Mr. Beckham turns 3

About a couple weeks ago, or on the 11th to be exact, Beck turned 3.  It happened shortly before we left for a week trip to MX for a 5 year anniversary getaway, leaving it undocumented until now.

In true Beckham fashion, he had 3 little parties (this seems to be happening every year somehow).  We were with my family for a big Pfledderer family thing the weekend before his b-day, so we celebrated with his cousin Keaton and aunt Callie on Sunday.

His birthday was on Monday, so we had a little party of cupcakes and a couple gifts at our house that night.

Beck requested chocolate chip pancakes for lunch, along with reading "If you give a pig a pancake" while he ate them :)

coconut cupcakes with lemon glaze... just what Beck requested - haha, or maybe what sounded good to me!  although Beck and Chad gobbled them up as well!

when I asked him how old he was, I think he said 3, but held up 10 fingers

And of course Uncle Jim and Aunt Sheli (or more like grandma and grandpa in Indy) wanted to celebrate the little man, so we had yet another party on Wednesday night when we dropped the boys off while they watched them during our trip.  She did a much better job of decorating and making it feel like a "real" party. :)

I was thinking today about how I would summarize Beckham and what it's like to be his parent.  He's such a fun guy and a delight to parent overall.  Of course every kid has their things that need disciplined and weaknesses, but most days I love spending the day with him.  I never know what he's going to say, whether funny, intelligent, random or kind... like tonight when he told me thank you for dinner.  He's focused, observant, curious, intense, smart, funny, one-track minded, impatient, repetitive, an encourager, and sometimes soft.  He's social and likes to make friends, but can also be timid and shy in certain situations.  I think one of the things I love the most about him is now easily excitable & passionate he can be about the littlest things (like the garbage man picking up the trash on Thursday's).

He is boy through and through (although occasionally he does put on a headband or necklace and say he's a girl :)).  His loves are construction sites, farms, any kind of machine or truck, books, wrestling, one-on-one play, talking, talking & talking, and being outside, especially digging in the dirt.
He loves being a helper, figuring out how things work and "fixing" them, talking to himself/imagining things while he plays, and likes organization & follows categories well when putting away his toys (No idea where he gets that.. haha!).  He likes to imitate his dad, whether it be playing golf, mowing (he does a fantastic impression of pretending to start the mower by pulling an imaginary string and saying "vrrmm, vrrmm" in a very serious manner), shaving, or using his tools.

As he gets older I'm noticing him already starting to bargain to get what he wants.... like if he knows he really isn't supposed to watch another show, he'll suggest, "Can I watch "Mighty Machines"?  But not all of it.  Just some of it."  Or, "just one show mom, not two, just one."  Which makes me smile, as it's so obvious what he's doing.

I love seeing him start to learn truth from the Bible, sing bible songs and learn to pray.  I love the moments of tenderness he shows his brother when he wants to play with him & include him, rather than take away his toys or be bothered he's stealing my attention.  I love when he thanks me for the things I do for him in a sincere way.  And when we wants to help me in the kitchen, even though it can be the opposite of helpful.  And especially when he responds well to instruction and discipline and learns from it.

He really is such a blessing and I'm humbled that God gave him to us as a gift to parent.  I can't wait to see His plans for Beck's future.