Uriah, at three

I asked Uriah the following questions on February 1, 2016, the day after he turned three years old. I wanted to include these in a full on Uriah update, but where would I even start? He's so big, so smart, so silly, so fun, so quirky, so independent, so inquisitive, so sweet, so intense, so... wonderful. How would I put all that into words? He's so very unique and special and more than wanting to share that with all of you, I want to be able to remember it - that's why these posts are so important to me. Already I've gone back to read his baby updates and compare them to Ezra's. I want to be able to do that with Uriah at three, too. But how?! How do I put into words all that makes up my three year old boy? He is truly unlike any other. And I am proud of that, of him. He's tiring and disobedient and annoying and mean and very much three but I'm proud of all that, too. He's learning and growing and changing and it's all so good! My thoughts and feelings toward him are a jumble every night - caught somewhere between happy, proud, loved, desperate and annoyed. So, future Allison, reading this as Ezra turns three, remember the face he makes when he tries to put lines in his forehead. The way he asks you to receptively act like "you hear somepin and not know what it is, ok?". His furrowed eyebrow, teeth gritting, clenched fist face that he makes when Ezra invades his space. The way his hair feels between your fingers when he asks you to play with it as he falls asleep. Remember the way he looks at Stephen at the dinner table and gently rubs his arm to express his contentedness. The way he always hides under the covers when playing hide and go seek. Always. How everything he makes out of Legos ends up being a fighter jet. And is made of all one color. Remember the way he politely and quietly rubs your arm when he wakes you up in the middle of the night. The way he yells and grunts in anger in his time out. The way he refuses to put on his own underwear even though he knows how. Remember the way he lights up at seeing a firetruck, every single time. His laugh when you tickle that spot in his armpit. His pride and embarrassment when he tells you something he learned. The way he strips down in the hallway and sneaks his way into your shower because heaven forbid he be away from you for ten minutes. Remember his sleeping face, his genuine smile, his sparkling eyes, his innocent wonder and his keen interest. He is so very wonderful.



What is your favorite color? Purple (has been since he learned his colors at 15 months old!)

What is your favorite food? String Cheese (Stephen and his brothers used to argue over who was "cheese man" in their house - aka, who put more cheese on their food. Uriah has learned this and refers to Stephen as Cheese Man and himself as Cheese Boy.)

What is your favorite TV show? Wild Krats (we don't own a tv or have a Netflix account, so Uriah watches PBS shows on the laptop. A strong contender for this would have been Dinosaur Train!)

What is your favorite game? Slap Jack (Uriah loves card games - Go Fish, Spot It, War... I'm so glad we taught these to him early, as it has helped him learn numbers, shapes, reflexes, dexterity... but also because it makes for fun family game nights! With popcorn, of course!)

What is your favorite animal? Bee (this started when the boys would get done swimming in the summer - Stephen and Uriah would snuggle up in their towels in the sun and Stephen would ask Uriah what he wanted to talk about as they dried off. They saw a bee fly by, Stephen taught him everything he knew about bees and it is still Uriah's topic of choice to this day! "Let's talk about bees")

What is your favorite song? Juicy Wiggle (an inappropriate song Stephen introduced Uriah to that has the best dancing beat! It sounds like it might be a children's song, but it is in fact, not.)

Who is your best friend? Ben (our neighbor across the courtyard, though I was expecting him to say his dad, his cousin Harper, or maybe even me...?!)

What is your favorite thing to do outside? Play with Baba (while he does love to play outside with Baba!, she was visiting at the time and I think was able to sway his answer a little ;) Had I asked these questions prior to her visit, I would have expected him to say racing dad or playing at "the little park")

What is your favorite holiday? Ice Cream Thursday (I kid you not, this was his true, unprompted response. A kid after my own heart!)

Who is your favorite stuffed animal? Boy (his golden retriever dog that Nana got him from a long trip to Ikea when we first moved here. Boy and Wink accompany him on all his big trips and every night in bed)

What do you want to be when you grow up? A fireman (while he likes to play doctor - going off to work with a backpack and a kiss from mom - this has been his constant answer for quite sometime!)

What is your favorite thing to do with daddy? Snuggle (sweet, right?!)

What is your favorite thing to do with mommy? Play games (though my favorite thing to do with Uriah is snuggle!)

What is your favorite thing to do with Ezra? Play chase! (this answer really did have an exclamation point at the end! This was right when Ezra was crawling fast, but before she could walk. He would run into the other room and call her name until she peeked around the corner, laughing all the way. He would light up and take off running again, sending her into another laughing fit. I could have watched them do this for hours!)

What is your favorite movie? Dragons (aka, How to Train your Dragon, part 2 which he hasn't seen in months...?! He rarely watches actual movies, but I would have guessed Planes, Fire and Rescue would have been his favorite)

Who is your favorite superhero? Spider Man (Spider Man is new around here, and new is always pretty special, but prior to Spider Man, and maybe now tied with Spider Man (or ahead of, depending on the day) would be Iron Man. His first superhero anything was Iron Man, he repeatedly watched the movie trailers with Stephen, chose to be Iron Man for Halloween and can sing his theme song - "I am Iron Man, da da da da da da da da na na na...")

What is your favorite book? Spider Man (the three story Spider Man Little Golden Book we had just borrowed from the library. If this one wasn't fresh in his mind I would have guessed he'd say If You Give a Moose a Muffin, The Bible or the dinosaur book Ezra "got him" when she was born)

What is your favorite thing to play with? Legos (Stephen saves his childhood Legos and introduced them to Uriah around the time Ezra was born. His interest and skill has really taken off these last few months and Legos are now on every wish list and an everyday activity!)

I asked him the following questions as well, but he wasn't in the mood to answer any more of my questions, or maybe didn't quite understand them well enough to give a good or honest answer. I'll keep them in my list for next year, though, and see what he comes up with!

What do you do really well:
What do you like to learn about:
What makes you happy:
What makes you sad: