Remembering, anticipating, celebrating.

These are indeed precious times in our little family. Tobin's birthdays have been occasions to reflect on our time with him, but this particular birthday found me looking back and looking ahead in a special way. As I think about Tobin's transition from baby to boy, I look forward to starting that journey anew, God willing, with our second son.

Tobin's third year has been marked by many milestones: my transition from working outside the home to being home full time; our finishing nursing; and his learning, among other things, to use the potty, to recognize the letters of the alphabet, and to count to twelve reliably--and higher, except that he gets mixed up in the mid-teens. :) He remains thoughtful, curious, articulate, and tender-hearted yet quite an independent thinker.

We celebrated Tobin's birthday in a relatively low key way. Instead of having family in for a weekend of celebrating, we simply went to a Durham Bulls game with some local friends the day before his actual birthday and then on his birthday had pizza, chocolate cupcakes, and presents with the three of us plus Mimi. While I missed having everyone else here to celebrate with us, I did appreciate the opportunity to spend a little less time running around preparing for everything and a little more time taking it all in. Matt's video captures so well the fun family day we had. However, it is missing one little detail: Tobin insisted for most of the day yesterday that he was not yet three. Eventually, we were able to agree that he would turn three when he blew out the candles on his cupcakes. And now I think he will tell you that he is in fact three years old--and, perhaps, even that he will be FOUR! on his next birthday.

Today, Mom and I spent some time pulling Tobin's newborn clothes out of storage in preparation for Baby Brother's arrival. As I held and folded the clothes, I was flooded with memories of how it felt to dress Tobin in those sweet little onsies and how many pictures we took of him in particular outfits. It was a most tangible reminder of what we have ahead of us: dressing and loving and snuggling with a new baby boy. I anticipate that it will feel the same and different than how it felt with Tobin, primarily because Tobin, our very big boy now, will be there to share in this experience.