Cowen is turning THREE

In honor of the momentous occasion of my little man turning three, I thought I would share some of the things that I love best about my small son.

1) He loves his favorite clothes. Whenever he sees his blue Canada shirt or his gold reunion shirt or any of his Spiderman underwear he hugs it and hugs it and croons to it, and carries it around until I make him either put it on or back on his pile. Also, he has a nervous breakdown if he sees one of his favorite items in the dirty clothes and I do not let him wear it.

He is also very suspicious of new clothing as he suspects I might be trying to replace his older, more beloved clothing, and so for many days he will refuse to wear the new items. With the exception of Christmas Eve pajamas, which somehow do not inspire the same trepidation.

2) Cowen is a bear cub. When I tickle him on his shoulder blades he curls up like a potato bug, and rolls around on the floor in this curled up position, and then I get to snuggle him to my heart's content. I can never get enough of bear cub snuggling. Usually, unless tickled to exhaustion, he is too busy for much cuddling, so tickling is a very common thing around here. I am excited, like all moms, to watch him grow and develop, but like many moms, I am so sad when I think about Cowen growing out of the bear cub phase into the lean, older looking youngster. I don't want him to lose all that baby fat (although he doesn't seem chubby, just very solid) and stop feeling like a bear cub when I hug him tight. Sigh.

3) He can't speak English. That concerns some of my in-laws, but I find it absolutely charming. He expresses so much without English that often I find myself standing there, long after he has finished his story and run off, with a smile on my face because he is just so darn much fun to listen to. Cowenese is basically a "n" and "didi" based language. Sadly, and happily, in the past month he has been walking around with our FridgePhonics and practicing making sounds. He's learned six new words in one month, and I am afraid that Cowenese will all too soon be an obsolete language.

4) He bounces. So much so that my mother bought him a Tigger outfit to honor the bounciest kid she knows. I can never get enough of Cowen bouncing around.

5) He's a klutz. In our ward there were three boys born the same time as Cowen. Cowen learned to walk months before any of the rest of them, but when they all turned about a year and had all learned to walk we would watch them walk down the hall. Three baby boys walking solidly and staying upright, and Cowen, who still fell down every third step. Still does.

6) He's basically the most perfect little boy any mother ever had. He loves to give me kisses. His favorite question is "Who is going on a mission?" because he can then yell and point to himself. He likes to run around in a squatting position making threatening noises and faces. He makes Emeline laugh and laugh and laugh. When I chase him, I always catch him really quick because he falls down when he laughs. He is warm and sweet, and cuddly, and beautiful, and I can't do him justice with mere words. I love my boy.

Happy birthday little buddy.