The Joker...

As Jayden gets older (and bigger), a very interesting trait is emerging; she is a comedian! She is very aware of when you are laughing at what she is doing and she plays it up big time. She has coined her own comedic phrase: "BOW!" When she is feeling extra cheeky, she'll give a "BOW BOW!" Sometimes she does the "gorilla walk", which consists of her hunching her back and walking very slowly. She usually makes some sort of face while she does this and she thinks it is hilarious. The fact that she is so funny is not lost on her sister. Jaycee has decided that if you are funny and like to play around, you are a "Joker". When you ask her who is a Joker, she'll say dada is a joker, pa is a joker, and she is joker. Recently she has given Jayden joker status as well. She often tells us this and reminds us of who is not a joker.

Jayden is getting pretty good at entertaining, she is a one woman show. She dances, sings and does funny stuff. Occasionally she engages in dangerous humor. Her latest act consists of climbing the table behind the couch yelling "BYE" as she jumps over the back of the couch onto the cushions. She also has a new smile she has been working on (see above). When you ask her to smile, she gets squinty eyed and shows as many teeth as she can.

I wonder who she gets her comedic talents from... BOW BOW!!

A thought...

I usually post something about the day to day goings on or some of the bone headed stuff I have done, but this time I have a thought. I'm not saying its a good thought or even a correct one, but it has been something I have thought since we found out that baby number 3 is a boy.

I am so happy to know that we are having a little boy. Jess and I are both excited to add another little bundle to our growing clan. What I have encountered recently is that a lot of people assume we keep having kids until I get a son. I definitely see how a logical conclusion to the choice to have three children is that there is a purpose. In my case, a boy seems like the purpose.

At first, when people would make this assumption openly, I found myself getting a little offended. I mean, are they insinuating that my daughters are less than what I wanted? Are they somehow inferior to a son? Are there things that a father can only do with a son and not a daughter? Now, these people who say these things would never say that boys are better than girls or that I am not a suitable parent to a daughter, so what are they getting at?

I began to question myself. Do I prefer a boy? I don't think so. I am not concerned about passing on my surname (I have some cousins that have that covered). I am looking forward to coaching girls soccer or learning whatever sport/hobby Jayden or Jaycee want. Basically I am looking forward to my kids growing up regardless of any other factors than that they are my kids.

After thinking this over I came to an understanding that we are all preconditioned to affiliate with what we know best. Me being male would best fit with another male. The same for females. The assumption that I would like a boy is more or less a natural conclusion.

Needless to say, I no longer take offense to the comments. I embrace them and make sure I mention (if given the chance) that I am just happy to have a happy and healthy baby. I may not have the ability or desire to determine the gender of my babies, but I definitely get to make them happy for as long as I live...

Spring has Sprung...

I do not have a green thumb. I have more of a yellowish thumb. With that said, our house is like a self sustaining forest! We have about seven rose bushes around the house that we inherited. They are all mature plants and are well established. Not knowing much about roses, I water them but that's about all I have done. I decided I would be content if the bush stayed green and wouldn't be greedy enough to expect blooms; luckily nature handled that part. I am not sure if the rose bushes just really like their location or if a magical garden gnome sneaks into our yard and sprinkles magic dust on them every night, but what ever the case is we have some awesome roses! I did some yard maintenance not to long ago and trimmed back some of our plants to clean them up a little and they all just erupted. We even have rose bushes popping up out of the ground where there never was a rose bush before. I don't quite understand, but we are definitely enjoying our low maintenance garden.

Jaycee loves the roses too. She takes every opportunity to pull off every rose she can and we finally stopped trying to protect them. Believe it or not, the roses are growing faster then Jaycee can pick them.

In other news, Jayden is really enjoying her time at home on days that Jaycee has preschool. She has been doing a lot of exploring, especially in Jaycee's room which is hard to do when Jaycee is home. She is such a character and we are literally watching her become a big kid right in front of our eyes...

Let the hunt begin...

Time to find a job! I am officially a member of the job hunting portion of the population. This is a little intimidating now that I am looking at a completely new and unfamiliar job market. On account of the competitive conditions in the country, I have been trying to find ways to stand out to potential employers. To come up with ideas, I have been reading about the different tactics people are using. One of the tactics is to attach a picture of yourself to your resumé. After reading this, I really got to thinking about my appearance. I got really used to shaving when I felt like it. This afforded me the opportunity to grow a beard or goatee whenever I wanted. Well, I began to wonder what an interviewer might interpret my appearance to mean. After asking around for opinions I was faced with a choice. To shave the beard or to leave it. It become the general consensus that it should go. I took these 2 pictures to see which made more sense. I'm torn.

On a more interesting note, neither Jaycee nor Jayden care for my beard. Jayden feels my face a little then proceeds to smack it: point taken. Jaycee was really studying my face the other day and after a long pause she asked me "what is all this weird hair coming out of your face?" I wonder the same thing. Maybe I should add this to my resumé. "Able to quickly grow facial hair and the ability to shave it even faster"...

When you need a helping hand...

Jaycee is at a really fun age right now. She can do most everything on her own (within reason) and she understands the importance of this. I suppose that is why she has been on a recent mission to "help" with everything we Jess and I do.

For example, I often make nachos as a quick snack for Jaycee and I. All I have to do is get the chips and grate some cheese. When Jaycee sees the grater she insists on "helping" me. Her version of help consists of eating one handful of shredded cheese for every handful she puts on the chips. By the time she is done helping, I spend twice the time cleaning up grated cheese from everywhere.

Lately we have found ourselves outside working on the yard. Jaycee loves to "help" with the yard work. As you can see in the picture, the required outfit for gardening for Jaycee isn't for everyone. When Jaycee decides her work is done, I get to pick up all the tools she needed then I get to sweep up all the dirt that somehow got out of the planter and onto the sidewalk.

I try hard to cherish these times. I know the day is coming when she won't want to hang around me let alone "help" me. Its just hard to understand how I end up with more work than I started with. C'est la vie...

Mobility phase 2: Climbing...

We knew it was coming, but it certainly doesn't make it any easier to deal with. Jayden is getting around pretty well. She can basically run now and her balance is pretty good. It takes a lot to knock her down, which is good considering Jaycee is always pushing her around. She stomps around with confidence now and isn't afraid of getting into tight spaces since she knows how to get herself out as well. However, the need to climb has also shown up.

Anytime any elevated object is around, it takes Jayden about 12 seconds before she attempts to climb it. She has begun testing out what is climbable and what is not. I have caught her trying to climb the wall and the entertainment center in addition to her high chair. She understands that scaling objects gives her some advantages. Maybe it is reaching a forbidden item or gaining a vantage point to drop down and attack her sister. No matter what the reason, she has no desire to keep her feet on the ground anymore. Of course, the result is falling and so far we have been able to keep the distance pretty small between her and the ground, but Jayden has her sights set on some pretty high spots. She complicates things by her need to multi-task. She never just climbs. She has to climb and dance when she reaches the top. Or, she needs to carry a rolling pin as she ascends. The other day she was climbing the footstool and talking on her cell phone. I'm not sure who she was talking to, but she was very irritated with something they were doing (or not doing).

Jayden is really coming into her own. I wrongfully assumed that I could have only one daughter that demanded the spotlight all the time, but it looks like Jayden is headed down the same path. May the loudest child win...

For answers to life's complicated problems, ask a 3 year old...

A quick story from today. Our power was out for about an hour today and for most of that hour Jaycee was walking around trying to figure out what exactly was affected by the power outage. She immediately noticed that the lights didn't work. Then she realized that the television could not be turned on. Then she was asking me about the clocks, the refrigerator, the pantry, and everything else she is familiar with.

After about a half hour of identifying what worked and what didn't, she decided she wanted to watch T.V. She asked me to turn it on even though we had discussed that it was not possible. She sat for a moment, presumably thinking about her investigation from earlier. After about 5 seconds I saw the light bulb above her head: "Dada, can we go to the store and get some batteries for the T.V.?"

That makes perfect sense. She discovered that all her toys that have batteries were unaffected by the shortage of electricity. So, why couldn't we get batteries to fit the T.V.? Have any problems that need solving? Just ask Jaycee...