My 3 1/2 Year Old Little Boy

I am almost 2 months late in doing Liam's 3 1/2 year update...

but here I am to update all the same!

Liam is currently 40lbs and 41 1/2 inches tall

(those are my measurements...not official)

He is a big boy though! He is getting awfully heavy to carry around. But to look at him, he doesn't look that big. He is just solid. He is definitely built like his Daddy!

Liam's favorite things to eat right now are macaroni and cheese, chicken nuggets, peas and carrots, okra, anything chocolate, pizza, spaghetti, waffles, pancakes, peaches, apples, bananas...you get the picture! Pretty much anything and everything. There are days that it seems like he eats all day long. He will constantly tell me he is hungry and I feel like he just eats and eats and eats. But then there are other days that is seems like he doesn't eat that much. Those days are getting fewer and fewer, but still happen every now and then. He still only drinks chocolate milk most days. We have started mixing about half chocolate milk and half skim milk and he doesn't seem to notice a difference in the taste. So I feel a litte better about him drinking chocolate all the time! He will sometimes ask for juice to drink, but not very often. And when we go out somewhere he always drinks water (unless his meal comes with a drink and then he will get chocolate milk).

Liam is such a big helper around the house. A few of his favorite things to help with are

vacuuming,

cooking,

and he also likes to help with the laundry. Things like taking the clothes to the washing machine and switching the clothes from the washer to the dryer. He also LOVES to help wash the dishes. It is his job to rinse the dishes once I have washed them and then he puts the dishes in the drainer. He loves doing this. It takes him a little longer than I would like sometimes (because he plays in the water so much), but he really is a big help! I love that he likes to help me. Sometimes I can also convince him to wipe off the counters and take dishes to the sink. He absolutely does not like to pick up his toys though. When asked to pick up his toys he always says he is just SO tired. He will do it, but only after much persuasion and threats of spankings and time outs. And it always takes him forever!

Liam can count to 12 very well and can sometimes get to 13 or 14. After that he starts getting a little confused. He can say his ABCs and can spell his name. He is working on writing his name and can get it all except the M at the end. He is trying though. He calls the M "the humpus" and we just think it is hilarious. He knows his shapes and can draw a lot of them. He is starting to want to write more and draw more like Taylor does. He is also starting to draw people and I have got to get a picture of it because they are so cute! He loves to read books and have books read to him. He doesn't really have a favorite book right now. He always picks something different every night.

He still says his "Ls" like a "Y" so he says things like "yove you" and "yittle" and "yight" and says that his name is "Yiam." It is cute. I know he will grow out of it one day, so I am just trying to enjoy it while I can!

He loves to play with his cars and trucks. He also likes to work puzzles. He got some pirate dress up stuff for Christmas and he is enjoying dressing up like a pirate and playing with the swords and guns. Every now and then he will still dress up like a princess with Taylor. But he is starting to be "the prince" more in their playtime. He likes to play his Leapster 2 and he learns a lot while he is playing it. He also likes to play with an electronic alphabet game that used to be Taylor's.

He is definitely a Mommy's boy, but he is starting to do more with his Daddy outside too. I think when it warms up outside they will be out there a lot doing boy things. But for now, he stays home with me every day and is my little shadow. He doesn't like for me to be away from him. I will try to go into the bedroom to get clothes to put in the washing machine and here he is right behind me asking me where I was going. I think this is why he likes to help me so much...just because he can still be beside me! It is very nice that he loves me so much and wants to be around me all the time, but it can be frustrating at times too. He is not big into going into his room and playing by himself right now. He would rather have me playing with him! He is in a big "Mommy do it" stage right now. Most of the time I am the only one who can buckle him and unbuckle him in his car seat. Sometimes he even yells at Daddy for trying to open his door. Mommy has to pour his chocolate milk and Mommy has to bring him his food and Mommy has to do EVERYTHING!!!

In addition to his Mommy do everything stage...he is also getting very independent. If he doesn't want Mommy to help him it is because he wants to do it himself. He wants to put on his own clothes, put on his shoes, open the garage door (this one has caused quite a dramatic meltdown on more than one occasion), close his door to the van. And the list goes on and on. It is very confusing to be his Mommy sometimes. Because I don't know if he wants me to help him or not. And if I make the wrong choice...he gets very very moody and upset. He is just very very strong-willed. Not sure where he gets this from :)

He likes to go to church and most of the time he goes into his class without a big fuss or fight. He really enjoys Sunday School when Poppy and Kimberly are his teachers. He will give me a kiss and tell me to pick him up after church is over. There are still days when he doesn't want me to leave him, but they are getting fewer and fewer. Things should be very interesting when he has to start daycare again when I go to work. He is not going to be a happy camper when that happens!!

Liam is my most cuddly child. He loves to get cuddled up on the couch with me under a blanket and just watch TV. He gives the most precious kisses and hugs too. I never knew how amazing it could be to have a little boy when we first found out that Liam was a boy. But now I don't know what I would do without all his hugs and kisses!

Bedtime has become much better these days. We usually read Liam a book and then put him in his bed and cover him up. He comes out in to the living room no less than 100 times to give one more hug and one more kiss and to tell me one more thing (usually "I love you") and to get a drink of water and to pick up a toy, etc, etc. He finally gets calmed down after about 30 min to an hour of coming back out to see us and will go to sleep on his own. He likes to go to sleep with his big light on, but then we turn it out after he goes to sleep and shut his door. Usually somewhere between 1 and 4 am Liam makes his way to our room. I don't even bother trying to put him back in his bed right now I just pick him up and put him in the middle of me and Will. He always goes right back to sleep. The problem is that he ends up sideways with his feet in someone's back and his head pushed up against the other person's back. Or he lays on top of the covers and me and Will end up freezing. It is definitely not ideal, and we need to start working on him staying in his bed all night. But he is just so cuddly and warm and I know he won't do this forever...so I really don't mind too much!

Liam is becoming more and more interested in Jesus these days. Every time he sees a cross or a "t" that resembles a cross he will exclaim, "Mommy! That is where Jesus died!" It makes my heart happy to know that he is learning about Jesus and the sacrafice that He made for us. I pray that as he gets older he has a deep desire to learn more and more about Jesus and that one day he will follow Him. He loves to sing songs in preschool choir (most of the time) and I love to hear his little voice sing to God.

Liam, my sweet little boy. I will not ever be able to tell you how much I love you. You make me feel like I am the greatest Mommy in the world. The way you love me and hug me and kiss me. Even when I have had to discipline you for something, you always come running right back in my arms for me to make it all better. You are a light in my life and I just hope that I am doing the best I can for you. I know that you love spending your days with me...even though sometimes you get upset at Mommy for not having the energy to play with you like you want me to. I love spending my days with you too. I just hope you aren't too mad at me when I go to work and you have to go back to daycare. You are such a smart little boy. You are going to excel at so many things in your life, whether it be in school or on a sports field somewhere. I know that God has big plans for your little life and I can't wait to watch it all unfold and I am so excited that I get to be a part of guiding you through it all. I hope you never get too big to cuddle up in my lap (although you are starting to get too big for me to carry!). And if you ever do get too big to crawl up in my lap, I hope you will let me just crawl up in your lap and cuddle with you still. I love you little boy.