Things to remember

As I've said in an earlier post, I have loved age 3!  It's been so much fun having full conversations with Jake and seeing his personality blossom.  Here are a few things I want to remember about him at this precious time:

**Around Thanksgiving, he was learning about Pilgrims and Indians at school, and he REALLY got into Indians.  We checked out books about different tribes at the library, he frequently wanted to wear his Indian vest and necklace, and he also wanted to be called by his Indian name, Gray Wolf
**When he plays any sport at home, either by himself or with one of us, he always names what teams are playing.  For a long time, one of the teams was always the "Fordos."  He would announce, "Fordos vs. the Cowboys, or Fordos vs. the Longhorns."  I have no idea what a Fordo is, but he definitely loved that mascot.
**Over the last several months, he's taken much more interest in coloring and is SO much better coloring in the lines.  Up until recently, he had no interest at all, and would just scribble all over the page.  Now, he really cares and takes his time picking colors and making it look nice.
**He's quite the storyteller.  He'll frequently tell us made-up stories out of nowhere.  Oftentimes, these stories begin by him saying, "When I was a baby..."
**He still has quite the passion and opinion about clothes.  He'll quickly tell me he doesn't like something and probably only wears 1/4 or less of the clothes he owns because those are his favorites.  He also likes to dress up for specific occasions, and is always clothed appropriately for whatever sport he's playing, whether it's football, soccer, basketball or baseball.  Here he is dressed as a cowboy.  He got "real" cowboy clothes from my parents in late November and was so proud of his boots, shirt and belt.

 

**Another thing about clothes...he calls his khaki pants, any collared shirt, and his dress shoes "work clothes."  He insists on wearing his "work pants and shoes" and a Leander basketball shirt to every game, so he specifically changes clothes before we leave (no matter how late we're running). 

Jake in his "work clothes" Forgive the deer in the headlights
look.  He is working hard to open his eyes with the flash.



**He still sings all the time.  This is one of my very favorite traits of his.  Hearing him sing makes me so proud and melts my heart.  He sings mostly worship songs, but also lots of songs he makes up himself.
**His favorite TV show lately is Octonauts.  He loves to watch it even if he's already seen an episode several times.
**Jake is overall a pretty good eater, but is also usually an incredibly slow eater at dinner time.  He's usually the last one to finish at our table.
**Jake is already showing qualities of a great big brother by how he talks to us and my belly.  He seems genuinely excited for the baby to come.  A few weeks back, Kevin and I walked into his room and he had laid out his "Big Brother" shirt with pants and socks.  When we asked him what he was doing, he said, "Getting ready for my brother to come in 3 days."  Our hearts melted and it was hard to break the new that it was 3 months, not 3 days.  Once we explained it to him, he started crying b/c it was so far away.
**Jake wants to name his brother Owen Cohen or Daddy Chaddy.
**He'll reach up to hold my hand sometimes even when he's not required to.  This is also something I really love and am fearful for the time when he's "too old" to hold it at all.
**He's can give the best full body hugs--this is when he wraps both his arms and legs around you and holds tight.  They are the best!
**I noticed over the last couple months that when I am holding Jake, he often starts playing with my hair.  He just strokes it and strokes it.
**He seems to have favorite numbers.  Recently, the number is 89.  If you ask him question that requires a numerical response, he'll often respond with "89" even if it's way off.