Hutch Marshall - 3 years!!

Hutch is definitely the most introverted of my little ones, but he also might be the most hilarious. Sometimes intentionally, sometimes not. He's also a serious smarty pants and a little less interested in following rules than his sister. He stays pretty close to me in new situations, when he's upset or extra tired, or intimidated. 

He likes going to school and occasionally tells us things he's learning, like letter sounds or singing songs. He does love music time and Gymboree. But mostly he loves playing with all the toys. He's more reserved at school, but he loves his two teachers and is not afraid to do some bossing of his friends, or them.

He asks one million times what we're doing today, or the following day, and then a million more if it's time to go ... and then when we get wherever we're going, he's asking when it's time to leave. 

He loved our trip to Missouri this fall, especially riding the train at Silver Dollar City. The first day we were there, a tree had fallen across the tracks so we couldn't ride it ... he has talked constantly about that train, the tree and the men who had to fix it since. He and Addie both got carsick (mostly thanks to a winding road), and now pretty much anytime Jordan drives he asks if the road will be especially bumpy or windy. 

He loved everything Christmas, too, and was the most magical one to watch this year. He really understood Santa for the first time, and loved looking for our elf each morning. He delighted in both of our Santa encounters, not timid at all. After reading the Polar Express, he kept telling me we needed a new house, needed to move and that he was going to ask Santa for a new house ... finally he explained that because I'd said I didn't think the Polar Express came here that he needed a new house where it would come. He was beside himself when we packed the kids in the car and halfway to Stillwater announced that we were going to ride on the real Polar Express. Of course nearly as soon as we got on the train, he was ready to move on to the next activity. 

We celebrated this boy's third birthday several weeks early at the fire station, where he did not scream about the lights this time, thankfully. He loved his party and having his friends there. On his actual birthday, we had a Hideaway pizza lunch with grandparents and lots of presents.

Weight:  33 pounds

New things:

• This boy is potty trained. Still pull ups for nap and bedtime, but we are SO proud of how well he's done
• An obsession with Thomas the Train
• Buckling the top buckle on his carseat by himself
• Wearing nearly the same size shoe as sister
• Sitting up like a big boy at the doctor when having his eyes, ears, mouth looked at ... sometimes with a little tremble of the chin (although this was NOT the case when he had a raging double ear infection last week and had to be bodily held down by two people ... )
• Continuing to gain more independence from sister and occasionally making his own decisions without asking her what she's going to do first
• Standing up for friends and his teachers. Toward the beginning of the school year, he commandingly told a friend to stop yelling at the teacher, which made me laugh and made me super proud
• Worrying about sister if she reports that someone hasn't been nice to her
• Reporting to us constantly when sister, a friend or one of us has been rude to him
• Diminishing fear of his battery-powered ride-on toys, though he still prefers other things when outside
• Longer attention span for games, puzzles and movies
• Losing the rail on the side of his bed ... and not falling out once, so far!
• Playing more with Weston and teaching him about his toys. Also taking toys away from him and being fairly bossy ... which surprises no one

Likes: 

• His sister is No. 1 in his life. He wants to play with her, sit next to her, do what she's doing constantly ... also bug her constantly
• Going to see and feed the ducks at Grammie and Pawpaw's ... and snack on the frozen bread
• Playing outside, usually riding in the Cozy Coupe, which is becoming a problem since little brother now likes it too
• Going to music class with Weston
• Encouraging Weston to talk and walk ... and go up the stairs
• Playing in the snow ... for up to 3 minutes
• Smarshmallows and muffums
• And all other things sweet or baked 
• Asking constantly when we can go to the beach house
• Going to the grocery store, especially when the sweet ladies give him a cookie. Or he demands one.
• His BFFS Brooks and Micah
• Getting to go to Sunday School with Addie now
• Making pancakes on Saturdays

Dislikes:

• Not wearing pants
• Not being able to put on or tie his own shoes
• The days when Daddy is not home to make pancakes