Shawn, Shelva, Symeon and Marin: Symeon turns 3

I am very late with this post because I have had a hard time putting into words that my first born turned 3 but with a few weeks and several times saying it out loud I have come to terms with it and I feel like I can write a post about this amazing person God blessed us with 3 years ago on February 18, 2008.

It has been a wonderful, exciting, fast and yet painfully slow some days 3 years. We have cried, laughed, rejoiced, grieved, celebrated, we have messed up, we have made mistakes, we have hit it right on, we have been sleep deprived, we have experienced life in a new and refreshing way through the eyes of a child, we have yelled, consoled, hugged, disciplined, kissed, snuggled, and mostly we have seen right before our eyes the development of an amazing and beautiful person. The day Symeon was born was exciting and terrifying and those two feelings seems to creep up everyone once in awhile with as much intensity as the day he was born.

Symeon's third birthday is a celebration of a child who loves life and lives it fully. He is warm, sweet, caring, kind, stubborn, inquisitive, a great climber, a teacher to his baby sister, a great helper, and a great baker. He is expressive and sure to give you his opinion on lots of things even when they are not wanted. He loves any sports and today he told me he wants to try snow boarding and I thought that fits just perfect we can see what we can do. He plays soccer and is really good, he is a natural athlete like his Dad and he feels all of life and everyone's pain deeply like his Mama. He is energetic, busy, and often I think he is looking for things to get into in an inquisitive sort of figure things out way but often that curiosity gets him into "situations." He often gets himself stuck like his head in the fence and closed in the window just to name two and that was just in one day. If he is quiet you had better check on him because I am sure he is investigating "something" really neat with little regard for safety, his or his sisters. He loves Cat and still sleeps with it pulling his tail until he falls asleep and he still loves Fireman Sam a show from England about a fireman which he informed me he wanted to be when he grew up.

He has a special relationship with his sister and he is a great teacher. He taught Marin to jump from his big bead to her crib and then climb in, he showed her how to climb up on the washing machine, how to eat toothpaste straight from the tube, how to move the stools around so you can access anything in the house, how to dump all the paints into a bowl and add water for soup, he showed her how to climb the fence outside, how to climb on top of the play car to watch TV and even boosted her when she was having a hard time, he taught her how to use the ipad which is one of his favorite things to do and he taught her how to pick out her own clothes, share, play nice with others, not to bite, how to use a spoon, a cup, he has taught her so much that comes so easy to him and she beams with delight with any attention he gives her. They have their moments of fighting but overall I know they are going to have a great friendship as the years go on.

At his 3 year check up he was in the 75% for height and weight and everyone thinks he is 4 rather than 3. He is right on target with growth and he is still a great eater. The other night he asked me for more broccoli and after 3 helpings he told me he was full. We still get lots of comments about his hair which is about the same color as mine and I might add he has the temper and spunk that comes with being a red head. I think it will serve him well in life as long as I can help him learn to control them both so they are assets rather than pitfalls. Shawn and I often joke we are raising an activist who will work for justice in the world rather than say an architect who would work in an office. Symeon is his own person, he feels no need to follow a crowd of kids and I pray that strong sense of self will always be grounded in him so that as the decisions in life get bigger he will remain true to himself and his beliefs.

He is a great kid and we are blessed to have him in our family. Happy Birthday sweet guy we love you so much!