our little man is 3

we can't believe it's been three years!  on one hand, it feels like he's been here forever, but on the other hand, it feels as if he was just born.  time has flown.  and he's so grown up from his last birthday.  it's absolutely amazing the growth we've seen in him since his second birthday.

attempting to hold up three fingers :)

silly boy

some recent achievements of our big boy:

can now pedal a big boy bike and use the brakes at the appropriate time (this took a lot of practice!)

drives his battery-powered four wheeler by himself.  fast.  with a helmet.  and mommy usually has her face in her hands while daddy is cheering, "yeah, buddy!"  i'm in big trouble...and glad we are having a girl next!

can spell his name and recognize it in print (and the sign at the "oakley" store at the mall. haha)

can count to twenty when playing hide-and-seek.  although he tends to skip a few of the teens.  but i think that's mainly because he's wanting to go "seek" sooner than he can get to twenty!

asks questions constantly.  seriously.  one after another giving us about 3 seconds to answer the previous quesiton.   examples:  on the way to church, "mommy, where is that guy going with all of his stuff?" speaking of the man in the van next to us with a ladder and like items piled on top of the van.  then he said, "i think he's going to church with all of his stuff."  "mommy, how does the helicoptor go up?  who is driving that helicopter?  where are they going?  why is he driving that helicopter?"  speaking of a man driving a uhaul truck, "daddy, who is driving that truck?  what is that man's name?"  we love the questions, but sometimes they exhaust us. :) 

can complete matching games in workbooks, drawing lines to like items.

has started to label what sounds certain letters make, like, "h says huh"

knows his right from his left and labels which way we turn in the car.

he is starting to understand (somewhat) that he is going to have a little sister and that things are going to change when she gets here.  he asks a lot of questions trying to see exactly how things will be different and likes to talk about what he is going to do with the baby when she's here.  "i am going to change her diaper by myself because i am a big boy and i can do it by myself."

loves putting puzzles together and is very good at them.

is starting to understand how things go together and enjoys taking things apart and re-assembling them.

sings songs at bedtime and says his prayers by himself.  he loves singing and we really enjoy listening to his sweet off-key voice. :)

there are so many things oakley has accomplished, these are just a few that come to mind right away.  he is such a joy in our lives and we are so lucky to have him as our son!  we love you more, monkey!

(we had a little birthday party for him but kelly took the pictures and i havn't copied them yet.  i will post those pictures soon)