And just like that, 3 years go by.

How is my first baby about to turn three years old? I love that everything about his birth and infancy still feels like yesterday - fresh and easily retrievable memories in my mind. I know one day this will not be the case. Reminders that he is growing up and his little mind is working harder and faster than I could ever imagine, here are some of the funny things he's done or said recently.

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Me: "Robbie, would you like to give this check to {the babysitter}?" (hand him the check)

Robbie: "Yes... here you go! (walks the check over to the sitter, then turns back to me.) Now you write yourself a check, mommy."

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Rob: "Robbie, you can't tackle mommy. You have to be gentle with her right now." (one night when Robbie was all wound up)

Robbie: "Yeah, because mommy's fragile - like glass."

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I catch Robbie silently watching me or intently listening to me when I'm talking with someone else, whether on the phone or in person. If I'm on the phone, he constantly talks over me or interrupts my conversation to figure out more about what I'm discussing, or to request that I relay some story or piece of information to the person on the other end of the line.

His latest thing is to ask me to talk about a situation or event that happened that was particularly important to him. Most frequent request: "Talk about when Grandma Jessie stared at me at Mima's kitchen table, and I cried!" {So the story goes... I left Robbie buckled into his booster seat at lunch one day at my mom's house, with my grandma Jessie sitting across from him, and went to change Ellie's diaper in the other room. When I returned, my sweet grandmother was silently watching Robbie as she ate her lunch, and Robbie was doing all that he could to hold back a floodgate of tears. I guess he's not used to being watched and not spoken to, and it unnerved him so much that he burst into tears upon my return to the table. Since then, we have helped him understand that grandma Jessie just thinks he's so handsome that she loves to look at him, and the next time that happens he should just talk to her and say "How is your day, Jessie?!".

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Sweet Robbie. This age is challenging in many ways, but I am so taken by the fact that this is MY boy, this sweet little thing that has a sensitive heart and can be so tender when he wants to be. I love his energy, passion, attentiveness, admiration for his daddy, growing love for and relationship with his sister, and independence. I am so blessed that he is mine! And I can't wait to celebrate his 3rd birthday - how far he has come in the last year, and all that he is becoming.