Nate is 3!!!

My very own snuggly Nate is now 3! You may think that by three years old he may be slowing down on the snuggling, but I dare to say it is stronger than ever! All I have to do is hold my arms out and he grins and comes running. And he squeezes so tight! I'm sure when he is a big boy someday I would give anything for one of his little boy snuggles, so I do my best to soak it up... even at the expense of sleep. Lately I lay down with him to fall asleep. I don't think he needs it, but he wants it so bad I give in to him. Then he sleeps in his bed for about 4-5 hours until some point during the middle of the night he wakes up and comes into our bed. I use to wake up to the sound of him getting out of his own bed, the pitter patter of his little feet walking into our bedroom and climbing into our bed. Now I'm so use to it, I don't even wake up to him coming in anymore. The other night I was woken by Bradley crying only to find Nate snuggled next to me with my arm under him. I'm so tired these days, it's as though my brain just finally says, "Oh, it's just Nate, you don't need to wake up for this". Most of the night he sleeps fine in our bed, however he always worms his way over to me. I often will scoot him closer to the middle and then have to immediately press up next to him before he rushes back over to my side instantly. He has to make sure he is pressed right up against me. And then around 5am it intensifies. That's when he gets restless and practically mauls me for the rest of the morning. Face pressed up right against mine, fingers through the hair like it's an addiction. Climbing all over me till he finally is ready to wake up around 6:30am.

So for his birthday, we did the presents, and birthday breakfast/chair thing. He was really excited to open his presents.

Then we went to the zoo. It was so much fun. The boys all did great!

This boy is so serious! Even when he is having fun it's hard to get a smile out of him!

He's my little "Joe Cool". He has a really dry sense of humor. If I am being goofy he normally is more annoyed than amused. This is what I hear anytime I try to break out in song...

He's not as energetic as Luke. He's kind of a home-body. He likes to go do things, but after awhile he always want to go back home. He is really great at entertaining himself. And likes being home playing with his toys or doing puzzles - which he is awesome at! He's only 3 years old and he can do 48 piece puzzles all by himself. He even does some 63 and 100 ones when I help him with the border. When Luke is at preschool and Bradley is sleeping, sometimes we sit and do puzzles together at the table.

His masterpiece...

He may not be as energetic as Luke, but he certainly can hang with the big boys. This boy has no fear and still does death-defying stunts. I'm kind of getting desensitized to it. All day long he is falling off of chairs, couches or tripping over something. He just doesn't even try and be careful, but he rarely hurts himself. Several times a day I find my self asking, "Are you OK Nate??" and he always replies with a grunty, "Yeah". He is a rumbly tumbly boy.

These two videos are him back in December (2 1/2 years old)

He is great at independent play, but he also craves one on one time. Sometimes he goes grocery shopping with me. I can just tell he really enjoys just being with me and no other kids around. He doesn't ask as many questions as Luke, but he is just as observant. There are so many times when he brings up things I didn't even know he was listening to. He is a great brother. Such an awesome playmate for Luke. Usually willing to do what Luke wants (since Luke demands his way most of the time) and very loving to Bradley. Sometimes a little over aggressive with his "love".

He makes me feel so loved. One time I was holding him and he was pressing his squishy face against mine and I said, "Will you always love me Nate?" and he said, "Yeah. And no one can stop me!" I love the way he talks. You just hang on his every word because he sounds so darn cute!