Layton is 3

Our baby boy turned 3 on Sunday!! Sooo hard to believe and accept that our baby is 3! Three years ago he joined our family, changed us forever, made me a boy mom times 3, and we all totally and completely fell hopelessly in love. Life became more joyous, more loud, more fun, more crazy, and lots more special. 

Even though the thought of him turning 3 has been pulling on my heart big time over the past few months, Layton has been saying and probably even thinking he's 3 for quite a while. Ha! So I honestly think that made his actual birthday a little easier on me. 

When his birthday rolled around on Sunday I was taken back to the Winter storm of 2014 and memories of his birth story, but I was also reminded of the amazing experience of introducing him and his big brothers. God's grace was SO abundant and special during their little introduction and it will always be one of my very favorite memories ever. And these pictures and memories definitely aren't helping my baby fever! Haha!!

+

And before we knew it, that sweet and tiny baby brother was 1. =)

And in another flash, our littlest man was 2...

Then 2 and a half...

And now, just like that, we have a 3 year old. =) 

Here's a peek at life with Layton as we approached the big 3rd birthday...

*You start the day early because of having to wake up in time to get your big brothers to school... and sometimes mama too. 6:35/6:40 is your wake up time most week days and on the weekends you typically sleep past 7. Yay. 

*You are still napping every afternoon for about an hour and a half to an hour and 45 minutes. We'll keep it as long as we can!

*You go to bed around 8 every night and are about to move into a big boy bed! We're super excited for you to finally get to move out of the crib! You do still love to be rocked and read to/sang to while we rock, so the rocking chair will stay for a while. =)

*You are growing fast and just a little bigger and taller than most of your friends in Sunday School. We wonder all the time if you'll end up being the biggest of our 3 boys.

*You love Garrison and Austin and want to be included in whatever they are doing most of the time. You want their attention and absolutely love playing with them. Outside time, game nights, and fun imaginative play with them are your favorites.

*I am still your favorite person. =) You love me in a sweet and big way and I'm so thankful for our special bond and that you're still a mama's boy for now.

*You are our loudest member. Haha! I guess being the 3rd boy means you have to fight for your right to party and be heard around here most of the time. 

*You've hit the dreaded meltdown stage and those are a pretty frequent occurrence around here, BUT, once you feel better, you snap out of it and go right back to normal. Like immediately. It's a crazy, up and down time. Haha. 

*You are our pickiest eater but you're slowly but surely coming around to veggies. Finally! Yay!! Raw carrots used to be the only vegetable we could get you to eat but now you'll actually eat green beans, peas, and potatoes. You still love your fruit and veggie squeezables and you're still a big fan of spaghetti and tacos. You also love yogurt, raisins, apples and applesauce, chips, string cheese, and bread. You are a huge carb lover. =)

*Your biggest obsessions right now are trains and tractors. You LOVE them. Anytime you spot one, watch one, play with one, or talk about one you're a happy camper. You love all transportation but those 2 things are your faves. You also love lawnmowers. Landscaping could be in your future.

*You already have a love for sports, your favorite shows are Mickey Mouse Roadsters, Thomas the Train, and anything your big brothers are watching or into, you love playing games, you prefer being outside, you enjoy table time and learning, and while you're still the baby and seem so much younger than your brothers were at 3, you also seem older in other ways thanks to being introduced to big boy things like Pokemon and Power Rangers at such a young age. 

*You are smart and sweet, happy and affectionate (most of the time, ha!). We are all so blessed by you!

You bring us joy and laughter, fun and excitement daily and we are so thankful you are ours. God blessed all of us in a big way with you Layton Thomas Selph! Happy 3rd birthday to our 3rd baby boy!! And Happy Valentine's Day to our littlest love. =) We love you more than you'll ever know and are so excited to watch you grow!!