"I'm Free" (Translation: "I'm Three")

"I'm Free....and we had chocolate cake." A month and a half later, this is the first thing that Jeffery tells anyone he comes across.  It makes me laugh and I'm happy it was such a memorable experience for him!  :)

Yes, my little Jeffery Thomas is 3 years old.  I really do not know how this happened.  I mean, of course I realize that days passed, turning into months and then years....but I look at him and I can still feel his little 7 lb body in my arms and I just marvel at how fast everything is going.  I am told by one and all that it only goes faster the older he gets.  (sigh)

He had a wonderful birthday.  Oma and Papa skyped with him and sang to him, Aunt Julie Harris, Great Aunt Weezie, Great Aunt Mary, and godparents Barbara and Jason all called and sang "Happy Birthday" to him and he had so much fun playing with his new toys.  He ADORES baseball....the kid already has his pitching stance down....so, we got him a t-ball set which he is learning to use and really loves to play with.  We opened presents, had chocolate cake, and had a great day as a family.

Swing batter!

Daddy helping him with his swing

All set to blow out the candles

Happy Birthday, Jeffery!!!!

Part of his birthday present happened a few days later....and was a surprise!  The family traveled to the Amtrak station where Jeffery and Daddy boarded a train and took it down to Williamsburg.  In doing so, they went right through downtown Richmond, through TWO train yards, and along the James River.  The trip took about an hour and a half.  Jakob and I drove down there as a support car and then the family as a whole took in the sights and sounds of Colonial Williamsburg.  :)  One of the best Virginia Days we've had....and one of the best days in Jeffery's life!  If he loves Baseball, then he is rhapsodic about trains!!!!!  :)  He wore his engineer's hat and scarf and took his beloved Beau Teddy Bear with him and still talks about the trip to this day!

Waiting for the train

Ready to board

Where's the train, daddy?!

Passing a CSX freight train.....very exciting!

Hanging out in the dining car

Bye Train!

In Williamsburg, we met some very large but friendly oxen.....

Watched baby lambs playing.....

And watched horses clip-clop up Duke of Gloucester Street.

We finished our adventure with lunch at the famous Cheese Shop while huddled under a table umbrella as rain poured down!  We had so much fun and Dave says it is one of his favorite memories with Jeffery!

Our little Jeffery.  I will never know what I did to deserve such a wonderful and joyful little boy! He is a wonder.  Truly.  He has such a kind and gentle spirit.  He is quick to say "sorry" for any transgressions and doesn't hold a grudge.  He is constantly telling us how much he loves us, how we're his best friends, and his "amigos".  He will call out to during a meal and thank you for making it for him....totally unprompted. He has an infectious smile....

and an even more infectious laugh.  He LOVES to be silly and goofy and will do things with the intent to entertain those around him.  He is a little comedian who fiercely loves his family, adores the priests at our church, says the "Hail Mary", and is always looking for a way to make mommy and daddy proud.  He has his 3 year old toddler moments but 95% of the time, through loud protests, he will still obey orders. He loves to be with the boys.  It wouldn't matter if I had cake and ice cream for him, if daddy and his friends go outside, Jeffery will only be happy when he is able to join them.  Have I mentioned how he loves to laugh?!

He has expanded his palate where food is concerned and is even eating daddy's spicy tacos! His greatest joys right now are all things Trains, NASCAR, and baseball.  He loves to "run the bases" inside the house and go sliding into a base whenever he can.  He has other interests like his art classes or time at the Garden, or seeing his friends....but ALL conversations will consistently lead back to Trains, NASCAR, or Baseball.  

He LOVES to sing. (don't know where he got that from?!!!!  :) ).  He sings all day long.  Right now, he knows parts or entire songs from the following musicals: Sound of Music, South Pacific, Music Man, Kiss Me Kate, Carousel, and Paint Your Wagon.  He belts out "Edelweiss" like it is a death metal song and his favorite right now is "Lida Rose".  He even sings in French (completely butchered of course but then again, he is my son).  We recorded this to send to our beloved Father M.

The child is not quiet.  He talks from the time he wakes up till the time he goes to sleep.  Just an endless sentence that never ends.  Most days, my ears are bleeding by the time I close his door at night.  But he is so aware of everything around him and is wanting to know more and more.  The child also does not sit still.  Our Masses at church routinely go an hour and a half and after about forty-five minutes, he is done and starts to get restless.  He starts to almost literally bounce off the walls if he's been confined to the indoors for a couple days due to weather or the such.  He loves to run, especially after daddy, and "get the wiggles out".  :)

He is also a very inquisitive little boy.  His favorite place at the Garden is not the splash pad (though he adores that) nor the Tree House nor the sandbox.....but the Butterfly exhibit.  He gets a magnifying glass and could stay in there for hours just looking at all of them up close and being like Daniel Tiger from Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood (the new incarnation of Mr. Roger's Neighborhood).

He watches the birds at our backyard feeder from our dining room window and calls out (correctly, I might add) the ones he sees.  He can identify woodpeckers, chickadees, nuthatches, cardinals, wrens (he even knows their song), titmouse, bad birds (aka Grackles hahahaha), blue jays, and hummingbirds.   His Great Aunt Stephanie and Great Uncle Mike would be soooo proud.  :)  He loves to look at the different flowers and plants at the Garden and is careful when he smells the orchids and points out the cactus and says that they're like the ones in Ahh-zona with Oma and Papa.

The child can talk to you about Erosion and how it is caused by water, different types of bark on trees, and how we don't need to be scared of Thunder but you need to come inside when you see lightning.  And when looking at pictures, he can identify T-Rex, Pteranodons, Troodons, Stegosaurus, Triceratops, Giganotosaurus, and Cryolophosaurus,.  (Those would all be dinosaurs.) He can also tell you how Theropods have only three fingers and sauropods walk on all four feet.  He is interested in turtles and frogs and snakes (from a distance) and crocodiles and loves Giraffes (like the ones we fed in Arizona last Christmas....something he still talks about).  

He loves to play in water and I'm hopefully going to be getting him into swim classes this spring.  He is a very independent little boy but then always looks to see that mom and dad are around.  

He LOVES to tumble and rough-house with daddy....or anyone for that matter.  He routinely goes up to some men at church (men who are our friends and tussle with him on a routine basis) and just starts swinging at their legs until they catch on and start swinging back.  And now that Jakob is getting bigger, Jeffery loves having his little brother join in on the action.  

And he LOVES his little brother.  He has transitioned into being a big brother effortlessly.  The only time he is ever jealous of Jakob is if Jakob has one of his prized toys.  (We're working on sharing things with others.) He is generous with hugs and kisses to Jakob and keeps a watchful eye on him and alerts us if he is getting into something bad.  He tells Jakob that he loves him all the time and no one can make Jakob laugh like Jeffery.  

He is 3 years old but this is our 4th summer with him and in that short amount of time, his transformation from infant to baby to toddler to little boy has just been remarkable and I, as his mother, am truly humbled and in awe that I get to be witness to this little life as it grows and develops.  

10 hours old, 1 year old, 2 years old, 3 years old

Happy Birthday, Jeffery!  You make it truly a delight and a privilege to be your mother.  You have given your daddy and me such joy and love and while we miss our little baby Jeffery, we are so excited to see you grow up!  We love you our dear boy!!!!