A True Friend

Since Jesse has started attending his new "school", he has made some new friends.  The teachers tell us about how he and a few other boys save each other seats and hold each others hands.  Cuteness.  I won't use their names, but Jesse says, "S" is his BEST FRIEND.  Of course we will ask, who is your best friend FIRST and he will say God.  :)  We pray he will soon understand that in a personal way!  Anyway..."S" is his best friend at school.  One day the teacher handed Peter an accident report.  (oh no!)  She went on to explain the story.  "S" and another boy (we'll call him "H") were arguing about something, so the teacher headed over to see what was going on.  On her way, she says "H" went to hit Jesse's friend, "S" but "S" didn't see the kid coming at him.  Jesse saw it coming, so he stepped in front of  "S" to block him from getting punched!!  HOW SWEET IS THAT?!  Of course, Jesse took the blow, so he sat in the office with some ice for a while and had a knot on his head for a few days.  Poor thing.  When I heard the story,  I squeezed him so tightly and praised him so much for helping his friend.  What a sweetie.  I am so proud of him!

Berry Farm (aka "Barm" as Jesse chose to shorten it)

How have we never been to the Chesterfield Berry Farm yet?  What fun!  Shooting strawberry cannons, goofing off in the bouncy castle, visiting Bunny Ville and the Goat Walk, seeing all sorts of other animals, riding the tractor "train", digging in the corn play area, taking a hayride out to pick strawberries, and duck racing.  My favorite part of the day was hearing Jesse exclaim, "That was cool!"  after the hayride out and back to pick strawberries. It's so much fun to watch your child learning and having fun!

Visiting Abuelo in Baltimore

Jesse paintings for Abuelo to have at the hospital

Jesse and I drove up to Baltimore to visit Peter's family as his dad was recovering from his cancer surgery.  Jesse was eager to see his Abuelo because he often prayed for him and asked, "Where's Abuelo?" and even more while Peter was up there, "Where's Daddy?  He's with Abo?  Abo's sick?  In the hopspital?  His tummy's hurts?

Jesse was so excited to receive a book from Abuelo.  One of those books where he recorded his voice reading the story to Jesse.  Jesse's face lit up when he he heard it!

So, during this weekend, Jesse experienced revolving doors (often with me cringing) and he was an expert on the way from the hotel to the hospital, what buttons to push on the elevators to Abo's room in the hospital and the hotel room...and where to get a visitor sticker. :)  He also flirted his way to free ice cream and juice from the nurses.  All he has to do is smile and flash those blue eyes!  He also discovered jelly beans...when he saw jellyfish at the aquarium, he kept accidentally calling them jelly beans.

He also experienced the aquarium - he was amazed and enthralled with all the fish and creatures!  His favorite part?  The escalators you ride from floor to floor.  Ha.  Mom got him a very appropriate shirt: "Sometimes crabby, but always cute!"

As you can see from the picture above, one of Jesse's favorite adventures of the weekend was riding the shuttle from the hotel to the aquarium.  This was his first time riding in a vehicle where he didn't have to be in a carseat.  He got to walk in an pick where he wanted to sit - how exciting.  And our driver was definitely not gently turning those curves.  Jesse absolutely loved bouncing up and down and all around as we rode through the Baltimore streets.

A Few Quick Quips

Jesus Loves Me

The Jesse version:  

Jesus loves me, dis I know.  

For does Bible tell me so.  

Little ones to Him be's long.  

 They are weak, but he is stwong.

Jesse with Opa

My Dad grabbed a pair of shoes and sat down to put them on.  Jesse said, "Those aren't your shoes."  Dad looked down and realized he had grabbed Peter's shoes.  He asked Jesse, "How did you know those were Daddy's and not mine?  He said, "Look at the bow. Daddy's is in the front.  Yours is backwards."  LOL.  He made an observation none of us took note of after Dad and Peter slip off their shoes.  Peter ties his shoes in the front.  My dad's ties are on the side.  Funny that Jesse noticed.

Arguing with Oma

Jesse wanted to push the button to close the garage.  Oma said, "No, we want to leave it open."

He said, "YES!"

"No, Jesse." 

"Yes!" 

Deciding she'd lay down the law, she calmly said, "Don't say no to Oma."

Jesse replied "I didn't say no!"

She quickly realized he was right and had to say.  "Don't argue with Oma."  Ha.  One of those moments where you really want to laugh and say, "good catch" but had to stick to her guns. :)

Jesse, Jesse - be good to your OMA!!
He usually is. :D

Coke

The other day Jesse asked, "May I please try one sip of your Coke?"  I allowed one sip.  He immediately made a sour face and said, "This is NOT good!"   Very, good, Jesse - stick to water!!

Dinner with Daddy

One evening I went to get a haircut, so I said, "Why don't you guys just have hot dogs and popsicles for dinner."  :)  We freeze his yogurt and he loves those.  While Peter was preparing the meal, Jesse asked, "Daddy, are you my best friend?  Flattered, Peter said, "Yes, we're best friends."  Jesse continued, "So, I can have your popsicle?"  LOL.  Come to find out, later, he meant he wanted to trade popsicles for Peter's flavor, but still.  *Giggle*

Meltdown
I took Jesse to the mall to shop for a few things.  I told him that if he stayed near me and listened well, we would go get a treat afterwards.  Well...I shouldn't really have taken him out.  It was past bedtime...he wasn't listening well and there was whining and tears and he didn't want to get back into the car.  So, I took him home to Peter and then headed back out to finish my shopping on my own.  As I was pulling out of the driveway, I hear this SCREAMING and Jesse's running up the driveway.  It scared me to DEATH...I thought something had happened to Peter or something.  I stopped the car, half in the street, half in the driveway, and opened the door.  By now Peter was quickly catching up to Jesse and I asked, "What in the world is going on??"  Peter said, "Jesse was upset you were leaving without giving him a kiss."  Awwwwwwww.  I scooped him up, gave him lots of kisses and held him for a minute, explaining that I love him so much and always will.  That when he's in trouble it doesn't mean I don't love him.  My adult version of his thought process is that he knew there was tension between us and he didn't want us to part on bad terms, heaven forbid something were to happen to one of us and our last words to each other were not on a happy note. LOL. Okay, maybe his thoughts are not THAT complex yet. ;)

Trip to Winston-Salem

We went down to North Carolina with Erika so she could take some tests at Piedmont Baptist College (Peter's alma mater).  We were thankful to be able to meet up with the Barth's and have some fun while there as well.  :)  A few cute stories.

Waking up in the dorm

We stayed in two dorm rooms that shared a bathroom.  Erika in one; Peter, Jesse and I in the other.  Jesse LOVED exploring all the closets and sleeping in a bunk bed!  At bedtime, he took the bottom of one of the bunks, all cozy in his Cars sleeping bag.  We moved the desk chairs up against the bed so that he couldn't fall out -- or even get out.  Ha.


The next morning, Peter took Erika out to a very early breakfast before her test, so Jesse and I slept in.  Well, all of a sudden I hear out in the hallway, "Mommy!  Mommy, where are you?  Mommy?  Mooooommmmeeeeee!  I freaked out and was thinking, "That CAN'T be Jesse in the hallway.  He couldnt have gotten out of bed and couldn't have gotten out into the hallway.  So I sit up (on the top bunk) and realize I don't know where my glasses are, so I'm in a strange place and can't see anything.  I'm squinting, looking down into Jesse's bunk to see if he's there and I can't tell....LOL.  Then all of a sudden, Jesse comes walking into the room from the bathroom.  He said, "Oh, there you are!"  Since the rooms were connected, he had walked through the bathroom and into Erika's room and back and forth calling for me.  I was then thankful to know he wasn't locked out and roaming the halls!  I asked, "Do you see my glasses?" and he showed me right where they were.  Then I thought, "I'm getting old...don't know if I can make it down from this bunk."  Ha.  As I was deciding the best way to get down, I asked Jesse, just for fun, "How should I get down?"  He immediately looked across the room at a chair and said, "I'll move this to you so you can get down."  What a smarty-pants. Thanks, Jesse!


Fun at the parks

 We had so much fun at multiple parks.  We went to a hobby park where we skated, scooted, drew with chalk, flew the kite, watched people flying rc planes, ran the dirt bike course and went on an adventure in the JUNGLE (woods). :)  This is where Jesse learned his lesson about cactus - ouch!  Then we grabbed lunch and headed to another place with a playground for the kids to enjoy.  After relaxing a little, we went to yet another park for a cookout, some geocaching and more playgrounds!!

Jesse said, "I don't want to ride him.  He's grumpy."

This is where Jesse enjoyed observing some other kids.  There was a girl who was obviously older than him, but was petite, so I'm sure she seemed "little" to him.  She was climbing up the jungle gym with ease.  Jesse had attempted this minutes earlier and could not do it, so he said yelled across the way, "Be careful on there - you're too little!"  Ha.  She promptly replied, "I can do it!"  And she did.  So, Jesse said, "Oh, I can do it, too!"  He waited for Dad's help, but he did accomplish his mission!  :)  Also, he enjoyed walking across the bridge, but didn't like when the other girls where jumping on it while he was trying to peacefully walk across.  So, he wisely devised a red light/green light plan.  He would say "Red light!"....then walk across to the other side.  Then say, "Green light" giving them permission to jump around again.  Silly.

What a wonderful trip - good time with friends!!!  Jesse described all the new people he met and said, "They're my friends."  :)  Cuteness.

Jesse's Birthday 3

Haven't posted in a while, so catching up!!

 Jesse's Toy Story Birthday was a blast!! 

Invitation:  Come to our party with Buzz Lightyear and Woody
You'll eat yummy food and go home with some goodies
Be ready for blast-off, March 5, 4-o'clock
Jesse's Toy Story party will totally rock!

We had such a great time.  We put Jesse down for his nap and then Peter and I transformed the house house into a Toy Story wonderland.  It was definitely overkill, but when Jesse woke up, he went nuts!  He was so excited.  Once he saw his cakes, that's all he could talk about.  Can we eat cake now?  How about now?  NOW?!  So, as soon as everyone arrived, what did we do?  We ate cake, first thing!  LOL.

He got all dressed up in his Buzz costume and greeted his grandparents and aunt at the door with temporary Toy Story tattoos.  We played outside with a Buzz LightYear water rocket ship.  We stomped all over bubble wrap, pretending we were walking on the moon.  

We played "Put the toy in Jesse's room" (instead of pin the tail on the donkey), Buzz LightYear Says, Pass the Moon Rock (hot potato), and we took turns racing to put together Mr. Potato heads, blindfolded.   This was such a fun year because Jesse could actively participate in all the games.

We also had everyone write special notes about him - I think this will be a birthday tradition:
On Jesse's Birthday, I want him to know why I dearly love him so...
Here are a few things people wrote:
--He's good-hearted
--He shares his love with everyone
--He is sweet, loving, smart and has a curious personality.  He is so easy to love.
--He thinks of others so much.  He loves life and wants others to love it too!
--He is cute, smart and I love being his tia! (I wonder who wrote that one? :) )




What wonderful things to say about a 3-year old!!!  So special for him to hear.
 

He got great age-appropriate gifts - he's absolutely loved them all.  A Bible, a scooter, skates, bubble octopus, .... amazingly great stuff for his age.  One of the things we got him was this Ocean Liner that has all sorts of different pieces to play with and cool action features.  It comes with two "fighter" planes with the faces painted on the sides.  Jesse mentioned the planes have "grumpy teeth".  LOL.


ANYWAY - I will cherish the memories of this fun, perfect celebration of our 3-year old gift from God.  Jesse - you are such a joy - we love you so much!

"Oh, this is good."

Jesse and I worked on an animal sounds activity sheet.  He taped the proper animal to the sound I read to him.  Afterward, he colored all of the animals.  Then as I was going to transition to another activity, he said, "Not yet, Mommy.  I still need to color."  He took a black marker and scribbled over the heads of all the animals "So they can't see us."  ??  I tried to inquire further of that decision, but he was too busy coloring to explain. :)

Later it was time to go outside and draw with the chalk, but to his dismay it was raining - very hard.  At first, it was the end of his world. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, rain - Go bye-bye.  GO!! BYE-BYE!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Then, all of a sudden, he looked back at me and said,  "Oh, this is good.  We won't play chalk.  We'll play in the rain!"   After getting all dressed for playing in the rain, it had calmed down and we were able to do both.   We drew with chalk first, and as the rain started up again, we ran around for a bit.  I loved how he took his disappointment and turned it into a new idea.  :)

Thoughtful

Monday, President's Day, was glorious.  I was off work, so was able to be with Jesse the WHOLE DAY.  He is just the sweetest kid.  Two examples:  I took him to a playground.  He was enjoying watching some older kids play a game on the equipment, so I stepped back and let him do his own thing.  He starting walking to another section of the park, so I got up to follow behind.  He looked back at me and yelled, "Mommy - watch out - that's not good" and pointed to a big hole in the grass he had walked by.  He wanted to make sure I didn't step into it. 

Second:  His Opa and I took him to a movie and he got a box of Reese's Pieces.  Later that evening, I asked, "Did you save any candy for Daddy?"  He replied, "No, I ate it all gone....OH, will Daddy be SAD???"  I said, "No, it's okay.  Daddy would want YOU to enjoy it!"   I enjoyed seeing his thoughtfulness!

Non-typical Favorites

Throughout his 2nd year, Jesse has been slightly obsessed with two things:

1) CareBears.  Don't bother asking what he wants to watch if it's his turn to choose a movie.  There are three CareBear movies on Netflix instant play and he's seen them all...quite a few times.

2) "More broccowi, pwease!"  It never fails.  No matter how we prepare it, we know we need to have LOTS and LOTS of it so that Jesse can get his fill.  So strange, but I love it!  :)

So, not the most typical favorites for a 2 yr old boy.  I know he'll grow out of this CareBear obsession very soon....but I hope he's always obsessed with broccoli!  :) 

Everyone has so many names!

It's funny how kids are always listening and pick up on things.  My mother-in-law called my father-in-law "Sweetheart."  Jesse wanted his attention, so he said to his grandfather, "You want to come play in my house, sweetheart?"  Very cute.  Do you have a similar story?  It's fun to watch as Jesse tries to figure out the different names for everyone he is surrounded by.  Like Mommy, Mama, Mom.... is also "Sara" or "Honey" if Daddy is talking to her.  Tonight he he learned sometimes Abo (short for Abuelo) is called sweetheart. ;)