Everett D turns three!

Everett Daniel - Ev - Ev Man - My Young, Young, Ev - Everett D....is 3!!!!

Everyone has been excited for this day to come.  I love how excited his older brother and sister have been about his special day!  Max and Kelly have been counting down the days and they have spent a collective hour+ on a  poster for the occasion {I accidentally bought an extra piece of poster board the other day...best mistake I've made in a long time}  Usually I am saying, "How is my little man already this old?!" but I can totally believe it's been three years, actually. I've felt like he's been three for a while now.  

Ev had a big year.  He moved into a toddler bed and became a big brother {which he has taken to beautifully}.  He also successfully  potty trained. Hooray for one in diapers!

HERE is his birth story.

My babe #3 as a babe....

Everett Daniel is a JOY.  He:

{These pictures are kind of in reverse order of the year....also, most of them have nothing to do with what is written above or below}

• wants to wear pajamas all day, every day.  And he does while he's at home, 95% of the time.  I need to get the boy some lounge pants.  Obviously he has a thing for comfort and jeans don't do the job

• is pretty darn independent.  Maybe that's why I feel like he's older.  He does more for himself than either Max or Kelly did at his age.  
• I was so relieved that he didn't have cavities at his last dentist appointment because 1) his sweet tooth 2) brother wants to brush by himself all the time {I do get in there with a toothbrush at least once a day, though}
• I'd been noticing a footprint on the front of the dishwasher for a while and one day while I watched Ev scramble onto the counter {right in the area of the food cupboard}, it became clear
• He takes care of any accidents by himself.  He's doing great in the potty-trained department, but doesn't quite make it sometimes.  Often I don't know about it until I notice an outfit change because he's already put the clothes in the washer and moved on with his life
• His independence caused a little problem when he'd pooped on the potty because he just wanted to take care of business...but his arms don't reach far enough to do that just yet.  It took a few weeks to convince him to stay on the potty until Mom or Dad had a chance to wipe. It was lovely. :)

• still sleeps with his green blankie that has satin edging; still has a favorite corner of the blankie that he rubs between his fingers while he's going to sleep

• is dang tough.  He can take a lickin' and hop right back up, breathlessly saying, "I'm okay!"

• is pretty quiet in new situations, but is a hoot once he warms up and then you learn that he can keep talking and talking and talking :)

• sings a lot.  My favorite songs to hear him sing are Eye of the Tiger, I'm Trying to be Like Jesus {especially when it goes really high "looove one another as Jesus loves you"...oh, that little voice}, I am a Child of God, and Tomorrow from Annie.

• randomly gives sweet compliments.  All the time he will tell me, "Mom, you're the BEST!" or "Mom, you so beautiful!"

• didn't wear shoes most of the summer which resulted in dirty feet every.single.night, but it was cute and reminded of my dad

• loooooves nursery.  I felt bad that he had to be in there another year {have to be 3 by Jan 1st to move onto Primary} but he doesn't feel bad in the least, so I'm glad that he gets to live it up this final year in his happiest place on earth

• LOVES to snack and has a major sweet tooth.  Not the easiest thing for a mama who's trying to get decent food in his little body.  I give in to his snacking tendencies too often because, well...have you ever looked at his face?  Irresistible. 
• One day in December I'd given Ev a few chocolate chips from the chocolate chip bag in the top of the cupboard and told him that was it, no more. I was in the family room, folding laundry, when I heard him sweetly say {in a sing-song kind of voice}, "Don't bug me. I'm getting on the counter. Don't bug me." I rightly surmised that meant he was trying to sneak onto the counter to get more chocolate chips. Because he is so cute I didn't stop him.
• Today was his first day of swimming lessons and he was NOT digging it.  I was trying everything to get him in the water and then I whispered, "you can have some ice cream if you do your swim lessons"...he LOVED swim lessons after that. 

•  has the cutest hip-twisting run

• knows when he's tired and will put himself to bed if we aren't moving fast enough with the bedtime routine

• has finally passed the constant face wound phase of his life {I think...I hope}!  Wahoo!  I think brother finally grew into his cute head 

• loves to tell jokes...knock-knock jokes in particular.  But as soon as you ask who it is, the person or thing takes a walk down the street, generally to get smashed by a car or engage in a battle.

• is my kitchen buddy.  He's almost always on the counter while I'm cooking, helping whenever he can.

Ev is a great older brother and younger brother.  He holds his own with the big kids.  I love this boy to pieces. He is snuggly and happy most of the time.  I am so lucky he's mine!