three years

I can't believe that I am writing this, but our little boy turned 3 this week. Three. Three years ago, after 40 weeks and 3 days of carrying him inside of me, we drove to the hospital in the drizzling snow and soon got to meet our precious one...

We had no clue. We had no idea how much we would love him. We had no idea how hard it would be. We had no idea how entertaining he would be. We had no idea how drastically our life would change. We had no idea how deeply soul-connected to that tiny being we would become.

 (age 1)

Now we do. Cooper Richard, our beloved firstborn... He is wild and passionate, sensitive and compassionate. He pushes our buttons like no one else can and yet, with a smile or a few brilliantly chosen words, can melt even our toughest anger.

 (age 2)

He is smart and stubborn. He is innocent and inquisitive. He is a lover of music, of order, of trucks and trains.
He is the big brother to our baby girl, the laughter in our days, the reminder of our need for Jesus, and our perpetual delight.

When it came time for his third birthday, I wanted to make it special and exciting just for him...

 On the morning of his birthday, we brought him doughnut holes in bed. Three of them. There is perhaps no treat in life that Cooper would be more excited about, probably because it usually accompanies a special bike trip with Daddy to Dunkin' Donuts.

Obviously, he hadn't fully woken up yet. Also, I should mention that he had a nasty cough and a fever of 101 the night before. Poor kid.

 Nothing that a few doughnut holes can't cure! One chocolate, one cinnamon, and one powdered sugar later... he was all smiles.

It was a fun day as we tried to spoil our sweet and sick boy with special privileges, words, and treats, including a lunchtime trip to Chick-Fil-A with the whole family!

The next day we prepared to have a big birthday dinner with my parents as well as my brother Peter and sister Heidi who were in town. 

Birthday baking together (my favorite mommy-son activity) led to Cooper's favorite part... batter licking! We did a brownie tower in place of a traditional cake, because we are holding off on the birthday party until January. Cooper was not disappointed.  

He ate up every bit of the event.  The song...

 the candle-blowing...

 and more blowing...

and then definitely the eating.

 Annabelle graciously gave her brother center-stage for the evening, but seemed to innately know that she wanted- no, needed- one of those brownies. Reach, Annabelle, reach!

 Cooper's attitude was so humbling and refreshing during the present-opening. After receiving the first gift, he was so excited and thankful that he never asked for or even noticed that there were more to come.

Don't worry, he figured it out quickly! He absolutely adored each one of his gifts and couldn't have been happier, especially since he got to play with Grandpa.

Our baby boy is not much of a baby anymore. He is growing and changing faster than I realize (and certainly faster than I can document!).  We are genuinely grateful and humbled that God entrusted this little one to us. Every day, it is an honor, a challenge, and a joy. And, it is fun.