oliver jack is 3!

last month oliver jack turned 3 years old and i still am not quite sure how i feel about it.  i miss baby oliver jack.  he is the kind of kid that goes so fast all of the time and is always finding mischief that it seems like he has never changed...but then i see a picture of his little baby face or a video of his chubby little legs walking around at our old house and i am struck with the reality of just how different he is.  he is still mischievous, a charmer, funny, and my most quintessential kid kid.

he has a vocabulary that is quite impressive and, at times, disturbing. 

he is a boy's boy...he loves to have swords and guns and pretend that he is in a fight with a bad guy or some animal.  he often goes to sleep holding his "best fighting stick" and there is never a day that passes that i am not asked to put a sword down the back of his shirt that he can pull i out just in case a bad guy comes.  his pockets are filled with cars and trucks.  his belt loops are heavy laden with daggers and guns.  he wants to race all the time and ride his bike as fast as he can down the hill. 

he also loves to snuggle.  he wants to be held and sit on a lap.  i love to hold him because he always melts into my arms.  he shrugs his shoulders up and buries his hands between me and him and lays his head on my shoulder.  life doesn't get better than those moments. 

he loves his brother and sisters.  calvary is the victim of most of his aggravation--stealing his toys, coloring on his pictures, breaking his "fighting stick"--but at the same time he is also his greatest source of inspiration.  he thrives on calvary's approval and the moments when calvary is accepting of him oliver jack's happiness is heart warming.  harper is his mother hen...often times a suitable replacement for me and other times a preferred replacement.  i love when he sneaks into my room and climbs into bed with harper and kyle and i find them later snuggled up sleeping.  finley is just as she always has been...the adored little baby.  he treats her as if she is made of glass.  he brings her babies and blankets and tries his best to lay them out for her.  they sit snuggled up on the couch and play so sweetly together.  i cannot even explain how cute i think it is when he pushes her around on his bike and the bends over and says, "was that fun finley? did you like that finley?" 

he is trouble.  he is sneaky.  he needs constant supervision.  but he is joy.  and the time is passing by so quickly.  i love him so.