Thursday, June 4, 2015

Levi is 3!

Here we go! It's June 4 again and that means my little man is 3. Rather than wondering at how quickly time passes (seriously, how?!), I want to write down some things that I'd like to remember about this stage in a little note, that nobody but the grandparents will read ;)

Dear Levi,

You are such an entertainer. You love to sing and do so basically all day long, and at the top of your lungs, usually holding the last note just a little too long, and a little too loudly. It's the very best. You sings in the car to your music class albums and we entertain your many song requests. My favorite parts are when you don't know the words and make them up or hum along until a line you know comes back on. Please don't ever stop singing and always have the confidence you do now. Although a little volume control would be just fine with me from time to time.


You are so loving. You tell us 'I love you' freely and openly and give the best hugs. The best times are when it's spontaneous and we don't force you. I usually try not to make you hug anyone you don't want to since it's your own personal space, but I love to see you hug your cousin and monkey, and your dog Chino. You just love coming up to Chino and giving him a good squeeze.

In addition to your singing, there is the talking. It never stops. At some point, I was moderately worried that you were behind. But you weren't- you were learning 2 languages at the same time and making double the brain connections. Right now you are favoring English a lot, and mostly carry on conversations with people, me, and your toys in English. You understand everything in Russian and save most of it for Grandma Tania but will speak when prompted. When you say the little nursery rhymes in Russian it's just the cutest thing ever. You are also quite polite and love striking up conversations with just about anyone you meet. You also know both alphabets, can count on your own, a ton of shapes, and colors and a little bit about everything. I'd say you are a mini Renaissance man.

You love cars, specifically the Disney Pixar Cars characters and have the hoarding tactics of someone who should be on a lifestyle reality show. You ask to go to Target to pick out new cars, and we sometimes humor you with those requests. We know all the character names and have extensive conversations about them. When we play pretend, your papa and I are usually Mack the Truck and you're always Lightening McQueen, of course.



You love running and playing outside, mostly on the playground in the park near our house, or on sand, or really, any patch of dirt. You race like a little crazy person and we try to catch up with you- your papa is much quicker than I am. You are also becoming increasingly more interested in jiu jitsu with papa and ask to wrestle with him all the day. Every time he's taking a class, you say you want to go too and get so excited to run around on the mats. You were moderately interested in yoga for a millisecond, but I think I know where your passion will be in sports.


You're still my little foodie. Not as healthy and chia-filled as I had hoped, but you are a great eater. You love grandma's soup, cucumbers, corn, tomatoes, bread, plantain chips, and mocha yogurt just to name a few. You don't love typical 'kid' food and once looked at me like I grew an extra head when I accidentally gave you mac and cheese instead of chicken soup for lunch. You don't love pizza either but have had it, and much prefer coffee to any other beverage (we make you steamed milk and you call it your coffee).


You are never apart from your monkey, who is a boy, and you have named Masha. He has undergone several reconstructive surgeries and has traveled all over with us. I can imagine packing him up with you when you go to college, but for now it's pretty darn adorable. Most of the time you look like a big boy, but you snuggle up to Mr. Monkey and still use your fingers to suck on for comfort. That's just fine- I've never seen a college student suck their hands. Speaking of which- potty training is not your thing but we'll resolve that at some point.

You are such a strong spirit and so determined- just like you were when you were a little tiny person and didn't follow any of the 'rules' with eating, sleeping, or other general social conventions. That's because you're you and one size does not fit all. Thank you for making us laugh a million times in the last 3 years and for teaching me more than I could learn about flexibility, patience, and construction vehicles. 

Happy birthday my big boy! I couldn't be any prouder of you and am so lucky to be your mama.