Jack is 3!

Goodbye to the year of TWO, the year of:

• eating an endless supply of waffles and peanut butter
• reciting what he hears and telling us what he wants
• jumping and climbing
• screaming and tantruming
• chasing his brothers
• playing hide and seek
• discovering a love of the iPad
• counting everything, even kisses
• learning to recognize his name
• endless rounds of the Sick
• trips to SeaWorld, Disneyland, and the zoo
• lots and lots of snuggles
• an undying love for all things daddy
• and so much more!

Two, oh two...these were the best days of our lives!

Happy Birthday Jack!

We're not going to have Jack's party until next weekend, so we had a fun filled day at the zoo to celebrate Jack's birthday. We couldn't let tonight pass, however, without letting Jack at least blow out a little candle or three...

Happy Birthday, Jack!

For me?

Blow out the candle, Jack!

Yea! He blew out two with his first try!

Happy Birthday!
(He was a little annoyed I took out his smoking candles and
wouldn't let him play with them.)

I don't know about this.

After much encouragement, he picked up his cupcake.

Then put it down and wiped his hands on his shirt.
Sigh.

Wait a minute! He put it to his lips!!!
Is this a sign that year three will bring more adventure to our eating?

Well, that's our answer to that question. lol.
 

Happy Birthday, Jack!

Tomorrow Jack goes for his three year well baby check. That should be interesting!

Cute Big Boy Saturday - Birthday Eve

Look at that face and
his new 3 year old haircut!

I kissed Jack goodnight this evening. Our game of ten kisses held a lot more meaning as we kissed away the year of 2.

Tomorrow, our little guy will wake up to a whole new adventure.

Wow.

I'm struggling to wrap my mind around it.

This year our Jack found his voice and opinion, turned his walk into a run.

His determination and creativity reached a whole new level. He became a master strategist and quite literally decided that there ain't no mountain high enough to keep him away from what he wants.

This was the year of extremes, filled with much wonder, imagination, and delight, and many moments of frustration, tantrums, and "No's" (from both him and us).

Our Jack has become a pretty amazing little person this year.

Two has been more fun than I could have imagined.

It is so hard to believe Jack is a few short hours away from turning 3 years old. I'm not sure what this year will bring, but it is bound to be interesting!

Well Crap. Literally.

Last night Jack decided that maybe he should send out year 2 with a bang. I have no idea what possessed him, but (or maybe I should say BUTT) he thought he'd take a stab at a little finger painting while he was in his crib.

To clarify, no, I didn't go leaving around spare paints for him to use. He was a little more creative with his medium choice.

Poop. THE BOY USED POOP.

Let me set the scene...

I was sitting in the living room, working on the computer. The boys had been in bed for a few hours at this point, and Jack had finally quieted down to sleep. While I sat there, I smelled something funny.

Was it the cat? No, she was all clear.

Was it me? I took a quick whiff of myself. (Hey, you have to check just to make sure.)

No, thankfully, I was all clear, too.

What is that smell? I walked down the hall to investigate.

When I got to Jack's room, the stench was overwhelming. I knew it was going to be bad.

 

He had stood up when I got close to his room. I turned on his light, and I could not believe what I found. There he was, naked and streaked with poop.

There was poop all over the floor.

There was poop all over his sheets.

There was poop between the SLATS of his CRIB. ALL OF THEM. He had rubbed it everywhere.

 

It was horrifying.

Took me over an hour to clean it all up. (shudder)

Sigh. This is one milestone I could have done without experiencing. I am once again reminded that nature makes kids cute so they live through childhood. :/

 

And if this is any indication of how three is going to be, I am so in trouble with this kid.

3 Days from Three

But it's like he's going on thirty.

Yes? I'm busy here.

Sigh.

What is it? I'm trying to work!

Mostly Wordless Wednesday

Like I've said, you just never know where you'll find him...

This Time I'm Glad for Fickleness

Such as the way with a nearly three year old (OMG! It's 5 days away!), Jack has decided that I might not be as horrible to be around as he thought last month last week yesterday. Yea!

To prove his point, he's started a new little game and kisses me over and over again. He finishes with a "Love you."

Heart melt.

This kid knows just how to wrap me around his little finger.

Roastin' Marshmallows

Why yes that's a clothing pile "fire" and
a sock on a block as his "marshmallow."
What of it? :)
 

This is really the only way he'd roast them anyway, so we roll with it.

Conversations With Six Year Olds

He's Joe Cool.

 

Him: Hey there lady, want to go for a ride in my fast mustang? 

Me: No. You might get a speeding ticket. 

Him: But I won't speed very much. (Very much? I think our insurance rates are in for a hit in a few years if that's his attitude.)

Me: Oh, well let's go then!

Cute Baby Saturday

Giving his daddy some love. :)

Jack is a daddy's boy through and through. He follows his daddy everywhere and often climbs up on his daddy's lap to snuggle. It is the cutest thing to see!

Thief

What big feet you have, Jack!
 

Jack has taken to stealing my slippers. :)

 

Throwback Thursday

September 2011 - Jack was 6 months old.

He's my tiny, laughing Jack!

Not Quite Wordless Wednesday

Today we depart from the usual Wordless Wednesday routine because, well, I forgot to take a picture. Oops.

Rather than dazzling you with the sweetness that is a picture of my boys, I'm going to instead create a mental picture for you...

It's late evening. In a few minutes it will be time for the boys to go get in bed. He's wearing his green and blue dinosaur pajamas and sitting in his red and blue Mickey Mouse chair. I'm wrapped in a blanket and reclining on the couch, my head only inches from his. The iPad is on his lap, tuned to his favorite song from Monsters, Inc.

We're laughing and smiling at each other while we sing together at the top of our lungs.

I Don`t have to say it (Aw say it anyway)
Cause we both know it's true
I wouldn`t have nothin if I didn`t have
I wouldn`t have nothin if I didn`t have
I wouldn`t have nothin if I didn`t have
Wouldn`t have nothin if I didn`t have
Youuuuu!
One more time! Big one! (His favorite part to sing)Don`t have to say it
Where`d everybody come from?
Oh we both know its true
Let`s take it home big guy
I wouldn`t have nothin if I didn`t have
I wouldn`t have nothin if I didn`t have
I wouldn`t have nothin if I didn`t have
You, you, you!
A-E-I-O that means you (This part I sing alone to him)Ya!

from "If I Didn't Have You"

~Music and lyric by Randy Newman

Then he leans over, kisses me, and says, "I love you mommy."

"I love you too, Shawn." I tell him back. He smiles again and gives me a sweet hug.

And you know what? I think that says it all right there. :)

Awesome!

Just so proud of him!




The AR level for this book is 2.0 (2nd grade)! Awesome!

See No Evil

Alternate title #1: Jason's description of how he took his pictures today.

Alternate title #2: My children have made it their mission to thwart my hope for a decent picture.

Sigh.

I don't know what we're going to get when they come in, but Jason was adamant that he covered his eyes to protect them from the flash. According to the teacher, he sat for exactly one shot before he flew the coop.

Shawn, on the other hand, sat for a few shots and managed to say, "Cheese." (Go, Shawn!) Now whether those shots included a smile has yet to be seen, especially when he had more than one shot taken. Did they stop because they had the shot, or did they stop because they figured they just kept getting more of the same?

So...any guesses? This may end up being more entertaining than the first set of pictures. :)

Conversations With 6 Year Olds

Me: So, Jay. Will you remember to take a nice picture for mommy tomorrow?
J: Okay. What happened to me last time?
Me: I don't exactly know...remember how you made that funny face?
J: Oh, yeah. Should I make a funny face this time? It would make you laugh...
Me: Um, let's just go with a smile, okay?
J: Okay.

Me: Shawn, remember to smile for your picture tomorrow.
S: Um...(he thinks for a moment)...Um, no thanks.
Me (said with a little more encouragement in my voice): I want a nice school picture of you, so remember to smile!
S: Yeah, I don't think so...
Me: Sigh.

SO, I have no idea how spring pictures will go tomorrow, although not much could make them worse than our last attempt. Fingers crossed, everyone!

Cute Big Boy Saturday - Selfies

He way playing with my phone this evening, and I showed him how the camera could be turned so you can take pictures of yourself. He thought it was hilarious!

So I push this button?

Cheese.

Hm. What about this one?

Say, "Oooo!"

What about this one?

Closed my eyes. Let's try that again.

I can wave 'hi' with my tongue!

That was so silly!

Cheese take 2!

Mom, that was too funny!
Let's do some more!

Conversation With 6 Year Olds

I walked past him while he was playing with his cars. He looked up and said, "Hey there, lady. Lookin' good!"

Um...

After I picked my jaw up off the floor, I went on my way to the kitchen.

Throwback Thursday

It's Jack's month.

Here's our little big guy at three months old...

Mostly Wordless Wednesday

"Oh you meant not to get up here. Oops!"

How the Other Half Lives

Today Isaac and I had a unique experience. While the big boys were off at school, Isaac and I took out only one.

One child that is...

and went out to eat breakfast...

with JUST that one child.

For lack of a better word, it was incredibly easy. Another word we could use would be calm. We were able to enact a two-on-one defense and it was beautiful.

Beautiful!

I'm still shocked to say that we got to eat our food...while it was WARM.

Both of us!

Both of us!!!!

I know this is not earth shattering news, here, but you guys, taking only one child out to actually do things is a piece of cake.

My mind is blown.

See how relaxed Isaac is here?
One kid did that.

See that hint of an empty plate there in the corner.
IT WAS FILLED WITH WARM FOOD!
That I ate!

Seriously, what do parents of singletons (what us multiple parents call a birth of only one child) have to complain about with only one child?

While I wouldn't trade our trio for anything, it was kind of interesting to see how the other half lives for a moment. ;)

Conversations With 6 Year Olds

"Look, mom! It's a 'giraffe-ick' jam!"

Another Cute Big Boy

Jason was a little harder to convince to let me take a picture of him. He avoids the camera like the plague.

To get him to smile, I pulled out all the stops. I got pretty desperate and resorted to...

Say, "Dung Beetles!"

dung beetles. Apparently those two words are QUITE hilarious, you know, after I explained what they were. Just saying. ;)

Cute Big Boy Saturday

Me: Hey, Shawn. Can I take a picture of you?

Him: Okay, mommy.

Me: Why don't you sit in daddy's chair.

Him: Okay.

Me: Say cheese!

Him: No, I'll say, "I love you mommy!"

"I love you, mommy."

Me: Awww, babe, you are so sweet!

Him: Yeah, I know.

:)

Friday Five

Jason woke up this morning and declared himself (at the top of his lungs) to be 100% better. He downgrade himself to only 99% later in the afternoon because he still has some congestion. It was too funny.

~~~

You know what this mom loves to read? She loves to read emails from Shawn's teacher saying things like, "Well, it has been a phenomenal two weeks for Shawn!" This is what I got at the end of last week.

How cool is that?

He was out of school due to illness for much of this week, but his teacher said that Shawn had great days when he was there. :) Go Shawn!

Also, I love their teacher. She's pretty awesome.

~~~

Jack has become quite the daddy's boy. When daddy has the nerve to leave the house without him, Jack wails as if his heart has shattered. He'll pitifully whimper, "Daddy," when Isaac simply goes into the other room.

The boy is in love. :)

It's cute enough to almost make me forget that I get pushed out of the way when daddy enters the room...

~~~

We are limping our way to the end of cold and flu season. Any bets on whether we get yet another cold once we manage to clear this one? Sigh.

~~~

This week at school was a spirit week. We had missed most of the spirit dress up days because the boys were sick. Today was pajama day. I contemplated about sending the boys to school in their pjs, but in the end I decided not to because they have been so sick.

Jason's comment on how kids were dressed today was pretty priceless. "Mom," he said, "people came to school in their pajamas today!"

"They did? What did you think of that, Jay?"

"I think they must have been sick. They couldn't even get dressed before they came to school!"

lol!