Three years....

I've always been told that time flies when you're having fun. I never really gave too much merit to the saying until I became a Momma. Our son turned three on Saturday. I still remember every single thing about the day we brought him into this world. I remember waking up at 3:20am on the 11th because my water broke. I remember calling my parents, in-laws, husband, and best friend. I remember going to the hospital and getting checked to make sure that it was in fact my water that broke. I remember when they took away my glass of ice water and said I could no longer have anymore fluids or food. I remember all 22 hours of labor, every time I threw up because they upped my Pitocin or laid me back to check me. I remember when I finally broke down and cried because I was exhausted and they decided a C-section was the way to go. The anesthesiologist was the nicest guy. He held a bucket and my hair when I got sick during the end of my surgery. I had a great team of doctors. I remember how wonderful my husband was the entire time. Making sure that if I needed him, he was right there. Poor guy had been up for over 36 hours. He was probably more exhausted than anyone else there. I remember the look on his face when he held our son for the first time and I remember falling in love with him all over again. Seeing him holding that sweet baby, knowing by the look on his face just how much he already loved Talent, that was something I never expected to feel, but I felt a love for him that was deeper than anything I already felt. Trust me, I already loved that man with everything I had, this just added to it.

The last three years have been a learning experience in so many ways. Taking care of another human being is a LOT of work. Talent has food allergies and that has taught me so much. Before I had him I never knew much about food allergies at all. Now that he has them, well, you could call me the food Nazi....people at much church do. I am very careful about things that come into our home and things that come in contact with him. I've learned a lot about foods and allergens. I learn more every day. It's a process, and it's one that you can never stop reading and learning about. I've also learned that patience is something that doesn't come naturally. I have had to work at being patient. I'm a lot better than I used to be. I get better every single day. I've also learned to watch my mouth. There's a little walking recorder in my house who likes to repeat a lot of things. Usually the things you don't want him to repeat, like when I called the dog a "butthead" last week. Hearing my almost 3 year old last week say, "Mommy, Redick not butthead!" caught me a little off guard. But, it's better than other things he could be repeating. I have learned that I can't control everything. Control has always been something I liked. I like to have control of situations so that I don't feel overwhelmed. With a kid, there's a lot that you can't control. Lately he wants to dress himself. I tried to give him choices of two different outfits and that didn't work out. So, now, I just say, pick what you want and he does. Last week he wore a pair of pants that were about 2 sizes too big and looked like they were MC Hammer pants. But, they made him happy. So, I let him wear them and decided not to be so controlling over that issue. He was happy about the pants, he looked absolutely ridiculous, but he was happy with his outfit choice. Some battles you have to choose not to fight.

We have been blessed beyond what we ever could have imagined with this boy. He's happy and smart. He's loving and sweet. He is very independent and so wonderful. Seth and I have really tried to be great parents and I think we are doing a pretty great job. He doesn't throw fits in the middle of the store. He knows what is expected of him when we are out. He is generally very happy and loving. He's a good kid. He knows he is loved and he knows that he is secure in his environment. I am so happy that we have this little guy. He makes life fun and sure makes you feel good when you just need a hug or a little bit of encouragement. He is the love of our lives and we are very thankful for him.