Rhett is such a fun little boy. Ever since he was a baby he has had a fiery little personality. He's our screamer and our hitter (and kicker/puncher/scratcher), but he's also snuggly and sensitive and quite thoughtful at times.
During the past several months his speech has just blossomed. At his 3-year check-up I was concerned enough about the way he spoke that I brought it up with the doctor who, thankfully, assured me that he was totally normal. (My concern was due to the observation that Benjamin's speech at the same age was far more advanced than Rhett's.)
He's just growing up so quickly. I'm trying to hang on to every moment because I know they are so fleeting.
It's hard to take a picture of him without this happening:
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| June 8, 2011 |
I just love this face.
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| June 12, 2011 |
Rhett wore these sunglasses almost non-stop for several months. Even in church. It only stopped because they were left at a friend's house for a long time.
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| June 25, 2011 |
Rhett turned three in June and at the time was really into Toy Story. I'm glad that he didn't mind this lame-o Toy Story 3 cake I made. In fact, he seemed pretty thrilled with it.
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| June 28, 2011 |
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| July 3, 2011 |
He still really likes puzzles. Tonight we did several together, but he can usually do them on his own.
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| July 5, 2011 |
He's a goofball. Here he's modeling Paul's hat in during our road trip to Utah. Below he's pretending to sleep.
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| July 8, 2011 |
He was a trooper on our Utah adventures this summer. He loved his water back pack. When Benjamin started preschool this fall and had his own backpack, Rhett wanted to wear his water back pack around everywhere for a while.
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| July 13, 2011 |
Not sure what to say about this one. He used a stamp that was a prize from the library's summer reading program to decorate his face. Maybe it's a coincidence that he applied the color so strategically?
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| July 28, 2011 |
Mariners game
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| July 30, 2011 |
Driving the tractor at the fair.
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| August 20, 2011 |
Self portrait
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| August 24, 2011 |
This was not the first time he dumped a mountain of baby powder on the carpet. For days (weeks?) powder would poof out when you walked across this spot.
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| August 28, 2011 |
Rhett and Benjamin have really become good buddies. It's so fun to see them playing with each other on (fairly) equal terms. I think Rhett really looks up to his brother. He wants to do everything Benjamin does. Size-wise he's really catching up. He's pretty tall for his age.
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| September 5, 2011 |
Little blonde boy.
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| September 8, 2011 |
He loves to use my phone to take pictures.
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| September 19, 2011 |
On a preschool field trip to the apple orchard.
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| October 6, 2011 |
He loved riding his bike last year (when the weather was warm). The yellow helmet sure didn't hurt.
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| October 8, 2011 |
He still loves to swing in the baby swings, even though he's perfectly capable of using a normal swing.
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| October 14, 2011 |
For Halloween we based our kids' costume theme off of Lucy, who we dressed as Lucy van Pelt from Peanuts. It made perfect sense to cast Rhett as Charlie Brown, with his light hair and love of yellow. Even though I think he had little idea who Charlie Brown is, he was sure proud of being "Charwie Brown."
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| October 31, 2011 |
I was quite impressed with his gingerbread house this year. Everything he did was so deliberate.
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| December 22, 2011 |
He was a great helper when I made butter cookies for Christmas. He put in the "pokey things" and tried to put as much "snow" on top as possible.
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| December 23, 2011 |
A couple more things about Rhett:
Recently he has taken to carrying around a yellow toy duck that jingles and quacks. He brings it in the car when we go places and likes to take it to bed at night. On a couple of occasions he has woken in the night, distressed because he couldn't find the duck. This is not new behavior, just a new object. I've always been grateful that the boys didn't have one thing they couldn't be without. No blankets, no binkies, no teddy bears. But Rhett... he's so funny. At different times throughout his life he has latched on to different objects. (Maybe this is totally normal. I don't know.) At one time he wouldn't go to bed or take a nap without holding our two copies of Goodnight Moon. For another period of time he had to have this little stuffed green monster that my mom gave him. Sometimes it's various matchbox or "Cars" cars.
We've mentioned before his obsession with "3." Right now he wants 3 blankets when he goes to sleep. If we're giving out food or treats he wants three. Not more than three. If you try to give him more, even if it's candy, he'll get upset and give you back the excess.
He loves to say our meal prayers. But bedtime prayers are another story. He simply says, "Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for this day, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen!"
When we go to Costco he only wants to sit on the "Costco" side of the shopping cart. Never "Wholesale." It's a good thing he sits by Lucy, who doesn't care. When Benjamin and Rhett sat in the cart there was often squabbling about this issue, and I think Rhett usually ended up on the "Wholesale" side.
Both boys like to talk to Paul on the phone when he's on his way home from work. The other day Rhett was upset when Benjamin hung up because Rhett wanted to talk some more. He cried and screamed until Paul got home. So Paul went back to the bedroom to change and called Rhett on my cell phone. After only a second's hesitation, Rhett started chatting away, just as if Paul was still driving home, telling him about his day and what I was doing in the kitchen right then, when he knew Dada was just in the other room. It was both funny and sweet.
He recently discovered his ability to use the computer. After months of making Benjamin navigate PBS Kids and "letter games" for him, he can now do it on his own. He was taking such liberties with the computer that I finally had to put a password on it so he couldn't just help himself anytime he wanted.
He's potty trained! He has done amazingly well. He spent a few days naked from the waist down and I can't think of a single time he had an accident. No accidents with underwear either. I love it. I'm glad we waited and didn't try to force him into it before he was ready.
Rhett sure keeps us on our toes. He brings a unique spirit to our home and we are having so much fun (between tantrums) being his parents.
I love you, Rhett Rhett.
