Here is where we are at this fun little age...
Things he loves... playing trains on his train table, kicking the soccer ball with Daddy, coloring, reading, bubbles, puzzles, cars, singing, dinosaurs
- Trains - he loves Thomas trains. The knock-offs no longer work. Right now, Diesel 10 is his favorite.
- Coloring - I think he likes to color, but I think he really just likes to dump all of the crayons in the floor and then color a few pages. Before he can color, he has to dump out every single crayon.
- Reading - His favorite book right now is If You Give a Pig a Pancake. He loves all of those books in that series. He is also in love with a dinosaur book that my sister gave him a while back.
- Singing - he will sing anything. He especially loves to sing songs from movies & TV shows that he likes. He sings loud & completely off key.
- Dinosaurs - I love to hear him talk about dinosaurs. He is actually pretty good at naming them. His favorite one changes each day.
- Things he loves that I act like he doesn't.... anything to do with the iPad, laptop, or TV. I'm actually torn about this one. On one hand, they will occupy him, which is especially handy when he's home & I'm still working or trying to cook dinner, etc... But, I certainly don't want to raise a child that is just glued to a screen all day and never wants to play outside. Before Robbie & I had a child, we talked about how we grew up playing outside and were both very active. We felt like too many kids today just stay inside playing video games or on the computer. We wanted our child to spend as much time outside & active as possible. (Don't you just love pre-kid conversions?!?! If we only knew!) We are still in agreement, that we want to limit Jake's time he watches TV, iPad, etc... But I would be a hypocrite if I didn't say that they ARE LIFESAVERS. We need them, we use them & we appreciate them. Plus, I try telling myself that technology plays such a role today in schools & workspace, I'm just preparing him for the future.
- iPad - funny thing about the iPad. Both grandmothers have one, but neither Robbie nor I do. He loves the Thomas app & Jake and the Neverland Pirates app.
- Computer - he loves to watch Thomas You Tube videos. They are ridiculous. Some grown man playing and showing off Thomas trains. I try not to think about what grown adult actually sits and videos himself playing with trains. We've researched them, and the makers of the videos, do seem to just be dads who have made videos with their kids about trains, but it still seems creepy. So we definitely keep an eye on that one.
- TV - he loves Netflix. He likes to watch Thomas movies, Veggie Tales & Leap Frog videos. Robbie showed him the old GI Joe cartoon from when we were kids & he loved it. I feel like it is too violent for Jake's age, so we limit that one.
- School... school this summer has been a struggle. Since his regular school (Westwood) is closed for summer, we had to find a daycare for the summer only. We found a daycare close to our neighborhood that would accept kids part time. It was perfect. He could go Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday. The great thing was he could go "daycare" hours (drop off as early as 6 AM, and pick up as late as 6 PM). While I didn't take/pick up Jake that early/late, it did make it nice that I had a big block of hours (Mom's Day Out is only 9-1) I could get work & conference calls done. They feed them there (no packing lunch!) and they take naps there. Yea! I really liked the director & his teacher. Unfortunately, Jake has just not loved it. At first I thought that it was just that it was just him adjusting to a new school. But 2 months later, and he still cries when I drop him off and tells me he doesn't want to go to "that" school. For some reason, he calls the Summer Daycare "Sunday School" (oddly enough, it is the only school/daycare he has gone to that is not actually in a church). We have to pass the turn for his regular school on the way to daycare. He starts crying when we don't turn. He begs for me to not leave him. He says he wants his Ms. Michelle (his teacher at Westwood). He cries for Carson, Tanner & Miller (his friends at Westwood). I won't lie, it is hard. Truth be told, if he was going 5 days a week, year round, this probably wouldn't be the daycare I would pick, but it is only for the summer, its location & cost is right what we needed and they accept part time. I certainly don't think he is in danger emotionally or physically. We just don't love it like we love Westwood. Speaking of Westwood, last time I wrote about it, we had just missed the availability for the Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday class. They had an opening in the Monday-Wednesday-Friday class, but unfortunately, that wouldn't work with my work schedule. I have to have him in school TWT due to my work schedule, it is not something I can adjust. The director of Westwood is so completely awesome. She said she prayed about it & called another parent who had a child in the TWT class that had a more flexible schedule and that parent agreed that they would take the MWF class, so Jake could have the TWT class spot. That is why we love that school so much. The love & sweetness of the director & the other parents. It means the world to me and I'm so grateful to other parents. So Jake will be back at Westwood this fall. YEA!!
- Jake's Personality... I love watching Jake's personality grow as he grows. He is shy at first around people, especially other kids. But once he warms up to them, he is very talkative and outgoing. Sometimes I think his "shyness" around other kids is just an act. If we are playing in the driveway & someone walks by, he runs up to them, waves and talks their ear off. But at the pool, I basically have to force him to talk to other kids. But once you are his friend, let me tell you, he LOVES you. He talks about his cousins, his friends at school and the children of our friends all the time and gets so excited to see them. I wish he just felt as happy about new friends! He is also very scared of things. At first, it was a very nice trait to have. Because he was so scared of things, he hasn't been the type to be nosey or adventurous. Made it easy on his parents. But now, I fear that it is becoming a handicap. It gets frustrating because it is so hard to try to get him to try new things. I don't want my kid to be the one climbing on top of the school, but I also don't want him to be the kid hiding under the bleachers! Jake is a very affectionate child. He loves to hug and sit in your lap. People think because of his height & size, that he is probably an older, meaner more aggressive child. My sister puts it perfectly - he's like Ferdinand the Bull.
- Some favorites:
- Foods - pizza, chicken nuggets, french fries, cheese sandwich (either grill cheese or cheese quasadilla), carrots, fruit. (Not the healthiest of diets, but we are working on it.)
- TV Shows - Dino Dan & Bubble Guppies
- Movies - Veggie Tales, Toy Story, Curious George
- Place to go - either set of grandparent's house, pool or grocery store (he calls any store, like Wal-Mart or Target the grocery store). He likes to play the "games" (which is the little arcade as you walk into Wal-Mart. We never have coins to play, he just pushes the buttons & sits on the rides) and look at the toys.
- Place to eat - Chik-fil-a
- Size - right now, Jake wears a 3T in shorts & 5T in shirts. He really needs a 4T in shorts, but they make kids shorts soooooooooo long (huge pet peeve of mine) and I refuse to put him in shorts that go below his knees. He wears a size 11.5 wide shoe.
- My favorite thing about this age - we can actually have a conversation together. He puts things together and catches on to things we are saying. He is independent, but yet still a little child. This is such a perfect age. I love watching him pick up on new things and figure things out. I love talking to him & getting his point of view.
Happy 3.5 (+ 2 months) Birthday Jake!
1 comment:
I loved reading this post, and I love my nephew! He is such a great kid!!
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