I’ve been trying to make it a tradition that on my boys’ birthdays I blog about the ______ Things I Love About _______ with the number merely depending on the age they are turning. Today Liam turns three, and I found itĀ tricky this time narrowing down my top three things I love most because this year he has come so much into his own. It’s also aĀ special year because I’m due with baby #3 any day now. Letting go of Liam being my baby feels harder. I can’t really explain why – it just is.
Liam is still a little lovebug with a contagious smile (which you can read about in my post from when he turned 2), but here are the three things I’m loving most right now:
1. He’s Fearless.
One of our favorite stories to tell about Liam right now is how he roams the house by himself in the morning. Seriously, it’s like 6 am and he’s just doing his thing – going to the bathroom, getting food, playing with this toys. He is usually the first one up in the morning, andĀ I used to try to make him stay in bed with me until I was ready to get up. One time, however, in my first trimester where I was too exhausted to get out of bed and he was asking me for milk, I told him to go downstairs and get it himself (instead of waiting another 5-10 minutes). Surprisingly, he did and this has continued on. Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if one morning I came down to find that he’s made a complete breakfast for himself (at the age of three). Maybe this comes as no surprise to you, but it did to us, especially since my oldest has never been one to venture downstairs without us (at least at the age of two to three).
This is just where the fearlessness begins. The terrifying stories come from watching him ride a scooter like a 5-year-old (Follow my Instagram stories for that.), jumping into a pool when he’s only just learned to swim and jumping off ledges like in the video above and below (Above you can hear me freaking out and below you can see his skills in action).
I think the reason I LOVE this so much about him is that I was anything but fearless as a little kid. I was very tentative and cautious, which has it’s advantages as well, but I truly admire this in Liam and I think it’s a quality that will serve him well in the future.
2. Smooth Talker or Class Clown?
From his polite manners to his humor, Liam often seems to know the right thing to say to turn a situation around or make it better. Most recently, I’ve been most impressed by his manners, from out of the blue thanking friends for coming to his birthday party or for a birthday gift (and making me look like a rockstar mom) toĀ his sweet voice saying “Thank you, Mama.” for the simplest things like unbuckling him from his seatbelt. It’s ironicĀ because I felt like I rammed “Say Thank You” down Landon’s throat at that age and can barely remember reminding Liam to do it – hmmmm, maybe there is something to that??
Or maybe his good manners are just a cover up for his mischievious side . . . he LOVES to make people laugh and even when things aren’t funny he’ll throw in a big “Ha, ha!” just to help brighten everyone’s mood. He’s very good at reading a crowd – maybe he’ll be a comedian someday or perhaps just a future class clown. Ā
3. He LOVES His Brother.
As a mom, this is by far my favorite and I only hope it lasts forever. Liam LOVES Landon and the feelings are definitely mutual. I have loved watching their relationship grow this year. He can’t wait for Landon to get home from school; he loves having Landon help him with things (although he’s also going through a “I can do it myself.” stage), and is Landon’s biggest sports fan. Don’t get me wrong, they have their moments. I’d say 70-80% of the time they are getting along and loving up on each other and then 20-30% of the time, they are disagreeing over something and I have to break things up.
I know I mentioned that I’m nervous about losing Liam as my baby but one thing I’m not nervous about is him taking on the role of big brother. He has such a great role model in Landon and admires him so much that I think he’ll want to do the same for our new little person.
So thanks for letting me brag about my baby (not such a baby) boy. I’m off to spend one of my final partial days alone with him and ring in the big 3! Ā I’d love to hear from you in the comments below – whether it’s something you love about your own kids or some advice for a soon-to-be mom of three!
