It's been 3 years since February 6, 2006

A HAPPY, HAPPY birthday to our sweet little man who has filled these last three years with so much LIFE.

In the last year, he has found his voice and strives to "use big boy words" (or at least we encourage him to) as he communicates with us and the world around him.
He has discovered a passion for all things Thomas...though his favorite engines are Emily and Petersam. He knows each and every one of them by name.
We are working on the potty scene...we reward him when he shows interest, but at this point he's not ready. And as I said before, we aren't pushing it. If we have learned anything about this little man in 3 years, we have learned he has to do it in his own time. This same lesson gives us some trouble during our days with him, as we try and coax him into compliance with washing hands, getting into the bath, etc. Patience isn't just a virtue...it's an absolutely essential quality (that I am still desperately trying to cultivate) to survive in a life with a 3 year old.
Just when I think I can't take any more "no's" or whining, he'll say something that melts me to my core, like "Mommy hold you." He is very affectionate when he wants to be and I soak it up when he doles it out.
This week, we are on vacation in Virginia, staying at Massanutten Resort. He has loved the snow, which fell here on Tuesday and has enjoyed the indoor swimming pools. We are working on getting him to jump into the pool without holding hands and he is almost there. I think by the end of the week, he will have figured it out. It's so awesome to see him muster up courage with each jump.
The other Ammon family is here with us to celebrate and we have had a ton of fun sharing in all the winter activities. There is an indoor water park here, snow tubing, skiing, and of course, a whirlpool tub in our condo. Who could ask for more?
Poor Christopher caught the GI bug that Elias had last week and we ended up in an urgent care place on Wednesday morning after 48 hours of nothing but output (I'll leave that up to your imagination). They gave him two liters of fluids and he was eating chicken soup by dinnertime.
Katie and I headed up the disinfection team and kept him quarantined in the master suite. Keep your fingers crossed that the bug stopped with him!
Okay...back to the birthday boy....
When I stop and think about Elias (which is usually AFTER he has gone to bed and all is quiet), I reflect on how he came into this world. He caught our attention and had us all scared and crazy, only to show us how beautiful and amazing he was. He was not traditional and made me work extra hard, but then showed me how worth it he was. In three years, this is still his way of being and I wouldn't trade him for any other boy in the world.