I blinked...

Kenny Chesney was really onto something with his song "Don't Blink."   It's lyrics fully encompass how I feel about life, and Jayson's life in particular.

"Don't blink, just like that you're six years old and you take a nap, you 

wake up and you're 25 and your highschool sweetheart becomes your wife"

Unfortunately, I blinked and another whole year has passed.  Jayson is turning three.  How is that even possible?  Don't get me wrong, some days feel longer than others.  Many days I can fully relate to "Toddlers are A**holes: It's not your fault" by Bunmi Laditan.  However, when I sit down to write a recap post on yet another year of Jayson's life, I find myself a little sad that it's going oh so fast.

This past year has been full of milestones:

Counting - Jayson is counting to twenty pretty much on his own now, only repeating sixteen and skipping seventeen here and there.   We mastered 1 -10 by counting during fake tattoo applications.

ABC's - We use ABC's as a means to allow his food to cool off and I must say not only is/was it an adorable way to learn to recite them, it was an effective way.  He's had his ABC's mastered for quite some time now which I count as as huge accomplishment for someone so young.

Getting Dressed - we have a fashionista on our hands!  He likes to choose his own clothes.  He loves patterned underwear (ninja turtles and marvel comics in particular) and he loves to match colors (more specifically his socks to his shirts, etc).  He also loves to wear watches and belts like daddy.

Colors - he's got them down pat.  I'll miss the day his toddler talk fully disappears. Right now "blue" is "brue" and "yellow" is "yay-yoh."  His communication and words are getting clearer by the day though.  I sometimes joke he's three going on seventeen by way of attitude, but verbally this holds true as well. 

Going Potty - he's been going #1 consistently for the better part of a year now.  We officially bought our last box of pull ups 1/30/16 via Amazon Prime and have only been using them for overnights and #2.  So for at least four months now he's been strictly in undies at daycare with very few accidents.  We've had no overnight accidents either, so I'm thinking of nixing the pull ups at night time now too.  We are still working on getting #2 on the toilet though.  We have downloaded youtube videos which he's watched, books, and bribes such as marshmallows, m&ms, and fake tattoos but none of these have encouraged him to make the switch just yet. 

No More Binky! - we ditched the binky at Christmas time.  He left it out for our Elf "Buddy" to take to the North Pole in exchange for a big boy gift (his bicycle).

Bike riding - since receiving his bike at Christmas, Jayson has been like Evil Knievel around the house, complete with helmet, knee pads, elbow pads, and bike riding gloves. I'm so glad the weather has finally started to warm up in good old Upstate New York, because we've started taking him down to the College to ride on their sidewalks.  

Sleep habits - around Christmas time we also converted his crib to a toddler bed and let him pick out a Spiderman sheet set.  He goes to sleep fine in his bed, however if he could stay in it a full night both his father and I would be forever grateful.  Bike rides on campus have afforded us a few nights where he's stayed in his own bed.

Kiddie Cursing - "little pictures have big ears" is certainly a phrase that holds true for Jayson.  He's a bit of a parrot and the words "a**hole" and "sh*t" have come out of his mouth on more than one occasion.  In one particular instance at a Rite Aid drive through he shouted "what a pain in the a**" out the window at the teller.  His father and I have severely tailored our own words of choice to help curb his little potty mouth. 

Likes -

• Monster Trucks
• Ninja Turtles
• Transformers
• Guardians of the Galaxy
• Big Hero Six
• Playing with old cell phones and telling me he'll call my mother
• Legos/Duplo Blocks
• Super heros (any and all... batman, spiderman, etc)
• Matchbox cars
• Dancing/music
• Pizza 
• Pancakes
• Spaghetti
• Peas
• Corn 
• Grilled cheese
• Chex Mix

Dislikes  - I don't "wike" it

• Most meats (he's not a huge meat eater unless it's sausage or hot dogs)
• Cold milk (he only drinks it warm)
• Santa Clause in person - we waited 45 minutes in line, talked about it for weeks, and then he had a full on melt down and refused to go anywhere near him.
• Sesame Street characters in person - we had a meet and greet scheduled as part of his birthday gift from Nanny, and that played out just as well as our experience with Santa.
• Vanilla pudding.  He loves Chocolate however. 
• Diced pears
• Broccoli
• Being told "no."  More frequently this job is left up to mom and then he'll cry that he wants his daddy.  Seems to be a pattern in most households I think.

All things funny-

• We went to watch Kung Fu Panda 3 with him in the movie theater and at one point in the movie he turned to me and said "Uncle Lance a panda?"  It was funny and cute, although we're not sure Uncle Lance would quite agree that being compared to a panda is cute or funny.
• "You should know better."  This was the phrase uttered by Jayson when I asked him why he wasn't eating his broccoli.  I think I said "what's the matter, you don't like your broccoli?" and his response was "you should know better." 
• We've made a pretty good effort to attend mass most Sundays and holidays.  At the Christmas Eve mass he went up with me at Communion and after I received the Eucharist he very audibly announced "hey, that's not real cheese!"  It got a laugh from most of the congregation.
• At Christmas time we were over at my sister-in-law's for supper and to exchange gifts.  She had received some new athletic wear that she went and tried on, to which Jayson told her "your pants are stupid."  He is obviously not the most well mannered child.
• Each night as he's winding down for bed he'll tell me "when the sun comes up..." and list off a number of things he wants to do.  Watch a "moobie" (movie), play cars, etc.
• He recently told me he goes to the "garbage store" with pa-pa (grandpa) and gets lollipops.  When I asked if he meant the dump, he says "no, the garbage store."  
• "Do work!" is a phrase he's picked up from Uncle Lance, aka Uncle Panda.
• Depending on the day, you're either his best friend or you're not.  I'm told frequently that Daddy and pa-pa are his best friends.  In instances where I make him do something he doesn't want to, i.e. brush his teeth, he'll tell me I'm not his best friend.  
• Throwing out compliments when he is a.) in trouble, or b.) supposed to go to bed.  "But I like your hair....Mommy, I love you."

I could go on for days about this kid and still feel like I've left something out.  Every day is still new and exciting for him and as much as he's learning from us, my husband and I are still learning from him on what it means to parent.  Many days I pray for patience and remind myself he's only little for so long.  I read "Scary Mommy" blogs and drink my fair share of wine at the end of the day, but I wouldn't trade it for the world.  I love him more than anything and I love that Eric Church's song "Three Year Old"  has come out just as Jayson is turning three. 

"You can be a cowboy on the moon
Dig to China with a spoon
Talk to Jesus on the phone
Say 'I love you' all day long
And when you're wrong, you should just say so
I learned that from a three year old"