Charlton's 3rd birthday!

My sweet Charlton turned 3 years old on August 20th. He brings such joy into our lives. He is happy and loving, easy going and friendly, and he tells me "I love you" hundred times a day. Furthermore, he has learned to use his charm to his advantage. When he makes mistakes and I'm starting to get angry, he turns toward me and gives me his biggest smile while saying that he loves me. I'm totally powerless with him. My three older children love him tremendously and always fight who is going to take care of him, play with him, or read to him. He lets them fight over him, and then goes with whoever wins the battle for that time.

He isn't a picky eater. His favorite drink is milk. He eats well and without complaining. His favorite thing is toasted bread with butter and jam. He devours every fruit I put in front of him, but he loves to peel his own cutie, so he eats a lot of those a day. When he feels like he wants a snack, he grabs some yogurt from the fridge. He isn't a dessert guy, which makes me very happy, but he won't say no to sweets.

His favorite thing is reading and playing with his siblings. Little Bear series is a classic that never leaves the new piles of books we read each day. Charlton loves music, and his favorite song is "Rumor has it" by Adele and "Always (open your eyes)" by Erasure. His unique quality is his memory. Charlton will remember things from a year or two ago with precise accuracy, and he is just three. He is also very sensitive. He will get very upset if he makes a mistake, or if I reproach him. Sending him to time out is the cruelest thing you can do to him; he can't believe that we are even considering that. Tears fall at the mention of time-out. He is very obedient and loves to work. He has thrown one tantrum, actually two days before he turned three, but in general he is a good child who wants to please and be happy.

Since Rebekah was leaving for Idaho on the day of his birthday, we had two parties for him one on Sunday, August 19 and one on Monday, August 20. I made the cake on Sunday, and so we had him blow the candles and open some presents that day. He was so happy to share the cake with us, but he kept reminding his brothers not to eat too much because that was his birthday cake and he was the birthday boy.

While I was helping Charlton open his presents, James borrowed my camera and took some candid snapshots of the family (my favorite is that of Gillian stealing some cake, but Jefferson's mustachio man doesn't lag behind):

Charlton loved being the center of the attention (not too much different from his usual days), but he loved opening the presents most. Among other fun presents from family and friends, Charlton's favorite presents were the ones that his brothers gave to him from their own collections. I bet he felt part of the gang now that he had some of their preowned stuff.


The birthday boy closed his celebrations by donning a pair of mustache and joining his brothers' mustachio man gang. He is officially a big boy now. Happy Birthday, Charlton!