Alex Is Turning Three!

Alex turns three tomorrow!  He was to be my last baby, and here we are three years later with Alex already firmly planted into his position as "middle child" and our new addition, the picture perfect definition of Little Sister.  Now, if for some reason, I am writing about Emily turning three in three years and there's ANOTHER baby in that role, then let me be the first to admit that something has gone horribly, horribly wrong.  But, in this case, things are horribly right.  I mean, wonderfully right.  And Alex, since the arrival of Emily, is suddenly back to his old self.  I would like to qualify that last statement by saying that that's a good thing.

Alex's behavior up until Emily's birth was awful.  Then something magical happened.  We brought home that little sister, and suddenly I feel like Alex is okay again.  He is back to being my good, sweet, albeit mischievous little boy.  Now, how does that make any sense?  Bringing home a new baby is supposed to instill chaos and disruption into the lives of young children.  And yet, Emily has calmed the chaos, and now Alex (and Andy) have seemingly stepped up their game.  They love their sister. For Andy, that's the understatement of the year.  Andy loves Emily so much, it borders on obsession. In fact, Andy is so concerned with Emily's well-being that he's now convinced himself that I, as the mother, am not good enough to take care of the new princess in the house.  "Put the brake on the stroller!" Andy yells if I step away from the stroller without engaging the brake.  "Where's her binky? I think she needs a bottle.  Keep your hand on her blanket, woman, IT'S GOING TO BLOW AWAY!"  Andy's conversations with Emily are rather entertaining as well.  The other day, Chris heard Andy explaining the family to Emily (that he was the biggest brother, etc).  There was a little bit of mumbling, and then Chris heard him continue, "And also Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars."  So he went from basic family hierarchy to astronomy.

Which brings me back to Alex, who listens more than we ever give him credit.  Last night, Andy brought up the planets again (obviously a huge topic around our house for some reason) and asked Chris if Pluto was a planet.  To which little Alex replied, almost under his breath, "No, because it's too little."  Nobody's ever explained the planets to Alex.  But the kid listens, and nothing is more entertaining than when he betrays an understanding to something that we had falsely assumed was way over his head.  This is something we probably do too much of- teaching Andy something while assuming Alex isn't old enough to understand.  But hey.  Children are born, mistakes are made.

Happy birthday to one of the cutest kids I know.

Alex is also an excellent older brother to the baby, singing to her (almost in a panic) if he hears her cry.  He begs to feed her bottles and also proudly introduces her to strangers.  (We are still working on the stranger danger thing, but sometimes it's true- a stranger's just a friend you haven't met!  Or someone who may want to kidnap you and sell you on the black market, but really, what are the odds of that happening?) Alex has been sweeter than usual lately, and I can honestly say there is zero jealousy factor. It works. For example, at night when we read our books, Emily curls in my lap, Andy sits to my left, and Alex cuddles under my right arm, just like always.  The adjustments thus far have been minor.

And so I wish Alex, the baby who is no longer the baby, the happiest of third birthdays.  Alex, you were a smiley infant, basically right from your first week at home.  You are still smiley.  You love to tell jokes and make us laugh with your ballet, which is essentially a very subtle butt wiggle that somehow kills it every time.  Your favorite movie is currently "Home Alone 2, Lost in New York," which we have watched no less than sixty times.  When we went to the zoo a couple weeks ago, we discovered that your favorite animal is the "little panda bear."  You're lucky, too, having won  $250 in Superbowl squares earlier this year and then a freaking bike in a raffle last month.  "I won one bike," you told people matter-of-factly.  Just one.  No more than one, and no less.  I, on the other hand, have never won a raffle in my entire life.  Not that I'm jealous of your one bike or anything, but I'd love to win some cash now and then.

I digress.  Alex, I am so proud of the boy you've become, and I'm glad you seem happy again.  I guess you just needed to see that Mommy wasn't gaining all that weight for nothing.  I know, I know, it made me upset, too.  Now I just need my abdomen muscles to reconnect and to be able to get my fat ass back into my old jeans and then we will ALL be happy.

I love you, kid.  I really hope you like your gift tomorrow morning.  Spoiler alert.  It's walkie talkies. Because a year ago, you hardly said anything at all, and now you know all about the planets and have a lot of information to spread, more than we assume, I'm sure.

Over and out.