Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite

"W" turned 3 1/2 in February and he is growing and changing so much I just had to dedicate a post to him.
"W" has been able to make everyone in his life feel loved from the time he was little. Not by kissing or hugging, he's not the most affectionate kid. Instead he just expresses interest in being around you and now, it's evolved into compliments. He randomly tells me things like "Mom, I want you on my team." "Good job!, (ET, Mom, etc.)." "You're being so good!" "Mommy, I'm so proud of you!" Today he asked me what letter his name started with and when I said "W", he told me "Good guess, Mom!" He loves to say "Just kidding" after saying some ridiculous thing.
He is still in LOVE with animals and so concerned with their well-being. Every time I ask him what he did at pre-school, he tells me he played with the animals. Today he asked me (pointing to a picture in an animal book) "Mom, is this a female ostrich?" I didn't know so I had to call PBTB.
I LOVE his little prayers and he even said a prayer in Primary for the first time last Sunday. Along with a scripture. He was so good about practicing his scripture and he did such a good job. We have been told over and over by a lot of credible (pre-school teacher, pediatrician, a speech therapist) people that he has an incredible ability to pay attention. It's funny the things you don't recognize yourself when you don't know any different.
I was struggling trying to teach him his numbers, trying different techniques (songs, books, puzzles) without much luck. His favorite animal is an Oryx. So I bought an Oryx toy and told him he could have it if he learned to count to 5. He spent hours (like 3 or 4) practicing and practicing until he got it. He must be an audio/pattern learner because what finally worked was saying the numbers really fast out loud over and over. Which, I think I was just doing out of exasperation. I couldn't believe he WOULD NOT give up. He wanted that Oryx.
He LOVES puzzles. He has 8 of them and he will put them all together, then break them all apart over and over again for hours.
"W"....I LOVE being your Mom! You are such a great kid and I am so happy every time I look into your happy, excited little face.