Then There Were Four

Three years ago tonight, we romped in the pool...

and watched Bambi with the E's.

How do I remember this?

Because at 8:01 the next morning, this special delivery arrived...

And my heart stretched to fit in another little love of my life.

His Daddy was pretty excited to welcome a new little Aggie football watching buddy son.

And his big brother decided he was a keeper, too.

Tyler Daniel, Happy 3rd Birthday! You were named Tyler because, so many years ago, when Daddy and I were at A&M and decided we liked each other and wanted to have a family someday, we thought we would like to have a son named Tyler. You were named Daniel because we pray you will be a man of conviction and prayer just as Daniel of the Bible was. We pray that you will be so firmly rooted in your faith that obedience to God will be the priority of your life.

Lil T, you bring SO MUCH JOY to our family! Before July 24, 2006, I didn't know how I could fit another little love into my heart, but you taught me how God just makes it easy and simply grows the heart. That is one of the most amazing things you've taught me.

You are right at the threshold of boyhood and it's an exciting new venture, but I long to hold onto your baby moments as long as I can. Your cheeks are still so plumply kissable and your little boy chatter keeps us laughing everyday. I watch the way your Daddy delights in your cuteness and I imagine I get that same look each time I take in the sweetness of you. You are talking up a storm these days and I love hearing you learn new words. I do hope, however, your Tyler-isms stick around a bit longer. Because I like the way you say "she is a sweet grirl" when you tell us someone is a sweet girl. And I like your "tank" yous, among many other words.

There is no way to talk about you without mentioning one of my favorite things. You are still a little cuddlebug and give such incredible hugs! At night, when I lean down to hug you and you wrap those arms around my neck, I'm quite content to stay there. And I usually linger as long as I can because those hugs make everything else fade away.

As much as I cherish these "baby" moments, I definitely see the boy in you. You and Noah sat in the kitchen the other day and I overheard him teaching you how to burp. He told you to drink a lot of water first. Lo and behold, you now know how to burp on command. The sweet thing is that you usually say, "excuse me" right after. Even tonight at the pool when you gulped some water and had to burp, you excused yourself before plunging back in.

You are all about the pool and just learned to swim on your own last week. This is quite an accomplishment considering you've never had formal lessons and you've just kind of put it all together on your own. You've been able to hold your breath and stay under water since you were one, but you now know how to kick and move your arms. You are able to swim short distances and come up for air. It amazes us.

You've also been doing an amazing job of potty training the last couple of months. You began wearing undies to school before it ended and I have been impressed with your large bladder and ability to control it. There are still accidents when you tell me, "Mommy, I'm starting to pee," just as you're peeing. But, you've been so easy and eager to train and I am thankful!

I love your habit of collecting things. You've always found comfort in having your little collections with you. When we check on you at night, we never know what we might find in bed with you. It's an assortment of books and toys - dinosaurs, animals, cars and even a golf club some nights! In the morning, you usually toddle your way into our bed for the last few minutes before we wake up. I can hear you coming because I hear your toys tinkering before I hear you. Sometimes you haul them in fistfuls and sometimes you have them in a trick or treat pumpkin or your "emergency bag" (a medical bag that came with medical toys).

You are stubborn and not afraid to speak your mind. Today, I told you a toy you were carrying was named Dr. Spock and you kept insisting, "No, it's not." (Even though you've never watched Star Trek and would have no idea.) Still, you didn't like his name being Dr. Spock so I finally told you his name was Billy and you were satisfied.

You also have some hilarious expressions when you speak. Especially when you lecture. It's scary how much of a mirror you've become because I imagine I use those same expressions when explaining life to you!

God has given you quite an imagination and it'll be fun to see how that plays out in your life. You love to "sword" fight with anything resembling a stick. And, we were passing some ducks the other day and I was so excited to see if we could spot any ducklings. Instead, I began to hear quiet "pyu pyu" sounds coming from your mouth. As I leaned over to see what you were doing, I realized you were making gun sounds and pretending to shoot the ducks.

Yes, you are becoming quite a boy.

And, Tyler, I'm so utterly thankful and humbled that God has given us this front row seat to watch you become quite a man.