All Sports, All The Time...

Do you remember a while back when a European couple (Scandinavian, as I recall) named their child ESPN (or Espen, maybe--either way, it was specifically after the sports network)?  Maybe we should have named Jacob that, because with him, it's all sports, all the time.  Here and there we squeak in another interest--like his stuffed animals or Legos or cars or certain characters (ones that his friends no doubt talk about, as we don't focus on them much in our house!), but really, most of the time Jacob is focused on sports. 

As far as obsessions go among toddlers (or is he technically a preschooler now?  Yikes!), sports isn't a bad one.  It could be annoying characters, shows, movies, or something I have absolutely zero interest in, like construction equipment, cars/trucks, or reptiles.  I know that if your kid is passionate about something, you find a way to get interested in those things, but suffice it to say I'm happy I don't have to work hard to enjoy sports.  I'll admit that my interest and ability in playing them with him is limited, as he sort of makes his own rules and it's really tedious throwing a ball to a kid who has little chance of catching it--yet.  And I know that someday he will and it will all be worth it, but right now it's hard.  For me.  Craig does much better.  And if someday we have a girl, I assume I will be significantly better in the doll playing department than he is. 

But for now, Jacob is our one and only, and lately I feel like my one and only subject of photos is him playing those sports...because if I want to take pictures of him, usually that's what he's doing.  Last Friday we finally got to go to a long-awaited outdoor lacrosse game.  Rochester hasn't had a team in a couple years (they won the championship the year Jacob was born then moved to Toronto), though we did go to a game in Toronto a couple years ago and one game last year when another team played all of their games on the road and the league picked cities to host them.  We had wanted to go to another game earlier in the season, but Jacob had a bad evening and we had to stay home. 

But Friday all went well and we made it to the game.  Craig was working, so I spent the evening keeping Jacob occupied--getting him fed, enjoying our seats, and eventually walking around and playing lacrosse.  We worked on a game of catch--he'd shoot the ball with his lacrosse stick, I'd roll the ball back for him to scoop, and so on.  Not too bad.  By the second half we hung out with the Rowdies (the booster club--same basic group as the Knighthawks' Krew) and Jacob played a bit with his buddy Dylan.  It was a nice night (aside from the threat of rain, which only ended up being some sprinkles), and it was fun to be back at a lacrosse game.

While Jacob was playing I snapped a couple pictures, mostly because he was in a good mood and I figured I'd get a smile or two.  I got this one, which I think was taken while he was looking up at the scoreboard.  I love his big brown eyes...

And I got this smile...I'll take it!

Saturday we headed to Buffalo for a busy weekend.  Craig had to go to Hamilton for work, so Jacob and I stayed with my parents.  We had to stop at McDonald's on the way out of town, and Jacob fell asleep with his Happy Meal box of McNuggets and fries still on his lap, Red Wings batting helmet still on his head.  Poor kid.

We visited my grandma that afternoon, then headed out to my cousin's son's birthday party.  As usual, Jacob had a blast playing with his cousins, and I even learned to relax and ignore the fact that he was muddy!  He was doing a lot of climbing on a swing set and running around the yard, and I tried to give him some space while keeping an eye and ear open.  It all went fine. 

Sunday we went to church, welcomed Craig back from Hamilton, had lunch and a nap, visited the baby I mentioned in my last post, and then headed off to my cousin's high school graduation party.  Oh, and Jacob stayed dry ALL day.  After a dry overnight.  And no, it hasn't happened again since.  Anyway...I managed to snap a couple cute pictures.  Here's Jacob with the cookie he snatched off the snack table.  He's also modeling one of his birthday gifts from Uncle John, Aunt Kristin, and Kate--an Oregon Ducks baseball jersey.  Not surprisingly, he loves it!

Finally, here he is working on his newest sporting endeavor--throwing the ball up and trying to catch it.  He tried very hard and had a couple close ones.  It's not a bad skill to work on, and hopefully he'll be catching them before we know it!

The rest of the weekend was pretty much more of the same--golf with Grandma and Grandpa, a touch of volleyball and basketball at the party on Saturday, and even some Norwegian (ladder) golf on Sunday.  It was a constant stream of one sport or another.  Sometimes I wish that Jacob had more varied interests, but I suppose that when it comes to Jacob, he wouldn't be who he is without sports.  I'm sure he'll get a little more balanced as he gets older, but for now, this is what we've got.  We'll take it.

Big Boy in the Making

Eight years ago tomorrow, Craig and I got married.  Three years ago today, we brought Jacob home from the hospital.  His birthday seems so far away already (and it was only last Monday), so I definitely see how that week seemed to last forever.  Three years later, I walk into daycare and find out that all of Jacob's stuff has been moved into the three-year-old room.  He's not officially moved up, but he's pretty much there.  He's had a few days visiting that room, but despite the fact that his third birthday has come and gone, I didn't expect this to happen so soon.  I figured his behavior issues or potty training status wouldn't make him among the first to move up, or if nothing else, the group of kids who have turned three in the past week would move up closer to the fall when the new school year started and the four year olds headed off to kindergarten.  This took me by surprise, and it's a whole new world.  It's a classroom with pets, different toys, and most kids in underwear.  I'm hoping that peer pressure comes in handy and Jacob decides he's ready to be a big boy. 

Perhaps he senses it already.  Yesterday morning he woke up dry, possibly for the first time ever.  Considering we were staying at my parents' and we had a bit of a late night, I was particularly shocked.  We put on a pull-up for church, and once after the service we hit up the bathroom.  He was dry and had a fantastic pee.  It was so long that he gave up pushing his penis down (oh, the joy of training a boy) and we almost had a disaster.  Fortunately the damage was minimal, and with every subsequent trip to the potty for the rest of the day, he was dry.  Sometime we reminded him, sometimes he asked.  We got in a couple pees at my cousin's graduation party, and he even asked in a very unfamiliar place, in the midst of a very bizarre moment (more on that later), so it was a good sign.  He stayed dry right through the evening, and even asked to go late at night, long after he should have been sleeping, after he woke up following his "nap" on the drive home.  He did not wake up dry this morning, and I know his pull-up was wet as we were leaving daycare, but he did well this evening in big boy underwear.  He didn't ask to go, but he did concede to going and did fine.  So, baby steps for my blossoming big boy.  At least it finally feels like we're getting somewhere!

The odd situation I mentioned earlier was a little visit we paid to a couple down the street from my parents.  They have a daughter, Nora, who's a couple months older than Jacob (you may remember her from the ill-fated Easter Egg Hunt), and just had a little boy, Kurt.  I was dying to go visit and see a tiny baby for the first time in a long time.  It was a little deja vu, since I vividly remember going to visit Nora when she was first born and I was pregnant.  I loved watching her stretch and move, because it helped me picture all of the crazy stuff my baby was doing in utero.  I hadn't held a little baby since Jacob, and wow, was it odd.  I never held other people's new babies (other than my niece and nephews when they were first born), and while I wasn't nearly as freaked out by it as I used to be, it took some getting used to again.  I forgot what it was like to hold something that tiny and light.  Kurt was actually bigger than Jacob when he was born, and he's nearly a month old, but oh, how tiny everything was!  The little baby stretches and funny little faces were so sweet.  It was a joy to hold a baby like that again, but it was scary at the same time!  The thought of doing that again was made that much more vivid in just those 10-15 minutes.  Of course, the second I got the baby, Jacob started freaking out...not outwardly, but we could tell he wasn't quite sure what to make of it.  After a while he asked me to "put it down", but we did our best to assure him that we weren't bringing the baby with us and he was still our special boy.  Not a good sign of what may be to come, but hopefully having some advance notice (and an extra year of maturity) when we add a permanent addition will help.  So maybe our big boy isn't ready to be a big brother yet, but I think he will be when the time comes. 

We also saw a bunch of pictures this weekend from our friends, the McDonoughs, who added a new baby to their family the day before Jacob's birthday.  Their son Colin is a couple months younger than Jacob, and he looks like such a big boy, particularly now that he's a big brother and especially in comparison to his tiny 5 lb. 15 oz. sister, Kelly.  I can't wait to meet her and hope we can pull off a vacation in their area this summer sometime, once Craig's work situation works itself out.  Both things really made me think about Jacob as a big brother, and made me simultaneously excited and terrified to do it all again.  We have plenty of time to prepare for that, of course, but it was quite the reminder.

I still can't believe that Jacob is moving up with the big kids, and I really hope he's up for the challenge.  I hope I am, too. 

Thoughts on Three

I've had nearly a week to come to terms with having a three year old.  It's definitely hard to believe.  I still remember all too well those first few days and how crazy they were.  So much confusion, so much discomfort, so much worry, yet so much awe and love at the same time.  While it sometimes feels like Jacob has been around forever, it's amazing to think that such a significant experience was three whole years ago.  The memories of holding that tiny baby are vivid, yet we have this amazing, active little boy now...such a far cry from the helpless, tiny baby hooked up to all those monitors.  Sometimes it feels like it took forever to get to this point, but looking back, it's amazing how much he's grown and changed in such a short time.  Each year we have a significantly different boy than we did at the last birthday, whether the changes are obvious (more hair, more talking) or subtle (better comprehension, more coordination). 

He definitely looks like more of a big boy now, especially after he got his haircut last weekend.  He's getting taller and heavier, runs and does stairs much more gracefully than before.  We can have full conversations with him, and most of them make sense.  Part of me looks at him and can't believe what a big boy he can be.  But then we have moments where it's the same as it always has been...or so it seems.  He cries about a lot, still needs a lot of wrangling, and still has moments where his behavior at bedtime or at the table isn't that far removed from a couple years ago. 

There are times when I thought about what it would be like when he was three (presuming at the time that we'd be well on our way to baby #2), and part of me expected that we'd be living this normal, settled life.  And I guess to some degree we are--in many ways, toddlers take a lot less planning (but not always)--but I'm still not sure I feel like we've got this thing down.  We have, at times, an out-of-control child that tests us at every turn, thinks it's funny to hit and poke and provoke (no matter how many hundreds of times he's been told otherwise), and makes it very difficult to ever sit back and just enjoy.  We have moments, for sure, where he is the most amazing, adorable, and enchanting child, and I can't believe we created him from a couple cells and God's miracle of life.  But lately a lot of those moments have been tinged by fear and questions--when the next frustrating moment is going to happen, how he'll manage to ruin a good night, or what we can do to stop/change/improve his behavior.  I try not to let that stuff rule, but inevitably it shows up all too quickly after a small victory, and it's discouraging.  It definitely keeps us from ever feeling too comfortable. 

I won't lie--Craig is probably far more comfortable with Jacob than I am.  Jacob and I have our moments, and even at his worst I know he considers me a safe haven.  Ten seconds after he inexplicably smacks me for no reason and I walk away angry and hurt, he's running after me crying like he's trying to regain my approval/attention.  There's a disconnect there somewhere, that he's not grasping that what he does hurts people he loves.  But even after I've yelled enough that he cries, he'll still come crying to me, looking for comfort.  It's an odd dynamic.  But Craig is more comfortable playing with him and dealing with his "moments" (many possible reasons why) and I often wonder what a second baby will add to the dynamic.  Will a second baby be more easy going?  If it's a girl will I have an easier time playing with her because I've done the doll thing before?  Will it make Jacob even worse?  Will it make him better in the long run because he'll deal with not being the center of attention? 

I feel a little better about managing a second baby with a four year old instead of a three year old, because hopefully with all the changes we've seen in the last year, we'll see that much more maturity before we bring another baby into the picture.  Again, not happening in the near future, but the potential for it is at least on the radar.  I'm often not sure where we'll find the time or energy, but we'll have to. 

Probably my biggest issue as we enter the three year old realm is that I'm missing too much.  He's getting to be such a big boy and will never be this age again.  We spend so much time working, and our time at home is often split between cooking, eating, cleaning, and getting ready for one thing or another.  Judging by how little playtime he had this week with his new toys, it really made me feel bad for how little freedom he has.  I don't see our work situation changing significantly anytime soon (Craig's employer aside--Amerks were bought by the Sabres this week and he'll be working for either the Amerks or the Knighthawks, not both), which makes me a little sad, because it's harder to bring another baby into that same situation and worry we'll miss our last shot at enjoying the baby stage.  We could claim ignorance last time around, but we can't this time.  We'll have to make it work in the short term for the long term benefit of having a family of four, but it's intimidating.

Jacob is three, and it's hard to believe.  It tends to get lost in the craziness of the moment, but there's so much more to come, too...

Third Birthday, Take 3

So, we finally got to Monday, Jacob's actual birthday.  Unfortunately, it wasn't a good day for either of us to be off from work, so it was mostly just a normal day for all three of us.  Jacob definitely wasn't happy about it, because he just wanted to stay home and play with his toys.  And really, I did too.  It had been such a busy, fast weekend and the last thing I wanted to do was head into another full week of work.  I quickly cut up the pan of rice krispie treats I made the night before, and bagged up the little favors I did.  I opted to avoid the bag o' stuff that a lot of kids do (got one yesterday, for another birthday--five in Jacob's class within a week!), most of which is crap.  Instead, I opted for one piece of crap and a few kid-friendly snacks.  I got some of the Wegmans Fruit Strips, which are natural and I think one serving of fruit.  I also got some of the Safety Suckers, the ones with the looped stick, and two packs of Smarties per kid (an easy-to-eat, stain-free candy).  I tied them all together with ribbon, stuck them in a mini slinky-esque toy, and tied to the ribbon to the slinky.  No need for bags, and the total cost per kid was about $1.  Not bad, right?

Definitely should have gone for a prettier color of fruit strip, though!

By the time we got home, I was eager to pull out the rest of Jacob's gifts--the ones from us--and have Craig open his Father's Day (and early anniversary) gift from me, which arrived Monday afternoon.  Jacob's first gift was a new Brady Brady book that we had picked up during our last trip to Toronto.  He didn't seem too impressed, but he did enjoy it that night at bedtime!  Next up was what he thought was a chest protector:

 ...but in reality it was a Finding Nemo-themed kick board for the pool.  Finding an age-appropriate pool toy/floatation device for him is tough, because he's too old for the inflatable floating boats/cars, but he's not big enough for the shark/alligator ride-on type toys.  Other things are too flimsy or too advanced for his level of ability--which is, none--but I'd like him to be able to do something other than have him cling to us or struggle to float upright in his floatation suit.  We'll see how it goes.  I used to love playing with one of these.

Next up was the long awaited water table.  I bought it for $15 online from Walmart at Christmas, but since we already had enough gifts, I stored it away for the end of potty training or for his birthday, whichever came first.  And yes, here it is as a birthday gift.

He seemed pretty excited about it, but we've had so little time at home that he was still begging to play with some of his other gifts first.  However, we were once again off, this time to Jacob's birthday dinner at Red Robin (with our free Kid's Meal coupon).  With Jacob's resistance I debated about even going, but in the end we did.  He ate well, as usual, and then we gave them the coupon that indicated it was Jacob's birthday.  Shortly thereafter a bunch of the waitstaff came over with ice cream and sang to Jacob.  He was all smiles, giggling and so happy!  It's rare to see that sort of giddiness from him, so it was a treat for us too!  I was kicking myself for not getting out the camera to snap a picture!  He kept trying to sing the song afterward, he really enjoyed his ice cream.

By the time we got home, it was nearly bedtime, but we felt a little guilty about Jacob not being able to play with his toys on his birthday, so Craig quickly put together Jacob's new tee and took him out to have a few at-bats.

 Not nearly enough time, as usual, but at least he got a little time in. 

And as far as Father's Day, I gave Craig a GPS.  He's not the best with directions and when we get ourselves a little lost it's never a good thing as we both get frustrated, so I'm also considering it a "marriage preservation" device, which is why it's great for an anniversary gift, too!  No more arguments!  I'm hoping we can enjoy it while on vacation at some point this summer, and he might find it useful when he's traveling for work (generally up in Canada), too.  And when we venture to the other side of town. :)  And here's Jacob's daycare gift for Craig:

It's a magnetic picture frame made with tongue depressors and the cute little shapes.  I provided one of Craig's favorite pictures for it, too :)

So, Jacob's big birthday celebration finally came to an end.  We're slowly going through the gifts and bringing them into the playtime rotation, but I'm dying to have more time for him to just sit and enjoy them!  One of these days.  He's been a bit cranky since, but I'm chalking that up to some remaining sleep deprivation from the weekend.  Hoping, anyway.  So far three isn't much different from two, but let's hope those terrible twos wear off quickly!

Third Birthday, Take 2

On Sunday we woke up to house full of post-party stuff--the dishes I hadn't done, the destroyed cake I left sitting loosely covered on the counter, my desk cleared of everything I'd stuffed in its drawers to make room to serve food, a pile of presents, etc.  But there would be no time that day to restore order, because we were off to Buffalo.  I gave Craig the first part of his Father's Day gift, a wooden desktop baseball game that I got on clearance at Walmart months ago.  I knew he'd admired ones like that in the past, and I figured he and Jacob would enjoy playing with it together.  And did I mention it was cheap?  Part two of his gift hadn't arrived yet and would have to wait until Monday.

Anyway, we set off in the car, and although it was still early, Jacob napped.  It didn't last quite long enough, though, and he didn't even make it until we stopped at Wegmans in Hamburg to pick up the ingredients for Jacob's cake for Sunday's party.  I mentioned previously that another party in Craig's family had been planned for Saturday, so rather than find another date, we tacked Jacob on to Sunday's party at Craig's parents' house for our twin niece and nephew, who turned nine last week.  No, it's not ideal, but it was the best we could do this time around.  It was a pretty low-key party anyway, just immediate family plus the handful of relatives we see regularly on Craig's mom's side of the family and some of our sister-in-law's immediate family.  All of the kids except Jacob spent most of the day in the pool, but for some reason Jacob was averse.  Ultimately that meant I didn't go in either, which was fine, I guess.  Not worth the battle, honestly.  It was a decent day, but Jacob was definitely overtired.

After a huge spread of food, it was time for cake.  I decided to make a cake whose recipe I'd stared at numerous times but never made.  It's a cake with alternating layers of ice cream sandwich and a mixture of Cool Whip, chocolate pudding, hot fudge sauce, and crushed Oreos.  I ended up forgetting the Oreos, but that was ok because it really didn't need them!  In addition, the twins' cake was a homemade ice cream cake composed of cherry vanilla ice cream, crushed Oreos, homemade buttercream frosting, and chocolate shell across the entire top.  Amazingly good.  Actually, both were great.

Ok, so mine looks a little boring, but it was cooler when you cut into it.  I could have done last minute decorating courtesy of the topping cups there (Craig's brother's family won a Friendly's gift certificate, and most of the winnings went toward the cake creation--but the remnants were tubs of sprinkles and mini gummy bears!), but why ruin its purity? :)

 Jacob once again did great with the candles, even though these were harder!

After cake, it was finally time for presents. Jacob pretty much got the baseball player's dream...a new aluminum bat, a real glove just his size, and a good batting tee. We gave him one last year, one that we thought would be better than the "kiddie" tees out there, but it ended up not being too sturdy. The new one should last through a good portion of whatever baseball career he has ahead of him.

He also got some clothes and a cool "indoor" baseball bat emblazoned with the logo of Daddy's team, the Braves. And we have a Toys 'R' Us gift card for further shopping...oh boy!
After gifts I was eager to get going, knowing how late it already was, how much I had to do once we got home, and how off Jacob usually is when we drive home late. I did, however, bring his pajamas this time in hopes we could easily transfer a sleeping boy from the car to his bed. But first, as usual, it was time for a little baseball...

Nope, not his tee :)

Jacob did sleep on the way home and the transfer was fairly uneventful.  However, once we arrived home sometime after 10pm, I still had to do a load of laundry and make rice krispie treats for Jacob's daycare class.  It ended up being a pretty late night, but somehow everything got done.  I'm still managing the rest of the house, though, which is taking me handfuls of time each evening.  Last night I got in a desperately needed workout (a 10-mile bike ride), and then came home and did an unscheduled workout involving an hour-long vacuuming session in our pool.  The water wasn't bad but the crud at the bottom was.  We're still not sure if it was remnants of the crap that fell off our cover when Craig was opening it, stuff from our solar cover's first use, or new algae growth from a couple days under the solar cover.  Regardless, it seems to be well worth the effort, I think, as it looked considerably clearer this morning!  Always a battle, though. 

However...I'm getting ahead of myself!  We still have one day of Jacob's birthday left to report on... :)

Third Birthday, Take 1

Thanks to having his birthday on a Monday this year, Jacob managed to get in three days of birthday celebrating.  We are still recovering.  I have at least half a dozen big tasks still waiting for me at home from the weekend, on top of the handful of things I did the past two nights in the couple hours I had each night.  It's been a busy few days and I feel bad that Jacob has barely had time to play with his birthday gifts since we've been away from home so much since Sunday.  The weekend went by in a flash, and here's the first part:

I started the major prepwork Friday morning when I put two pork tenderloins in my slow cooker with a bunch of root beer to cook all day.  It seemed to cook up well, shredded beautifully, and was put in the fridge with some BBQ sauce to wait for the second batch, which I was going to do overnight from Friday to Saturday.  Friday night the boys went to a little informal picnic at our friends' house, which gave me hours of uninterrupted time to do some running around and baking in preparation for Saturday.  I had two layers of cake to bake, a rice krispie lacrosse stick to make, and lots of other miscellaneous stuff to do.  I did get a lot done that night, but I knew things weren't going to go 100% perfectly when the second layer of cake started crumbling right out of the pan.  I decided to go with the egg-free recipe even though our nephew wasn't going to be there, just because it's lower in fat and it doesn't puff up much--which was good in this case because I was doing a two-layer cake.  The first layer came out perfectly, but the second layer was a mess.  Still, I let it be overnight and figured I'd tackle it again in the morning.

In the morning, Craig and Jacob ran out to get Jacob's hair cut.  He desperately needed one and I never got up the nerve to pull out the trimmers and try it myself.  It gave me some time to get some more work done, and because the barber is right next to Wegmans, I gave Craig a short list of things to buy--including more frosting.  When they came home, I was excited to see how handsome and grown up Jacob looked with his haircut.  Were it not for the crazy amount of money they charge, I would take him every month if I could!

It became apparent pretty quickly that the cake was not going to go well, but I persisted and tried to cobble it together with frosting.  Eventually there was so much frosting that it weighed everything down and it was falling apart more by the second.  At that point I was in tears and I sent Craig out to the store to pick up a premade cake.  I felt so defeated.  I had been looking forward to this for so long and I failed miserably.  I told Craig not to get it too decorated, as I wanted to still try to use the lacrosse stick as a decoration.  The cake he got was very nice, but with the decorative trim it did have, the stick wouldn't fit so I relegated that to the top of the pan of rice krispie treats.  Of course, I then had to write on the new cake myself, which has never been my forte.  It was a whipped cream cake, and the warm house and cold cake created condensation on the frosting.  As much as I tried to sop it up, the gel icing still ran when I wrote.  Ugh.  Two cakes ruined in less than two hours.  Awesome. 

I was pretty unhappy at that point, but I decided to have a beverage to relax a bit and figured there wasn't anything more I could do at that point.  The food was looking good--the second round of pulled pork went great and it all heated up very well, and I discovered that I could make salt potatoes--so at least I had that going for me.  It was also a fantastic day.  Apparently the weather gods are making it up to us for giving us a cold, rainy day for Jacob's first birthday, as we've now had two good years in a row.  The pool was open and clear but still a little dirty and cold.  It did get a little use, though, so I guess it was worth getting it open and ready-ish!

Just before dinner we did gifts.  Here's Jacob getting ready to open:

Pardon the sunglasses...they're a little large but they were the only ones handy that day.  I actually found them in a box of random stuff at my grandma's house during the winter, and figured it never hurts to have an extra pair.

Jacob got a lot of great gifts.  He got some clothes, a wheelie ball (inflatable ball-frisbee thing), a velcro catch and toss game, and some fun big gifts...including roller skates and the necessary padding from Grandma and Grandpa:

He was very excited about these and was ready to forego the rest of his gift opening as soon as he saw these!  Lori wasn't sure what to get him (and to be fair, neither was I), so she went out on a limb and got him a guitar and microphone (more on that in a bit) and some Megablocks:

I think we're slowly but surely getting out of the cheesy face phase.  He still does it but seems to be getting better at real smiles...even if they don't last long!

After presents we ate dinner, which went fabulously.  It's nice to know I can pull off pulled pork and salt potatoes that easily!  The guests also made delicious contributions, and we had a fantastic feast!  Afterward we did cake.  Thank goodness it tasted good because it was still disappointing...even if the immediate sting had given way to resignation.  Here's Jacob blowing out his candles--which he did very well, all by himself!

You can see the lacrosse stick in the background.  It turned out ok and I will probably revisit it another year, with modifications--both to the cake (duh) and the stick itself.  Rice krispie treats are a tough medium to mold with because you only have so much time before they start to stiffen up.  Oh, and as a side note, Jacob referred to the strings of icing around the edges of the cake as worms.  Pretty funny :)

After cake (which Jacob loved), it was time to test out the skates.  We gave him one of his gifts from us early, his bike helmet, and got him all outfitted in his skates, helmet and padding.

Here he is skating with Grandma and Grandpa:

Between the skates and the helmet, he looks so tall!

He did a great job on the skates, even when we set them to mode #2, which doesn't lock any wheels but prevents backward motion.  He held on to hands most of the time, so any near falls weren't actual falls, but he could move himself very well all things considered.

After skating we headed back to the yard again.  Jacob played baseball for a while...

Doesn't he look like such a big boy here?

And then he got back to playing with his guitar, which I had missed earlier while getting dinner ready.  He took to it right away, apparently, and he was totally cracking me up when I finally saw it. 

I have video of my own, but here are a couple links to some of his earlier attempts for now:

https://www.facebook.com/#!/video/video.php?v=1785298233985&comments

http://share.shutterfly.com/share/received/welcome.sfly?fid=d233856181c88d84&sid=0AbtW7Js5csmTC7A

I'm not positive either of those will work, but we shall see.  I'll post my video another day.

Anyway, we wrapped up the night with a quick cleanup, a bath for Jacob, and a lot of prepping for a busy day on Sunday...another birthday party and Father's Day, too!

Three

Dear Jacob,

I can't believe you turn three today.  Over the years I've seen a lot of bloggers do this sort of "birthday letter", and while I've never done one for you before, perhaps now it seems more logical to me since you actually talk a lot now and would have a decent shot at understanding at least part of what I write.  I know that if you do ever read this it won't be until you're old enough to understand it all, as would have been the case with any of the last two birthday letters I never wrote, but I suppose that this whole blog is one big letter to the older you, among other things.  At the very least it's a labor of love, an attempt to record some of the little details and fun stories and random thoughts that have come into our world in the last three years and six months.

This blog has included the good and the bad, for sure, and I won't lie--there's been a lot of both.  Fortunately nothing too horrible, but you are a definite challenge.  You always have been, in one way or another, but I think as you get older, the things we find challenging now will eventually serve you well out in the world.  You're a determined little boy, that's for sure, and I hope someday you will use that determination to attain whatever it is that you want out of life.  You're not a major risk taker, though, which keeps Mommy sane right now...but I do hope that you'll outgrow at least a bit of the fear and channel that hesitance into some good, solid decision-making as you grow up--weighing the risks and taking the best route. 

You are really a chatterbox these days, talking mostly about sports but once in a while coming up with the cutest stuff.  You know a lot of songs and every once in a while your interpretation is hilarious.  The other day you were eating an English muffin and you started singing Little Miss Muffet...except that you substituted the English muffin in Little Miss Muffet's place.  You do tend to make up a lot of words or change words around to see if we're paying attention.  You test us every chance you get, both with your challenging behaviors and with other things--like when you're putting on pants and say, "Tag in the front, right?", knowing full well that the tag belongs in the back.  I could do without some of the testing, but when you knock it off, you're such a cool kid.

You love sports so much, which means you're a chip off the ol' block for sure.  Any time I start to tire of the constant barrage of sports talk/activities, I remind myself that it beats some of the annoying kiddie shows, characters, and toys that I'm sure a lot of your friends enjoy.  You seem to be more aware of branded stuff like that now (particularly with the hand-me-down PJs and t-shirts you got from your cousins, like Spiderman and Thomas and Cars), but you're not totally into it.  Your favorite movies are still sports, and we only keep three shows on the DVR for you--Sesame Street, Chuggington, and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.  Maybe we should branch out, but it seems to work for us for now.  We do find it amusing when think your cousins' Power Rangers are sports guys.  Heck, you thought the mask you found at their house was a goalie mask.  Please keep thinking that, and don't ever ask to watch the show.  You're better off with real sports, I promise. 

I can see how proud Daddy is when he watches you play or hears you talk about sports.  He loves your passion.  I know he hopes that you'll take it even farther than he did and find more success than he had, but for now we're just happy to watch you learn and improve.  And if for some strange reason you suddenly lose interest, that will be okay too, as long as you transfer that energy and passion into something else.  Musicians are cool, too.  And judging by how much you loved the guitar/microphone set you got for your birthday, that may not be too far off!

I just can't get over how much you've grown, though I'll admit that I don't always notice it unless I have a point of reference--old clothes, pictures, my own arms--but sure enough, what a big boy you've become.  I can't keep you in long-sleeved shirts, and pants get short before you ever fit in them at the waist.  You're definitely daddy's boy, tall and thin.  You're more than half my height already!  You've definitely got my dark brown eyes, and everyone remarks at how blond you are.  We both had pretty light hair as kids, too, so someday you'll probably have brown hair like us...which is funny to think about since most of your life you've been the blond one!  You're a good mix of both of us in general, though I think more and more you're looking like Daddy.  The dimple alone is definitely him!

You don't look significantly different to me this year than you did last year, though I know you are so much more of a little boy.  The changes in this past year we more subtle...more coordination (but you're still so clumsy!), and a lot more communication skills.  Not only do you talk more, but you understand a lot more, too.  It's fun to see you comprehend things for the first time.  I got such a kick out of you blowing out your candles by yourself at your parties and smiling from ear to ear when you got sang to at the restaurant on your birthday.  You converse rather well a lot of the time and even know how to make jokes.  It's such a subtle change, but it turns you into a totally different child.  I do wish that logic worked with you a little more often, but I'll take what I can get.

This coming year is going to be a big year for you.  Presumably sometime in the next year you'll be totally potty trained (and finally get the lacrosse net we've been talking about for months), and maybe you'll even become a big brother by your next birthday.  If not, you'll still probably come close and start working on some of the steps before big-brotherhood, like moving into a new big boy bedroom and sleeping in a real big boy bed, not just your converted crib.  You might get to start playing real sports, and you're probably going to learn so much at daycare.  I bet you'll learn to recognize more letters and numbers, and maybe you'll even start coloring in the lines--or make a recognizable picture!  I'm so excited to watch you keep learning.  Just seeing you learn songs and pick up concepts is so fun! 

You still have so much ahead of you and I can't wait to see it all.  I may be a more tired, stressed out person than I was three years ago when you came into our lives, but I also think I'm more well-rounded, more loved and more able to love than I ever have been.  You have taught me more than I could ever imagine.  Your laugh and your smile bring me such joy, and getting kisses and real hugs from you are two of my favorite things.  And when you pop out with a random, "I love you Mommy," all is right with the world.  Thank you for the joy and excitement you bring into our lives, and happy birthday to our sweet little man.  We love you Jacob!

Love,
Mommy (and Daddy, too!)