Number Three Turns One

He "is not the baby he used to be, Mammy". Number One spoke the words that had been on my mind for the last few days as he watched his baby brother toddle towards the front door, point at the garden and plead "Way?", his word for "Bring me out there now". 

Toddling with his trolley

Number Three is leaving his baby days behind him and waddling off into toddlerhood faster than either of his brothers did. He began walking at ten months and astounded the doctor last week at his 12 month check up by greatly surpassing every milestone on the checklist. Now, at just barely a year old, his vocabulary has progressed from "Mama" to "Mammy", "dis" [this], "da" [as in German for "there", not Russian for "yes"], "brrr" [the noise of a car], "pff, pff" [I assume this to be a shooting noise since he uses it when he gets his hands on his brothers' Lego figures] and "boo-eee" [I have no idea what this is supposed to mean but he says it often and with great conviction]. He already has favourite foods (banana bread, nectarines, cherry tomatoes, scones, raspberries, strawberries, carrots and cake), is the only one of our three children to eat eggs and loves being outdoors.

Playing Horsey with his brother

With huge blue eyes and an adorable gap between his front teeth, he attracts attention where ever he goes and he is beginning to learn how to use it. Waitresses and supermarket staff get extra wide, toothy grins from him lately. His brothers are at his beck and call.

In back-to-school mode

Two years ago this month we decided we'd left it too late to have a third child. A four year age gap would be too much, we thought. One year ago today Number Three arrived into our lives, appearing so quickly that The Bavarian just caught the last few moments of the labour.  He is our wonder child, his brothers' pride and joy, the final piece in our family jig-saw. We didn't know he was missing till he joined us. 

Happy birthday Number Three! 

Number One baking the birthday cake