Banks at 3 Years Old

Banks you are THREE years old!  I can hardly believe it.  Mommy and Daddy are so proud of you and the little boy you are becoming.  

You have accomplished so much!  In May we potty trained you and it took about three days, it was super easy!  You only had 1 or 2 pee pee accidents, but poo poo took a few more days, but once you got it, you got it!  You now wear underwear all day and never have accidents.  You do still sleep in a diaper and pee pee during the night maybe 1 out of 3 nights. 

Your personality is HAPPY!  You are so, so kind and empathetic. You are nice to others around you and are always concerned about our feelings.  You make friends very easily and love to play with them.  You are sweet, sweet, sweet and give me kisses and hugs all day.  You tell me at least 2-3 times a day "Mommy, I love you!"  I can never hear it enough! 

You are smart...mommy and daddy look at each other all the time and just laugh because you amaze us.  You knows all your colors and have for probably a year.  You know all your shapes including weird shapes like octagons and ovals.  You know all numbers and recognize them when written.  You can count to 20.  You know all letters and have for probably 6 months.  You are starting to know letter sounds and can recognize words that we use frequently, especially peoples names.  We were at the zoo and you looked at your bracelet that said "riverbanks" and said "mommy, B-A-N-K-S, thats my name on my bracelet!"  You can grasp concepts very quickly and are eager to please us by learning.  You still love to be read to and can "read" us some books by memory.  You are an amazing little boy!!!!

Your favorite foods are:

Peanut butter and Jelly

Oatmeal

Yogurt

"Bars" (nutrigrain bars, nature valley bars, protein bars, you're not picky)

Cookies/cupcakes

FRUIT (strawberries, raspberries, grapes, bananas are your favorite)

Quesadillas

Cheeseburger

Cheese

Smoothies

You don't really love chips, french fries, meat (will eat it, but not your favorite), broccoli, eggs

Your bedtime is 7:30/8:00 and you sleep until 7-8am.  You are a great sleeper and there is no trouble at bedtime.  We take bath (with brother), pee pee, brush teeth, read a book, pick out one dino to sleep with, bedtime song (wiggle down), prayers, then bed! 

You take one nap in afternoon from about 2-4pm.  You maybe skip your nap 1-2x a month.  You're a good napper and really still need that nap, praying this continues for a while! 

Weight: 35lbs  (79%)

Height: 39in  (80%)

I didn't realize you were on the "tall" side...but you are!  Big boy!

You talk NON STOP!  You ask questions and chatter all day long.  You love to sing songs and be silly.  You are starting to understand humor and are telling jokes and laughing at our jokes.  You still can't say a few sounds in words like S, G, R, K (sometimes), F.  You are working on it! 

Your favorite thing right now is dinosaurs.  You are also very into monsters.  You still love trucks and diggers, but not quite as much as dinosaurs.  Nothing trumps dinosaurs, and specifically T. Rex.  Your favorite TV show is still Micky Mouse or you sometimes now like Paw Patrol.  Your favorite movies are Lion King or Monster's Inc.  The Good Dinosaur is a Pixar movie coming out at Thanksgiving and I think this will be your first movie! 

You are an EXCELLENT big brother. You always want Walker around and if he's not around you ask where he is.  You are (most of the time) kind and gentle.  You love to make him laugh, which is pretty easy!  You have not really been mean or ugly to him yet.  I know there will be plenty of days where I will be the referee, but these days are sweet. 

You had a great year in 2K and never got in trouble once.  Your teachers said you were a "delight!"  You thrived in school and loved being around all the other kids.  You made friends very quickly!  You really love school! 

You love playing in your playroom at home and especially with daddy.  You wait every day until the second he walks through the door.  He is FUN and you love him so much!  You still also really, really love your GG.  She is "your person" and no one gets the reaction that she does when she walks in the room.  You two are a lot alike and spend a lot of time together so I guess it was bound to happen.  When you see her coming your little feet start moving so fast and you start smiling and laughing.  If I ask you on any given day where you wanna go, the answer is always "GG house!" 

You are not one to sit and color or draw.  You don't really like art projects that much either. You do LOVE playing in the yard, "racing," riding your tricycle, swinging, swimming, playing on the playset.  Anything that has you moving, you are usually all for it!  You are becoming quite the adventurous swimmer!  You love to jump off the dock or side of the pool and you love to swim out in the middle of the lake. 

Your nicknames are "bankster" "B" "big boy" and "crazy" 

Banks, I could not imagine my life without you!  You are one of a kind and I am SO glad I get to call you mine.  I cannot wait to see the boy and man you grow up to be.  I am so, so proud to be your mom and I know daddy is so proud to be your daddy.  You constantly amaze us and keep us laughing every day.  I always say you are just a "cool kid."  I just love you for being you! 

As I say every year and will continue to say every year, I am praying for you daily.  I pray that you come to know Jesus and that he captures your heart for eternity.  That is my biggest prayer.  I pray that one day I get to witness your relationship with Christ and that I will grow to know Him more because of you.  I pray you're a leader and that you are a light for Jesus in your school, church, sports team, etc.  I pray you just fall in love with Him.  

We love you B, these three years have been so much fun and I am looking forward to the next.  You light up our lives, big boy!