The Zorio Family: Carter is THREE!

On Monday, April 13, our affectionate, silly, caring, talkative, adventurous Carter turned THREE!! He is such a fun little boy! Carter is always doing and saying things just to try to make someone laugh. He loves silliness and nonsense. At the same time he's the first one to be concerned if Dawson or Nora Kate gets hurt. Out of all three kids he is by far the most affectionate. He loves giving and receiving kisses and hugs. Often time when I'm in the kitchen cooking, he will come in and say, "I just came in here to kiss you." He still asks me to "hold me like a baby and sing 'rock-a-bye Carter in the tree top'" which, of course, I always do! If he notices that Dawson is sitting near John he will hop up and say, "Mommy do you need a boy?" and come sit with me! Carter is always very aware of everyone's feelings and wants everyone to have as much silly fun as he does!
Carter is also very adventurous! If there's one kid who is going to try something-it's Carter. We are trying to teach him that this isn't always good because sometimes you CAN get hurt. BUT on the upside-he's REALLY tough! Just the other night he skinned his knee pretty bad on the driveway, and there were no tears! He just wanted a kiss and hug!
Carter plays with everyone! Having a big brother, he's quick to jump in and play with other kids even much older than him. Carter thinks he's one of the big kids when Dawson's friends are around. And, truthfully, Carter can play like them-Dawson has taught him, and Carter has been watching everything big brother has done since day 1! BUT Carter is just as quick to play with Nora Kate and kids younger than him! He LOVES babies, and he calls Nora Kate "our baby." The other morning we were in Target when Carter saw a little baby with no hair and said, "Awwwww. That's a cute little baby. Our baby has curls though." I seriously think that Carter has the best of both worlds having a brother and a sister and being the middle child. He really does play with both, and he always has a friend! When Dawson's at school, Carter's favorite thing to do is to make "a nest" with Nora Kate. This involves dumping a bunch of toys and stuffed animals and pillows on a blanket and sitting there with her looking at books. She loves this and is always so happy with Carter plays with her. Carter's so affectionate and loves to hold Nora Kate's hand frequently too.
At three Carter's very favorite things to do are play outside, blow bubbles, draw with sidewalk chalk, play playdoh, draw with crayons or makers, use kid scissors, use glitter glue, and sit on my lap and read books. Carter's also great on the iPad-he loves playing several educational games on there that require him to write the abc's and match upper and lower case letters in addition to playing Sonic and Temple Run. The iPad is probably one of his favorite privileges to earn. When it comes to tv he likes to watch Octonauts and Jake and the Neverland Pirates. He loves looking at Eye Spy books with me, and he's great at finding all the little items on each page. When it comes to pretend play, Carter is GREAT at this. He frequently pretends to play restaurant, workshop, and doctors office. Carter still sleeps and naps with his "Lovie," and it's so sweet.
Carter has always been our little singer, and he still is great at memorizing songs quickly. He regularly sings while he's playing, riding in the car, or even laying in bed. His favorite game to play is Don't Break the Ice. His favorite outings are Dollywood and the park. Carter's favorite color is blue. His favorite foods are apples, candy, berries, steak, and pumpkin muffin tops from Panera.
After 32 hours of labor, Carter was born four days after his due date on LUCKY Friday, April 13, 2012, at 7:08am weighing 7 pounds 13 ounces and 21 inches long. NOW at 3 years old Carter weighs 34 pounds and is 37 inches tall. He loves to talk about how he's the only with with "brown eyes like Mommy"-eye color is a common topic at our house. For a loooong time he insisted he had blue eyes like Dawson, Daddy, and Nora Kate-but now he appreciates that he has brown eyes-but he still talks about everyone's eye colors very frequently!
I typed this post the day after Carter's birthday, but waited to post it until after his 3 year check up which was this week. Carter's doctor, Dr. Booher, said Carter is perfectly proportioned in size and is now in a higher percentage for height than weight-after watching Carter in the exam room he said it's obviously because he is so active! Carter asked for a pen and drew a picture for the doctor while we were waiting in the exam room. He started out drawing "c"'s (his letter, as he always calls it), but then said he "closed them up to make circles because the doctor would like that" haha! The doctor said to Carter who has been potty trained since right when he was 2, "Carter! Look at you! You're wearing big boy underware!" Carter looked confused and said, "I wear these." As if to say, yeah, why wouldn't I?! Carter didn't have to get any shots and was a total ham and loved being the center of attention at his check up.
I could go on and on about our sweet three year old boy, but I'll end his Three Year Update by saying that we love our sweet 2nd born boy, Carter Wade, more than I could ever put into words. He has brought so much silliness and laughter, joy and happiness to us in these three years already! I would be so happy if we could freeze time right now and keep him 3 forever-but I know there will be much more laughter and silliness in the coming years with Carter to make them even more fun. Happy third birthday, sweet boy!

We made a really big deal about Carter's birthday being HIS special day, and I think Carter loved shining as the star of the spotlight! In the spotlight, he acted like a complete ham for his 3 year old pictures. First, he got his Lovie and said they were just resting and not doing pictures.