J: 39 months

Our J

J playing in water @ Minnehaha Creek. 09.2011

J is such a big boy!

Seriously. When he meets you he will tell you his name.
And that his birthday is in June.
And that his little brother's name is "Naytham".

Then if you keep chatting, you will likely find out that he can (enthusiastically!) spell his name:

"G-A-C-K-S-O-N" (working on that J)

and his last name too: "H-A-R- AND- P-E-R"

He will tell you that we live in Minnesota, that the zoo has sharks, and that he will get a 'baby sister in December'.

J showing off his newly acquired stick-with-leaves. 09.2011

 J loves to be outside, to run around, to chase (and be chased), to throw (and be thrown), and to jump.
If he could jump all day, he would. Too bad we don't have a trampoline!

J loves his little brother, but has started to get a little more rough with him (N doesn't seem to mind...too much), since he has become more of another KID than a little BABY. They enjoy bouncing around together on pillows, finding puzzle pieces, and exploring together.

J has gotten a bit pickier with his foods & is still allergic to eggs--but will most often eat any other 3 year old under the table. He loves strawberries, sweet peas, and chicken enchiladas.

J notices everything. He will comment on something he saw or heard from weeks ago (though, anything that has happened before TODAY, in his vocabulary, is "LESTERDAY"). He likes to help me put the foods on the counter at the grocery store, is very helpful with the laundry, and helps make the beds in the mornings. He loves to take packages and letters to the post office with Mama, and lets me know when the stop light is RED or GREEN. He helps me prepare dinners (pouring ingredients) and especially likes to help with baking sweet treats!

J likes to pretend to be animals...we often hear the "meow" of a kitty cat, the "ribbet" of a frog, or see the jumping skills of a kangaroo around the house. He likes to pretend to cook with his play foods, and enjoys coloring projects. He loves to read books with Mama & Daddy and also likes to "read" to his little brother. He loves nursery on Sundays (during the last song of sacrament meeting he whispers: "time for nursery!!") and has made some great friends here so far!

One of his recent favorites is pretending to 'give a talk'. On Sundays, he watches as 2-3 people get up every week to give a talk on a topic of the gospel of Jesus Christ. He likes to do this at home---standing on a trunk that is behind the couch and having us all sit down, reverently, giving him our attention. He will talk for a minute or two...lots of random words, or made up words, with a few gospel vocabulary thrown in as well and then closes with "AMEN!" and steps down.

Another idea that he shares a lot lately is going to work. He gets in his car--either pretend or the little car that he plays with outside (seen below), and says "I'm going to work now. I'm going to miss you...bye bye." I guess he hears us say that when T leaves for his out-of-town assignments..."I'm going to miss you..." We do miss Daddy when he is gone, but what a fun time we have when he is home!

I'll tell you what I'm going to miss...when this boy isn't 3 anymore! 

We are having so much fun together!

Jackson Scott "driving to work". 09.2011