My Life. My Boys.: Jack is 3! (with baby pics at the bottom)

Jack turned three on December 2nd. The morning of his birthday, Josh and I took him to Cafe Cappuccino for chocolate chip pancakes. We had a nice time, although Jack was being somewhat of a birthday monster. :) He had been talking about his birthday for months, but wouldn't let anyone talk to him on the phone or talk about it that day. The next day, we had a fun birthday party at our house with our family. We did a Cars 2 theme, since all Jack talked about was having a "Finn Micked Missle and Mator" cake. We enjoyed a yummy brunch around 10:00, and then Jack opened his presents afterwards. The big hit of the party was his Rody ("Brody", as Jack calls it) bouncing horsey. He loves him, takes care of him, prays for him, and sometimes calls him his best friend.

I have really seen a big change in Jack since he turned three last month. I was sad about him losing more of his babyness as he headed towards three at first, but I'm really enjoying watching him emerge into more of a "big kid" (hard to type) now! I noticed a growth in his vocabulary shortly after turning three. He was using a lot of new big words and was expressing himself differently. Just yesterday he cracked me up with two words I'd never heard from him before. After picking up James from school, Jack randomly told me from his car seat, "Mama, you look adorable." I thought that was hilarious, since I was wearing no make-up, a baggy sweatshirt (hiding my big pregnant belly), and had frizzy hair pulled back in a rubber band. It did sort of make me feel good though, ha! That night, as he was eating dinner, he said, "This dinner is berdiculous." He was trying to use the word ridiculous, and even though he used it incorrectly, is made for a good laugh. His personality that was already very strong, has come out even more lately! He absolutely cracks me up daily. He is hilarious and loves to make people laugh. He has some new goofy faces, says funny one-liners often, and likes to talk in goofy voices. He has perfected his mischievous grin, and tries often to use it when he knows he shouldn't be doing something. He is a big-time charmer and knows how to work it!

He has always been strong-willed, but he is getting even more particular about things now. He is slightly OCD in some ways, like when he is setting his stool down on his rug in front of his sink, and he makes sure it is exactly in the grooves. Before bed, he cleans his room (by picking up his toys and putting them in the hallway), has to turn off the light, and then open the already open door all the way. In that same order! He doesn't like to be dirty or have anything on his face that he can feel there. If he spills, he likes to clean or have me clean it right away.

Jack's loves are people, swinging, singing, dancing, his Cars 2 cars, stuffed animals (he has to have his crib full of them), pretending, building with blocks, Boz videos, "helping" me in the kitchen, going to the park, climbing things he's not supposed to climb (I could see him being a mountain climber someday, because he is very agile, strong, and resourceful), playing in water, being home with just me, giving lots of hugs and kisses, getting tickled or chased by his Deedah, and just being noisy and destructive.

We had Jack's three-year check-up around his birthday, and it went very well! I talked to his doctor about his biggest challenge, which is his yelling and throwing a fit when he doesn't get his way, particularly with his brother, but also with Josh and me. He told me that Jack is very aware, knows exactly what he wants, wants all his ducks in a row, and is strong-willed (and spirited), so when things don't pan out the way he wants, he gets really mad about it! That was him to a "t". He has been known to throw some punches when he acts like this, too. He gave me lots of hope, though, telling me that it is a good sign that he is usually remorseful and apologizes after acting this way. He told me he saw a future leader in Jack, and that he seems to excel socially. He told me that with lots of prayer and guidance, these challenging character traits will become positives. Jack had the whole office's attention as he went off and wished everyone he saw a Merry Christmas happily at the top of his lungs. :)

Jack's first creation with blocks made all by himself.

One big accomplishment since turning three is that Jack is now potty trained! I decide that after Christmas would be a good time, since we had nowhere to go. We started on December 31st, and it was somewhat disastrous. He didn't care at all about it, and had accidents every time he needed to go. He had the attitude like, "Oh well! Just got the seat all wet!" The next morning before church, he woke up and had another big accident. I decided during church that I was just going to stop for now and wait for him to start talking about it. Well, that was when it completely turned around. He stayed dry throughout church and lunch at Elizabeth's house. When we got home, he pee-pee'd in the potty. He stayed dry through his nap, and then continued to do great the rest of the day! I think he might have had one accident that afternoon. That night, I told him he was going to wear a diaper to bed. He said he didn't want to and that he didn't wear diapers anymore. I told him twice more that he needed to wear a diaper, but he begged and refused. Josh and I looked at each other and then decided to just go for it. I got his change of clothes, a new blanket, etc., out for him when he had his accident in the middle of the night. Well, to our shock, he woke up dry!! This is our child who would wake up soaked every morning in his diaper! I realized then that we were probably done with diapers! He continued to do well, just having about one accident a day for a while. Now, he's really good at holding it when he's really gotta go, and has about one accident a week (at night). So glad now to have that behind us! Our next big hurdle will be moving him to a big boy bed in plenty of time for him to get adjusted before Ben comes!