Will is THREE!

Happy birthday Will!
I'm not sure quite how or when, but this sweet, darling baby
has managed to turn into . . .

this sweet, darling preschooler!

Here's some vital info about our favorite three-year-old:

* Looooves 'collections' of items. For a while it was a group of animals (two hippos, two rhinos, varying numbers of giraffes - see the picture above where he's reading a book to them); currently it's either his group of Woody and Buzzes or a group of vehicles. He totes the entire gaggle of items around the house with him, which is hilarious. The animals were usually just carried around, the various Woodys and Buzzes were pushed around in a box, and the cars/bus/trucks are moved from room to room especially meticulously - two at a time, about a foot at a time. Kept him verrrry busy one evening as he moved all seven or eight of them from the living room to the kitchen!!

*Still loves the alphabet and numbers. He can independently spell Mom/Dad/Clyde/Will and can identify a few other words as well.

*Favorite movies: Toy Story trio, Cars, Robin Hood, Madagascar.

*Favorite 'shows': Handy Manny, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Word World.

*Favorite foods: String cheese, oatmeal, cheese quesedillas, chicken nuggets, sweet and sour meatballs, yogurt, cereal, sandwiches.

*Super cuteness: Will has started saying "Ohh, baaaaby" - in the exact same way I've said it to him his whole life. He usually says this to someone mid-hug. It's insanely adorable. Also, if someone admonishes Will or gives him an answer contrary to what he wanted to hear, he says, "No, no" and then puts his finger to his lips and gently shushes them. Also, he really loves kissing. And he's got style; he usually grabs the person by their neck for maximum hold... we're (honestly) not sure where he picked that up, but it makes us laugh!

*Really into wrestling with Clyde. The other day I watched in a mixture of horror and pride as Will grabbed Clyde off the side of my bed (Clyde was attempting to climb up) with a tricky 'hug from behind' move and took him down to the ground, all in one sweeping motion. Then Will proceeded to sit on Clyde's tummy, bouncing up and down while saying "Bam! Bam! Bam!" Clyde giggled and wiggled free and went after Will for revenge.

*Has made sooo much progress in speech and occupational therapy over the last nine months, and now he will be transitioning to the Preschool program. We are so, so proud of him.

*Minus the few days earlier this month where Will decided to live up to his 'terrible twos' (thankfully it appears to have been a quick phase, knock on wood!), Will is such a delight and joy (and technically, he's still those things in the midst of a meltdown :) ). We consider ourselves very, very blessed to have been selected to be his family. I doubt I would have 'chosen' autism to be a part of our lives, but we recognize the sacred responsibility Heavenly Father has given us to protect and love and raise Will and we're honored to have been deemed worthy for the job. As always, we're grateful to have such great support networks (family, church, friends) that love Will (and us) too.

We sure love our sweet Will! - happy birthday baby boy!