3rd Birthday Activities

Jackson "slept in" until about 7:30am and then proceeded to the pediatrician's office for his 3-year-old well check-up where he weighed in at 37lbs and measured 39.5 inches in height. Turns out he also has a double ear infection. Happy Birthday Jackson! :) After the doctor visit Chris and Jackson went to eat breakfast together and then to Toys R Us where Jackson got to pick out a "guy". He picked Wonder Woman. I then met them in Fountain Square for Jackson's first attempt to play duckpin bowling. We were the only ones on the lanes so that was nice that Jackson would be a crazy and loud as we would allow. He really had a good time and I caught him swaying to the '50s music that was pumping through the speakers on more than one occasion.




After bowling, we went to The Flying Cupcake and dropped over $9 bucks for 3 cupcakes. TOTALLY RIDICULOUS PRICE, I know. But the kid really wanted a pink cupcake and it was his birthday, ya know? So we paid it and then tried to forget the whole $9 ridiculousness. All I can say was that I only ate the "cake" part of my cupcake and Jackson only ate the frosting part of his cupcake, so we really could have saved like $3, but whatever. After he ate his oft-requested pink cupcake, I mean frosting, we moseyed next door and browsed the bookstore "Kids Ink". We got one book, whose title escapes me at the moment, and headed home for a much needed nap. Of course, the nap never happened because he fell asleep in the car for about 20 minutes on the way home and that ALWAYS means the nap is over when you get home. There's no getting him to take a real nap after he's had a power-nap.
He then opened gifts, played Hungry, Hungry Hippos and opened his Batcave, and then we all went to El Rodeo for some Mexican food for dinner. Later, bedtime was it's usual sucky self as of late. He was so worked up at bedtime that he puked all over his PJs and bedsheets, which gave him the legitimate excuse he needed to get out of bed again. I'm not saying that he intentionally puked to get away with getting out of bed, but it's sort of a self-fulfilling prophesy-thing. Anyway, the end of that story is that he went to bed in new PJs, on new besheets. Not the best way to end your 3rd birthday, but I suppose 3 years old isn't too young to learn to accept disappointments in life. :)

3

He's 3 tomorrow, so HAPPY BIRTHDAY Jackson!

I was trying to put together my sort-of-annual list of his abilities, but it's kinda hard to do at this point. I mean, we are past the physical milestones - rolling over, walking, running, riding a bike, etc. He's totally potty trained both day and night. And I don't really know how to list the intellectual and communication milestones - I mean, he can count to 99, twist your words back onto you at a later date, and say any word he's ever heard. And by ANY word, I mean ANY - even the types of words that 2 year old boys should not repeat. That's thanks to his father, naturally; I had nothing to do with it. At some point, the listing of accomplishments has to stop, so for Jackson, it's over. Instead, I'll try to list some oddities, quirks if you will, that make up Jackson's personality.

- He likes the color pink. A lot. He even wants his birthday cake to be pink. He's getting a yellow-frosting Backyardigan's cake for his birthday party on Saturday, but for his birthday we are taking him to The Flying Cupcake Bakery to buy him his own, oversized "Pretty in Pink" birthday cupcake.

- He's back to not liking bath time and he REALLY doesn't like to get the water dumped on his head.

- He doesn't need a stool to successfully pee in the toilet anymore. Yippee!

- He's a much happier person if he wakes up on his own accord than if you wake him up intentionally. Seriously, his attitude might last all day, so I recommend you avoid intentionally waking him up before he's ready at all costs. If you must wake him, bring Luke into his bedroom with you to do your dirty work. Jackson is much more amenable to being woken up by Luke than you, trust me.

- He probably eats about 4 or 5 ham/turkey Lunchable cracker packs on any given week.

- He's having difficulty learning not to be bossy. Where would he get that from? Really, I don't know anyone like that.

- Don't start singing in front of him. He HATES that and will incessantly ask you to stop until you do. And no, it doesn't matter if you have a nice voice or not.

- He takes his shoes off the moment he walks in the door of the house. I don't make him do that; I just think he picked up the habit or tendency from his father.

- He likes to dance, particularly to cartoon theme songs. And when he's dancing, the only thing that is missing is the "white man's overbite". That must come with puberty?

- He likes to watch Gumby. Thanks a lot Uncle Billy; he loses 100 brain cells every time he watches that DVD.

- I'm teaching him to say "excuse me" after he farts instead of "name that tune" like his daddy taught him. It's not going very well.

- He'll do almost anything for a sucker or a popsicle. Odd for a 2-year-old, isn't it? :)

- He prefers strawberry milkshakes to vanilla or chocolate. Perhaps it's because they're pink?

Brotherhood: A Lesson in Sharing

Sharing Luke's (formerly Jackson's) Elmo toy...

Sharing Jackson's superheroes...

5 Months, 1 Day

It just doesn't seem that long ago.

And, yes, I'm sure I'll say that again in September.
For the record: That's Aquaman he's holding.

Luke Laughing

He's a happy baby unless he's hungry or very tired. In fact, he's been known to laugh out loud in his sleep. What you see in this video is a good example of the mood that he is normally in: we like to make him laugh and I think he likes to laugh at us. But as you can also see in the video, he very quickly lets you know when he doesn't think that you are being funny anymore....

Superbowl Sunday

My Big Brother is SO Funny!