Jackie boy, you turned three-and-a-half last month-no way, NO WAY! You are just so much fun and so silly! Some things I don’t want to forget about this age:
1. Your imagination is running WILD! Your favorite thing to do is pretend anything. At bed time, you like to play mommy/daddy and baby lion/puppy/gamecock (switching it up where I’m the mommy, you’re the baby and I’m the baby, you’re the daddy), but you say that’s only a game for you and me. Ok! You also love to play the teacher game. I’ll have to say this is my favorite. When I get you from school, you always say you didn’t do anything and you didn’t play with anyone, but when we play this game, I learn everything about your day! We go from circle time (even saying the Pledge! LOVE IT!) to lunch time to nap and centers pretending all along the way. Oh, it’s so fun!
2. Speaking of school, you are LOVING it! Most often you don’t want to leave when I get there. I’m so happy that you love school (may it always be so!), but there is also a bit of me that’s sad that you’re not running to me with the big monkey hug anymore!
3. You’re a good listener most of the time, but you can definitely test your limits, too. 1, 2, 3 works great for you. We rarely get to three, or sometimes go straight to three!, but when we do, time-out works. You do NOT like to be away from us. When you don’t have your listening ears on, I sometimes lose my patience with you and I’m sorry. I know you can see that I make mistakes, too, and I hope to teach you to be quick to apologize. Thanks for helping me learn how to be a mommy! 
5. You constantly melt my heart. Just this morning-you came in our room a bit earlier than normal and snuggled up with me (LOVE THAT!!!!). You were still for a few minutes and I pretended to still be sleeping. You took my face in your hands, kissed me big, and then whispered, “You’re beautiful. So beautiful.” Wow. I got the biggest smile on my face and opened my eyes to see you doing the same. You’re amazing!
Daddy and I love you more than words can say, sweet boy, and we’re so thankful that you’re our three-and-a-half year old! God is so good!
Just the other week, I filled out a survey for day school about different everyday skills, and it was so fun! After doing our ‘homework’ together, I was able to check that you’ve mastered all of the skills with the exception of holding a pencil correctly every time. You can do it if you want to, but not if you’re in a rush. We’ll work on it! 
You can put your shoes and coat on by yourself, hop on one foot, walk backward (you move your arm up and down like a robot when you do this, and it cracks me up!), cut with scissors, stack blocks-you know, fun three-year-old things! 
I need to take more videos of you (and your brother!) because you say and do the funniest things right now! You still ask ‘why’ a lot, but that hasn’t gotten old yet. You can say most of The Lord’s Prayer by yourself, and that just warms this mamma’s heart. I love to see God working in your heart already!
You are a rough and tumble boy, for sure, and love to build, wrestle, jump, play football/basketball/baseball/soccer/golf-any kind of boy thing! You’ve got a strong will and let us know that you have a better plan some time, but when you pitch a fit, a trip to the stairs or a distraction usually does the trick.
You’re also the sweetest, most lovable three-year-old I can imagine. You love your brother, and, even though you really want to wrestle him, you’re always making sure he’s ok and has what he needs. You go to his room as soon as you wake up and hop into his crib to play. I love to hear those sweet sounds-until I hear Sam squeal! Gentle, loving, and kind buddy! You’re such a snuggler with daddy and me, too. LOVE. IT!
There is so much more to say about you, t-tiny, so be sure to read your journal when you grow up and are reminiscing, ok?! You’ve been such a blessing to your daddy, your brother, and me (and countless others!), and we love you more than words can say! We’re so thankful for YOU! Happy birthday, sweet first born!
We’re celebrating your birthday at school tomorrow, so we headed inside to make cupcakes, and your family birthday cake, together. Mommy loved this!! I hope you’ll always have fun in the kitchen with me! 
Sam was there, too!
and after dinner, birthday cake!! You loved hearing ‘Happy Birthday’ sung to you-every time! Seeing the smile on your face made me want to sing it non stop!
This was not intended to be a smash cake, but you were enjoying it so much that we didn’t stop you. It’s only your birthday once a year, right!? And you were clearly only out for the icing!
Sweet boy, you’re growing up so fast, and I know I can’t do anything about it, so I’m going to soak up every moment. You’re so sweet, funny, and loving but also a new two year old. You’ve decided to try the whine-and-fuss-until-you-get-your-way game. Hopefully you’ll soon learn that that doesn’t get you anywhere. Most of the time you have a smile on your face and are running around playing, checking on Sam, and just being the most fun little boy! I pray that you remain healthy and growing (slowly!) and have a year full of fun with our family and your sweet little friends! Daddy and I are so proud of you, two year old!!, and we love you more than you know! Happy, happy birthday little one!!
You’re very independent right now. Most of the time you’ll say, “Jack do it, myself.” when doing things we used to help you with-the stairs, brushing your teeth, putting on your coat. And you do not want us to cut any of your food. You want everything to stay “big”. If we do cut it (of course not thinking first!) you have a bit of a melt down-we’re good at putting it back together, though!
This past month you started sleeping in your big boy bed! I really thought you’d be all over the bed like you were in the crib, and I thought the transition would be harder than it was, but you’ve done a great job!
The “why’s” have continued, and honestly, I still like it! When you ask, you have a look of genuine interest on your face. I try to give you answers you’ll really understand because you seem to have a good little memory and I want to be intentional when I teach you about this world-even when you’re asking me why there’s a life sized Cocky in a store front! (Cocky is USC’s mascot for my Michigan family who may not know!) 
And your baby brother-oh, buddy do you love him! You always ask about him, check on him, want to kiss him and hold him (and tell me you need to wash your hands first!) and are just so sweet to him! You say, “Mommy, I be careful!” We’re so proud of you, big brother! 
Jack, thank you for being such a good boy! Yes, you do still get put in time out, but even so, daddy and I can’t soak you in enough! We talk about how funny you are all the time. You’ll say or do something hilarious and daddy and I will catch eyes to make sure the other heard/saw you! You bring us such joy! You’ll never quite know how much we love you, but we’ll keep trying to show you each day! 
Your memory is what’s cracking me up right now. When Regal was here for Thanksgiving, Uncle Adam got him some water and some food. Then you saw him with a bone. So when you say, “Where puppy go?” I’ll ask the question back to you and you say, “Regal, Adam, water, food, bone!”. When we drive by Chic-Fil-A, you always say, “Where cow go, mommy?” (There was a big blow up cow on the roof for the grand opening). I ask the question back, and you say, “Cow. Farm.”. You talk about your friends and teachers at school, too. Love it! 
You’re the light of our lives, sweet boy, and we love you more than words can say!!
You are definitely all boy, and we’re really seeing your little imagination at work. We love to watch you play and see what you come up with! You love to play Cowboys and Indians, and when you 'get us', you come give us a kiss to 'wake us up'-and then get us all over again! You still love to be a golfer and love the football, and you still love your books. You love, love to play with your daddy, and the two of you are so funny! Tonight, you were laughing so hard that you could hardly catch your breath! Man alive, that melts my heart!! 
We had your first parent-teacher conference a few weeks ago, and it went so well! Among other things, Ms. Gayatri told me that you love to help clean up (yep-you love the vacuum and broom), love to play with the golf club and Hane on the playground (yep), and love to listen to the books in circle time (yep). 
You're the youngest in your class, so you're picking up on all sorts of new words from the older kids. She said you're all in the 'mine' stage and that, as a class, you’re working on sharing. We do that a good bit at home, too, to get you ready to share with your little brother! She also said that if a classmate gets hurt and starts to cry, you go over and try to console them. I love your tender little heart!
Even though you're about to be a big brother, you'll always be my first t-tiny and the one who made us parents. We love you to the moon and back and thank God for you each day!
Check out that face! Persistence and focus are good qualities to have, so keep at it little one!
I love it! I’m so glad you like to tell us what you did at school, and I had to write it down. I’m sure one day when I ask what you did at school or what you learned, you’ll say “nothing”, so I’m thankful you’re a chatter box now!
You say new words every day and will repeat most everything we ask you to say. We love to hear you say elephant and octopus! As we’re driving, you’ll tell us everything you see-bus, truck, car-and you tell us “I drive it!” while making the turning-the-steering-wheel-back-and-forth hand motion. It’s the cutest thing! You’re also talking a lot about your friends and your favorite things. The other night as we started to pray, we were thanking God for daddy, and mommy, and Jack, and baby brother. Then you stopped me and wanted to thank God for the vacuum and the airplane! And you’ve asked to thank God for Uncle Doug (who’s always included anyway!!) and Hane and Lucy, too! So sweet!
You still love to read and know exactly which book you’d like at the time. Some favorites-your Bible, the Llama, Llama books, Pat the Bunny, and the Eric Carle books that let you match the words to the pictures. You can’t do the matching part yet, but you love to tell us what each picture is!
