The Three-Year-Old Facts

Micah had his three-year-old well check yesterday. This was the first time that he didn't have any scheduled immunizations, the first time that he got to use the "big kid" scale, and the first time his height was measured standing up instead of lying down. Here are the facts:

Height: 38.7 inches (73rd percentile)
Weight: 39 lbs. 3 oz. (96th perentile)

So, I have a big preschooler! He's in 4T clothes, mostly, although most of his height is in his torso, so some of the pants are too long and some of the shirts are too short. :)

The rest of the checkup was good, too. He's healthy and well-developed in every way, despite the fact that he's a picky eater. :)

We did find out one thing that's kind of a bummer. Micah has some white patches on his skin, mostly on his legs and thumbs, and I wondered if it might be vitiligo. The doctor thought that it almost certainly is. Basically, vitiligo just means that for an unknown reason, skin will lose its pigment. It's permanent, and it spreads over time.

On the one hand, vitiligo is no big deal. It doesn't affect anything but the way he looks, and I'd much rather he have vitiligo than cancer or brittle bone disease or even a food allergy. But I feel a little bummed out that it's permanent, so those little spots on his skin will always be there. And since he's only three, there's a lot of his life left for the spots to grow and spread. I can imagine that it could be a cause for others to tease him as he gets older, especially if it spreads to his face or neck.

So, we left the doctor's office with a referral to a dermatologist, who can let us know if there are any new treatments that will slow the spread (if we feel that's necessary) and will answer any questions that I can come up with.

I'm so thankful for a happy, healthy, smart little boy. Today, he wrote his name for the first time (with sidewalk chalk), and he's super excited that he gets to go to a Jr. High football game this afternoon.

Micah's Third Birthday

Micah's birthday was Friday, September 23rd, so the boys and I decided to do some of Micah's favorite things during the day. We started out by going to the zoo, and Micah got to choose which animals we went to see. He also really wanted to "ride the alligator." Okay, it wasn't an alligator we rode. Here's Micah's description, and I'll see if you can figure out what "alligator" means:

"First we pushed the button, then we go inside and push the number '2,' and then we ride it and go out."

Then we went to Target to get a "blue," otherwise known as an Icee. Micah is forever asking to get one whenever we go there, but it's a rare treat. And I let him eat the whole thing himself. Of course, I paid for that when he couldn't fall asleep at naptime, but hey, a kid only turns three once in his life. :)

We went home for naps and I finished up some cleaning before Josh's parents, sister, and brother-in-law arrived around 5 p.m. Micah had a great time playing outside with all of them. Playing outside is one of his favorite things to do, especially on the swingset.

On Saturday, we all went downtown to the Farmer's Market and the parks down there. We started out on the slides, which both Micah and Eli loved!

I thought the Farmer's Market was pretty cool, although I'm not sure Micah was as excited about it. I tried to get him to pick out a balloon animal, but he was too scared. Eli got one though, and loved it. Micah really wanted an apple, so that's what he got.

Then we headed home to eat Chinese food for lunch. My mom and dad joined us, and the guys went golfing while the ladies relaxed at home during the boys' naps.

Then it was party time! We grilled burgers and hot dogs, and Micah had his first taste of Jell-o, which he called "jealoust." Then it was present time.

Micah did better at opening presents than ever before. When he turned 1, he didn't know how to open them. When he was 2, he would open one present and then he lost all interest in continuing because he wanted to play with the thing he'd just opened. But this year, he would open one, look at it briefly (and excitedly), and then move right on to the next one.

He got some puzzles, a Lightning McQueen pillow, a Penguin Pillow Pet, clothes, sidewalk chalk, and an awesome Hot Wheels track that mounts on the wall. So cool. Oh, and a couple of things for his room, including a personalized pillow sham.

Grandma Brown couldn't resist buying a couple things for Eli, too. He got a stuffed Angry Bird and a cute little t-shirt. Here he is with the bird up his shirt and a bow bustle (he's unfortunate to have the relatives he has, ha ha!).

Grandpa Brown was a party animal. :)

Then it was cake time. Let me tell you, Micah has no idea how to (and no desire to) pose for a picture. In this lucky shot, he was just imitating the face I was making to try to get him to laugh.

Micah wanted a puzzle cake. Did I mention he's into puzzles? I had fun making it.

We had a good time. Eli and Travis were pretty tuckered out by the time it was all done. I think this picture is hilarious!

Sunday morning, I tried to take a good 3-year-old picture of Micah, but he basically ran in circles on the driveway for 15 minutes. Then Eli came out and joined in the fun. After a while, they both sat down on the driveway for a rest. Cuties.

Here's the best picture I got of my big guy. What a blessing he is!

Happy Birthday, big guy! We love you and can't imagine life without you!

Quick 5 #4

1. It's Micah's birthday! Time flies--my firstborn is three years old. Whoa. And he's such a great kid. I'm blessed. It's also my brother-in-law's birthday today, and his and my sister's tenth wedding anniversary tomorrow. Can't believe they've been married ten years, either.

2. I lost my camera, and I'm pretty sure it's gone for good. So, there haven't been any pictures lately, and since I won't be able to replace it for a while, there aren't likely to be pictures on this blog anytime soon. I'm not too upset that the camera itself is gone (it was oldish and on its last leg), but I'm very, very sad at the thought that I might miss capturing some cute moments in my boys' lives. Sheesh, what would I have done in the days before cameras existed?

3. Last Friday, I did not do a quick 5 because I was at a women's retreat. It was a good conference, and it was great to get away for a couple of days. I think every mom should be allowed to leave the house for the weekend every six months or so, just for sanity's sake.

4. Josh's parents and sister and brother-in-law are on their way here from Rapid City right now, getting ready to P-A-R-T-Y for Micah's birthday. (I plan on borrowing their cameras to get pictures of everything, so at least I won't miss this big milestone in my lack-of-camera days. And I'll do a separate "Micah is Three" post sometime next week.)

5. Our youth are having a retreat next weekend that involves a service project with an inner-city ministry. My high school girls small group is going to make and wrap 120 plates of cookies that we can hand out to the neighbors that live near the ministry. So, that's like 1400 cookies! Should be a fun, though large, endeavor. I'll let you know how that one goes!

Okay, off to some more preparations before the family gets here. Happy Friday, everyone!

Quote of the Day #2

(Micah is squirming in his chair at dinner)
Me: Micah, do you have to go potty?
Micah: No.
Me: Are you telling me the truth or are you telling me a lie?
Micah (thinks for a moment): I'm not telling you anything!

Quick 5 #3

1. This morning we went to the zoo, and we were in what I think is the smelliest part--the cave in the Kingdoms of the Night exhibit. Micah said, "I smell something." I said, "What?" He said, "I smell a foot!" Ha ha ha ha ha!

2. Fall weather is here, and I LOVE it! The boys and I have been playing outside and taking walks almost every day. I get excited every year when I get to wear jeans and sweaters again, although it's not quite that cool here yet. I guess I really don't like the heat. It's not so bad when you want to go swimming or play in the sprinkler, but it's annoying to get sweaty every time you step outside.

3. The NFL football season started yesterday. I have a fantasy football team, and thanks to Drew Brees, I already have 29 points in this week's matchup against Josh. My team won our league last year, and I'm starting out pretty good this year, too! I especially like that I got a quality individual for my QB. I had Tom Brady last year, and although he got me a lot of points, he's not the kind of guy I want to be cheering for. :)

4. Today we did the zoo with no stroller--just a backpack diaper bag and prayers that the boys would obey. They did great. Micah got one little talking-to about not running too far ahead, but I really didn't have too much trouble. We probably stayed too long, though. I carried Eli a lot, and by the time we got back to the car, Micah had used up almost all of his energy. But it was nice to not have to maneuver a stroller everywhere.

5. I can't believe it's been 10 years since 9/11. It's weird how different our country is now, and yet, how little my personal life was impacted. I know many, many people faced huge losses that day and the months and years that followed. This weekend, I'm making a point to pray for those who are still hurting.

Quick 5 #2

1. Go Big Red! I'm waiting for the boys to wake up so we can go watch the first Husker game at a friend's house. Although I'm excited for football season, I think I might get tired of reading through dozens of facebook statuses that only say "Go Big Red" or "GBR!"

2. Micah made his first ever purchace with his own money (that he earned doing chores). I thought for sure he would buy something edible, but he picked out a little orange water bottle. I thought it was a very good choice for such a little guy.

3. My cousin's birthday was yesterday, and since she lives in my town, I had the privilege of making her a cake. I made a chocolate cake with a layer of cream cheese mixed with whipped topping and Oreos in the middle with melted chocolate chips on top. Delicious....

4. Eli is really into making animal sounds. He only makes two--quacking and roaring--but there are so many animals that roar that he finds reasons to make those sounds a lot. We were reading a book with a duck character, and he quacked the whole time.

5. Tomorrow, I will go to church with my husband, sit with him, and possibly even arrive and leave with him. Being married to a youth pastor, this doesn't happen often. But it's our church's annual Family Fest--an outdoor worship service for the entire church body, meaning there's no separate nursery or youth services. And since all the prayers, announcements, and sermons are covered by other pastors this year, Josh doesn't have any responsibilities! There is clean-up that he'll pitch in with, but it's rare to have a Sunday "off" like this.

Hide and Seek

Lately, Micah has been learning to play hide and seek with his friends. Today, he wanted to play with Eli and me. We had a good time, but I made a few observations as to why hide and seek with toddlers isn't all that challenging...

1. Micah's not very good at hiding. Sometimes he only hides his eyes, like when he lay on his bed with the covers over his head but not his legs, or when he curled up on the couch with his head down but his entire body completely visible.

2. When Micah does find a good spot to hide, he announces where he is. "I'm under the bed! You can't find me!"

3. When Micah counts, he only counts to ten, and he does it really fast, giving me only about 4 seconds to find a hiding spot.

4. Eli doesn't really understand the concept of hiding, so he will usually go in a closet, then come right back out.

5. Eli's other mistake is that he'll follow me to a hiding spot, only instead of hiding with me, he'll just stand there and stare at me, like a hunting dog pointing at a fallen bird. He leads Micah right to me (that is, if Micah is smart enough to catch on).

But even with all of this, it's very fun to play hide and seek with my kiddos. My favorite thing is when I'm hiding somewhere and Micah comes in and looks right past me and leaves the room. Then I have to make a little noise or he'd be off somewhere in the rest of the house.

It will be fun to see how hide and seek changes as the boys get older. :)

And for your enjoyment, here's a random picture of my cutie pie.