preschooler – Page 2 – Myriad & Sundry

4 Years Old

January 24, 2015 No Comments

Jameson insisted on stacking his blocks and blanket himself for photos. I can recall when he didn’t want to take photos (like Coraline is now), so I am really enjoying his excitement. Soon, that chair will be moving out of Coraline’s room though so our yearly photos will have a new background to them. But we’ll continue to take them for as long as they like. I love it.

Toward the end of this last year, he has started to write letters. First his name, which he writes without needing to trace letters now, and things like “yes” “no” and short words he is still tracing from worksheets at school. Sometimes he still gets colors mixed up, so I’m not convinced that there’s not a little color blindness there. He doesn’t like to draw much or color, but he loved the science kit we did the other day and enjoyed watercolors, and likes activities that involve physical movement (soccer, gym, wrestling with daddy), which I think is usual for a little boy his age.

He doesn’t share much about his days at school except that he plays in the gym or plays with friends. Since his best buddy Nathan stopped going, he had to make new friends, so we’re not sure who his best bud is anymore, if anyone. He’s more outgoing now than he used to be, though he’s still shy around people he doesn’t know.

He is almost potty trained at night time now, which we know is a subconscious control he doesn’t quite have yet though he’s been day trained since he was two. We are going through an occasional fibbing stage where he likes to tell one or the other that “mommy said I could do or have this”, or “daddy said I could do or have this”. Sometimes it works, most times it doesn’t now that we’ve caught on. He likes to get out of bed now several times before settling down for the night, and hasn’t napped at home except a handful of times since Coraline was born. Though, surprisingly, he naps at school great now! Once he’s asleep, he stays asleep.

What Jameson is Wearing:

Size 3T pants for length, though I had to sew in all the waists since he doesn’t like jeans which had the cinching straps.
3T shirts
Soft pants and swishy pants, and clothes with Pink Floyd, superheros, or Ninja Turtles on them
Pull ups at night, but sometimes big boy underwear

Jameson, describing the grippers on his new socks: “They’re sparkles, I love sparkles! Let me feel them. Ooh they sound crunchy.” Yes indeed, we bought socks with crunchy sounding sparkles (never mind the dinosaurs on them)
– Friday, January 3, 2014

What Jameson is Eating:

Meatballs, chicken nugget, hot dog, and most any meat he can eat with ketchup or ranch
Cucumbers with ranch or without. He’ll eat a whole one straight up like a pickle. Also tomatoes.
Regular and “special” yogurt. He likes regular yogurt again now because that’s what mommy and daddy eat. Still doesn’t like eggs.
Candy of course
Potatoes most any way
Strawberries and berries.
He’s become much better about trying his food, but counting the number of bites and negotiating for more of what he really likes is still an almost nightly occurrence.

I’ve got to use my looking eyes! (Looking for strawberries)

Mommy! I like your underwear! Is it new?

What Jameson is Saying:

Jameson likes to ask us about how our work day was, and insists that we answer his questions first before he answers (minimally) about his day at school
This year, Jameson learned about where we live, cities and streets. He also knows where Grandma and Poppa live and Aunt Melissa, streets and city.
For several months, Jameson couldn’t say hamburger properly, saying “hangaber” instead (He could says cheeseburger just fine). He finally says it correct now, which is kind of sad.
We have experienced a lot of “never” (instead of “no”, so at least he’s creative). We also get to enjoy defiant stares and complete withdrawal from participation.

Me: Jameson, did you know mommy got a new job at the mattress factory? [extreme simplification for the 3 year old]
J: Oh, I’d love to go there. Just like Corduroy! [corduroy the bear tries to get a button off a mattress in his book]
Me: That’s right!
J: You look beautiful today mommy!
Me: Why thank you, Jameson!
J: You have all your clothes on!
– Friday, April 18, 2014

What Jameson Likes These Days:

He really loves to watch TV, any show or movie TV now and all the time. We’re working on this. This year along with the usual favorites we’ve also watched Batman, Rescue Bots, and Ninja Turtles.
Jameson enjoys reading about super heroes. He was playing super hero at school and told me he was Captain America and Wolverine so I’m guessing those are the favorites.
Wearing his favorite clothes.
Duffy the little teddy bear and his soft brown blanket, as well as a dog pillow that he became attached to after Sasha passed away.
Swimming lessons and soccer. He loved his new soccer class this time around!
Listening to “his” songs, kid music. He also requests kid Christmas songs randomly any time of year.
The ipad, but now he only really gets it when traveling so he doesn’t ask for it as much
Frozen book and movie (but not the live ice show apparently, it terrified him…)
Wrestling with daddy
His dogs Sasha, Mayzie and Shiloh, and now Zoe. This year we lost two of them, and he’s stopped asking for a new one since meeting Zoe the puppy. He loves them though and always asked to see Meemaw and Grandpa’s dogs on the iPad during FaceTime

Jameson, what did I tell you about throwing!?
….But I was just catching mommy!
– Tuesday, May 27, 2014

I’m not scribble scrabbing, I’m coloring.
– Sunday, August 17, 2014

What Jameson Doesn’t Like These Days:

Napping or resting at home.
Sitting still to eat.
Being told what to do “right now” or “hurry up”. He really doesn’t like being rushed or forced and becomes very obstinate, refusing completely. We’ve found that using a visual timer works for many arguments and time outs.
Cold baths. He had one once when his tantrum was out of control at bathtime.
Toilets… in particular, overflowing toilets. He only has specific ones at home, school and Meemaw and Grandpa’s house that he will go in. He’s finally getting over some of it, from an incident that occurred when I let the downstairs toilet overflow. My fault!

I need my chapstick on because I burned my face! Then he rubs it all over his nose and forehead. Sometime between winter and summer, he got confused.
– Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Why did you break Coraline’s pajamas? (the first time Coraline was in two piece)

What Jameson is Doing:

Writing his name
Asking how things work, or making up how they work on his own. Today he told me the humidifier keeps Coraline warm, so I had to correct him but I love this mechanical kind of imagination. I’ve also described how hot air rises to make the ceiling fan move.
Playing with the little Playmobil or Lego guns and toy swords.
He dresses himself, identifies letters and loves stories, and likes to make pretend coffee with any stream of water.

Jameson is pretending to swim in the tub.
Me: Jameson would you like to take swimming lessons soon?
J: I don’t want to jump in the pool
Me: Why not?
J: Are there sharks in there!?
Me: No, sharks live in ocean. Only people swim in pools.
J: Oh with the fishes?
– Thursday, March 20, 2014

What We Are Working On:

Nighttime potty training
Cleaning up and putting things away when we are done with them.
Sitting still to eat.
Mommy and daddy are figuring out good ways to reward good behavior so more of it comes without being told.

Jameson is singing “do you know the muffin man”
Brian: I don’t know the muffin man, who is he?
J: he’s the caker
Brian: who’s the caker?
J: he makes cakes!
– Saturday, September 6, 2014

We also did our 4 year interview! Like last year, he got distracted after just a couple questions so we didn’t get to ask them all. His answers were a lot more coherent this year, but still very focused in the now, like what is around him. His favorite movie is still Lion King, though I thought he’d say Frozen!

What is your name? Grameson… Jameson (He was nervous about the interview at first I think)
How old are you? 4
What is your favorite color? Blue and orange
What is your favorite animal? A lion and a bear
What is your favorite book? My Superhero ones… on your ipad! (He has a set of Marvel Superhero books, but just the other night I showed him the bonus ebook on the ipad that came with the set for the first time, and he loved it. It was our very first kids ebook experience)
What is your favorite TV show? It is Jake (Jake and the Neverland Pirates)
What is your favorite movie? Lion King
What is your favorite song? Old McDonald
What is your favorite food? It isssss a bun. (It’s true he usually requests a bun to eat with his hot dog so he can eat it by itself)
What food do you not like? Pork chops and pork.
What is your favorite drink? It’s water and milk and juice and apple juice and and and apple juice and orange juice and apple juice and orange juice and milk and water.
What is your favorite snack? It is grahams… it is teddies! (as in Teddy Grahams)
What makes you laugh? Pictures. hahahahaha Fake laugh
What is your favorite thing to wear? Mickey Mouse and my Mickey Mouse socks (That was what he’s wearing in the video; he loves swishy pants and his Ninja Turtles shirt. I asked him for more, and he told me that I needed to buy him a sword shirt, like his new toy sword.)
What is your favorite game? The game over there. (Chutes and Ladders, which we’ve recently been playing after Coraline goes to bed.)
What is your favorite toy? My sword
Who is your best friend? Trip and MJ
What do you like to take to bed with you at night? Duffy and and Bobby Bear and my baby Rudolf (Plus the doggy pillow and soft brown blanket and a billion other “guys” every night)
Where is your favorite place to go? To see the sound of the owls… with Aunt Melissa (I am so surprised he said this, since he got impatient to go home while we were waiting to hear the owls. It was a cool night hike really meant for older kids and Aunt Melissa came with us; it must have really made an impression.)
Where do you want to go on vacation? Accidentally skipped over this
What do you like to do with your family? Accidentally skipped over this
What do you want to be when you grow up? I wanna… I want to be umm… I don’t know

Upon arriving home today, Jameson said “when I grow up, I’m gonna drive… In my own car… And you’re gonna sit there!” (Pointing to passenger seat)
– January 30, 2014

What did you do when you were little? I was putting things in the toilet. When I was a weeeee little baby.
What do you like to do now that you are big? I don’t put my toys in the toilet and I get new toys.
What is your favorite thing to learn in school? I like to play music. (I paused for a few minutes here since he was really distracted with his camera. Then he got confused and thought I asked what he liked and began listing things in front of him like his rocking chair and the Elmo rocker)
What is your favorite thing to remember? Didn’t get to ask this
What do you want to buy with your money? With the three little circles with the money I want the money. More more more money. (We’ve never asked him this before, he doesn’t really understand how money works yet)
What is the thing you do the most awesomely? Didn’t get to ask this

Last Minute Party

January 21, 2015 No Comments

We weren’t going to have a big party for Jameson’s 4th birthday, but when we sent out invitation via email about a week and a half before the party, we got a surprising response. Most guests RSVPed yes, and the small party became a bit of a big one!

Meemaw and Grandpa came up to visit, and we FaceTimed with Aunt Holly while Jameson opened her gifts the day before his party.

Jameson loved his Ninja Turtles shirt from Aunt Holly and immediately wanted to put it on with the new swishy pants from Meemaw and Grandpa. They got him a soccer outfit and a net which we put up when it was relatively warm a couple weeks later. He was really loving kicking his new soccer ball into the net!

Coraline wanted to put on the swishy pants too.

Along with a lot of our friends, Brian’s cousin Griffin also came to the party. Every time Jameson sees him, he loves watching him play video games, following him around and playing with what he wants to play with. Jameson really seems to look up to him, and Griffin is so friendly and plays with him.

Jameson was not happy that Coraline was sitting on his gifts.

Jameson’s big gift was a pirate ship by Playmobil. It has lots of small parts, and we’ve already lost a few. Oops! He hasn’t really been into playing with it other than shooting the cannons, which seems typical boy.

He also got a Pete the Cat book and stuffed toy from Aunt Melissa, which Coraline immediately grabbed saying “my meow”. She’s since given it up but it was pretty hilarious.

The highlight of the party though was the gift from Uncle Mike, cousin Gabrielle and Griffin: the remote control car which flips every which way. The kids were fascinated with it! Even though Jameson is very into doing things himself, he was happy to let Griffin show him how to use it first.

For a cake, he said he wanted chocolate and vanilla (like I made for him when he was three, apparently he remembered), so I decided on a Neapolitan cake I made from scratch. The bottom was actually brownie, a classic vanilla cake, and then strawberry made with handpicked strawberries we froze from the summer on top. Then he wanted orange icing on it, and I decided to go crazy and we put candy eyeballs on it. It was pretty funny looking, but the kids loved the eyeballs and it tasted excellent so that’s all the matters, right?

It was a great party, and Jameson loved seeing all his friends. Even Nathan was able to come! We loved showing off our new basement (which they were working on right up until that morning!) and we invited people to bring dog toys, treats, food and cleaning supplies for the local shelter rather than gifts for Jameson.

We finally dropped all that off a couple weekends ago, and it was so nice to know we were helping the shelter. It was Jameson’s first experience giving to ~~people~~ animals in need. Luckily, there weren’t too many dogs to see in the cages, and it was tough answering Jameson’s question if people leave their dogs in the cages. (People leave dogs here for all kind of reasons, and then they stay here until they can find new homes)

On his actual birthday, Grandma and Poppa came over with his gifts to open, a cool construction set. Jameson is driving his little motorcycle over his gifts.

I can’t believe this little guy is 4 years old, and yet at the same time, I can believe it because he’s changed so much in the past year.

general life, pets

Sasha

November 12, 2014 No Comments

10/1/02 – 11/11/14

Yesterday, we had to tell Jameson that our beloved puppy was gone. Unexpectedly, he seemed to understand the concept of death already, that she was gone from us and not returning. He was incredibly sad, and immediately requested a new doggie. While I am certain he expected a new doggie to make him feel better, we know that is not entirely the case. It was the easiest question he asked. He also asked if we were with her, another unexpected but easy answer. The hardest part was watching him so sad, since this is his first experience with this kind of unresolvable sadness and grief.

Despite trying hard not to dwell on sickness or old age as reasons we die, he picked up on old age. He’s too young to explain that all of us die without causing fear, though I think he made that association anyway; or that death can also happen unexpectedly; so, we reassured him that Sasha had lived a very, very long time, and that she went to Heaven and can run in the grass there. He asked if tomorrow he will get older, and I told him that he will not be old for a very long time. I may have said that everyone lives for a very long time. It’s hard to find the answers to reassure and make him feel better, but to be truthful without opening up more questions he is too young to understand is nearly impossible. I am sure that won’t be the last of his questions about death and Heaven.

I did make him a book about Sasha, with photos of her as a puppy he has never seen before. It hasn’t really been the immediate hit that I expected, but I think it will be a useful tool when he asks more questions or misses her. Instead, he associated the book with making him sad, and he didn’t really want to read it again. I think he will want to later though.

We visited grandma last night, which was a much needed distraction for all of us. He has a big stuffed dog there, which he called his “pet doggie” and put it in the fort he and grandma made. So many, many sad moments. Some of the worst are associated with routine, of course. Looking for her in the morning when we get up or before bed. Leaving the garage door open when we get home to let her out. Thankfully, Coraline is so young, aside from looking for her very briefly, she has been a comic relief and little ray of sunshine for us. She chose an outfit today of all doggies.

I’ve found that I don’t really know Brian without Sasha, since the two were partners, his buddy, from the day I met him. It’s hard to find words to describe their relationship, since it was much more than master to pup. She will always be his very first baby. Watching him grieve is almost as hard as losing Sasha herself.

It took me a little time to love Sasha, not because she wasn’t lovable, but because she took up a lot of space in our bed, haha. But now, even though we’ve filled our home with additional pack members, the house feels so much emptier. She is such a big part of our life, home and family. And our hearts. Her exceptionally large presence really seems to make her absence even bigger.

We have a sing-song phrase we use with Coraline for naps and night-night time. It can be used for hello and goodbye, too. Monday, Jameson sang it to Sasha, singing “bye bye Sasha, bye bye Sasha, see you after school.” Knowing that she would not be home waiting for us in just a couple days while listening to him sing to her was the beginning of many hard moments. Another was watching Coraline, who has just started in the past few weeks to pull out Sasha’s treats on her own to go give to her. Yesterday morning, instead of a bye bye song, Coraline sang “Night night” to her.

Sasha reached the end of her life at the very old age of 12. She was, and is, the smartest dog I have ever met, a gentle giant with a sweet disposition as long as you don’t poke at her face, Coraline! Sasha loved rolling in the grass, sitting on couches, catching snowballs, eating cookies (the dog treat kind), and giving puppy kisses.

I’m sure you’re glad to be chasing bunny rabbits again.

children

Soccer Try Two

November 7, 2014 No Comments

Our last attempt at playing soccer didn’t really end well. Jameson was okay in the beginning, but by the end was refusing to participate entirely. We weren’t really sure what went wrong, so this time we changed up a couple things.

We made sure to have Jameson sign up with a friend. Our neighbors were able to participate as well this time. And we also tried a different program, in the hopes that different teaching methods would encourage him to participate again. I think it helped that it was months later that we tried again.

For all this, he really didn’t seem to remember that he didn’t actually like the other program, and was asking to play soccer again, so maybe he would’ve been fine without those changes. But regardless, this time we had success! And he did seem to absorb some things from the first program we did, like not to touch the ball, so I wouldn’t call it a completely wasted experience.

This program is run by volunteer students, and was much less structured. Even though I think that some parents struggled with that in the beginning, the kids loved it. There was lots and lots of running.

How great is this tongue out!?

Coraline is pointing at the soccer ball next to her. She was a snack MONSTER at these practices.

Our last session was this week (indoors, since it was near dark after the time change!), and in general I think I’d choose outdoor over indoor. The kids are much more behaved (as is Coraline) when it’s outside. But the kids all got their own soccer ball at the end, which was a surprise to me. It was such a great value and experience. I can’t wait for him to play again in spring!

children

Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh

September 5, 2014 No Comments

We took the kids to the Children’s Museum a few weeks ago in Pittsburgh with Jason, Lisa and Vivienne. The one closer to us is smaller, and Lisa had heard good things about this one so we committed to the drive (which actually didn’t end up being too bad).

We tried to leave during Coraline’s naptime, but we all know that Coraline isn’t the best napper in the car. I did see some zzzz’s out of her at least for a little while. When we arrived, it was tough to find parking because they were having a Kindergarten event there! Luckily the crowd thinned out as the day went on and the event ended, but we weren’t prepared for that. We found some street parking though and had lunch first in the cafeteria there.

They recommended we start in the arts and crafts room in case things needed to dry. Jameson did a couple older kid activities (like a cool screen printing) and I got adventuresome with Coraline and did some painting. The aprons were so large I put her head through the arm holes and wrapped it extra around her!

They had an adorable outdoor area and Coraline also got to play in the sand while Jameson climbed up into the tree house and used the pulleys. We were really happy with how many activities Jameson was able to do, which were more advanced than Coraline could do but not too advanced for him. He was a great age for a lot (though not all) of the experiences. There just seemed to be more.

In the “transportation” room I guess, Coraline was dying to get a hold of the balls, but they were for a cool activity that pulled them into the air and onto a track. Brian and Jameson waited for a while to do this.

This is also where I realized that this Museum has a bunch of Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood! I am not sure if I was under a rock, but I didn’t realize that is where Mr. Rogers was from. In that room, they had his trolley; in others, they had some of the puppets, and even the castle! (though it had been repainted and repurposed I think).

There was a room a little beyond all the kiddos, so we moved more quickly through that and then to the younger kids’ room. Coraline loved everything in this room. There is some more sand, a giant “lite brite” and this seesaw among other things.

It’s also where the puppets are! I was fascinated to look at all these characters I grew up with.

One of the last areas we visited was the water room. Luckily we brought a spare change of clothes! I forgot about the water areas. All the kiddos were in heaven. I really loved the cool pipe works they had coming from the floor to move water around. What a clever and awesome activity!

The final room was the workshop, which was again a bit beyond the kids’ skill level, but they enjoyed looking at things so to occupy Coraline I went to go find the castle, which is in the theater downstairs. It’s actually on the stage, and in the back there are a bunch of doors opening to each letter of the alphabet, which she enjoyed.

Mostly, I enjoyed the nostalgia of seeing all the Mr. Rogers characters and castle. And the kids having fun, of course! When we left, we saw they were playing Mary Poppins there later and had chalk art outside. It was overall a great Children’s Museum, and one that I think we’d go back to.

We stopped for dinner with our friends on the way home at a local pizza place recommended to us a while ago by Brian’s parents. Very tasty! Though the kids were worn out and just done with everything. Coraline started yelling unhappily, but even after we got on the road, she didn’t fall asleep. Crazy kid!

children, life with baby

Swimming

June 16, 2014 No Comments

Saturday, we started Jameson’s first swimming lessons that he likely remembers, since his last ones were over a year ago. We stopped about a month before Coraline was born. He’s got a pretty great memory now, but I recall that being a time when he was just starting to really hold onto his memories.

So that morning we took him to a local high school which has a pool. We didn’t do a mommy-and-me style class. For his age group, they recommended he go by himself; Jameson did need some encouragement though. Maybe more than a little, since I had to end up lifting him into the water when he didn’t want to go all the way down the steps.

The pool was nice in that it was sized great for preschoolers who could actually stand in the water by themselves. It was generously warm as well, which I was thankful for. I remember very cold water on cooler outdoor mornings for my own swimming lessons. Jameson is a lucky kid!

He also showed quite a bit of hesitation before putting the floater under his arms, but again after a little encouragement from me on the other side, he did it!

They even had time for some play, which I think was missing from our soccer experience (which by the end he did not want to participate in at all!). So I have high hopes that he will enjoy his swimming lessons and get more and more confident in the water. By the end of our first lesson, simply playing with a ball he dared himself to get back into the deeper water!

To reinforce the lesson that we need to learn to swim (and just to have fun!), we went to a waterpark later that afternoon with some friends.

Coraline loved it. She walked, holding onto my hands, to her chest height. No fear! When I had a hand under her belly, I even saw a couple kicks. I think she wanted to slide down the waterslide as well. She wasn’t quite tall enough for that! Jameson loved it though and did the slide over and over again.

It was mildly chilly in and out of the water, but the water itself wasn’t too cold and the concrete really held the heat which meant we were comfortable and but not sweltering. The weather meant the crowd was very light, which we all loved. When Jameson got too cold, he laid down on the beach chairs covered in a towel eating snacks, haha!

Coraline was not a big fan of the lazy river, mostly because of the life jacket squishing her little chin and cheeks up. She loved splashing and crawling on me. After several hours there, I still hadn’t really hear her fussing. She loved the poolside snacking (as did Jameson). I’m pretty sure the one time she cried at the end was because she was getting her swimsuit off, and she wanted to play more!

Brian and I had the opportunity to ride a few adult rides with our friend’s older girls, which was a blast. And we all visited the wave pool which water was very beach-like and warm.

After the waterpark, some exhausted children continued to play and have fun late into the night. Particularly Jameson, who was up until 9:30! Coraline has reached the phase where you may not be able to tell she’s exhausted by looking at her. She’ll continue to play as long as you let her.

We enjoyed pizza on the grill with our friends before another homemade popsicle finale for the evening. A fun filled day!

children

Learning to Spell

May 20, 2014 No Comments

Over the past 6 months, Jameson has been progressing from spelling his name like this:

Juvr3u

(That is real, he spelled it that same way a few times, and his last name like this: 3u3ru)

To consistently using J and s-o-n at the end…

To spelling out his name correctly on a card for his grandma on Mother’s Day. This is, to my knowledge, the first time he has spelled and written his name in it’s entirety, correctly, on his own without tracing.

children

Gift of Singing

May 3, 2014 No Comments

Jameson sang in his very concert, a preschool concert put on by his daycare, on my birthday!

We had some drama getting his “buttons” on (shirt with buttons are just called buttons, and a terrible trial to get him in) and his jeans. He only ever wants to wear swishy pants and his motorcycle shirt or his caped Batman and Superman shirts.

Thankfully, with a little bribery, we were able to get him in his dress clothes and to the school on time. He was excited that his concert was at a big kid school, and thankfully his best bud Nathan was already there, so getting him to sit with his friends and leave wasn’t a big deal.

I didn’t take any photos, just video, but here’s a photo from Nathan’s dad. Jameson is circled, he’s next to the kid with the adorable tie.

And the adorable video! We got some great close ups with him around 9:45 minutes. Jameson was so serious about singing, but I know he had fun. I’m so glad he participated; I was a little worried we’d only get to see his shy face.

After the show, the school at cookies and lemonade and punch for the kids. Jameson and Nathan hung out. Coraline was so great during the show, she was happy munching on her snack and playing with Nathan’s mom’s hair and sweater in front of her. Even though it was an hour and a half past her bedtime before we were home and sleeping, you would have never known it.

Before bed, Brian played a recording of his performance on his phone, and Jameson wanted to sing along. So I got a solo birthday performance from Jameson at home too! A wonderful birthday gift for me.

children

Jameson the Preschooler

February 5, 2014 No Comments

Jameson turned 3 a little over a month ago, and I’ve neglected to talk about how our 3 year old preschooler is doing daily. He loves to tell us that he goes to preschool, and even demonstrated how teachers read books by doing it with Coraline and Sasha.

What Jameson is Wearing:

Size 24 month pants (mostly for the waistband). He has a few in the 2T size, which fit better lengthwise for sure, but the cinching straps are pulled pretty tight!
2T shits, but 3T looks okay if a little big on him. Loves to wear sweatshirts because they’re soft.
Size 2T-3T Pull ups at night, but big boy underwear all day, everyday!
Two piece penguin pajamas any nights they’re clean.
Chapstick from Aunt Melissa

What Jameson is Eating:

Meatballs, chicken nugget, hot dog, and most any meat he can eat with ketchup and only with ketchup
Meemaw’s spaghetti, but for the most part he only eats a bite of it anywhere else
Cucumbers and carrots with ranch
Baby oranges (the biggest of the baby oranges)
“Special” yogurts. These come in the tubes and are special because we used to only let him have them on the weekend. He has them everyday now for convenience and because he stopped eating the kind with fruit on the bottom. We try to stick with the greek tube yogurts without characters all over them (my request)
Tootsie roll treats for wiping himself on the potty and having no accidents overnight (that last one doesn’t happen frequently right now)
Most candy, except skittles and hard candies which we don’t let him have.
Not a big fan of trying all of his food. There is usually a lot of negotiating. Threats to go to bed or no TV don’t seem to work. I don’t require a clean plate, but we try to have him try everything on his plate every night.
Granola bars, which are becoming a problem right now since he wants them all the time.
Cheeseburgers from McDonalds (only those, cheeseburgers anywhere else he barely touches even when he says he wants them)
Orange juice and cranberry juice.

What Jameson is Saying:

Jameson is starting to tell stories and “lies” though he doesn’t know them as such. He insisted he peed in his clothes at the end of school, I guessed so that he could change into PJs at home. He also told us he flew in a helicopter for vacation after seeing one in a book.
He loves to pretend to be a monster and scare or surprise us in the morning or before bed.
He can count up to the teens, then they get all mixed up. They work on numbers up to 20 at school.
When recounting his day at school, the first thing out of his mouth is always “Logan came back!” and “Nathan came back!” even though they are both full time kids and also “come back” everyday.
A recent favorite conversation, about nutrition week at school on the day they learned about fats and sweets.

“Jameson, did you learn about fats today?”
“They’re bad”
“Are candy fats?”
“No, candy is good to eat!”
“What kinds of food are bad?”
“Hmmm… Broccoli is bad!”

What Jameson Likes These Days:

Reading stories at bedtime, as many as we will read to him. And when those are done, he sometimes looks for “song books” for us to sing to him in bed. Books he likes include most of the library books we bring home, his vacation book with pictures from vacation last September, his new Thomas the Tank Engine books, his big long Dinosaur book from Christmas… really I could go on. He likes so many of his books.
TV Shows: Handy Manny, Jake & The Neverland Pirates, less of Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood unless it’s a new one, Sophia the First (it’s not one he requests but he likes it when its on)
Movies: Monsters Inc & University, Lion King, Toy Story (he cried while watching Toy Story 3–because the bad babydoll was crying. I don’t think he understood the baby doll was bad), Tinkerbell, The Lorax on the ipad.
The ipad, games and mostly the PBS show app where he can pick what he wants to watch, which isn’t usually the same thing we watch on TV. On the ipad, he frequently selects Super Why and Clifford The Big Red Dog.
Playing soccer, which we just started this month. He likes to wear his shin guards.
“Playing” with Coraline (on his terms) or making her laugh.
Big boy underwear to bed. He never gets it, so he wants it. We tell him we need him to practice calling for mommy and daddy at night, which he has only done once a couple months ago.
Listening to skidamarinkadinkadink and two Christmas songs which we can’t get away from: Rudolf and the 12 Days of Christmas
Puzzles! Every since Meemaw and I did a puzzle over Christmas break.
He little bear Duffy, his brown blanket, and then he alternates between loving on his midsize bear Bobby or the other two little bears.
Doing the recycling. He loves to throw the recycling boxes out into the garage. Dad also let him give Sasha water the other day. Starting those chores early!

What Jameson Doesn’t Like These Days:

Napping at home, not even resting unless he’s really exhausted or ill. He still naps at daycare 4 out of 5 days a week, but gave up naps at home a year ago.
Trying food, or really, sitting still to eat at all.
Being told “no” or “not right now” in any way, particularly with watching his TV shows or having snacks before dinner.
Drinking milk
Occasionally insisting on NO songs before bed, for some reason he doesn’t want this as much anymore. When he does want a song, it’s always Old McDonald who has a turkey, rooster or pig.
Kisses from Sasha (haha)

What Jameson is Doing:

Going potty without having any accidents, unless he gets too wrapped up in playing and he has a little one. But otherwise we don’t need to tell him ever.
Hugs, kisses, high fives and knuckles with his friends and family for greeting and saying goodbyes.
Cleaning up messes from Coraline eating with his broom and dust pan or toy vacuum.
Practicing using a knife. We got him new plasticwear utensils which included relatively dull knives which he loves to use to cut his food.
Making Coraline laugh
Stalling before bedtime.
Having sleepovers with Aunt Melissa where they get to do all kinds of fun things like go to the bounce house center, playgrounds, and the movies.
He has seen his first movie at the theater with Lily, her mom and myself, and then another one with Aunt Melissa! He sits on our lap and sits perfectly for the entire movie.

What We Are Working On:

Cleaning up and putting things away when we are done with them. Sometimes he does this voluntarily and suprises me but I’d love to see it more consistent. He really is a good helper when he focuses on the task.
Sharing his toys with his sister, and even her own toys which he likes to play with too.
Sharing TV time.
Trying food, or really, sitting still to eat at all.
Calling for mommy and daddy at night when he needs to go potty. However, he is a very deep sleeper and we cannot wake him enough to try and help him learn this in the middle of the night.
Apologizing after not listening to mommy and daddy. We are struggling with how to handle his tantrums, whether he needs quiet time or a time out (depending on whether hitting was involved in the tantrum) and trying to teach him to count to ten to help him calm down. This is not a frequent thing, and mostly happens when he doesn’t have a nap and is overtired.

And then I decided to do a little interview with him, so he could tell us his favorite things in his own words. However, I think most of what came out of his mouth was what popped in his head first. Haha! He also couldn’t really focus much on me, and ran around like a crazy monkey. I think this is typical toddler, but was pretty funny so I am glad I video recorded it.

Here are the questions, though I didn’t get to ask all of them before he got so distracted he stopped answering.

What is your name? Jameson Charles Thomas
How old are you? 3
What is your favorite color? Brown (Often this is actually orange but he calls it brown sometimes, especially when he turns on his stars at night with the Twilight Turtle)
What is your favorite animal? A horse
What is your favorite book? Pete the Cat
What is your favorite TV show? Handy Manny
What is your favorite movie? Lion King
What is your favorite song? Muffin Man (not sure where this one came from!)
What is your favorite food? Macaroni
What food do you not like? Grilled Cheese (he actually tends to like this, but claimed he was “too big” for it in this interview)
What is your favorite drink? Orange Juice
What is your favorite snack? Cranberries (which he never has had… he usually selects a granola bar, candy, fruit snacks or nuts lately)
What makes you laugh? Coraline
What is your favorite thing to wear? Sweatshirt
What is your favorite game? Raisins (what…)
What is your favorite toy? A football (he actually doesn’t really have a football or play with it inside, I wonder if he was thinking of soccer)
Who is your best friend? Nathan (in the past he has volunteered that Lily is his best friend as well)
What do you like to take to bed with you at night? Big Corduroy (this is his enormous bear he got from Santa, and he does not sleep in his bed so that was interesting. I was really surprised he did not say Duffy)
Where is your favorite place to go? Here (the top of the couch, which I only let him up on because I was trying to get this interview done, haha!)
Where do you want to go on vacation? To see Mickey Mouse
What do you like to do with your family? Hide (he was hiding behind the couch)
What do you want to be when you grow up? A baby
What did you do when you were little? Play with Coraline
What do you like to do now that you are big? Turn on the fireplace (which we really don’t let him do without close supervision…)
What is your favorite thing to learn in school? Nathan
What is your favorite thing to remember? I tried this but stopped getting answers.
What do you want to buy with your money? Didn’t get to ask this
What is the thing you do the most awesomely? Didn’t get to ask this

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