To Thomas: Your Third Birthday
First off, yes, this is late. Your birthday was on Friday, April 24th, and while we did not get to observe it on that day with a great deal of fanfare, you may rest easy knowing that we did have a celebration (several, actually) for you. Your actual party was the weekend before your birthday, where you got to play on one of those big jumping balloons and eat cupcakes (plus you got to open your presents). Some time before your birthday (in the same month at least), we bought you a bicycle. I can see it will take you some time before you can figure out how to pedal it, but you have plenty of time to learn.
Your third year has been a joy to watch. You are conversant in English, Spanish, and whatever you call that other set of vocalizations 
and you know most of your alphabet. With some effort, we potty trained you this year, and you are mostly accident free. For now, you still sleep with training pants, but that’s just fine. All of this means that you are finding your way in the world, gaining your independence, and leaving behind your baby days.
Your attention span has greatly increased (naturally), and so you will sit longer for stories now. You like to look at your books, when Daniel isn’t taking them away, and you have a few favorite toys that you latch on to, when you can keep them from your brother. For a while, you were very attached to a toy backhoe, but you’ve alternated between various vehicles, including tractors and bikes. You got a stuffed yellow ducky from Ms. Tina, and you seem to really like it as well.
Speaking of your brother, he does tend to pester you a lot. When you were younger, you put up with it, but you have been asserting yourself more and more, often quite aggressively. Most times, though, the two of you play well together, and we can tell there’s a brotherly bond between you.
There are changes coming over the next year, and they are big, but I am confident you will adjust to them quickly.
Always know that I love you, and everything that I do is for the betterment of you and your brother
