Dear Oliver

Dear Oliver,
you should know that you were toilet trained the week you turned 3. You should also know that you had been physically able for a while but were just lazy. Your mother too lacked the energy, willpower, desire to persevere and it took your Nana Raeanne to give us both the push we needed. It took you 4 days. The first two were messy. You hated everyone nagging you about going on the toilet and peed your pants over and over in protest. "No undies, you'd shout. I'm too little!" which was a complete turn around from 6 months of you telling everyone in earshot what a "big boy" you were. By day three you realised the undies were here to stay and that poo you had been keeping in for a couple of days was going to have to come out sooner or later. You were pretty proud when it made a splash big enough that it wet your cute little butt on it's exit. By your birthday you were sorted and your Mum was so proud of you.

You should also know that you didn't learn to talk for ages. That your Mum took you to a speech therapist  when you were 2 and a 1/2 because you still mainly just used signs, facial expressions and lets not forget the scream.  The speech therapist wasn't worried and turns out we needn't have either. One week you just started talking and now 6 months later we are still waiting for you to stop. Listening to you is pretty cute. Every word is so deliberately thought out and spoken in stunted little sentences. Lucy understands everything you say. Mum and Dad still struggle sometimes. Last week you got cross with me when I asked you to tidy up your toys. You threatened me with "You not come to my birthday party any more Mum." This week when I showed you my new gumboots you said "That's fantastic Mum, that's fantastic!" totally made me giggle.

You wake really early and turn the light on from your position on the top bunk. Turning the light on at 5.30am wakes your sister which makes her mad. This in turn means that your mum and Dad wake each morning to the sound of fighting from your room. Lots of yelling and lets not forget that scream again.  One day Oliver you are going to have your own kids and karma will come back to splash you in that cute little butt again.

You had a dummy and blanket from the day you were born. The dummy was necessary to protect us all from that scream which by now is your trademark. You wrapped the dummy up the Christmas before you turned 3 and posted it to Santa to give to a new baby that needed it. You were pretty mature about the whole thing. In fact it was your mother that missed that dummy the most. She liked to use it like a plug to instantly sooth and silence you. She had to learn some new tricks because you were ready to grow up, there was a new baby in the family after all.

You should know that when you were 3 your favourite things to do were make baby Nathan giggle, jump on the trampoline with Dad and chase Sam around the garden.

You should know that despite all the whining, screaming, tantrums, extra washing and overall noise and mess you bring to this house that we wouldn't trade you for anything. We love you 3 year old Oliver. This family just wouldn't be the same without you.