Jackson

I have been emotional about Jackson turning 3 today. Even though he has been a little bit tough lately (giving up naps, being bossy, etc...) he is the best and sweetest boy. I look back on the process of giving birth to him with such bittersweet feelings.  It was the hardest thing I had ever done but I would do it again a million times to have that boy in my life. He is so smart and loving and he cares about other's feelings. He frequently asks, "are you happy?" If he sees someone who is sad he notices and comments on it. He loves to Facetime (when in the right mood). He loves to ride his bike and is so fast and good on it. Jackson says the funniest things like "of course we need to brush my teeth." or "of course we have to..." He also says actually, and probably. He has such a big vocabulary and understands so much. There are so many silly things he says that I can never remember them all.

He is really into fighting fires and running from the police/being a policeman. Anything rescue related is his favorite. He also loves paw patrol- he hardly ever watches it but he knows all the songs and loves to reenact it, especially with his buddy Reeves. His favorite color is red. He loves the movie Frozen right now, we never watch it all though. He went through a Dory and Minion/Despicable Me stage too recently. He loves all things vehicle related. He loves treats and they work as a great incentive for him to eat healthy. He has been eating really well over all lately.

Jackson is really shy around others but a chatterbox at home. He is really scared of others, even kids and I am trying to work with him on this. He does fine at church in nursery/primary when I am not there. But if I am there he tends to cling and be quiet. Speaking of nursery- since Jackson turns 3 in January, that means he stays in nursery until next year. It is hard because all of his friends have moved to primary and the nursery group is really young. Since he talks and understands so much, we felt he would be bored in nursery but maybe isn't ready for primary all the way. So he is going to do 1/2 and 1/2, He will do nursery 2nd hour and primary (singing time and sharing time) 3rd hour. Hopefully this will be the best for him but if not, we and his teachers are flexible.

I have been doing a mom and tot preschool with him since September. It is one day a week for about 1.5 hours. It has been really fun for us all and Jackson is learning his letter sounds and can write his letters some. They have story, craft, show and tell, lesson, and snack. It is all Bible related and really well done.

Christmas Eve, Jackson kept talking about mice for some reason so we found a video telling the story of "The Night Before Christmas." Jackson said: "I like mice! They are really soft! When the mouse wakes up it's Christmas time!"

This boy has my heart. He has been coming in our bed in the middle of the night for weeks recently but I am soaking it up. He isn't always cuddly so I will take it. He still wakes up at 5 am most days, no matter when he goes to sleep. It's always hard for me, but I have mostly embraced that as part of him. He is everything to us and we feel so grateful for such a healthy and happy boy. I can't wait to see what the year has in store for him!