Three

Shea is three years old today. Just writing that out seems insane. I cannot believe that he is already three!!! These past three years have flown by. I can remember the first few weeks of his life when I was so overwhelmed with happiness that he was here but also so sad and overwhelmed by what having a newborn entailed!! He was such a sweet, calm baby. He rarely cried or fussed unless he was hungry or tired. Charlie instantly fell in love with him when we brought him home.

I want to remember absolutely everything about Shea at this age. His mannerisms, his sweet sayings, his determination, his inquisitiveness, his joy, his spunk, EVERYTHING! He never ceases to amaze me or Eric with something he has come up with. He has such a loving heart. Now, don't be confused by my choice of words :).... Shea can be rough and tumble with the best of them!! He is DEFINITELY all boy. We've known this for awhile but it was solidified this weekend when we went to Tennessee to see our family [whom Shea has NEVER met]. He took right up with my older cousin David. He and David rode the riding lawn mower for an hour raking up leaves. Shea was in charge of lifting the rope to dump the leaves out by the side of the road. After their hard work was done, David let Shea steer the mower himself up and down the street.
After riding the mower, they took off with their 'walking sticks' to the pond. David told me later that Shea saw a trout and wanted to catch him. David said "But we don't have any fishing poles." David said Shea just looked up at him, held up his stick and said "But we got these!!" HA!! My silly boy! David said he did have a point so he held on to Shea while he stabbed around in the water trying to catch something! He came up empty handed but had a fantastic time.

We had a FULL day. We basically did whatever Shea wanted to do!! For breakfast, Shea had powdered doughnuts on his 'special' plate. Then we headed to the zoo! He wanted to ride the train so we rode [Zoe Cate got a free ride thanks to the nice Conductor!] and they both loved it. The conductor knew it was his birthday so he let him sit up front in the engine but Shea was a little leery of that. Then we had lunch at McDonalds, home for nap, and off to Cracker Barrel for dinner. I asked Shea last night what he wanted for his birthday dinner and he replied "I think I just want a kids meal from Cracker Barrel.". HA! What makes that even funnier is that we rarely eat there in the first place! We had cake and opened presents at the restaurant and he loved his dinosaur his Gigi and Pawpaw got him. We came home and finished off the evening watching Merry Madagascar. When he was going to bed he told Gigi "You can just leave that dinosaur here..." So sweet! We had a fabulous day and are so thankful for the blessing that Shea is in our lives! Here are a few pics from our day....

Enjoying birthday doughnuts

Train ride at the zoo

Nap time with "Chachy" as he calls her


Enjoying the last of the frosting for his cake

Birthday pancakes at Cracker Barrel


Happy Birthday, Shea!

Cool dinosaur
We love you, Shea!! Thank you for brightening our lives with your sweetness! May you always find joy in life. I love these lyrics from the song "My Wish" by Rascall Flatts, it truly says what Eric and I wish for our babies!

I hope the days come easy and the moments pass slow
And each road leads you where you want to go
And if you're faced with the choice and you have to choose
I hope you choose the one that means the most to you

And if one door opens to another door closed
I hope you keep on walkin' til you find the window
If it's cold outside, show the world the warmth of your smile
But more than anything, more than anything

My wish for you
Is that this life becomes all that you want it to
Your dreams stay big, your worries stay small
You never need to carry more than you can hold

Happy Birthday, Shea!!