It's been said that three is the new two. Well, Garrett is three. His birthday was celebrated with a trip to Chucky Cheese (his choice) and then a weekend at Grammy and Papa Geno's house (our choice). We had a second party for him there with all the family and a little backyard cookout. Sara made him an awesome "Super Why" cake, his favorite spelling hero from the PBS show of same name. He absorbed the celebrations with all of the humble modesty you would expect from a three year old.

All of this fanfare, focusing on his new "three-ness", has made a strange impact on our sweet little middle baby. He seems to be making a transformation of sorts, right before our eyes. He constantly mentions that he's "three now", and he is suddenly open to trying new things he wouldn't dare mess with before. Out of the blue, he's going from baby to "big boy". He still loves his little trike and always thought of the bigwheel as something only Gavin could handle, but not anymore. It turns out his feet do reach the pedals and he can make it go. Before, when I'd prod him into getting on it, he would only quarrel with me and insist that, in his words "I'm too wittle, I'm 2!" He wouldn't even try to pedal, he would just sit and scowl. Now he can suddenly zip around the driveway on the bigwheel with an uncharacteristic reckless abandon. He is even starting to try to ride Gavin's new bike! Here's a picture of him getting ready to take Bodie on a thrill ride. They didn't get very far that time! His feet don't make the pedals go all the way around yet on that bike.

He used to be such a cautious and careful little dude, now he's a real tough guy, ready to try anything dangerous. He's standing in his chair when we're not looking, he goes flying out the back door chasing after squirrels, and he's climbing anything and everything. It's like a switch got flipped in his head that says "Now I'm three, I'm invincible!"  I don't like it, but it is pretty cute. If this trend keeps up,  in a couple years I'll be giving him the keys to my truck and sending him to the store for us.

In contrast, when the baby is getting too much attention, he still tries to sweep in and steal the show. Here he is messing with Bodie while we were trying to do a photo shoot for Snugfits. He gets that little baby voice and coos at him, always patting him on the head in a display of superiority. It's hilarious, although sometimes the baby is none too pleased. It's all part of growing up, I guess!