Jack Has Found Himself

I have heard that boys get to a stage where it's all about the penis.  And, with three boys in this house....there's a whole lotta penis talk.

We don't have to discuss the details, but just know that Jack has found "himself" and figured out that Dada has the same parts. 

He has also decided that the toothbrush, the comb, the binky everything should touch the penis.

"No Jack - We don't put the toothbrush on the pee pee.  Thank you."

I'm not gonna lie, I used to worry a lot about milestones.  What if he doesn't roll over, sit up, crawl, walk, talk, eat, grow, blah, blah, blah.  Now I know (and finally believe) that all children are different.  They all move at their own pace and they will all "get there."  In fact, I surprisingly turned into one of those moms that's less about pushing (I know! me?!) and more about letting him be little.  I found that I was ok with him NOT walking because now he runs!  I found that I was ok with him not knowing how to use a fork because he tries to stab my fingers with it as I'm putting food on his plate.  And, I'm quite ok with diapers for now.  We DID purchase the potty and he likes to use it as a seat in the living room while he's eating or watch the bird (Big Bird, that is) - or he likes to stand over it like "Dada pee pee" .... oh man.

We are a bit away from potty training.

We are closer, but NOT quite there yet, to wanting another child.  We honestly get SO MUCH joy out of Jack....that I just wonder if I have enough love for #2.  I know that must sound CRAZY, but what if #2 doesn't like Jack?  Will I hold that against #2?  Jack is my most favorite person to ever exist - ever - and I can't imagine someone not liking him....so if #2 doesn't, then what does that mean for #2?

All that this confirms is that I'm crazy.

Note to self:  Do not refer to second child as #2.

What's awesome about having a toddler is that you sometimes take on their personality.  For example, Matt and I immediately say "ball!" every single time we see a baseball, football, basketball, golf ball.  Or, we "woof woof woof" at dogs passing by.  Or we say "ny ny" now before we go to bed:

We are desperately looking forward to a week or so in FL in early August.  We need the humidity and all that comes with FL - friends, family and southern accents (at least my hometown).  Jack is so pumped about being in the pool every weekend so I know it's going to be a busy summer!  I just hope he waits on us to get to the pool before he hurls himself off the ledge into the pool.  He has been getting in and out of the pool by himself....apparently, he's a regular Michael Phelps.

 

We know that he found "himself" recently...but he really IS so many different little people lately....

A golfer, because well -- it's in his blood:

  

He goes NOWHERE without a golf club....

  

A sk8r dude:



A football player:

A hockey player:

 

A baseball player/bunny chaser ala Elmer Fudd:

A tennis player:



A lacrosse player like his buddy Loudy:

An intellectual:

 

An outdoorsman:

 

A swinger:
no, wait...that's not right....

A basketball player:

A future President!

And, he desperately wants you to know where his belly button is....or he's working on removing the lint that is accumulating in there.  Oh come on...of course I bathe him.  Geez.

 

He's a lover...and let's me take selfies with him....

 

And, he's SUCH a lover lately....he's a hugger, he's a kisser (he'll even blow you one if you make a request) and he's even vocal about his emotions.  ("Ilushyou" turned into "Ilughyou" but it's all the same in my book!)

He's really my kind of man.

 We did had the joy of experiencing teething again - but I'm happy to report that, while a mouthful of teeth are apparent - it was MUCH EASIER than his first round of teething.  He whined a little, but ultimately just got a little clingy.  I only had to sleep in the crib with him once.  LOL.  We remember that first teething experience right?  When a small terrorist took over his body during the first week of December...and he cried 24 hours a day for a WEEK?  He cried SO MUCH that we took him to the doctor because we were certain that he had broken some bone in his body or that some virus/food/bacteria/disease was plaguing him to the point of misery.

Oh you blocked that out of your mind too?

Dear First 6 Teeth - Thank you for that unforgettable experience.

  

I worry a lot.  I know that must be shocking to y'all.  And, while Jack has certainly found HIMSELF...I'm still getting comfortable in my own parenting skin.  I was telling my mom that I just worry about something new about every 2 weeks....first it was him being born, milestones, now it's daycare/preschool stuff...before I know it I'll be stressing about college applications.  It's just exhausting...all that worrying.

I asked her:  "It seems like we should get to a stage where I'm not worried about the next milestone, heartache, skinned knee, knot on the head, college application.  When will I stop worrying about him?"

She replied:

"I'll let you know."

Things Change...but Some Things Remain the Same

The thing is....

well, I thought that....

....it's just that I assumed....

well, that....he'd always NEED me.  And, even if there was a point in time where I *knew* he didn't *actually* need me...I always thought that he'd THINK that he needed me. (am I being insane clear?)

Jack has totally called bullshit on me.

Since he started walking -- he has BURST out of his tiny little cautious shell -- into this great, big world and he's clear about one thing:  He doesn't *need* me.

See what I mean?  Already making board room decisions.

He doesn't need me to get him from point A to point B or to feed him or to bathe him, apparently.  He splashes around like a maniac, plays with the ducks, squirts water all over himself everywhere and then tries to climb out - alone.

I would just like to know when he learned how to use that spoon by himself?

He's like a real person.  He walks, talks, smiles a LOT, thinks just about everything is funny, doesn't want to eat when he has a bellyache, ALWAYS wants to eat otherwise, has the occasional meltdown over nothing and totally picks favorites along the way.  He has a little attitude when we try to take something away from him, he gives dirty looks and he still cries and reaches out for a hug when you tell him "no."

When did he decide that he had a favorite book ("booky")...and that he should back his way into your lap and hand you the book to read to him.  I mean, WHAT?!  (oh, and by "read to him" - I mean, read it to him 4000 times in a row)

The itsy bitsy spider gets a lot of airplay in this house...all you have to do is ask "where's the spider, Jack?" -- and it's ON.

He has learned to voice his displeasure, get his own tricycle out and how to push Lucky around without abandon.

You can no longer "hide" things from him nor can you "trick" him into eating foods he doesn't necessarily like (there are *some* foods that he won't eat).

You can't hide his head from anymore either:

He can tell you the difference between a hat, a pot, a dog, a light, a duck, a ball, a binky, a bucket and a truck.  He's mastered all of the three letter words we can find -- and luckily, hasn't picked up on momma's favorite 4 letter word.  Yep, that's me - Mother of the Year.

We met watched one of the many rabbits in our yard:

He knows that steam means "hot" and that it goes "up" from the "pot" -- and if he doesn't know what something is, well, he asks "what's that?" -- which sounds more like "whas zat?"  It's so fun to watch him learn...and be amazed by every day things that are new.

You know what else is a new experience?  Roadtripping with a toddler.  Ho-Ly Crap.  Don't think for a second that we let him watch Sesame Street for 2 hours straight (we totally did) because good parents would have split time sitting in the back seat with him teaching him his ABCs.  Right.  Believe that happened.  

With all of our travels with Jack, we've mastered the "crawl on the floor to avoid being seen from the pack & play" move in the hotel room....because, well, babies need their own room and being in the SAME room with them when they need to go to sleep at 7pm simply means that you have to have all adult conversations in the hotel bathroom -- which isn't nearly as cool as it sounds.

He can pick "Dada" from a lineup, a picture, through a window and with his eyes closed....and MOST of the time he will call me "Mama" -- but he's not as consistent with me.  He thinks the sun rises and sets in Matt.  He wants to throw the ball with Matt, follow Matt everywhere, cut the grass with Matt and bang on the window when Matt's outside.  He looooooves that man (me too!).  

I can, though, take pride in the fact that he only wants me if he's in pain or doesn't feel good or is really tired and wants to sleep on someone.  Will it always be that way?

I always say the current age is my favorite....and although I miss my newborn and ALL that that means, I wouldn't trade THIS age for anything in the world.

He'll always be my Baby Jack, but now he's my sweet toddling Jack Jack.

 

I Want to Love Him Until He Pops; Or How Do I Love Thee....

I honestly didn't think it would get much cooler than that cake smashing on his birthday....but even that surreal moment has been LAPPED by the 1000s of moments since then.  

I think about it a lot -- what I love most about him.  

Is it that he shrugs his shoulders when I ask him a question?  

What about when he shakes his head "no" because that's his favorite word? (Or maybe he likes to tell me "no" to everything?)

Maybe it's that what he lacks in mobility, he makes up for in his expansive vocabulary (and by "expansive," I totally mean he's up to 8 words - genius! - ...and none of them start with F, which makes me Mother of the Year).

Or, it could be his tenacious love of hats and sunglasses (and the Yankees)....like his Daddy:

  

Channeling his southern roots....and a total party animal at Loudon's 7th Birthday Party!

 As you can see, we face forward now in our big boy car seat.  Since he's all "big" and all "boy" -- that infant car seat wasn't cutting it.  His poor legs were crawling up the back seat, which posed particularly interesting when Lucky was riding along with us and wanted to pester Jack in the back seat.  (I swear between Jack, Lucky and Matt - I actually have THREE children)

Quite possibly....it's the fact that he will try with ALL his might to push Lucky out of the way if he's hindering the walker or blocking a toy.  And if that doesn't work -- he will yell until Lucky obliges.  He will ALSO run Lucky RIGHT over with his lawn mower.  Lucky has adapted well though - he's much quicker to his feet these days. :)

I think what I love the most though is that Jack is the perfect combination of Matthew and I.  He's totally laid back like Matthew but a rule follower and cautious like me.  He is a lover, not a fighter -- which makes him more like Matt in that regard.  And, Jack has never met a person he didn't like -- again, making him more Matt than me (but at least I can admit it).  Jack DID give a few people in TJMaxx the "one eyebrow raise" look once -- which made me break out into cheers, because "dirty looks" - that's all me.  A couple of recent examples: 

  

And, while he hasn't met a PERSON he didn't like -- he did meet a few characters from Sesame Street that he wasn't all that interested in....  From his perspective, who the hell is ok with a gigantic blue furball that only eats cookies?!  Not Jack.

Jack:  "Where the hell is mom?"

 On the other hand, an eight foot tall bird with socks on -- now that, we can get into:

Another thing I love about this kid....he goes with the flow.  Like, waiting for the action to start at Busch Gardens:

Or, he is excited to hang in 30 degree weather for a couple of hours while riding around in a snow tube:

Or go swimming for over an hour with nothing but gusto!

 

Or, he can chill in his recliner catching up on Sesame Street on his iPad.  (Oh, do not judge me!  Of COURSE he watches TV.  I do all SORTS of things the experts tell me not to, but I'm the expert on Jack -- so he gets to watch Sesame Street and Criminal Minds.  Ok, not the last one - but I had you there for a second.)

He can also eat himself silly into a coma at Cracker Barrel, like everyone else.

Or, just chill and watch some golf with Daddy on a lazy Sunday:

I have desperately tried to let him be a baby for as long as he wants to be a baby....because I'm not at all interested in forcing the growing up (and away!) part, but the kid needed a hair cut -- so a hair cut we got:

 

Honestly?  I'm still riding high on the fact that his first word wasn't "fuck"....and, some days, you just gotta take the wins where you can get them.

(And, yes, I really wrote the word out....it's gonna be ok.  The internet police have been notified)

Until next time....Mr. Smiles is off to his next adventure to Richmond in April for Ashley's wedding (and more quality time with Meme and Granddaddy M!)