My Three-Year-Old Boy

My baby boy is 3. I can hardly believe it. I don't know why but this third birthday is hitting me hard! I feel that this year will be full of changes for our little buddy. First potty training, then moving into a big boy bed, moving to Connecticut, and starting preschool in the fall. He is also officially binky free. I had been dreading the day when we took the binky away because he sleeps with it every nap and night, but one night he just told Tyler he didn't want it. After a couple days he stopped mentioning it completely. My toddler is turning into a big preschooler and it's making me want to freeze time!

At age 3 Jackson is really starting to communicate better. He now speaks in full sentences and knows what most words mean. He still mumbles and is a little hard to understand for others but I can understand him all the time now. He also has gotten very imaginative in his play, which makes things super fun. He loves pretending there are alligators chasing us or that we're on a boat, or a beach etc etc. He loves his cars, trucks, and trains most of all, but also loves pirates, animals, dinosaurs blocks and balls of all kinds. He loves playing outside with his bike, scooter and digging with his shovel and dump trucks. He loves puzzles and can figure them out way faster than I would expect him to and still loves books and has recently started "reading" Abbie stories. 

He is such a good big brother. Even today on his birthday he allowed Abbie to play with some of his new favorite toys. When Abbie cries he will stop what he's doing to try and make her happy, he usually succeeds. While in the car he can always make her happy just by saying, "Be Happy Abbie!!" and then he does this silly shake with his head. She laughs at him more than anyone else.

He is getting better with his coordination. Playing with play-do, painting and coloring are becoming more fun and right now he loves drawing faces. He can climb up rock walls and ladders at the park and loves the slides, climbing up and sliding down. At joy school he is learning to interact better with others and is sharing better than ever. We still have our moments but I'm seeing a maturity in him starting to peek through. Last week at the park a boy was crying because he didn't want to leave. Jackson went over to him handed him a car and said, "no cry no cry" and wiped his tears, just like he does with Abbie. The boy was a little surprised at his gesture but it showed the softer side to Jackson I love so much.

He loves his daddy and playing chase with him is one of his favorite things ever. They have so much fun together and always have a special bond. They laugh together so much and Jackson is developing such a cute little sense of humor.

Two-year-old Jackson and I had our challenges. We had some hard moments with tantrums, hitting and all that other fun classic two year old behavior. I kept waiting for him to grow up, to learn to talk better, to learn to share better, to learn to listen better. But I'm beginning to realize more and more that I need to just focus on the positive moments with him and enjoy this little boy while he's still so innocent. Another joy school mom mentioned that seeing Jackson reminds her of her 5 year old son when he was that age, and it made her miss that boy's stage. I look at her son and his friends around kindergarten-age and they really are so different than Jackson already. I love that when I go to pick up Jackson from nursery or a babysitter he will run to me and yell an excited, "mama!" I know that won't last too much longer so I will take it while I can. I love how he gets excited every time he sees a truck drive by or a cow in a field. I love how he gets excited for treats and yells "yoo hoo!" with his hands in the air. I love how silly he can be and I love how he says, "That's silly" in his cute little voice. Wow. I love that boy!



I'll have to post more about our trip to Connecitcut (buying a house, selling a house and buying a car in 3 days) and Jackson's birthday events later. But for now I'm having a great night thinking about my little boy and how I'm so lucky to be his mommy. I am so excited for this year with three-year-old Jackson!