The Funny Thing Is...
Jaxon is two years old!
I can't believe it. Where did the last two years go? Late night bottle feedings, endless diaper changes and sleepless nights were suddenly replaced by a whole lot of toy cars, interesting conversations and time-out.
While there are those moments of frustration, there are so many more moments of pure laughter and delight over the funny things our little man does on a daily basis. I just had to document some of them so I didn't forget to tell these stories to Jaxon later. So here goes...
1. Jaxon is definitely a yes man. Or shall I say a "yah" man. One would think he was born in Minnesota or perhaps even north of the border, because whenever you ask Jaxon a question, it is always "Oh Yah!" Thank goodness it not always "no." Or does that come at age three?
2. Run, Jaxon, run! I just know when my son grows up, he will be intrigued by track or cross country. One of them anyway. I'll never forget when we were heading up to northern Minnesota for a family vacation, we stopped in Minneapolis one night and took some of the kids to an indoor park at our hotel which also housed an indoor track. While all of the other kids were playing games and running around the track for fun, Jaxon took the task in front of him very seriously. A very focused child, he saw the circular track and knew exactly what he needed to do...run around and around and around, his chunky arms swishing feverishly side-to-side, until we literally drug him out of there. It's like he was thinking, "Because that's what a track was built for." He was like a dog in retrieval mode - he could not stop. I knew he was tired, but he only knew how to....RUN.
3. He can count to 12. I couldn't believe it myself until we were in the car one day driving home from daycare. All of sudden, Jaxon starts counting cars that are driving past us. While he prefers to start with the #2 (call it partialism to his new age), he made it all the way to 12 without a misstep or mommy's help. I was so proud.
4. Maybe it's a two-year-old thing - I'm not sure - but, when things don't go Jaxon's way, he gets extremely frustrated. Here's how it works: He has a plan. The plan doesn't go "exactly" the way he envisioned it. He freaks out. Kyle and I want to chuckle under our breaths when it happens sometimes, but we know that is not the right thing to do, so we help him out. For example, he was trying to line up his cars on the very edge of the console table in our living room the other day. First off, there is already something wrong with this picture because pure physics won't allow the end result to ever be a success due to this thing called gravity. But, you have to try everything once, right? Anyway, the toy cars end up not staying put and crashing to the ground, and while Jaxon is trying to figure it all out, he throws a mini-tantrum, whimpers and looks at us like, "But why? It's not supposed to go this way!" We explain and he eventually moves on. But, it's an interesting behavior we've observed lately and so we'll see where this goes... :)
5. It's a talent. Due to the line of work Kyle and I are in, we are very aware of behavioral strengths, or talents as we call them, which people exhibit through their actions and responses. I would say that Jaxon is very high in Empathy, Focus and Exactness. Let's focus on that last one though. Whether Jaxon is playing with his toy cars or he is chalking up the driveway with his new masterpiece, everything needs to line up lately. The cars need to be in a line, and when he is done using one of them, it goes back into the line. After he's done using a chalk crayon, it too goes back into the line-up as he draws the next one out. It's quite amusing to watch. Actually, it's fascinating. And we applaud him the whole way. I'm thinking it will only benefit him later in life when a talent like that is needed in a particular moment. I'm sure he will hate when a picture is tilted at a guest party and he'll have to get up and fix it before he can continue on. Or he may, one day, have his dress shirts all color-coded in his closet for easy finding - black, blue, gray, salmon. In some way, he'll need to have an element of control over his life (yes, I know this all because of how he plays with his toy cars at the age of two - haha). But, when I think about all of the planes up in the air, the tall buildings that house families in big cities and satellites outside our world which feed important info to NASA so nothing falls from the sky into our atmosphere, I know those people behind the scenes were also once two - and they were the ones who played with their toy cars in a certain way and lined-up their chalk crayons perfectly along the sidewalk before they set forth. I wonder what he'll be when he grows up?
6. Jaxon loves to boogie. He loves to dance it up and shake his little bootie. He is a free spirit when he's in dance mode and I could watch him all day. He is one happy little boy - that is for certain.
7. It's a "monster!" I'm not exactly sure where Jaxon learned this, but he loves to sneak up on people and ROARRRR like a monster. Not a bear or a tiger, but a monster is what he claims. He'll place his fingers over his lips in a "shh" gesture, request you do the same, and whisper to you, "Shhh....I think there's a monster here....do you see him? Where is he?....ROARRRR!" As he throws both of his clawed hands up in the air and smiles ear-to-ear while the biggest rasp delivers out of his mouth. And if you play the role of the frightened Fay-Ray, he loves it even more. Other times he'll stomp through the house and sneak up on you....stomp, stomp, stomp....ROARRRR! Gotta love him!
8. Watching our own language has become a new "to do" on our parental guidebook lately, as Jaxon has seemed to pick up what we say even more these days...and repeat them. The other day, I was downstairs and we were trying to get out of the house. Kyle yelled downstairs, "Beth, we gotta go now, let's go." Not a second later, I hear Jaxon lean down the staircase and repeat, "C'mon momma, we gotta go now!" We both laughed hysterically. And of course, yep you guessed it, the "S" word (sh*t) flew out of my mouth the other day when I realized I left something at the office. I said, "Sh*t, sh*t, sh*t!" Jaxon looks at me, turns around and starts bouncing around the kitchen screaming, "Sh*t, sh*t, sh*t. Sh*t, sh*t, sh*t..." Oh. My. Gosh. Well now that's just great.
9. Jaxon has a HUGE heart. He has always been concerned about others and attentive, and sometimes worried, when they act injured or sad, I have noticed it even more so lately - and I just love he is this way. I'll never forget the time Jaxon accidentally threw a ball right at the side of my head, and it hurt BAD. I clenched up in the fetal position, whaled a big "Owwwww" and I think a tear or two may have even creeped out of my eye. Jaxon dropped everything, screamed to Kyle, "Dad, momma hurt! Momma hurt, dada!" Jaxon raced over to me, squatted beside me with concern and regret written across his face. He pet my head and asked me questions like, "You 'kay momma?" and "Momma, owie?" Then, he sat down beside me and cradled my head in his lap, very concerned and about in tears. Of course, I was not about to let my pain become his, so I jerked up and smiled at him, holding him in my arms and said, "Mommy's just fine. Thank you Jaxon." He hugged me back and kissed me on my forehead and said he loved me too. It was a very sweet moment.
10. Amen. Before we tuck-in Jaxon each night, Kyle and I always sing a couple of songs with him and say a prayer. These days, Jaxon has joined in though, and it always makes us smile. He knows all of the hand motions to Itsy-Bitsy and Row Your Boat, and now he prays with us and it is the sweetest thing to listen to. When we pray, Jaxon folds his hands and closes his eyes (never even peeking for a moment until the prayer is over) and repeats the important words within our prayer, finishing off with a "Meh-men." Whether you believe in God or not, there is something grounding about a small child folding their hands together in prayer, closing their eyes and repeating the words, "Dear Jesus..." for the very first time.
More later....
I can't believe it. Where did the last two years go? Late night bottle feedings, endless diaper changes and sleepless nights were suddenly replaced by a whole lot of toy cars, interesting conversations and time-out.
While there are those moments of frustration, there are so many more moments of pure laughter and delight over the funny things our little man does on a daily basis. I just had to document some of them so I didn't forget to tell these stories to Jaxon later. So here goes...
1. Jaxon is definitely a yes man. Or shall I say a "yah" man. One would think he was born in Minnesota or perhaps even north of the border, because whenever you ask Jaxon a question, it is always "Oh Yah!" Thank goodness it not always "no." Or does that come at age three?
2. Run, Jaxon, run! I just know when my son grows up, he will be intrigued by track or cross country. One of them anyway. I'll never forget when we were heading up to northern Minnesota for a family vacation, we stopped in Minneapolis one night and took some of the kids to an indoor park at our hotel which also housed an indoor track. While all of the other kids were playing games and running around the track for fun, Jaxon took the task in front of him very seriously. A very focused child, he saw the circular track and knew exactly what he needed to do...run around and around and around, his chunky arms swishing feverishly side-to-side, until we literally drug him out of there. It's like he was thinking, "Because that's what a track was built for." He was like a dog in retrieval mode - he could not stop. I knew he was tired, but he only knew how to....RUN.
3. He can count to 12. I couldn't believe it myself until we were in the car one day driving home from daycare. All of sudden, Jaxon starts counting cars that are driving past us. While he prefers to start with the #2 (call it partialism to his new age), he made it all the way to 12 without a misstep or mommy's help. I was so proud.
4. Maybe it's a two-year-old thing - I'm not sure - but, when things don't go Jaxon's way, he gets extremely frustrated. Here's how it works: He has a plan. The plan doesn't go "exactly" the way he envisioned it. He freaks out. Kyle and I want to chuckle under our breaths when it happens sometimes, but we know that is not the right thing to do, so we help him out. For example, he was trying to line up his cars on the very edge of the console table in our living room the other day. First off, there is already something wrong with this picture because pure physics won't allow the end result to ever be a success due to this thing called gravity. But, you have to try everything once, right? Anyway, the toy cars end up not staying put and crashing to the ground, and while Jaxon is trying to figure it all out, he throws a mini-tantrum, whimpers and looks at us like, "But why? It's not supposed to go this way!" We explain and he eventually moves on. But, it's an interesting behavior we've observed lately and so we'll see where this goes... :)
5. It's a talent. Due to the line of work Kyle and I are in, we are very aware of behavioral strengths, or talents as we call them, which people exhibit through their actions and responses. I would say that Jaxon is very high in Empathy, Focus and Exactness. Let's focus on that last one though. Whether Jaxon is playing with his toy cars or he is chalking up the driveway with his new masterpiece, everything needs to line up lately. The cars need to be in a line, and when he is done using one of them, it goes back into the line. After he's done using a chalk crayon, it too goes back into the line-up as he draws the next one out. It's quite amusing to watch. Actually, it's fascinating. And we applaud him the whole way. I'm thinking it will only benefit him later in life when a talent like that is needed in a particular moment. I'm sure he will hate when a picture is tilted at a guest party and he'll have to get up and fix it before he can continue on. Or he may, one day, have his dress shirts all color-coded in his closet for easy finding - black, blue, gray, salmon. In some way, he'll need to have an element of control over his life (yes, I know this all because of how he plays with his toy cars at the age of two - haha). But, when I think about all of the planes up in the air, the tall buildings that house families in big cities and satellites outside our world which feed important info to NASA so nothing falls from the sky into our atmosphere, I know those people behind the scenes were also once two - and they were the ones who played with their toy cars in a certain way and lined-up their chalk crayons perfectly along the sidewalk before they set forth. I wonder what he'll be when he grows up?
6. Jaxon loves to boogie. He loves to dance it up and shake his little bootie. He is a free spirit when he's in dance mode and I could watch him all day. He is one happy little boy - that is for certain.
7. It's a "monster!" I'm not exactly sure where Jaxon learned this, but he loves to sneak up on people and ROARRRR like a monster. Not a bear or a tiger, but a monster is what he claims. He'll place his fingers over his lips in a "shh" gesture, request you do the same, and whisper to you, "Shhh....I think there's a monster here....do you see him? Where is he?....ROARRRR!" As he throws both of his clawed hands up in the air and smiles ear-to-ear while the biggest rasp delivers out of his mouth. And if you play the role of the frightened Fay-Ray, he loves it even more. Other times he'll stomp through the house and sneak up on you....stomp, stomp, stomp....ROARRRR! Gotta love him!
8. Watching our own language has become a new "to do" on our parental guidebook lately, as Jaxon has seemed to pick up what we say even more these days...and repeat them. The other day, I was downstairs and we were trying to get out of the house. Kyle yelled downstairs, "Beth, we gotta go now, let's go." Not a second later, I hear Jaxon lean down the staircase and repeat, "C'mon momma, we gotta go now!" We both laughed hysterically. And of course, yep you guessed it, the "S" word (sh*t) flew out of my mouth the other day when I realized I left something at the office. I said, "Sh*t, sh*t, sh*t!" Jaxon looks at me, turns around and starts bouncing around the kitchen screaming, "Sh*t, sh*t, sh*t. Sh*t, sh*t, sh*t..." Oh. My. Gosh. Well now that's just great.
9. Jaxon has a HUGE heart. He has always been concerned about others and attentive, and sometimes worried, when they act injured or sad, I have noticed it even more so lately - and I just love he is this way. I'll never forget the time Jaxon accidentally threw a ball right at the side of my head, and it hurt BAD. I clenched up in the fetal position, whaled a big "Owwwww" and I think a tear or two may have even creeped out of my eye. Jaxon dropped everything, screamed to Kyle, "Dad, momma hurt! Momma hurt, dada!" Jaxon raced over to me, squatted beside me with concern and regret written across his face. He pet my head and asked me questions like, "You 'kay momma?" and "Momma, owie?" Then, he sat down beside me and cradled my head in his lap, very concerned and about in tears. Of course, I was not about to let my pain become his, so I jerked up and smiled at him, holding him in my arms and said, "Mommy's just fine. Thank you Jaxon." He hugged me back and kissed me on my forehead and said he loved me too. It was a very sweet moment.
10. Amen. Before we tuck-in Jaxon each night, Kyle and I always sing a couple of songs with him and say a prayer. These days, Jaxon has joined in though, and it always makes us smile. He knows all of the hand motions to Itsy-Bitsy and Row Your Boat, and now he prays with us and it is the sweetest thing to listen to. When we pray, Jaxon folds his hands and closes his eyes (never even peeking for a moment until the prayer is over) and repeats the important words within our prayer, finishing off with a "Meh-men." Whether you believe in God or not, there is something grounding about a small child folding their hands together in prayer, closing their eyes and repeating the words, "Dear Jesus..." for the very first time.
More later....
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