The Boy… Aged 3

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Lately I've started to realise just how quickly our babies grow up to be their own person. I know it's come about with the prospect of school next year and so I am making more of an effort to remember the little moments.

The Boy celebrated his third birthday last month and I decided to follow Emma from A Matter of Choice's lead and video him answering a set twenty questions. What resulted was a fantastic moment in time, really showing off his personality and voice at this age.

What would be on your child's photo?

Interview With A Three Year Old

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The lovely Emma from A Matter Of Choice, came up with a fantastic idea recently to ask her newly three year old son a selection of questions, and then to ask him the same questions each year on his birthday. Emma tagged a couple of us to take part as we all have boys who turn three within a month or so of each other, and the questions we ask really show off the boys personalities at this stage. Lauren from The Real Housewife decided to video her little boy answering the questions and I loved that idea as it shows the speech development as well as their personalities.

And so here's The Boy in his Interview With A Three Year Old and I must apologise for the length, but he decided to be a banana and I went a little hysterical.

Going To The Island

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Recently I wrote a post that was our own version of the National Trust's list of Fifty Things To Do Before You're 11¾, adapting it, as The Boy's birthday was imminent, to Five Things To Do Before You're Three!

About a month ago, we decided it was a glorious day and the tide was out (the Bristol Channel has the second highest tidal range in the world after Nova Scotia) so it would be an ideal time to attempt a walk over to a nearby 'island'. I use the inverted commas around it because at low tide it is connected to the mainland by a causeway covered in rockpools, at high tide it's an island. There's nothing on this island apart from a wrecked boat, a swamp and some rather spectacular views of the Bristol Channel and England, it's also only about two hundred yards wide and four hundred yards long, if that. However, an island it is and it was on our list.

The tide was very low when we set off under the midday sun (and wind), giving us at least three hours before it started turning back in again. Plenty of time for us to have our picnic lunch on the beach, explore the rockpools and get to the island and back again. I wasn't convinced The Boy would manage it in all honesty, but it's amazing how little ones can just keep on going if you take it at their pace.

It was an eye-opener for not only The Boy; all the aspects of living on the coast that I assumed everyone knew about, always amaze my husband as he grew up in the heart of England. We discovered mermaid's purses, the difference between wet and dry seaweed, barnacles (Like Captain Barnacle Mummy!), there was a small crab in one rockpool, and salt crystals in a dried-up pool.

And when we got to the island, I realised that I've lived here all my life and never been all the way there before! And the view is spectacular.

[slickr-flickr tag='GoingToTheIsland']

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Sandcastle Birthday Cake

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A month or so ago I bought a silicon cake mould from Aldi in the shape of a sandcastle. At only £3.99 I couldn't not buy it, even though I had no idea what I was going to use it for; I'd already decided on The Boy's birthday cake and had no idea what this one could be used for.

In the end I decided to use it for The Boy's family birthday party today. I've never used a silicon cake mould before and was nervous. I was also a bit nervous because of the size of the mould and had no idea how much mixture would be needed. After a helpful tweet from Clare at Seasider In The City pointing me in the direction of this post, I discovered I'd need 9 eggs and 18 ounces of flour for the madeira cake!

Luckily it only took an hour and half to cook, and peeled out of the mould really easily. Today while The Boy was napping, I decorated it with some simply shell-shape chocolates.

I was sceptical that it looked ok, but The Boy was more than happy with it. Look at his little face when he saw the cake mummy made him:

Now You Are Three…

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While I have tried to remain in denial about The Boy's third birthday, it's impossible. Sometimes the only thing we can be sure of in this life is that time will pass, and our babies will turn into children and people in their own right.

I am inordinately proud of my little boy: he is a friendly and happy little boy who wants to chat to everyone, he loves playing with his friends and family, loves making craft items and baking, is never happier than when he's building a sandcastle or jumping up and down in muddly puddles. This little individual being is kind and considerate, loving and caring, quiet and cheeky. He's not a boisterous boy, he's not a rough and tumble, fighting and climbing boy, but he is curious and insightful, wanting to learn about the world around him in a cautious but determined manner.

He says 'gyurls' for girls and 'wyurld' for world, and 'you were being confused'. He has a beautiful singing voice and makes songs up, mixing together theme tunes deliberately. When 'groovy moves' or 'I am a shape' come on the television, he insists that I stop what I'm doing and go and dance straight away; he never stands still for 'freeze' but checks everyone else is.

He insists on doing stand-up wees and refuses to let daddy help him, apart from to pass him a piece of tissue. He hates sitting in his booster chair seat, declaring he 'wants to be a big boy' but wants to be carried like a baby out of the bathroom wrapped in his towel while daddy sings 'rock a bye baby'.

Every morning since he could walk, he rushes in to wake me up and feeling him in my arms first thing every morning is the most amazing, awe-inspiring, serene and natural thing in the entire world.

Happy birthday my darling, precious boy.