1, 2, 3

1.) Jack.  He's getting so grown-up.  He has full conversations, with observations, questions and rebuttals.  A lot of rebuttals.  We're trying to work on being "respectful" and not "talking back."  But have you ever tried to explain these terms to a 3 year old? 
"Jack stop, you're being disrespectful."
"I not being disspeckle."
"Please don't talk back."
"I not, Mom.  I not talk back."
We're really starting to delve into the whole character education thing.  And I feel like I'm in way over my head! 

But we are getting much, much better with sharing.  He shares all the time, and usually lets me know it.  Some time he'll run all the way up the stairs, through three rooms, just to tell me, "I sharing Mama, I share with Jude."  He's constantly sharing toys with Julia, who could care less unless he sticks them on her face.  And while he still steals toys from Jude on a reguar basis, he usually follows it up with a replacement.  I suppose that doesn't make the situation any better.  But Jude doesn't seem to mind.  And surprisingly he's very good at sharing food.  It's actually almost helpful at this point - I give him the grapes, ask him to divvy them up for he and Jude, and then he's occupied while I get the rest of lunch ready.

We had some snow flurries this week!

I just realized that it was a year ago next week that we started potty-training Jack.  Ugh, what a process.  For the most part, he's doing well.  It certainly helps that he's able to pull his pants up and down on his own now, especially since he almost always decides to use the bathroom when I'm nursing the baby.  And just in case you are wondering, yes, I can feed a baby and button a 3-year old's jeans at the same time.  Sometimes he gets a little carried away, he must be getting more and more confident in his "abilities."  Just tonight, I caught him attempting to pee into the cup that he usually gets his nightly drink of water from.  Ummm, what are you thinking kid?!  Unfortunately, we're not quite out of diapers yet.  He still needs one at night and when he's napping.  And I'm not sure how to fix that.  So I guess, for now, I technically still have 3 in diapers.  Bummer.

Even I concede, he definitely needs a haircut.

Jack moved up a class in preschool after Christmas.  He's now in the 3-year old class, which I think is a better fit for him.  He's still very excited about school and all the new things he's learning.  He walks around the house singing the alphabet and counting nothing in particular.  And his current favorite discussion point is size.  As in, "Mom, you big, I little."  "Mom, you have big teeth.  Jude has little teeth."  "Mom, you reach the truck?  You have big arms.  My arms are too little." 

We're also learning how capable he is of holding a grudge, or at least remembering an offense.  His new teacher gave him a "red light" on Friday for not being a good listener, and he had to go in time-out.  Ever since then, any time you mention anything about school, he just brings up his time-out, and that Miss Bonnie didn't give him a treat.  We had something similar happen last month so I'm trying to lessen the blow by explaining that he wasn't a good listener on Friday, but that he was a good listener today.  And that Miss Bonnie still likes you and thinks you're fun and she said how good you did today, etc.  And still, all he talks about is the one day he got a time-out.  Well, hopefully it won't happen again.

I'm celebrating my greatest Jack-victory this week - naps.  Finally, I've got him back to consistently taking a nap in the afternoon.  It took a few adjustments, a little tweaking and a lot of persistence, but (after several months of trouble) we're finally back on track.  I was congratulating myself on the fruits of my labor yesterday when I told my mom the good news.  "Oh, I'm so glad," she said, "Your dad and I were just praying this week that Jack would start to take naps again."  ... Soooo, maybe it wasn't me after all.  In the end, it doesn't matter.  Thank you Lord that my son regularly takes a nap, along with my other two kids, and I get some quiet time in the afternoon!  Now why didn't I think to pray for naps 4 months ago??

2.)  Jude.  Or as Jack likes to say: Jude-buddy, Little Buddy, Judey, and Juden (I have no idea why he calls him Juden).  Of course, just when I feel that my oldest is getting ever-so-slightly easier, my middle child enters the difficult age.  Really, 18 months to 3 years must just be the worst in my experience.  Methinks he doth protest too much.  Jon does an excellent impression of Jude's growling "Noooo!" and his piercing "Heyyyy!" both which he uses when things don't go his way - which is all the time.  Jude hates taking Jack to preschool in the morning.  He's always excited when it's time to go pick him up, but the early morning drop-off is the pits.  And he fights me all the way. First we have to run circles around the house just to get his coat on.  Then I have to practically drag him out to the car.  And then I have to use my knee to hold him down so I can buckle his seatbelt.  Some mornings I just want to pull Jack out of school simply because Jude makes it so difficult. 

He also fights his bib, getting his teeth brushed, having his diaper changed and being moved off the chair/couch/anywhere he shouldn't be.  I've talked about it before but Jude LOVES the kitchen.  He got his own little kiddie kitchen for Christmas but it doesn't hold a candle to the real thing.  He's also figured out how to push a chair from the dining room, across the floor and up to the counter.  On Sunday, he did this at least 10 times.  Each time Jon and I set him back down and moved the chair back to the table.  And each time he did it again.  It wouldn't be so bad if he didn't go digging in the knife drawer, shoving things in the toaster and attempting to turn on the stove.  I do love that he's so interested in what's going on though!

He's quite the observer.  Jon built a fire pit in our yard this weekend while the boys were playing outside.  Jack roamed the yard, playing on his "pirate ship" and looking for treasures in the "beaver dam."  Meanwhile, Jude stuck right by his dad and watched his every move.  Unfortunately, he's now fascinated with fire.  Later in the day, Jon went out to run some errands, and in the time it took me to use the bathroom Jude had snuck out the back door and walked all the way down to the fire pit in his socks.  I found him there staring at the fire saying, "Hot! Hot!" 

Aside from that escapade, he generally likes to stick close to one of us.  Most mornings find Jude sitting right next to me at the table, playing with his shape-sorter or a container of pom-poms while I work on emails.  And when I'm nursing Julia he's always right by my side, usually giving her kisses or attempting to touch her eye. 

But my favorite part about Jude right now is his cute little voice.  He's saying so many words, I didn't even get a chance to keep track of his first few attempts.  But I like his jabber even more than his words.  He talks so fast, and thinks he's really saying something meaningful even though it usually sounds like "sksh, sksh, sksh", I have to laugh. 



I suppose I have a love-hate relationship with the 18 month stage. The kisses and the talking really make it all worth it.
3.) Julia.  There's not much new to say since my last post.  Just, I love having a girl.  More than I thought I would.  I always figured I was more of a boy mama.  And when we found out we would be having 3 babies in 3 years I assumed 3 boys would be the most convenient way to go.  But I'm so glad we had a girl.  She's just so different.  Everything she does is sweeter. 

I've been trying so hard to get a video of her cooing and giggling, but so far no success.  So for now, just pictures.  And there's not a lot of variety with babies. 

And that's the latest on our three. They change so much and so often, it's impossible to keep up.  And just when you've finally figured out one thing they're off to the next.  But it certainly keeps life interesting... and gives us plenty to talk about!