Williamson Family Adventures: Zane is 3!

Zane Now

Zane 1 year ago!

Our little man is turning 3 years old! He had a growth spurt this summer and I feel like he looks like a preschooler now and not a baby. He has stretched out and lost his baby cheeks.
I've been reflecting this week on what I most want to remember about Zane at 3. He has really developed his personality this year and is definitely his own little person. So here are a few things we have learned about Zane in these 3 short years...

Zane is INTENSE. No matter what he decides to do, good, bad, or whatever, he is doing it loudly and with all of himself. He doesn't really half do things. He wakes up this way and stays at that level until he falls asleep. It is part of who he is. At his birthday party last week, he was super excited about EVERY present. Even a box with just clothes, he pulled them out and said, "Check it out!"

Zane is INDEPENDENT. He wants to get and do things for himself most of the time. He can go in the kitchen and get his own water or a spoon for his yogurt. Sometimes he even gets in trouble for trying (& sometimes succeeding) to get his own snack out of the pantry. Recently, when a nursery volunteer at the church offered to help him in the bathroom, he said "I've got it," and he did. This has been pretty helpful to mommy now that I've got another baby to juggle.

Zane is AFFECTIONATE. We figured out this summer that Zane's primary love language, at least for now, is physical touch. This has become very obvious! He wants to hug, wrestle, kiss, sit in my lap, or attack me all day long. He practically mauls Taryn to try and kiss and hold her any opportunity that he gets. The intensity plays into all this as well. He can't just give me a sweet hug or a small pat on the back. No, his hugs are often more like tackles or wrestling matches. He is intending to be sweet most of the time but just doesn't even realize how rough he is being. He is really great about giving hugs and fist bumps to our family and friends, and I truly appreciate that. We are having to teach him that not all of his friends want to be hugged all the time. Recently, we were saying good night to some friends we had eaten dinner with who have a very pretty 3 year old girl. As we were leaving, Zane gave the little girl a hug and said, "Can I kiss you?" He immediately turned and kissed her cheek before she could answer. Hey, at least he asked! He tells us he loves us and will even volunteer those sweet words to our extended family and friends. Nothing sweeter than a child looking up at you and saying, "I love you." I really love this about him! Recently, I was laying down with him at bedtime and he said to me, "Mommy, I love you at the park. I love you at McDonalds." While it is not exactly the full concept of love, it was cute and it gave me a chance to list off places and times that I love him, some of them fun and others not, like "I love you in time out." Teachable moments!

Zane is ALL BOY. He loves sports, superheroes, cowboy boots, and wrestling. He is super active and barely sits still, even for movies lately. The other day, he went outside to play wearing an iron man helmet, cowboy boots, holding 8 checkers in his pocket, and carrying a baseball bat. He gets his Legos out and builds "giant robots." Silly boy!

Zane is IMAGINATIVE. He is not super artistic at the moment, but that may be an attention span thing, but he is creative in other ways. His favorite toys are usually simple things that he decides are something else entirely. He stacks markers together and says they are a golf club or baseball bat or just a stick to poke things with. He plays with these plastic "cocktail" type cups we have and they are musical horns. Almost anything can become a horn, drum stick, or hat. He loves music and playing his toy guitars or drums or anything else he can make music with. We got into a routine this summer that we would sing songs together before his nap everyday. He loves this and it has been fun to teach him fun songs from my childhood.

Zane's favorite things- He loves his baby sister and playing with his daddy. He loves playing with his cousins (5 w/ 3 on the way!) Since his birthday party last weekend, he has worn his cowboy boots everywhere. He loves his superhero masks and iron man helmet. He has been carrying a baseball bat all over the house. He loves looking at pictures on people's phones and playing games on his phone (an old one that was Tommy's). He loves watching VeggieTales and superhero cartoons. He went through a Muppets obsession earlier this year but lately he wants to watch The Incredibles. He also loves Fresh Beat Band. His favorite color is purple. Favorite foods are pizza, chicken nuggets, bread, and golden Oreos Does ketchup count as a food? He also loves yogurt, applesauce, and a lot of fruits. We are finally getting him to branch into chicken that is not fried and a few other things. Maybe one day he will try a vegetable again. :-)

This age is a challenging one in a lot of ways but it is also a lot of fun. You never can be sure what he will do or say next! I am so grateful that I got to spend this past summer at home with him while on maternity leave. I think it really helped us to re-bond after a rough pregnancy had kept me off my feet for a while.

Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the past year: