Minnesota Barlows: Happy 3rd Birthday, Brooksie Boy!

Happy Birthday, Brooks!

I can't believe my sweet baby is 3 years old already. Brooks is half sweet and half spicy, but ALL boy! He loves to make other people laugh. He is full of love and hugs, and is always the first one to say, "Bless You," when someone sneezes. He has the cutest little smile, and the best belly laugh. He's super ticklish, so I can hear that laugh whenever I want! :) He is still a strong-willed, opinionated boy. He has a bit of a short fuse, and can go from happy to tantrum in o.2 seconds! He likes to be a contrarian as he always chooses the opposite of what he thinks you want him to choose. If I am cheering for the red team, he is surely cheering for the blue team. If I am offering him milk, he will surely ask for water. So, reverse psychology it is for this one! He is definitely a boy by all gender stereotypes. He likes to wrestle and play rough. He loves to be dirty and jump in puddles. He puts himself in danger regularly and usually has a few bumps and bruises to prove it! We love our boy and all of his personality ~~quirks~~ traits so much. We wouldn't change a thing about him!

Brooks has many favorite things, and I was so excited that I could do a birthday interview with him this year like I have with Kylie in the past. He was excited too. He smiled through all of my questions, and he clearly felt very special! Here it is:

Favorite color: red and blue

Favorite shape: circle

Favorite letter: B

Favorite animal: lion

Favorite toy: Legos

Favorite TV show: "Paw Patrol"

Favorite movie: "Cars"

Favorite food: apples

Favorite drink: milk

Favorite lunch: PB and honey sandwich

Favorite song: "Life is a Highway" (aka The Cars song)

Favorite book: "Peef the Christmas Bear"

Best friend: Alexander

Favorite thing to do outside: Ride bikes

Favorite thing to take to bed with you: Cars flashlight

What do you want to be when you grow up? a worker like daddy

What did you eat for dinner on your birthday? Spaghetti at Piada

Some of Brooks' other favorite things include going to school (child care at the gym, bible study, and Moms' Day Out), gymnastics, music class, playing with cars and trucks, doing puzzles, reading books, running, jumping off things, showing us his muscles, taking baths, eating hummus, wrestling with daddy and Kylie, and helping mommy make supper.

There are some things Brooks' currently does not like. He does not like getting dressed in the morning. It is almost always a battle. He does not like to wear his winter coat. He will simply refuse to wear it if it's his only option. (Side note: At the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving Day, it was about 45 degrees. He refused to wear any coat at all because it was his only choice. He was outside for about two hours. Can you say stubborn?) He does not like corn. I'm not sure if it's the texture or taste, but he gags every time he tries it, and usually ends up spitting it out and forfeiting dessert. He does not like going potty on the potty. We tried potty training this summer, and it was one of the worst experiences of both of our lives. We were both angry and/or crying for an entire week until I finally gave up. We'll try again soon. Please pray for us. He doesn't really enjoy being told what to do, but does okay if given a couple of choices. It's all about the power with him! :)

As far as his milestones, he has changed by leaps and bounds over the past year. First things first, he has managed to meet two of my three goals for him. He is sleeping in a big boy bed (no crib), and he is no longer using a pacifier. He kept getting thrush this summer (a yucky yeast infection in the mouth), and we figured it was probably related to his pacifier. So we took it away cold turkey in August. He cried every day for about a month, and stopped napping, but has been totally fine without it since late September! Looking back, I can't believe he was barely speaking at this time last year. He is now fully verbally communicating with us. His language can be difficult to understand at times, but I would say most people can figure out at least 50% of what he is saying. Jon and I can understand about 75%, and Kylie can understand about 95%. She's our translator! My favorite word that he still says incorrectly is, "gaggy," which is daddy. He knows his colors, shapes, and how to spell his first name (not write it). He can sing the alphabet, recognizes about 1/3 to 1/2 of the letters, and knows a couple letter sounds. He can count from 1-20 without help. He loves to sing and play all of the instruments at music class. His fine motor skills are coming along as well. He can feed himself with silverware without spilling very much. He is starting to hold a writing utensil almost normally. He is definitely right-handed. He likes to play with stickers and tape, but can't work a scissors yet, which is probably good. I envision hair cuts once that skilled is learned. His gross motor skills are progressing but not as obviously as his cognitive skills. He likes to run and jump. He can gallop and walk up and down the stairs using alternating feet. In gymnastics, he can do forward rolls, handstands on the wall, and a chin up on the bar. He walks on the balance beam by himself, and listens fairly well to instructions. I'm not sure on his exact height and weight, but he has an appointment next week, so I will update then*. He is wearing 3T clothes, size 7-8 shoes, and size 5 diapers. He is a good sleeper, but since he is no longer napping, he sleeps from about 8pm-8am and does quiet time from about 1:30-3:30pm. He is a good eater. He doesn't eat a ton of volume, but tries pretty much everything we give him.

*Brooks had his well-child appointment on 12/9/15. He weighed 32 pounds (53rd percentile) and was 38 1/4 inches tall (68th percentile).

Brooks's birthday fell on Black Friday this year, which was really nice because Jon didn't have to work because of the long holiday weekend. Brooks woke up to streamers over his door and his entire family waiting for him. He opened most of his presents right away in the morning. We spent a low key day playing with his new toys, went out for a spaghetti lunch at Piada, and drove to the Alum Creek Christmas light show after dinner. He also Facetimed with many of his relatives and opened a few more gifts before bed. At bed time, he told me, "this was the best day ever." I think he enjoyed his special day!

We love our Brooksie so much! He is a special boy who brings a smile to our faces many times each day! We are so blessed to be his mom and dad!