And the Boy.

He turned three this summer.  He's so big.  I bump his head on the car every time I put him in his car seat. I love it when he wants to sit on my lap.  Even though my legs sometimes fall asleep.  The more he talks, the funnier he becomes.  He's so observant and has such a good memory.  He's such a contrarian.  He insists on kissing my owies, just like I kiss his.  If one of us bites our tongue, it's awkward.  But I draw the line at kissing hurt tongues.  That is just not going to happen.

He is thoughtful and kind (when he forgets he's an argumentative three year old).  Every afternoon he greets Dad at the door with a question: "How your day?"  He says to Noella when she wakes up crying, "It's okay, Wella. I here. How your nap?"  He likes doing things by himself.  He changes his clothes three times a day.  I often find him standing on his head on the couch; he says he's doing push ups.  He constantly gets into strange predicaments (stuck in near-splits between the desk and the rolly chair; hanging upside down on the side of N's crib with one leg stuck between the slats....) and hollers frantically for help.

He loves numbers and letters and would do anything for the chance to watch a movie.  He loves reading the most annoying books over and over again.  "Can't we choose a different book; I don't like this one," I say.  "Yes, you do like this one," is his consistent reply.  He's still not always brave at the park, often sitting at the top of the slide for what seems like hours while other kids get annoyed and push past him.  But sometimes he shocks me by repeatedly darting up the biggest ladder to the biggest slide.  We took the kids to a fun center with little indoor rides, and he rode every ride.  He's convinced a dinosaur lives in our bathroom and 'gets it with a stick' nearly every day.  I try to make sure we feed it, too, because I want him to face his fears and realize sometimes scary things aren't scary when you get to know them.  His little sister has long since had him beat in the boldness department.  I rest assured she'll have a smart big brother looking out for her when she's a little reckless.

He loves riding his balance bike, and he's actually gotten so fast I have to jog just to keep up.  When I requested we do away with at least one sprinkling zone, Dad decided to build some jumps and turns in the backyard.  I may regret it when we start having injuries.  But so far, Ezra loves it!  One day, we were working in the yard and started talking about lunch.  E disappeared into the house for a while.  He came back with three peeled bananas.  I received mine with instructions to share with Noella.

He is really, really, really, really excited for our upcoming Christmas trip.  He constantly talks about bringing his boots so he can ski with his cousins and skate on Boppa's pond.

{After waiting too long for breakfast, he took matters into his own hands.} 

{I think next year, he'll be strictly a hiker....no longer an attachment to some poor soul's back}

{an amazing camper!}

{loves canoeing}