Brady's Three (Part Two)

We celebrated Brady's third birthday in Los Alamos with my parents in the home I grew up in. Andy and I had actually spent the previous night in Santa Fe at the Hilton, so we came home mid-day to celebrate. We tried to do as many of Brady's favorite things that day as possible. We'd planned to do a tour of playgrounds, but it was cold and windy. We went to three different shops before we found a donut. Mom provided a cake, and we had a low-key family celebration.





We all just keep feeding the Diego frenzy. Mom and Dad gave Brady a Diego radio that came with a little toy camin (and Brady had to tell the rest of us that the little alligator was, in fact, a camin). We bought him this authentic rescue pack and a game to play on Syd's Leapster. All in all, I think he had a wonderful day.

So in his honor, here are some random facts about Brady, in no particular order:

• He loves donuts.
• He loves Diego.
• He is particularly coordinated for a three-year-old. He can take stairs one at a time, and he can play on pretty much any playground without help.
• He sleeps with a yellow blanket that was actually a shower gift before Syd's birth. He calls it "beebee".
• He still shows very little interest in using the potty.
• He can take all of his clothes off, but he can't really put them on yet.
• He loves school and Bible class. He may say he doesn't want to go, but he always runs right in and is beaming when we pick him up.
• He is learning to say he's sorry. But instead of asking for forgiveness, he will say, "I forgive you." (For instance, after he hits Max, he'll say, "I'm sorry I hit you Max. I forgive you.")
• His laugh is absolutely maniacal and contagious. And he laughs a lot.
• He has very high highs and very low lows. He is definitely my most emotional child. I love that he lives so fully and feels so deeply, and I pray that the Lord gives me the ability to help him channel that passion. I never, ever want him to lose it.
• He's always hungry, yet rarely eats what is good for him. The acceptable dinner foods include mac-n-cheese, cheese quesadillas, pb&j, cheese ravioli and spaghetti.
• He has an awesome imagination. He frequently takes a few plastic animals outside so he can "rescue" them Diego style. And he finds new uses for toys that I would have considered broken or trashed. I remember one time I tried to throw away an old plastic tube that I think might have been part of some swim toy at one time. He found it in the trash and waved it in my face, saying "Mom, this is not trash. This is a TOY. We don't throw away toys!"
• He loves to spell. But most everything is spelled "P-L-U-D".
• His favorite dance is the robot dance. Check him out:

I'm sure I'll think of a thousand other things I love about him after I finish publishing this post, but that's a good start. He has made my world so joyful, and I can't imagine what we would do without him. He is our comic relief and source of constant entertainment. He's an amazing kid. I've wondered with each child how I could possibly love them as much as I love the others. And I think as a mama, I love all of my children equally, but differently. I definitely have a special bond with Brady. He's one of the greatest surprises the Lord has ever given me, and I thank God for him every day.