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