Life with a 3 year old

 There is something I am really loving about this stage these days.  Maybe I'm being nostalgic because we have a baby coming soon and I know that is going to change the dynamics, but there have been so many fun memories I have with Jake as he is growing in this new toddler stage.  And I'm actually really excited to watch Jake become a big brother.  I know it's going to add a new dynamic to our relationship, but because he's older, it's exciting that we will get to experience it together and that he has a good understanding that there will be a baby in our home now.  Obviously, he doesn't fully understand just how his life is about to change, but he knows it will :)

There are so many fun moments I'm enjoying with him.  Recently, it's been neat watching him want to play his Jake and the Neverland Pirates pop up game- and he actually understands most of how to play it!  I also love looking in my rear view mirror as we're listening to Bob and Larry and seeing him munching on gold fish, singing the "B- I - B - L - E" with his weed wacker goggles on, and I find myself laughing wondering what people in the other cars think when they look over and see him just chillin like that. With Halloween approaching, it's been fun watching him get excited about dressing up like Jake the pirate and we spend hours looking over Jake and all the pieces of his costume and making sure we have everything we need.  Even with our home renovation he constantly wants to pull out his toy saw and drill and screw driver and be right there in the action- until it gets too loud lol

I think my favorite memory so far in this house has been the conversations we have had on our swing set.  I say swing set loosely, because honestly, if you're a parent and you stopped at our home, you probably wouldn't allow your child to go anywhere near this metal thing that is currently in our back yard.  And the neighbors may or may not cringe that we actually let Jake play on it because there may be a couple pieces that have broken off and are just (literally) hanging on by a screw- but don't worry, we do have some parental boundaries and he knows not to go on those lol  But he loves to go on the swings.  And the other week we had a conversation as I was pushing him about his adopted brother or sister.  It's been hard for Jake to understand this concept because, in his eyes, everyone has a mom or dad.  So he calls these kids "kids without moms or dads."  And the other day he jumped on the swing and as I started pushing him he said, "momma, let's talk 'bout kids without mommas and daddas." And we talk about why they might not have parents and how they live in a place called an orphanage and what life will be like when we go to meet them for the first time.  And the other day we got on the swings and he said the same thing.  I love that when we go on the swings it's what we talk about  and it's sweet to see him slowly start to understand what adoption looks like :)

This year I joined MOPS and I got this little devotional book in the mail.  The "theme" this year is noticing goodness, lavish celebration, and extreme generosity.  Maybe it's because of Ann Voskamp's book, 1000 Gifts, but the noticing goodness has been hitting home with me- the intentional slowing down to notice the beauty that's around me- even in the everyday mundaneness like doing laundry, playing pirates for the tenth time that day, or going grocery shopping.  It's not easy to stop and notice it and find joy in it- and I feel like there are days that it's a battle to even see it, but when I do it makes for the best of days.  And I'm finding more and more of those at this stage of Jake's life these days :)