My William

For weeks I have been wanting to write a post about my sweet William. Amy got all sorts of blog attention as school was getting underway, and I could continue to gush plenty about her. But today I just want to focus on my boy, my little buddy. 

William is just over three years and four months old... and it occurred to me that as of today he is the exact age, to the day, that I was when my little brother was born. William gets a couple more months before he gets a little sister. He is a whole year closer in age to Amy than he will be to this little one. 

I am glad of that. I am glad William has at least a little time to himself before he is caught in the middle. I am treasuring these few months of kindergarten, when he and I are getting so much one-on-one time. It has been one of my biggest fears, going into this whole third-child thing... fear of putting William in the middle. 

But with girls on either side he will still hold the place as my only and dearest little boy.

He is such a boy. Just don't call him little. He rode his glider bike over to the park this morning, still with his helmet on backwards. Usually he rides with his gardening gloves and knee pads on, too, as part of his serious biker gear. The whole ensemble has served him well, actually, and he's walked away from several wipe-outs without a scratch. 

We spent a long time at the park. He is very chatty, but not quite as intense as his big sister, and time with him passes easily, and slightly more quietly. We spent a long time digging a Very Big Hole, and simultaneously creating a Very Big Mountain. Then he fell in it, several times, on purpose. After a good long while he told me that Big Diggers get very hungry and thirsty, so we went home for lunch. 

He is just three, and has his moments that are not exactly models of excellent behavior, but for the most part he has a quiet earnestness about him that I find completely endearing. He is excellent at building block towers, painting at the easel, and loves his assorted animal friends - both real and plush. He's a bundle of manly-boyish energy with a tender heart. 

I was just scrolling through my pictures, realizing how many William moments I've captured in the last month alone - and it is too many to post. I'll close with just one more from this evening. He worked very hard to get the entire lawn mowed before dinner. 

I knew if anybody could get the job done, it would be him. I love you, Buddy.