Jacob Turns 3!

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 :)