John is 3 years old!

Likes: Doing puzzles, reading books (I read my first Bob book all by myself this month!), swinging at the park, counting, playing with anything that has wheels, painting and coloring, pretend play with Henry (we pretend we are Wild Kratts or the Berenstein Bears), eating peanut butter toast, bananas, applesauce, cheese, pasta, pizza, berries, and quesadillas, taking naps, going to the gym playcenter, trying samples at Costco, wearing my Spiderman wristband 24/7, making Peter laugh, being sung to when I'm hurt, learning new poems with Daddy, asking to be held in my cute, little Italian accent - "picka me up" or "holda me", and listening to Johnny Cash in the car.

Dislikes: Being told to do anything that I don't want to do, getting boo-boos (I fall down a lot), eating vegetables, peeing standing up (why stand up when you can sit down and enjoy a long book?), and having my hair combed.

Growth: I weigh 37 lbs., and I am 39 and 3/4 inches tall. This puts me in the 92nd percentile for weight and the 95th percentile for height. I put on 5 lbs. in the past year and grew 3 inches. I'm still a big, ole Buddha at three years old!

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We conducted John's three-year-old interview when Grandma and Papou were in town for the party. The tradition continues!

John's 3rd Birthday

We celebrated John's birthday as a family on the 22nd so that Daddy could spend the day with us. It was the day of John, so he picked his favorite things all day long. He requested "little chocolate and vanilla doughnuts" for breakfast. There were also balloons and party hats. Everyone cleaned their plates (including Peter, who ate his first doughnut).

Later that morning, John picked his favorite outing - the bookstore.  His favorite lunch followed - a quesadilla from Chipotle. After a long nap (which John also loves), we went out for dinner. John requested "a pizza party", so we went to Mellow Mushroom. While we waited for our pizza, Peter tried his first taste of lemon and proceeded to eat the whole wedge. John didn't eat any lemons but he did eat two and a half slices of pizza.

After dinner, we came home for cupcakes and presents. Our book worm was happy to open three new Berenstein Bear books. John insisted on a strawberry cupcake because "strawberry is my favorite. And Papou likes strawberry too!" The strawberry cupcake from the bakery came with a pink crown on top, so I quickly replaced that with Lighting McQueen and Mater. After eating his entire cupcake, John was happy to finish Henry's leftover chocolate cupcake too. He was just preparing for his real party at the end of the week.

A Peter Rabbit Party

Last Saturday we had a Peter Rabbit party for our sweet, little bunny. Family and a few friends joined us for brunch and cake. The birthday boy tried cheese grits for the first time.  He's Southern, so he liked 'em. Our Northern relatives had a different view.

I had high hopes for the cake smashing this year.  For Henry and John's first birthday's I baked the cake from scratch, decorated it myself, and then watched both Henry and John cry and push it away in disgust.  But Peter likes to eat.  He dug in and kept coming back for more. Smart kid. And not the only smart kid. Baby Henry snuck a cupcake off the kids table and enjoyed a few bites before his Mama caught him. His birthday is still a month away, but I have a feeling he's going to like his cake, too.

After a quick bath, Peter opened his gifts - a rocking chair, books, puzzles, trucks, legos, bath toys, and musical instruments. Henry and John were very excited to give Peter his gift - Pete the Bear. Henry sleeps with Hank the Elephant, John sleeps with Jack the Monkey, and now Peter will sleep with Pete the Bear.