3.5 going on 6!

Jackson has been telling me for the last couple of weeks that he is almost 6. He knows that after 3 comes 4 but he says he wants to be 6 next so he can go to "big boy school." Excuse me Mr., you have several more years with me before I am willing to send you off to kindergarten, if at all.

I'm curious to know what Jackson will be like at 6, but I say slow down. Let us enjoy you at 3.5.

Jackson still loves loves loves superheroes and on most days at the house you will see him in the above wear. I love how he has paired the Robin mask with his Superman costume. He races around the house and yard saying "swoosh" indicating his super speed. He tells us that he wants to be Superman when he grows up! He is also quite obsessed with anything the color green (except veggies), swinging, baby Colin, my ponytail, sugar muffins and candy, daddy days(weekends), vanilla wafers, the pantry, and riding his bike or 4 wheeler to the park.

Speaking of obsessions. I am completely obsessed with the way his hair curls around his face after he has gotten sweaty playing outside, how he still loves to sit with me at the dinner table after semi eating a good meal, how he comes in our bedroom a little too early a couple of times a week asking to snuggle with me, how he begs for me to put my hair in a ponytail so he can twirl it after his nap, how he looks at his baby brother, how he adores his daddy, the way he says his blessings, the way he refers to me as his Mama Tiger and he my Baby Tiger, the way he sings about everything he does... I could go on and on and on.

At 2.5 and 3 I would firstly describe Jackson's personality as joy and then secondly, very closely second I would describe him as very particular. Of course I realize he probably, most definitely, got this particular, perfectionistic edge from me, but it is something we have worked on with him and lately I have noticed that the edges have definitely smoothed out. OK, so only about half the time when his cookie breaks or something in his little routine changes does he have a meltdown. And now the meltdowns are very minimal. So now I would say "joy" first and maybe more like "quirky" second.


There are too many moments lately that I have stopped and told myself to never forget because they are just too precious or should I say too "cautious" to let slip by unremembered.

The other morning when I was trying to make sense of Jackson's bedhead before heading off to school, Jackson bent down on the bathmat where Colin was laying and began to sing in his own little tune, "You are so cautious, you are so cautious, you are so cautious baby Colin." I responded by asking him what cautious meant to which he said emphatically, "B e a u t i f u l!" I asked him if he meant to say precious. "Yes. Precious. What does cautious mean Mama?"

"Mommy, Mommy, Mommy! Look ... hair! Hair on my legs... I'm almost a man!" A phrase I hear probably every day. Whether it's bath time or getting dressed for the day I don't think a day goes by without hearing this from him.

On one random day though, several minutes after eating a chocolate chip granola bar on the way to playgroup he said very alarmingly as he held out his hand, "Look Mama, I have a freckle now! A freckle!".....(big pause)....and then with a edge of disturbance asked, " I'm going to be a girl when I grow up?" He relaxed after I handed back a wet wipe to show him there was no permanence to his new chip freckle, but it did take daddy showing him his many freckles to prove to him that men have them too. Bryan has a lot more than me, but mine must look more like melted chips...hmmm, maybe I should see a dermatologist.

Now for my favorite 3.5 year old moment...

After letting me sleep in a little the other morning, Bryan brought Jackson in to sweetly wake me up. He climbed up on the bed and of course began twirling my ponytail as he settled in for a good snuggle. I told him the girl he would pick to marry would have to have a long pretty ponytail. Not realizing how hard this concept was to fathom at his age, it was made quite clear by his beautiful big crocodile tear response of "I pick you Mommy! I pick you!" Throughout that day I was reminded that he did not want to ever live away from me, that I would always be his mommy, that he wanted to marry me. And for now, the answer to his questioning statements is "Yes baby, I pick you too and we will always be together!"

I love this quirky joyful little 3.5 year old!


Some of my favorite pictures of him at this age.