8:53 AM

Nate at 8:53 AM, February 01, 2013. Exactly three years old.

For Nate, my first:

Three years ago at this exact time you were born. A year ago I wrote about who you were at two and although some things have changed, there is much that remains the same.

You still love your numbers and letters and kisses and shenanigans. Theatrics, as always, remain your specialty.

At three, you are sovereign supreme over NateWorld™ where the number is always 12, the color is always blue, pants of any kind are always "blue jeans" and everything you do is "BIG!".

You carry a fine tune and are very much on key and notice subtleties in cadence, but this isn't surprising since there is a long history on both sides of your family with regard to musical talent. Still, it's surprising to me since I am not the one you inherited any of this from. You rock a mean beat and when you think no one is looking you are magical.

You are decidedly right-handed and are also still a climber, albeit a bit more timid now. You no longer enjoy upside-down, but will tackle anything right-side up with reasonable confidence. You are wonderfully strong – although you still fake injuries if you think there's a blue band-aid or some "cherry flavors" in it. Mostly you have to settle for Mommy's kisses which you may or may not make the best of.

Somewhere between last year and this you gave up being a kitty cat and became a fox instead. You like being a fox quite a lot and frequently insist on being referred to as "Fox" rather than your given name.

In the past year you've learned the days of the week, months of the year, how to count to 100 and you can manage small sums. You still have a tendency to hold a book upside down and prefer to "read" that way – although right side up, sideways and backwards is also OK with you. You can sight read at least 20 words and are fervent about knowing how things are spelled and "what does that sound like".

Your favorite thing that doesn't solely exist in NateWorld™ is Dan and you will wait until the end to see him every time.

Anything you don't like is met with your patented phrase "I don't loike it!" which all of us have borrowed on occasion.

This is just a little bit about you at three.

I hope you have the happiest of happy birthdays today, Nate.

All my love,
Mommy