Jay turned three years old on Halloween. Three!
Our first baby has grown into a smart, sweet and funny preschooler.
He moved to the preschool room in the beginning of
September. It was a bit of an
adjustment, going from 8 kids in the class to 20, but he’s done great. He’s making some new friends now and is
really starting to come out of his shell.
He especially likes playing on the computer in the classroom, which is
really not a surprise. They’re learning
their letters using the Handwriting without Tears program, which teaches the
letters in a specialized format and not in alphabetical order. Jay knows his alphabet and can recognize all
the letters, but this is helping him learn to form and write them. Jay also does very well with counting and can
get up to about 20. His counting skills
help him negotiate the number of books we’ll read to him each night before
bed. They do a great variety of
activities in school and Jay really seems to enjoy everything he’s learning and
doing.
Jay is becoming very independent and opinionated. He often tells us he wants to do something
“by my own self,” which is great and we are very encouraging. He has specific ideas in his head on how he
wants things to go, which can sometimes be problematic. For instance, if he says he wants a certain
number of cantaloupe chunks and he’s not given that number, it can result in a
meltdown. Not so fun, but we’re all
working through it and it does seem there’s a light at the end of the
tunnel. Jay has started expressing his
opinion on the music Justin plays in the car on the way to and from
school. That is kind of cute, but also a
bit annoying…especially when he insists on Gotye’s “Somebody that I Used to
Know” on repeat.
In addition to being smart and independent, Jay is also
incredibly sweet. He’s been very cuddly
with Justin and me lately, which has been the best. He’s also a great big brother to Brody. Sure there are squabbles about toys, but Jay
is very good about sharing with Brody.
They’re affectionate and they rough house. It’s a great mix. Recently we were at the library and Jay heard
a child crying and wanted to make sure it wasn’t Brody (Brody was with Grandma
in a different section). Also at the
library an older child was trying to take a stuffed animal away from Brody, so
Jay stepped in and gave Brody a different stuffed animal to play with. It was so sweet. He really looks out for him.
Jay is always surprising us with things he knows and funny
things he says. Here are some anecdotes
from the past year:
May 2014 – I was putting Brody to bed and Jay was
downstairs, supposedly watching The Land Before Time. I could hear him pitter-pattering around
downstairs while I was sitting in Brody’s room, giving Brody a bottle. Jay was making a lot of noise and I started
worrying about what he was getting into.
The next thing I know, I hear him push open the gate at the top of the
stairs and come down the hall. Then he
dropped something really heavy right outside Brody’s door. He opened the door and came over to me
holding something. He said “I need help,
Mommy” and dropped the thing in my lap.
It was a bag of frozen chicken thighs!
May 2014 – Jay went into Brody’s room before I was up and
ready to get them. I was watching and
listening to them on the monitor. Jay
was putting on a show for Brody with his little cars. Then I heard Jay saying to Brody “One, Two,
Three, Jump!”
May/June 2014 – Any time Jay bumped into any of us, we were accused
of hitting him.
Sept 2014 – Jay and I were talking about brothers and
sisters. I explained how Becky and Lisa
are my sisters and Serena is Justin’s sister.
Jay’s response was “Oh man, mommy!
Oh man!”
September 2014 – Jay sneezed in my face while I was helping
him get dressed. I was wiping off my
face and Jay asked me what I was doing.
I told him I was wiping my face because he had sneezed all over me. He asked me “Why?” I said “Why, indeed.” Later at breakfast I said “Why” to him for
something and his response was “Why indeed, mommy. Why indeed.”
October 2014 – I asked Jay if he liked his new pajamas. He said “yes, it’s magical!”
October 2014 – While driving home from school, we saw an
airplane. I asked Jay if he’d like to go
in an airplane someday. He said
“Yes. I want to go to Seattle. But I don’t want to get stuck in
Minneapolis.” (Justin got stuck
overnight in Minneapolis the last time he went to Seattle for work).
November 2014 – While filling out a questionnaire at the
doctor’s office, Justin asked Jay if he was a boy or a girl (one of the
questions). Jay said he was a girl. Justin’s response was something like, Hmm. Then Jay said, “Just kidding! I’m a boy.”
Some facts about Jay as he turned three years old:
Weight: 33 lbs 9.6 oz.
Height: 37.75 in.
Number of Teeth: 20
Clothing Size: 3T and 4T
Diaper Size: Pampers Easy-Ups 3T/4T – We’re working on the potty training. It’s a slow process, but he is starting to use the potty more and more frequently. His pull-ups are also dry more often. Progress!
Favorite Things: reading books, stickers, playing with his toys, especially cars and trucks, playing on the iPad, watching movies, especially Cars, singing (he likes to sing Let it Go from Frozen), jumping and climbing, playing on the playground
Weight: 33 lbs 9.6 oz.
Height: 37.75 in.
Number of Teeth: 20
Clothing Size: 3T and 4T
Diaper Size: Pampers Easy-Ups 3T/4T – We’re working on the potty training. It’s a slow process, but he is starting to use the potty more and more frequently. His pull-ups are also dry more often. Progress!
Favorite Things: reading books, stickers, playing with his toys, especially cars and trucks, playing on the iPad, watching movies, especially Cars, singing (he likes to sing Let it Go from Frozen), jumping and climbing, playing on the playground
Now for some pictures of Jay throughout his third year:
