Thing Two

He's three today.

He looks exactly like my husband.

He runs around on his tip toes and with his tongue hanging out. And he's a pretty solid child, so running on tip toes doesn't make his approach any quieter.

He was a very fat baby. See below.

He's happy 91% of the time.

He squeals and shrieks when he's happy. He winks and raises his eyebrows when he's being mischievous. He sticks his bottom lip out when he's sad.

He's expressive and theatrical. He knows how to work a room.

Unlike his older brother, who cannot pull off a lie to save his life, this one can manipulate. He's the one I'll definitely have my eye on when he's a teenager.

He also has many accents. English is like his second language, or third perhaps. Sometimes it's tinged with Italian, such as "It's a-really coooool-a." Sometimes it sounds a bit like New Jersey or Boston, since he says his r's like "ahhh's".

He comes into my room and sits on my head early in the morning. That's really...special.

He's very adept with computers and games.

He knows all his letters and numbers. And all his shapes. And most of his colors and animals.

He can sing songs and recite John 3:16.

And Ephesians 6:1. It was necessary.

And he can dance. Man, can he dance.

I remember with Thing One thinking that the time between the third birthday and the fourth was probably the most significant period of growth in his life. That will probably be true with Thing Two as well. They turn three still sort of a baby, but by the time they're four, they've become little kids instead.

And I have a feeling Thing Two will give lots of laughs in the process.

Happy Birthday, Bucket.