Happy Birthday Jamison!!!

My little boy has turned 3 years old today! I can't believe I already have a 3 year old. It honestly doesn't seem like it's been that long since I had him. And the interesting thing is that in my mind, I feel that he's done most of his growing up in the last 3 months. It wasn't until Gianna was born that I realized that Jamison isn't a baby anymore. Actually, until Gianna was born, I was still calling Jamison "Baby Butt", his nickname since he was a couple weeks old. But putting him next to a newborn really makes it obvious that he's a little boy now. Not even a toddler, but an actual little person. So, in honor of Jamison's birthday, I'd like to tell everyone (and by everyone, I mean the 2 people who read my blog!) about how lucky Jay and I are to have been blessed with Jamison. He is such a great little boy and such a cutie and we love him so much.

So, here's just a few interesting things about Jamison:

1) He is a terrible eater. Unfortunately, he seems to take after his mommy (and therefore Mickele) with his eating habits. From the very beginning, he has been picky. I nursed him for the first year of his life and for the first 4 months, I learned the true meaning of torture. Now, he enjoys mac & cheese (with pepper), hot dogs and pizza. He does not eat anything green. He does not like anything even remotely healthy. And, he does not like chicken nuggets. I thought ALL 3 year-olds liked chicken nuggets...

2) He's a good sleeper. This took a year of being up several times during the night, but finally at the age of 1, he turned into a good sleeper. IF I get him to bed on time, he'll sleep for about 10-11 hours a night and then take a 2 (or more) hour nap during the day. As someone who really values sleep, I appreciate this.

3) He was potty trained by the time he was 2. Okay, maybe not fully trained, but he was well on his way. We got extremely lucky with this since I've seen so many parents struggle with potty-training and I've heard that boys can be especially hard to train. I can honestly say that not counting Gianna, I have not changed a poopy diaper in at least 9 months. And, even though he no longer wears pull-ups or diapers to bed, I have not had to change the sheets on his bed yet due to a potty accident. And he's STILL pretty proud of his accomplishments. For example, today I received a call from one of our customer's from work and while I was discussing next week's software install with him, Jamison yelled proudly from the bathroom "mommy, I went poo poo and pee pee!". He's very professional.

4) He wears hearing aids. Due to being born with a hearing loss, Jamison was fitted with hearing aids at 3 months old. At 6 months old, he learned how to take them out, tear them apart and chew on the little tiny plastic pieces (including batteries). They've sometimes been a struggle... Anyone who's been around a 2-year old probably knows how hard it is to hand over a $2500 item and hope they don't lose it! :) But he's done very well with them so far.

5) He LOVES Thomas. And his friends. He sings Thomas songs all day long. Thomas is the first thing he talks about in the morning and the last thing he sings about at night. And since Thomas is a choo choo train (for anyone who doesn't know), he also loves trains. We took Jamison to Lagoon for his birthday and we went on the train ride over and over and over and over.... And when we get stopped by trains in the car, he cheers and then thanks them when they pass by. He really really likes Thomas.

6) He also loves bathtime and has since he was a baby. He really likes to splash and if he can get mommy or daddy wet in the process, all the better. He's had to take full tubs since the day he was born because he has a full head of hair to wash. That's another thing: he had more hair when he was born than ANY baby I've ever seen. Gianna's a close second though.....

7) He is incredibly sweet. He loves giving hugs and will hug just about anybody. And he also has two different levels: big hugs and little hugs. He gets very concerned if anybody is upset or sad. Even if Kody seems a little bothered, he'll ask him "Kody, are you okay?". Or he's constantly asking the cats "Kitty, why are you crying?".

8) He loves to help. He follows me around with his kid-sized Dyson while I vacuum. He follows Jay around with his own mower while he mows the lawn. He loves to sort and do laundry. He feeds Kody and the cats. He helps give Gianna baths and change her diaper. He can work all of our appliances, including the dishwasher and microwave. And he loves using the paper shredder, even for important papers that we'd really like to keep around.

9) He's a GREAT older brother. He loves Gianna and is so sweet with her. He'll come get me if she gets sad. If she cries, he'll lay down next to her and comfort her by patting her and saying "It's okay Gianna, Jamison's got you". He retrieves endless supplies for me (blankets, diapers, etc) when I need them. And he is so incredibly patient with me and her despite all the time she requires right now for feeding, etc.

10) He's funny. He also provides ample amounts of entertainment value. Especially in the last 6 months when his ability to speak just took him to whole new levels of humorous fun for us. He does and says so many funny things, I feel like I'm always laughing. Some of the things he comes up with are just so cute. Like when he's supposed to have dinner, but tries to negotiate ("Mommy, first candy then dinner, K?"). I love it!

So, sorry for the ultra-long post but HAPPY 3RD BIRTHDAY JAMISON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!