Jack - 3 years, 8 months

Since I am so in love with the kids at their current ages, I wanted to take a snapshot of each of them as they are right now...so when they're angst-ridden teenagers I can look back and remember why I love them so much and why I decided to have a third!  This might be a little long for some of you but when it comes to my kids, I tend to write a lot. 

So I'll start with my oldest, my sweet Jack Christian....our All-American, blond-haired, blue-eyed California boy.  He's turning into such a great kid.  He's only 3 and a half but he looks and acts like a 5 year old to me.  He's so smart, funny, athletic, affectionate, passionate, loyal, inquisitive and energetic. He's also a typical child who talks back, disobeys, procrastinates and cries when things don't go his way.  He's a constant negotiator so we think he has a future in law or politics...or maybe he'll use his large size to become an NFL quarterback!  No matter what, we have every confidence that this kid will be successful.

I know he's had to go through a lot of changes these past two years, especially the move, the addition of a new brother and also baby #3 on the way.  And a lot of times he has to take a back seat to Gavin who is quite the handful, so he still does act out at times.  But his fits are never long and he always comes around.  And he'd much rather give in to Gav than have him cry.  He's so helpful around the house and really is quite a joy to have around...and has been since he was a baby.  I can't believe our happy baby is now a happy little boy.  And man is he ALL BOY!  I love it that about him.  But on the flip side he also has this incredibly soft side.

Last week we had to do a project for pre-school where Jack had to write all about himself and all his life.  So I sat down and interviewed him and we had the best conversation.  I was so impressed by his answers...and a little surprised.  I thought for sure he would be all about his cars and toys, but he really talked mostly about his brother Gavin, his family and his friends.  He really values the relationships he has in his life more than his material possessions.  I wrote down his answers verbatim and together we added photos and stickers.  I was so proud of the outcome and he was too.  I really need to get a hold of it and post the pages for you guys.

We're so blessed to have this little man in our lives!  He's so awesome and ridiculously handsome!  I honestly could go on for days about him.  But I thought the best way would be to give you an idea of what he's all about these days...

Stats:
Height: 44 1/4 inches
Weight: 46 lbs
Clothing size: 5/6
Shoe size: 13
*If you don't have small children than I will just tell you that Jack is kind of a beast - he's basically the size of a 5 or 6 year old.  But he is finally starting to lean out lose his baby fat.

Favorite Things: His daddy, his brother Gavin, his grandparents, his friends, Lightening McQueen, any CARS, his Perry doll, Buzz Lightyear, Team Umizoomi, Max & Ruby, Disney movies (even the princess ones), cereal for breakfast, smoothies, snacks, anything sweet, staying up late, dancing, Bruno Mars, Adele, comfy clothes, superhero t-shirts, sports, building forts, wrestling, farts, being naked, new shoes, money, Green Eggs and Ham, hugs.

Least Favorite Things: Naps (he's actually starting to phase them out which makes me so sad), sleeping in his own bed, listening to direction, peanut butter, bananas, any green food (unless its candy), when Gavin cries, my pregnant belly button, cleaning his play room, grooming.

What I love the most: His hugs, his one-dimpled smile, his blue eyes, his zest for life, that he insists on praying every night before dinner, praying for the baby in mommy's belly, protecting his brother Gavin, watching him play with his friends, seeing him with his dad, the fact that he is all mine.

What I could live without: Jack sleeping in our bed, his whining, watching cartoons in the morning instead of the Today show, his constant questions, hitting his brother, the pee all over his toilet, his dirty feet.

School Update: Jack is still loving school!  Mostly I think he loves to be with his friends - he's very social and his teachers say he is friendly with all the kids.  But I also know he loves to read and learn.  Recently they started really working on numbers and letters and has even started to write his name.  He's also learning basic addition and subtraction, the days of the week and hours in the day.  We're very impressed with his new skills! 

Proud Mama Moment: Jack has started saving his money so he could buy toys.  Last night I had a talk with him about charity and what it means to give to others.  I explained that there are kids out there who aren't as fortunate as him and who don't have money for toys or clothes or food.  So I told him that when he gets money, it would be nice for him to give some of it to other kids so they can have the nice things that he does.  After a few questions he totally got the concept and told me that he wanted to take $3 of his $14 to give to other kids so they could buy toys and food.  Needless to say, we were so proud of his compassion for others.

Funniest Jack Quote: On St. Patrick's Day, we were at Trader Joe's and we hadn't worn any green.  When the cashier joked with us that we needed to be careful because we were going to get pinched, Jack looked at me with such concern and said, "Mama, if they pinch us, will we die?"  It was such a genuine and innocent response, but I thought it was adorable. But the poor kid was probably terrified all day.

My Favorite Pictures from the Past Few Months:

The Boys!

 

I honestly don't even know where to begin when talking about my boys.  I love them beyond description and there is so much to share but so little room to write.  They are just such rad little dudes and they bring me and Christian so much happiness and laughter on a daily basis - they literally crack us up with their shenanigans.  They also drive us to drink some days and we often want to run off to Mexico. But I always tell Christian that they will never be this age again and we will never get these days back. So, even though it's incredibly difficult sometimes to raise these little wild boys, we know we need to enjoy the good times we have with them and not dwell on the bad.  We feel incredibly blessed to have them in our lives.

And we are loving the ages they are right now...3 and 17 months.  I just want to bottle them up and never let them get any bigger!  They are growing up way too fast, but the cool part is that they are growing up together.  I'll be the first to admit I never wanted two boys, but now I love it!  They are best buds and its so awesome to see them together.  Nothing makes me happier than to see them play together, make each other laugh and give each other hugs.

 

Gavin is obsessed with Jack!  He always wants to be near him and do whatever Jack is doing - he's turning into a mini-Jack.  As soon as Gav wakes up the first person he asks for is his brother and when Jack is gone, Gavin is constantly asking where he is.  The cutest thing he does is whenever he gets a snack or drink, he asks me to get one for Jack too...every time without fail.  But I think Jack is equally in love with his little bro.  He's very sweet with him and he's always concerned with his happiness.  If Gavin is sad, Jack brings him a toy or car and tells him it's going to be ok.  Gavin can be a brat and annoy Jack, but Jack has so much patience with him. Jack loves to greet Gavin in his crib in the morning and read books with him at night.  Don't get me wrong, they have their moments when they fight and drive each other crazy!  But for the most part, they really enjoy each other.

 

The last month has been really fun for us.  I was super busy with work in January and February so I felt like I didn't get much QT with my boys.  But I am not working a lot now so the three of us spend a lot of time together.  Our favorite things to do these days are play dates with friends, making healthy smoothies together (they love to help me!), taking walks in this glorious SoCal weather, dance hour with dad after dinner, going to Disneyland, visiting Mimi, and going to our favorite park, Citrus Park, to race cars down the hill.  I've turned into such a mom of boys!  I can name every racer from CARS but I have no idea who the princesses are!  But I wouldn't have it any other way.  My boys are my life.  I do plan to write individual posts about each of them but I just wanted to share how great they are together....they're my package deal!  Here are a few pictures of them from the past two months...

Snack Time!  Their favorite time of the day. If they could skip regular meals and just snack all day, they would be in hog heaven...
 

Whatever Jack does, Gavin does...

All three of my men!  These boys idolize their daddy...

Brotherly love!  Their latest adorable thing to do is hug each other.  Gavin tells Jack, "hug, hug" and Jack is happy to oblige...

Jack taught Gav how to ride the mini-ATV....

 

 

He also taught him how to crash...

 



 

 

Checking out the ducks at Disneyland...

 

Hanging with mom while we wait for daddy and mimi to get off a ride...

 

Dance Hour!  Our favorite thing to do after dinner is play music and dance.  Gavin says "shake your booty" and we know it's time!  The boys love to act like they are in a band.  As you can see, Jack really gets into it...

Smoothie time!  In my attempt to get more veggies into these guys, I bought a Ninja blender and started making fruit and veggie smoothies.  The boys love to help me and they don't even notice they are eating spinach, kale, Swiss chard, carrots and tons of fruit...they just know it tastes yummy...

I love this picture because of the way Gavin is looking at Jack.  He's always got a look of admiration in his eyes...

 

 

Springtime at the mall...these bunnies were safe, but they real one to take a picture with, they wouldn't go anywhere near...

Car racing at Citrus Park - one of their favorite activities!  Clearly I'm a bad mom and ignore the warning signs about the hill...oops...

A rare, chill moment with mom...heaven for me...

 

Baby Numero Tres Update!

Ok, so I know I owe you a blog post about the boys, but before I do I just had to squeeze in my 24 week update on baby #3.  I feel bad for not posting about Jack and Gav since January, but I have to be fair to the little one and post every 4 weeks about the pregnancy like I did with the boys.  Trust me, if I don't she will remind me daily that there are no pictures of her as a baby...just like I remind my own mother whenever I have the chance!  Anyway, I'll be 25 weeks tomorrow, but the picture above was taken at 24 1/2 weeks.  As you can see I'm quickly departing the "cute" stage of pregnancy and entering what I like to call the "freak show" stage, where my belly takes on a life of its own.  But for now I am enjoying still being somewhat normal looking and comfortable.

I had my 24 week appointment today and everything continues to be perfecto with our baby girl.  She's growing right on schedule and is still as active as ever.  I mean, this child NEVER stops moving.  So much so that the ultrasound tech has yet to get a good picture of her.  I promise I will post one as soon as we can get the wiggle worm to stop fidgeting in there!  But I do love to feel her move - it's one of the things I actually like about being preggers.  Because everything else is pretty much the pits.  I actually feel pretty good right now but I still have all the usual suspects...heartburn, indigestion, gas, carpel tunnel, exhaustion, headaches, sore feet, emotional mood swings, and of course the wonderful weight gain.  But all-in-all, the pregnancy is going splendidly with no signs of complications so far.  I pray things stay that way! 

I haven't done all that much to prepare for her because I have been so busy, but the past few days I've been getting strong urges to nest. So I think next month we will move Gavin in with Jack and get the nursery ready for her arrival.  I've bought a few outfits for her and so many people have given me such adorable, barely worn baby clothes.  So to make room, I had to clean out all the boys old clothes....bins and bins of them....and give them to friends.  I have to say it made me very sad to say goodbye to them.  I was almost in tears looking at some of my favorite little outfits they wore - I can vividly remember when they wore them and how stinking cute they were. I never thought it would be so hard for me to part with them but it made me realize how quickly my boys are growing up.  So I plan to cherish every moment with the last baby we will ever have because it will be over before we know it.  I just want her to get here so I can start making memories with her too!

But for now, here are a few more pictures of my preggo self, with the baby still warm and cozy inside...

Here's my precious Jack giving the baby his daily kiss!  He loves kissing my belly and talking to his sister.  I have no doubt he's going to be an amazing big brother...

Big Mama and her boys!  I adore these little guys more than words can say...

Later that day we visited our friends from Atlanta, Stacy and Lee.  They just had little Connor a few weeks ago and he's so precious!  I can't believe I get to have another one of these in a few months...