Our little Jacob turned 3 on September 19th. I just wanted to take a few minutes to remember what he is like at this age, since time goes quickly, and I will too soon forget this stage. The biggest thing that stands out to me about Jacob is that he is a helper. He is so in tuned with what needs to be done (at a three year old level...) The other day, he made a mess on the kitchen floor. I sighed and said, "Oh, Jacob. Look at this mess. Now we need to sweep the floor." It was morning, and I was tired, so I kind of gave him a guilt trip. He very quickly replied, "I'll vacuum it up!" He ran to the closet, got out his little hand vacuum, and vacuumed it up. All while I sat at the table and watched! He's so enthusiastic about helping. His little "please", "Thank you", and "you're welcome" comments just make me giggle all the time. He'll ask to eat outside for dinner, and then offer to wipe off the table to we can do so. He'll get out the spray and paper towels and go to work (I realize this makes me sound lazy and like a bad mom for letting my kid play with chemicals...he's supervised, don't worry). He's always asking to help with what I'm doing - from folding laundry (again, he's 3...not perfect!), taking out the garbage, bringing in the garbage cans, sweeping, mopping, spraying and wiping, making a bed, etc). You'd think our house would be clean...haha, no. He can make messes, too!
Another thing that stands out about Jacob is he love for "scuggling", or snuggling. He really needs time to be loved on. He will say, "Mommy, scuggle me." That usually involved curling up and watching TV. I remember when he was younger, we'd turn on the TV and he'd get mad and turn it off. Now, he's an addict, unfortunately. And at this very pregnant stage of life, I just can't make myself care! At night, he has a hard time going to sleep. He still wants to be near us, and preferable, touching someone. He'll still sometimes fall asleep in the hallway, while we sit and wait for him to do so.
Jacob loves to go to the museum and the zoo. He asks all the time to go. He'll say, "Let's go to the Museum. It's open." And if I tell him it's not, he'll tell me the zoo is open. He also loves Parky's Farm (I think I was asked to go to that at least a dozen times this morning) and Glenwood Gardens.
He has a hard time being left at school. He cries when I leave. But it's all a show. I hear he stops before I get out of the parking lot. Actually, I think today may have been the first time he didn't cry. He always asks if I am staying. He loves when it's our "helper day" and I stay to co-op. I think next week when Matthew is down the hall, it might help. When I pick him up, he always has had a lot of fun and loves it. He just likes me and wants to be with me :)
Other loves of Jacob right now are Mickey Mouse, Word World, Curious George, he's starting to enjoy reading, and I'm sure I'll think of some others...But Mickey ranks pretty high. And of course he loves anything his brother loves - Wild Kratts is pretty big on our house. It's a PBS show, that I must admit, is pretty good.
His cake is a funny story. He told me he wanted a mickey mouse cake. I thought, oh that's easy....three round cakes, two for the ears, one for the face, right? Oh no! As I looked online for ideas, he points to a picture and says, "I want that one". It's the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. If you don't know what that is, google it. So, instead of telling him no, I sought out how to make it. And I did. It's on the pictures in the next post - the ones from Facebook. I had the cake almost complete one day during naptime. He comes out, and I expect him to glow with excitement. He takes one look at it and says, "It needs a door." Man he was picky! And the day of his party, he told me, "Put the balloon on it, and take a picture." Again, pictures on the next post. Who knew a three year old could be so particular. But in the end, I think he was pleased!
Well, I'm out of time...I need to do a post about this for Matthew. And I don't have time to edit...sorry for typos :) I have to go get Matthew :)
Friday, October 7, 2011
Recent Pics
This is a post for those of you not on facebook. Here are some recent pictures that describe what has gone on in our lives recently:
Pics of a tour of Rumpke, Jacob's Birthday, and other stuff
Pics of a tour of Rumpke, Jacob's Birthday, and other stuff
Nathan and Sarah get married
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2269461289450.128738.1036134076&l=36d58e739c&type=1
School Changes
So I fell behind again on blogging... ;) (not that anyone actually reads it anymore!) With sick kids and doctor appointments, my Friday morning time to myself went away for a couple weeks. But that is to change soon!
In the last week or two, I've been starting to wonder if we made the right decision on what to do with Matthew for the year. He's had three years of pre-school at Northminster. We still stand by our decision to wait to send him to Kindergarten. Since he has the late summer birthday, we decided to wait until next year to send him. While I feel that he would have been totally fine this year academically and socially to go, so many people say the differences show up years down the road. We figured we might as well give him an up on life, and maybe things would be easier for him. He can be the first to do things instead of the last (to drive, etc). Maybe it'll get a little extra college scholarship.... ;) So, we had to decide what to do for the year. The preschool he has been going to does not have a 5 year old class. So our initial decision was to unofficially do some homeschooling stuff with him (things he won't necessarily do in Kindergarten, just to spend some good time together) on Monday and Wednesday while Jacob is in preschool. Then we enrolled him in a pre-K Friday program at another school, Forest Chapel, which is around the corner from our house. He was just going on Fridays. I thought that would give him the social interaction he would need. But, in the last couple weeks, we've noticed that our little social guy needs more social time. Last year I was really good about getting out and spending time with friends on Tuesdays and Thursdays when the boys weren't in school. This year, between being pregnant and tired, Jacob needing some downtime in between school, and just being generally over committed all around, we tend to stay home on those days a little more. So, Matthew just isn't getting out to see people. In watching him, I'm afraid that after a year of this, he may start to struggle socially by the time he goes to Kindergarten in the fall. So we were faced with a decision....there is an opening at Northminster in the class that he was in last year. He could do that again, and just be on the older side instead of the younger side. There is an opening at Forest Chapel where he could go (every day,if we wanted). Part of me wants to keep him at Forest Chapel, since it would be something different. We could do Mon/Wed/Fri with them as well. But, I can't imagine every M/W/F doing drop off and pick up at two different schools. It wouldn't even give me enough time to get to the grocery. I would drop Matthew off at 9, Jacob at 930, pick up Matthew at 1130 and then Jacob at 1. It's just too much driving. It would be so much simpler to have them at the same school. And with a baby coming, simple is what we need. So while I feel sad (and guilty) pulling out of Forest Chapel, I think we're making the right decision for the family. I feel a little bit like a failure for not doing well with the homeschooling I was trying to do. But I think if I get the little bit of time with both of them at school to catch up on life (my schoolwork, preparing for dance, treasurer work for the preschool, and just general mom/wife things), I will be a better mom and can do that at other times. And I think Matthew will be more a joy to be around if he gets to spend time with friends. So, for now, that's the plan...
In the last week or two, I've been starting to wonder if we made the right decision on what to do with Matthew for the year. He's had three years of pre-school at Northminster. We still stand by our decision to wait to send him to Kindergarten. Since he has the late summer birthday, we decided to wait until next year to send him. While I feel that he would have been totally fine this year academically and socially to go, so many people say the differences show up years down the road. We figured we might as well give him an up on life, and maybe things would be easier for him. He can be the first to do things instead of the last (to drive, etc). Maybe it'll get a little extra college scholarship.... ;) So, we had to decide what to do for the year. The preschool he has been going to does not have a 5 year old class. So our initial decision was to unofficially do some homeschooling stuff with him (things he won't necessarily do in Kindergarten, just to spend some good time together) on Monday and Wednesday while Jacob is in preschool. Then we enrolled him in a pre-K Friday program at another school, Forest Chapel, which is around the corner from our house. He was just going on Fridays. I thought that would give him the social interaction he would need. But, in the last couple weeks, we've noticed that our little social guy needs more social time. Last year I was really good about getting out and spending time with friends on Tuesdays and Thursdays when the boys weren't in school. This year, between being pregnant and tired, Jacob needing some downtime in between school, and just being generally over committed all around, we tend to stay home on those days a little more. So, Matthew just isn't getting out to see people. In watching him, I'm afraid that after a year of this, he may start to struggle socially by the time he goes to Kindergarten in the fall. So we were faced with a decision....there is an opening at Northminster in the class that he was in last year. He could do that again, and just be on the older side instead of the younger side. There is an opening at Forest Chapel where he could go (every day,if we wanted). Part of me wants to keep him at Forest Chapel, since it would be something different. We could do Mon/Wed/Fri with them as well. But, I can't imagine every M/W/F doing drop off and pick up at two different schools. It wouldn't even give me enough time to get to the grocery. I would drop Matthew off at 9, Jacob at 930, pick up Matthew at 1130 and then Jacob at 1. It's just too much driving. It would be so much simpler to have them at the same school. And with a baby coming, simple is what we need. So while I feel sad (and guilty) pulling out of Forest Chapel, I think we're making the right decision for the family. I feel a little bit like a failure for not doing well with the homeschooling I was trying to do. But I think if I get the little bit of time with both of them at school to catch up on life (my schoolwork, preparing for dance, treasurer work for the preschool, and just general mom/wife things), I will be a better mom and can do that at other times. And I think Matthew will be more a joy to be around if he gets to spend time with friends. So, for now, that's the plan...
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