Bryson is Three.

He is three.

Three seems like such a big change.  It feels like he isn’t a baby anymore, though he will always be my baby.  He’s able to communicate his likes and dislikes, what he wants to eat, to play with, who he wants to see.

Two was nothing short of amazing.  I never thought two would be such a fun age.  Even with a brand new baby in the house, we managed to go, see, and do all sorts of exciting things.  We went to the aquarium, to the zoo, to see Thomas the Train, and to the beach.

We spent Bryson’s birthday at the Creative Discovery Museum in Chattanooga, TN.  I went many times as a kid and it’s still just as fun as an adult.  There are tons of activities to do.  Almost every exhibit is hands on and we could spend an entire day there without covering everything.  I’ve wanted to take Bryson since he turned two, but I’m glad that we waited until three.  Even at 3, the variety and number of things to do is overwhelming.  Bryson didn’t quite understand that you were supposed to do one activity and then move on to the next.  He would get stuck on one thing and then throw a fit when it was time to move on.  Or, so many things would catch his eye that he’d run back and forth.  It was cuh-razy.  He enjoyed the experience, but it was super stressful as his parent.  When it was time to leave, my husband commented that people probably thought we were kidnapping him because of his kicking, screaming, and tantrum throwing.

Whew.  That was fun, but it will certainly be a while before I’m brave enough to try it again.

Next, against my better judgement, we headed to Chuck E. Cheese.  Thankfully, I think Bry was a little worn out by now, so he was more calm.  He and Bella rode in a monster truck that scared them both to tears and all I could do was laugh.  I still can’t even think about it without cracking up.  The above photo shows them right before they started freaking out.  They were both having a blast, smiling, laughing, then the truck moved a little higher and started tipping side-to-side.  That was it.  He tucked his head into the floorboard and start screaming, she stuck her face to the front window and started screaming.  I honest to goodness thought I was going to pee myself.

We got home around 8PM, then we had cake with our families.  Nana & Pop brought Bryson a shiny new train to play with and he opened Cars 2.  We put on the movie and everyone just chilled out.  This mama took her tired butt to bed.  Not that Bella actually allowed to sleep, ahem.

All in all, it was fun and full day.  I’m so thankful that my mother-in-law and brother-in-law were able to come and spend the weekend with us.  It was not only nice to see them, but it was beyond helpful to have two extra set of hands around.