Zane is Three!

Today my Sweet Baby Zane turns three!  Last night Michael was making a big deal about Zane turning three, and this morning Zane asked me, "When will I change?"  He had an idea that he might be quite different today, even though last night I assured him he would be the same!

For the last couple of nights we've been playing a balloon bombing game with the balloons leftover from his party.  Enjoy this prelude to the actual birthday celebrations.

This morning Michael got up early so Zane could enjoy his presents and hopefully calm down a bit by nap time.  Unfortunately, the first present Zane took from the stack was a rolled up shirt with a digger on it.  As he started to open it he got very mad and said, "This isn't fun.  It's not fun!"  He really threw quite a pout, enough that I was thinking of repossessing the gifts!  But really, he had been expecting toys and he opened clothes!  Ick.  So I let him have a bye on that.  Then he opened the other things from Michael and I and really liked them.  Two Cars videos and a book of TowMater stories.  A Dinosaur Train set, and Cranky with some magnetic freight train cargo.  Well, I guess we went to the dark side on licensed image stuff from TV, but at least it's mostly PBS Kids!  I was excited to discover that the plastic Dinosaur Trains fit on Zane's wooden train tracks, and that the Megabloks they are made from are interchangeable with his Legos.

Video evidence of the birthday present melee:


After his nap Zane also enjoyed some cars from Grandpa, a shirt from Grandma, and a crazy pipe and flag from cousins Ian and Julian.  I think the flag was his favorite!

I wrote and posted this last night, and I realized later that I forgot to do my hypothesizing about the year to come!  Here's what I said last year:

And what do I look forward to next year? Well, I imagine he'll get pretty fluent with language and easier to understand, learn shapes and counting, jump, walk up and down stairs without hands, and generally get stronger and more nimble. What do I dream of? Potty training and sleeping in his own room!

I'd say that was all right on!  He doesn't really know counting very well, but the rest is true.  And he did indeed get the potty training in just under the wire!

In this next year Zane will begin school and I imagine that will cause a lot of changes, along with just growing older!  I can't think of any really big changes like weaning and sleeping in a bed and toilet training from the last several years.  I think there's a good chance that he might be reading just a little bit when he turns four.  Hopefully he will also be better with numbers and counting.  He still zips around on his balance bike, but maybe he will learn to pedal a bike without training wheels, too!  I hope he can form some really good friendships and start to hang out with more kids (I have to make that easier for him).

We'll see!  It will all be a magnificent mystery.