Recently I have had quite a few glimpses into life with a teenager. Just yesterday he slammed the door in my face while exaggerating his "MOOOOOMMM!" because I walked in on him naked while he was rummaging through his drawers for a new pair of underwear. He shouts "I don't WANNA go to school today!" when I have to wake him up on the mornings he sleeps in. It's this small glimpse into my future with a house of teenage boys.
Truthfully, three-almost-four is terribly fun. Mind you, that's my humble and very optimistic opinion. Three-almost-four is hot and cold, indecisive, inquisitive, demanding, loving, independent, humorously amusing, and fun.
And let's talk about the questions. Oh the questions! Heaven help me! Our Jace, he's not the typical, "why? why? but why? why? why?" questions. He's a particular questioner. He wants to know everything, don't skimp on the details! "What happened to that car? Why are the clouds moving? Where is santa clause? Why is there paint on the road? Who painted it? Why is it red? What happened to that house? Why is that the fire station? But who put it there? Why is that kid crying? Who is that a picture of? But what is his name?" He's a very, very curious boy.
And heaven forbid I give the wrong answer when he asks a question. This kid is too smart to pull that crap. Lately I have to dig really deep inside of me to find all of the patience I can muster. I have to remind myself often that he's just a kid and that he won't be a kid long enough. He's just a kid! Answer all of his questions! All of them! The entire car ride home! And don't forget all of the details! And don't make up your answers, because HE WILL ALWAYS KNOW WHEN YOU ARE MAKING THEM UP!
It's a joy, this questions stage.
Because I love to look back and remember these moments, let's briefly (HA!) talk about Jace at three-almost four: He will ride his bike outside all day long. He is so talented and speedy on that little bike. He whips it around and stands on one foot and cruises down the road and even speeds backwards while steering perfectly. It's probably his very favorite thing to do, riding that bike! He loves being a fireman, watching fire trucks, playing hotwheels (he has at least one million of them), motorcycles, four-wheelers, monster trucks, police cars and sirens. He doesn't love to watch tv but when he does his newest favorite is transformers. He also loves the Back to the Future series and ELF. He will easily eat ten pancakes in one sitting. His favorite color is red. And don't take that lightly, you don't understand, it's everything red. Kid is obsessed with the color red. He loves swimming, and don't try to help him! (thank you Lord for lifejackets). He can swim across the pool and back all by himself now and it's amazing to watch. He's very picky about being neat and clean, always changing his underwear and wiping his sticky hands. He's also very picky about his clothing. He chooses his outfit every single morning, and don't try to convince him to wear something different!
I may be a tad biased but my Jace is so wonderful. He's so very wonderful and I'm so very grateful for him everyday. Even on those especially hard days, when he's tried his darndest to really push my buttons, my head always hits my pillow at night filled with thoughts about how much I love him. He's so smart, so wonderfully independent and strong willed. He's so reserved and quiet around anyone new. He's so passionate. He's sweet and thoughtful and cares so much about how everyone else is feeling. He's this tender hearted thing that's trying so hard to fit a lot of very strong emotions into a very little body, and we are trying so hard to help him figure it all out. It's this painfully beautiful experience for all of us. Some days it's puddles of exhaustion and emotional tiredness and digging really deep to make sure we are pulling all of our patience from our patience wells that are threatening to run dry. But it's beautiful and perfect and I'm so amazed and proud of him, and just so very grateful that he's mine.
So here, let's dive into some of the funny little remarks that really make our days fun around our home. As of late, here's another little edition of THINGS JACE SAYS! (You're welcome.)
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** (flushes the toilet) "Look, da bubbles are going on a fun ride! Weeeeeee!"
** (Beck is babbling in the backseat) "Mom! Beck is talkin' to a ghost!"
** on that ghost note:
(One night while Dan was putting him to bed, pointing to the empty corner in his bedroom) "Dad, dares a ghost right dare. He's right dare, see him? He's very frustrated, don't talk to him."
(CAH-reepy. So glad I wasn't there for that one.)
** (I hand him his juice) "Thanks Meg!"
** (Beck smiles at him) "Oh look, Beck is just a happy camper!"
** Says a quiet prayer at dinner time, and instead of saying AMEN at the end of his prayer he yells out, "THE END!"
** (panicked) "Mom, hurry!! Dares a snake in my nose!" (as a stream of snot is running out of his nose)
** (One day his cup of applesauce was sitting next to an ad for Einstein bagels from the newspaper.) "Mom I need to go use da toilet. Don't let dose paper donuts eat my applesauce, okay? Tell them, say DONUTS, DON'T EAT JACE'S APPLESAUCE!" (and I did. I told those "paper donuts"....)
** "I'm superman and I'm gonna save da day wid my glasses!" (puts on his superhero mask.) (I didn't correct him, because he's right! They should be called superhero glasses!)
** Dan: "You're growing up so fast, you're like a little boy!" Jace: (in a deep growly voice) "No I not, I'm a MAN!"
** Turns around and accidentally runs into a guy's leg. Looks up at him and says, "You're welcome!"
** (Beck is fussing, Jace pats his head) "Hey, jus be a happy boy Beck! Come on, jus be a happy boy!"
** (has his hands down his pants) Me: "Quit playing with that!" Jace: "Why, cuz it's not a toy?"
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