Colin's 3!!

Colin is so hard to describe. He is passionate and intense, so full of love and energy and very strong opinions. As busy as he is, he also lives life at his own pace. He takes 3 times longer to eat meals than the rest of us, 3 times longer to put on his shoes, or walk across the parking lot. This is a little tough since he was born into a fast-paced house, but I've accepted that we aren't going to change him.

He's also a hoarder. He hoards food in his cheeks. He collects rocks and sticks everywhere we go. He piles toys into his bed and carries around handfuls of coins. It's cute now, but in 30 years when he appears on a cable reality show about hoarding, I'll regret mentioning it here.

He has to copy everything Ethan says or does. Every word out of Ethan's mouth is immediately repeated, down to the exact intonation, 10 seconds after he says it. He's interested in everything Ethan thinks is cool.

There aren't a lot of pictures of him on this blog because in most, he is in motion or not looking at the camera, or like this one, where he's trying to open one of his presents but won't crack a smile for anything.

His two favorite phrases right now are "That AWESOME!!" and "No fair!" Except I don't think he really knows what "no fair" means, because he'll say things like, "You made dinner? No fair!" (Although maybe he's just being perceptive. There are 5 people in this house. Is it fair that I'm always the one that makes dinner?) He wanted a Thomas train cake from the grocery store that we had to visit every week. After he took his first bite of birthday cake he yelled, "Mom!! This Thomas chocolate cake AWESOME!!" So easy to please. I love it.

He loves Legos and will play in Ethan's room with his Legos alone for an hour or more at a time. Sometimes he'll come find me and say in this really cute, high voice, with his hands on his chin, "Mom, you want come play Legos me?" It's impossible to resist.

He'll just out of the blue say, "I love you, Mom." It melts me.

He's struggling with his middle child, 2nd boy role. He gets jealous of Ethan and Maddie. We try to give him lots of extra love and attention, but I feel like I'm always being pulled in 13 different directions, which I don't understand because I only have 3 kids.

He's had a huge emotional growth this summer. His speech has come a really long way after not being able to communicate well for most of his 2-year-old year. Along with it, he's a lot more mature and reasonable.

He still needs a nap more often than not, wakes up in the afternoon really rough (he gets that from his mom), and almost always has a smile on his face. He's cute and charming and sweet and I am completely in love with him.

He's been waiting all summer for his happy birthday, and I'm so glad it's finally here for him. We had my parents and brother Mark and his family over for dinner, cake, and presents. He loved the Darth Vader pinata, although I forgot I had hung it up in the closet, and was a little freaked out by the disembodied Vader head staring back at me when I opened the door earlier this week.

Happy birthday, darling 3-year-old. I love you SO much.