Too Short By An Inch... :(

We were going to go tubing today, but J is only 41 inches tall, and only three years old.  The requirement is 42 inches tall or 4 years old.  I thought we could just put him on our laps, but no go.  One stinking inch.  :(

He kept telling us "I big!  I big enough!"  And when we told him he was just a little too short, he cried and cried.  And then he said, "I will eat a lot of food, then we can go!"  He does grow fast, but I think it's going to be a couple of months before he gets this inch.  Bummer.

The Trials of Being Three...

Poor J woke up this morning with a fever and lots of tears.  Not sure what was going on, exactly, but the generic  equivalent of Tylenol meltaways took the fever down and he has spent the morning playing and watching episodes of Dora on Netflix.  His poor day took a turn for the worse when he decided that he should hit the TV with his hands and various toys like blocks and bats, even after being warned that he'd lose the privilege of watching TV if he kept it up.  He kept it up, and I turned the TV off.  Long crying fits ensued, and then we had this conversation:

J (crawling on my lap): *unintelligible words through tears and sobs*
Me:  "I'd love to hug you, but you can't wail loudly on my lap because it hurts my ears, okay?"
J:  "O *sniffle* tay.  I wanna watch DOOO-AAAAAH." and starts crying again.
Me:  "I'm sure you do.  Maybe you can try again after your nap."
J:  "I said I sorry."
Me:  "I know you did.  And I forgive you.  And if you can show me you can be a big boy and obey, we will put Dora on again after your nap."
J: "*mumble, mumble* hard a be a J"
Me (thinking I heard him wrong):  "Wait.  Did you just say it's hard to be J?"
J (scowling):  "YES! It is harda be J!  I wanna watch Do-Ah."

I had to hug him so he couldn't see me trying not to laugh.  I would have hugged him anyway, because he's right.  Sometimes it is hard to be three and to have a mom who won't let you do what you want.  It just surprised me to hear him say it out loud,and the sheer cuteness made me want to giggle. (Those of you who know him know how cute he is when he gets mad.)  And yes, I'm still making him wait until after nap to try again.

Praying With a Three Year Old

J (at every meal): "My prayer.  Thank you my food.  Amen."  He has a hard time waiting to start eating.  :)

J (at bedtime after we say the Lord's Prayer together):  "Dear God,  Thank you mine house and thank you mine bed and thank you mine big robot and mine sorta big robots and mine little robots and thank you mine bear and mine other bear and mine nee-tee (blankie) and mine pillow and mine mama and mine sissy and mine dad and mine yard and mine cars and mine balls and mine toofbrush...."  He likes his bedtime snuggles, and this way they last for a lot longer.  :)

When J doesn't want to eat...

This kid of mine does some pretty amusing things when he decides he'd rather not eat what's on his plate.

Shortly after he turned two, he wanted to skip his dinner for dessert, and I told him his food needed to be gone before he got any treats.  He thought for a minute, then got down off his chair, grabbed his plate and dumped all the food in the sink.  "Food ALL gone, Mama!"  Ummm...not exactly what we were going for but technically he complied.  We are more careful with how we word things now.  :)

Last night, J was putting up a fuss about his meal and was telling his dad that he was finished eating:
Dad: "J, you haven't eaten your food yet.  Look. (points at pieces of food)  Chicken...chicken...chicken...chicken."
J (points at same pieces of food): "Dad, look.  No food...no food...no food...no food."
Bet he was wishing his finger was a magic wand.  Goof ball.