Happy 3rd Birthday to you, my very special little boy. You are turning 3 on 3/3, lucky numbers, lucky day. And, though I hope that is true for you, it is really me who is the lucky one. Because, Decker, you are my son and your kind soul and sunshine filled eyes and funny sense of humor and wise ways are my, are all of ours, lucky gift today and every day.
In the last year, you went from a long, curly-haired toddler to a short, straight-haired big boy with an incredible amount of awareness and know how. It is almost as if all of the baby in you was stored within those curly locks. Last summer, when they landed on the barber's floor, we had no idea that they would not grow back nor that your babyhood was being swept up with them.
2 year old Decker with curly hair
You are fun, Decker. Moments, days, can be so easy with you because you make it fun. Your voice is filled with excitement, and your steps bounce with positive energy. You understand things you are told, like to follow most rules, are careful in the way you do most things, and are happy to just be with whomever it is you're with. You can play quietly by yourself building towers or guns (😳) out of Legos, racing cars, or making me your special Mac and Cheese for lunch. We can play together doing these same things, or working on a floor puzzle, or more recently, playing games like memory match. One of us has a very good memory and can find the match easier than the other- do you know which one? Before bed you like to play Beyblades and see which blade will spin the longest. You love to play with "my guys," whether it be hide n seek, more gun games (😳) or the push game on the beds. Sometimes you'll sit and watch them play X-BOX. They'll give you the extra remote and you'll think you're playing along too. I just love it when you're all together.
Lego Tower
Just the guys hanging out
And, of course, there's Netflix. YouTube. And, OnDemand. Each available on the TV, the iPad, and the phone. Each of which you can navigate to and through on any device to find any of your favorite shows. On Netflix you usually opt for a movie: The Secret Life of Pets was the top choice for quite some time until we watched Sing as a family movie and you decided you liked the singing animals. It took some convincing to get you to try something new but when we finally did you spent a few months watching the original Toy Story which had every one of us stopping to watch a few scenes each time it was on. What a great movie!!! Your most recent choice is the Emoji Movie- originally watched as a choice for all but rose to the top of your watch list due to the poop emoji. Nothing could be more amusing to a 3-year-old than a sarcastic poop emoji. At least not to this particular 3-year-old who finds it absolutely hilarious to use the word doody in just about every sentence. Calling everyone a "doody butt" gets a laughing reaction from your brothers who encourage your behavior in the house. Somehow you seem to understand that you can't use that language (or build or play with fake guns) outside of the house or at school. You tell me "I know, never play guns or use potty talk at school." And somehow, I am ok with this fine line.
Your language goes well beyond doody butt, however, with an extensive and developed vocabulary and a diction that is so pronounced that conversation with you is easy. You even like to talk on the phone and can ask and answer questions with ease and clarity. You know the alphabet song and sing it correctly most of the time, but are still learning your letters. You have a particular fondness for "H" pointing out each Capital H that you see. You also point out each "D for Decker," "T for Turner," "R for Ryder," "C for Chase," and "E for Ethan," with enthusiasm. It is funny, though, because so often you will point at a letter and proclaim it is a D but then when you say what it is for, (Turner, Ryder, Chase, etc.) you will associate the correct name to the letter, which is never a D. You like to sing and be sung to though I think you are learning that I am as bad of a singer as they come.
Your favorite food is cream cheese and jelly sandwiches which verifies you are my son. You also enjoy cereal, soup, and Go-Go Squeeze. You still love drinking milk, though prefer chocolate milk to "reg milk" whenever we let you have it. Drinking milk is an activity for you. You take your cup and your "banks" and go sit and cuddle the corner of the blanket while drinking the full cup without taking a breather. You will negotiate for more milk, "just a little bit" you'll say as you squint your eyes and pinch your thumb and forefinger together. Then, without hesitation, you will go into the fridge and grab the chocolate syrup and the milk, and then a spoon to stir it. You make it difficult to say no.
You are funny. Funny because you are a little boy and little boys say funny things. And, you're funny because you're you and you happen to be funny. And, silly. And, exposed to sarcasm and comedy regularly. You understand the concept of jokes even if you don't always get the punchline and you know when we are being silly with you,sarcastic with you, or simply teasing you. Nobody laughs harder at one of your brother's jokes than you and nobody makes any of us laugh nearly as hard as you do.
Silly boy
In school you have Ms. Fern and Ms. Nicole and enjoy going three days a week. You mention the kids in your class quite often and will hopefully continue to grow up with these kids- Phoebe, Grace, Val, Jonathon, Casy, DJ, and Jaxon. You still spend Fridays with Uncle Mat and most other days dull in comparison. And, most Tuesdays, are still mommy day, which is by far my favorite day of the week. We spend a lot of time at the hockey rink and you seem to enjoy the game. In addition to playing mini-hockey with your brothers, you never seem to mind sitting through a game, nor the cold. Though it's true, your favorite part is the Zamboni.
First Day of School in the 2's
Over the course of the year you enjoyed the rides at Great Adventure; spent a weekend in Wildwood and loved being on the boardwalk; took an 8 hour car-ride to Buffalo for a hockey tournament (what else!!) You were great in the car-ride (though I admit I was worried), fantastic at the hockey games, loved running through the hotel well past your bedtime, and though you couldn't appreciate the beauty of Niagara Falls in the winter, you were a good boy, repeatedly said how beautiful it was, and just went along for the ride. We were all happy you were there.
Wildwood
Niagara Falls
The most remarkable thing that happened this year is that the Eagles won the Superbowl. We watched the game at our house with the Benjamin's, the Klaus' and the Van Aken's. We celebrated during the entire game, cheering on our favorite birds. Then, a few days later, we took you (and the whole family) down to the art museum to enjoy the world champion's parade. You may not remember any of it but this was Philadelphia's first superbowl championship and, someday when you're older, you'll be happy to know you were in some way a part of the special first one.
Our Eagles Superbowl viewing party
An important lesson learned during Superbowl LVII
Eagles Parade
You love to hear what I call your song, Can't Stop the Feeling, and will ask for it by requesting "my song." When you hear music you love to "wiggle wiggle" and will often tell us to clap our hands.
You are fun, you are funny, you are sweet, and you are oh so smart.
Wiggle Wiggle
We celebrated you turning 3 multiple times. First it was the Sunday prior with your grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousin. By request we had ice cream cake that had cars on it and you ran around playing hide n seek and other games and toys with Max and Leo. Then you celebrated on Thursday with your school friends. Finally, today, on your birthday, we celebrated together. You woke up to balloons tied to your door. We spent the morning watching your brother's play some basketball then we did our traditional hibachi meal (lunch this time) before going over to the Little Pod. There you had the devoted attention of your brothers for 2 straight hours of play time. You and they had the best time and I loved watching them be with you so attentively. It was a really fun day.
Happy 3rd birthday
Balloons at your door
Hibachi lunch
Making a wish
Brothers who whack moles together, stay together
You are 37 inches and 29.8 pounds. This is over 3 inches of growth and 2.5 pounds of weight gain since last year. You are slight in your build and your little 3 year old body reminds us all of Chase at the same age. Although you pee on the potty on demand and have control over your poops you are not expressing an interest in wearing underwear just yet. We've promised you a big boy bed when you are out of diapers and this is not a bribe that is speeding along any desire for you potty train. You won't let us help you when you eat and though you can use a "boy boy" cup (big boy cup) you still prefer your milk sippy cup and your blue sippy cup for your juice or water. You are a good boy at bed time in spite of the phase of not sleeping we all endured last fall, and you have a fondness for the bath that makes bath night pretty easy.
It is mind-blowing how big you are getting, how fast it is happening, and how you are skipping steps just to catch up to the "guys." But, one thing that hasn't changed since the day you were born is that you are truly a light in all of our lives. You bring joy and smiles to all of our faces. In the hectic of our days, as we run from place to place, and bicker over homework and chores and activities, each one of us is calmed when we see you; each one of us wants to greet you with a hug and a kiss and a smile; each one of us wants our chance to play with you, hang out with you, be with you. Because, you are a gift, a joy, a true ray of sunshine. Turning 3 on 3/3 may be a lucky day but, as I said, it really is all of us that are the lucky ones.
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