Jack turns 3!!!!

So, we're 12 days late, but at least I'm here now to tell you about the newest and coolest 3 year old boy.  And here's all the quotes we've jotted down from the last 5 months.

We decided to only have a small get together with family for Jack's birthday.  Jack was so excited for his "party" in such a cute way.  When it was time to open presents he came in with both arms up in victory saying, "presents!"

On his actual birthday we had a little birthday celebration in the morning.  I put crepe paper streamers in his doorway and a Happy Birthday banner up.  His presents were waiting on the table.  I made him a superhero cape and he got a Batman and Batmobile.  He has just recently started to get really into superheros.

He's also going through a major gun stage.  It's hilarious.  Everything is a gun.  He uses his forks as a gun.  He points his bicycle handlebars around as a gun.  The bill of a toucan becomes a gun.  He saw me putting away a baster and said, "Oh, can I have that?"  I gave it to him, and, of course, it was a gun. Even after going pee on the potty he looked down and I saw a look of realization come over his face.  He grabbed "it", pointed "it" and explained, "It like a gun!"

Just noticing that the handle bars could be used as a gun.

shooting his new gun

Being shot by Dad after telling Matt to use Jane's bike handles as a gun

Speaking of wee-wee's he went through a BIG wee-wee phase.  To be more specific it was a "wee-wee guy" phase.  It started one night at dinner when Jack observed that he and Matt were both eating pizza.  He said, "Dad, we both wee wee guys."  He would talk about it a lot.  "We both wee wee guys.  I have a wee wee.  Daddy have a wee wee.  Jane, you have a woozer. And mommy have a woozer."  (We don't care for the word vagina, ok?).  And thank heavens he didn't know the technical term because while in the church foyer Jack stated, "Mom, you have a woozer."  After a bath Jack looked in the mirror and said, "I a boy.  Boys need butts and wee wees."  After seeing Grandpa Jespersen on his visit he concluded, "Grandpa have a wee wee, and I have a wee wee."  While playing with an action figure he sang a song, "I have my guy....he a boy....and have a wee wee."


For potty training I decided to use his love of wee-wee's to my advantage.  So I started asking him, "Is your wee-wee full?"  But he usually answers, "My wee-wee says 'No way!' ".



A couple months ago we had to take a break from potty training. I could tell it just wasn't clicking and it wasn't fun for either of us.  So I asked him if he wanted to keep trying to go pee or just wear diapers for awhile.  He chose diapers.  Then, just a couple weeks later he was totally ready.  He started telling me when he needed to go and he's done very well.  Very well with the urinating aspect.  Not well at all with the other aspect.  I would just love it if he would just ask me for a diaper at least!  Jack NEVER likes to be alone, so anytime I haven't seen him for awhile I will frantically run to him.  One time I ran into the room and he assured me, "I not pooping."

Jack enjoys jokes.  Jane tends to get upset with innocent teasings, but Jack just smiles and says, "You kidding."

Jack is also very, very appreciative.  When he gets something new he's sure to say, "Oh, THANK you! Thank you for my _______!"  So when we got him a big boy bed (bunk beds for him and Jane) off KSL for a good deal with his birthday money from the Griner Grandparents. As Matt was putting it together he was running around saying, "Oh, thank you for my big boy bed!  Thank you, Dad for making it!  Thank you Grandma and Grandpa!  Thank you!"



There are some things that Jack mispronounces that I think are so cute.  He always calls granola bars, oh-vars.  He calls the bullets for his guns, pullups.  And my favorite thing ever is how he tries to say something is "so stinking ______".  He says, "It's so steeckily awesome."  "It's so steeckily yum."  "It's so steeckily cool, mom."

I've had some pretty funny conversations with Jack lately.
Jack asked, "Can I go on a rocket ship soon?"
 I explained, "Well, they don't let kids go on rocket ships."
He said, "Well, then, you could do it. That would be fun."
"They actually only let astronauts go on rocket ships.  You have to go to school to be an astronaut."
"So when I go to preschool I can go on a rocket ship?"

Matt and Jack had this conversation:
"Hank a baby.  I not a baby."
"Nope, you're a kid."
"I a boy.  And you a boy."
"Yep."
"I have a wee wee."
"Yep."
"You have a wee wee."
"Yep."
"Hank have a wee wee."
"Yep."
"You sitting on your wee wee?"
"Not quite.  It's in the front."
"Oh.  Mine in back."
"No, yours is in the front."
Jack looked down and checked around for it and asked, "Mine right here?"
"Yep."
He said, "I have to think about it" and took off his pants to check his diaper.

Another conversation between Jack and Matt:

"Jack, you want toast?"

"No."

"Apple sauce?"

"No."

"You want grapes?"

"No."

"You want cereal?"

"No."

"How bout a piece of poo?  You want a piece of poo?"

"Yeah."

Five minutes later, Jack came to find Matt and requested plaintively, "Piece a poo."

"Oh, you really want it?"

"Yeah.  Piece a poo."

Jack was watching Hank and announced, "He came out of your tummy, mom!"  He asked, "He just flew out?"  Then he said lovingly, "We needed him to come.  We would have been so sad."

While Hank sat in his high chair Jack got close to him and kept saying things like, "Hank, you're a poo poo head.  Then he spelled it out more clearly and slowly. "Poo-poo."  "Head".  Then he tried telling him, "You're a piece of rice."  I couldn't figure out what he was doing until Matt came in and Jack said, "Dad, make him laugh."  I guess that was Jack's best efforts to make his brother laugh.

When we were driving in the car we saw quite a bit of pollen blowing in the sky.  Jack asked incredulously, "It's snowing?  Is it cold outside?"

Jack doesn't like to be kissed.  He always says, "They're too germy," and wipes them off.  So sad.  One night he said to me, "I love you, mom."  So I gave him a little kiss.  He said, "But no kisses, okay?"

Another time we were snuggled up on the couch and he looked into my eyes and said, "You have pretty eyes."  Heart-melter.

Matt and I tried out a new kite last month.  Jack was very excited to watch it all go down.  We eventually got it up in the air as Matt ran up the street with it.  Jack exclaimed, "I'm so proud of you!"

Jack always ALWAYS sticks up for Jane.  If Jane is getting in trouble from me he'll yell at me, "Don't be mean to my sister!"  Even if Jane is in trouble for hitting Jack and being put on time-out for it, he'll still say it!  One time Jane and Jack were playing outside with their cousin Max.  Jack ran in and emphatically said, "Max....hit....my sister!"  Another time while playing with neighbors, Jack watched a boy kind of bugging the girls as they played with Polly Pockets.  Jack stood up to him but couldn't quite get out the right words.  He just managed to get out, "Don't....do....that!"

Jack likes to do wee wee guy things.  Like he knows wee wee guys aren't afraid of bugs.  So when he saw an earwig he ran and got the tiniest bit of toilet paper and smashed that thing.

My neighbor babysat Jane and Jack.  Jack, unfortunately, picked that time to poop.  So I had to tell Kathy how to get into our house for a diaper.  She got our spare key, and took Jack into the house.  As they were leaving, Jack very seriously said to her, "Kafee, don't ever come into my house again.  Don't ever get our key again."

Jack has gotten really crazy about his blanket at night time.  He was waking up all night to complain that his blanket had bumps in it.  He wanted it completely smooth on him.  We had to nip that in the bud.

Jack was about to go outside to play with the neighbors, but he had a dirty diaper.  To our neighbor friend, Karly, Jack yelled out the door, "I have poo."  He turned to me and said, "Change my butt."  Then he turned to Karly and said, "Karly, stay here."

Jack asked Matt to take off Barbies swimsuit.  Jane explained it doesn't come off.  (It was a glittery painted on kind).  I asked Jack why he wanted to take off her swimsuit.  Jack said, "Because I wanna see her bum bum."

While playing nano panda on Matt's ipad, Jack looked at the little nano panda and said, "I want hug.  He so cute."

When looking at a little snowman he said, "Cute baby snowman.  I want hug him so tight."

Jack pointed out that Hank doesn't eat food and said, "You need to buy teeth at the store."

After trying soda he said, "My bubbles are in my mouth."

Awhile back Jack decided that blue was his favorite color.  He would talk about it a lot.  Anytime something was blue he would excitedly say, "My favorite color!"  So when we used blue duct tape to cover up Jane's old princess bike he exclaimed, "It's my favorite color blue bike!"



Jack's daily chore is emptying the silverware from the dishwasher.  Somehow a baby carrot got put into the silverware basket.  Jack yelled, "I have a carrot in my chore!  I have a carrot in my chore! So yucky."

An electrician came to fix our lights.  Jack was very intrigued.  He kept watching him.  He was wearing a tool belt with lots of things on it, including electrical tape.  Jack said to him, "I know you have tape on your butt."

Jack was playing with his cars on a red box.  He said, "Dad, my cars be mean to me."  Matt said, "Yeah?"  Jack explained, "They're not staying on the red thing."  A couple minutes later Jack frustratedly said, "They being rude!"

Jack had two cars.  Matt overheard him play.  "Hi" (in a normal voice).  "Hi" (in an insane, low, growly voice).  Matt walked in and Jack explained, "Dad, he mean.  He a mean car."  Then in the growly voice, "Hi Candis car." (what he calls his SUV).

Am I alone in thinking that it should be the phrase terrible threes instead of terrible twos?  While approaching his third birthday Jack has been having tantrums like never before.  Like at the grocery store when he wouldn't stay in the toy car at the front of the cart.  I had to buckle him into the car and he was freaking out and hitting Jane for no reason.  So I had to put him up in the front of the grocery cart facing me.  The entire rest of the time in the store he screamed and whacked my arms.

And he thinks that he has an answer to be in control of everything.  For example Matt said, "Jack if you don't get over here and let me put on your pj's I'll have to take your guns and put them on top of the green hutch."  Jack said, "And I will get a big chair and get them down."  Another time Matt said, "Jack if you can't stay in your bed we're going to have to take Jane out and shut the door."  Jack said, "And me will break the door and come outside."  And the little stinker has even said to me, "Then I will hit you and you will bleed."

When he's mad about something and wants you to know it he'll say "I being so rude at you."

But all he has to do is flash me one of his smiles with his downturned eyes and my heart melts again.

This is Jack, laying on Hank's blanket and pretending to be Hank.

Jack was flying the plane around.

He went cross-eyed when it went in front of him.

And stayed cross-eyed when it flew away again.