Here comes... THAT GUY!!!

So, a little while back, I had my kiddos at MacDonalds. For those of you that live in or around Saskatoon, it’s the one on Attridge that has the great kids play area (best I’ve seen). Jett loves it there, which is why I sometimes meet friends there to visit. (what has life come to???) Sorry Starbucks, but I don’t even mind the McD’s Latte.

Anyway, we were there, done eating, and getting ready to go. I went to intercept Jett before he could sneak up the climbing apparatus again, and two boys (probably 5-6 years old???) came down the slide. When they saw Jett there, the one nudged the other and said, “Hey, there’s THAT guy!” Then they both chuckled.

That guy.

My initial thought was,  “What did he do to be deemed THAT GUY?” There are endless possibilities. Hit someone? Hug someone? Push? Pick his nose? Fart? I guess it doesn’t matter because I’ll never know, but it got me thinking. Being “that guy” can be a good thing or a bad thing. I sure don’t want my Jetty to wear the term “that guy” in the negative sense!

I realize that I am WAY over-thinking this, but every mother wants the best for their children and I am no exception. I pray for my boy everyday that he would be growing and developing exactly as he should be. He is a sponge! Jett’s learning increases by leaps and bounds each day…. But so does his strong will, determination and curiosity. In his mind, boundaries are made to be pushed and tested, which makes for some long and frustrating days.

I know that someday, I’ll likely look back and laugh, but here is a glimpse into our life as of late:

1.     A while ago, I was in Saskatoon and needed to get some groceries. J was with me, but he was in good spirits and seemed to be behaving himself. My cart was nearly full when I guess he’d had enough. He didn’t have a melt-down like other children I’ve seen… No, no. Instead, he shrieked. And shrieked and shrieked and shrieked. Not angry, there was no injury, he actually had a smile on his face. He was very amused by himself, and by the reaction he was getting. I was completely flustered! Of course I tried to silence him, but he refused to stop. People may have preferred if I had taken him out of the cart and just left the groceries there, but we live out of town! I wasn’t going home without the food! He shrieked all the way through the checkout and out of the store.  Agghhh!!!!

2.     Learning how to behave in church is taking some time. I can’t remember the last time I was able to sit through an entire sermon!  The nursery is not scheduled through the summer, so if you want to stay in the service, so does the munchkin. A few weeks ago, I thought I had come up with a solution. Mitch and I have iPhones and Jett loves them. Both phones are equipped with some of J’s favourite shows, Curious George and Mickey Mouse, and are used during extenuating circumstances (more often than I care to admit). So, on this particular Sunday, I brought some headphones and he stayed in the sanctuary with us, watching a show. It actually worked really great… for at least 10 min. I felt pretty pleased with myself until Jett started shouting out loud for no apparent reason. I’m fairly quick on the draw and got my hand over his mouth, while shushing him in his ear, but when I started to relax my grip, the same shout was offered up again. He wasn’t angry or upset about anything; just amusing himself. I wasn’t quite so amused. We rode out the remainder of the church service in the nursery.

3.     Earlier this summer, we had a playdate at the Forestry Farm, which we love. It was a good day, and the kids were getting along great. As my little boy grew more and more excited and comfortable with his surroundings, he became increasingly difficult to reign in. He was wandering further from the stroller that I was pushing Kalena in, and more reluctant to return to me when I called. Then it happened. He was running on a hill, blissfully happy, but then he started running down towards the creek/river. I panicked and thought that I had the stroller in a secure place, so I sprinted after him. Behind me, the stroller started rolling away!!! A complete stranger grabbed the stroller and I did catch my escapee.  The experience shook me up some and that evening from home, I ordered a child harness! (I’ve never actually used it anywhere yet)

Rolling down the hill is also a fun Forestry Farm activity.

4.     During the August long weekend, our church had a combined service with our neighbouring church in town; the one that my dad pastors and sister/brother-in-law attend. So, it was a perfect opportunity to dedicate our sweet baby girl, Kalena, alongside her cousin, Lucy. It’s a convenient arrangement for our family, so we take advantage of it.  Anyway, this particular church service was in the Community Church, which is not our regular building. When we went to the front for K’s dedication, we brought Jett, too, but he was captivated by the balcony at the back of the sanctuary and exclaimed very loudly, “Mommy, those people can’t get down!” While talking very loudly, he was pointing at the balcony excitedly. I had the completely wrong response. I laughed! It was one of those nervous, we’re in front of people and the sound escaped my lips before I could stop it kind of laughs. This, of course, only encouraged my boy to repeat his observation over and over again, increasing in volume and excitement each time. I was able to quiet him finally, but then when a few pictures were taken, he went off again. “They’re taking pictures! Mommy, they’re taking pictures!” I knew at this point, that there would be no quiet composed family moment at the front of the church, committing ourselves to raising our children in a God-honouring home, if I kept my cute but disruptive announcer with us, loudly entertaining the crowd with the play by play. I sent him down the aisle to go and sit with Papa Schultz, which he was happy to do, but wouldn’t you know it, he tripped over his shoes (they were too big, but they looked really cute!) and went sprawling across the floor. Miraculously, as I waited for him to cry out loudly, he didn’t. I helped him up and he hurried down the aisle to Papa. The rest of the dedication went on as it had been supposed to.

5.     Jett’s favourite part about going to church each Sunday is being able to race around the sanctuary after the service. This is a custom that no one seems to mind, and he’s got several accomplices in this activity. He has been seen on more than one occasion, pushing the toy stroller from the nursery, with a dolly in it, up the aisle in the sanctuary. This appears cute and innocent and often gets a smiley reaction from on-lookers. They, however, are unaware of his schemes to take the stroller up on the stage and push it over the edge with a great deal of force. Why that is so funny, I have no idea. Must be a boy thing.

6.     A week or so ago, we were at a friend’s house where a handful of moms and kids had gathered. Jett started off well. I often give him a pep talk before playdates/groups. “Okay, Jetty you need to be a nice boy and play well with the other kids.” I sure feel like he understands because he responds, “Yes, mommy. Not hit, not push…” It’s really rather cute. But on this particular day, he was not listening to me well; not obeying quickly. He was jumping too close to smaller kids on the trampoline, being overly aggressive in general, and not sharing well. There was a cute playhouse there and Jett was repeatedly slamming the door. I pulled him aside and told him to stop slamming the door. For a few minutes, he went off and played somewhere else, but then he returned to the playhouse and once again slammed the door. Wouldn’t you know it, he caught a little girls’ fingers in the door. I pulled him aside, reprimanded him and made him apologize to the girl. Shortly after this, Jett was pulling toys out of the sandbox. I stopped him and informed him that sand and sandbox toys do not leave the sandbox. Moments later, I see him dumping a big pile of sand right in the middle of the grass. Arghh!!! This time I did spank his hand and reprimand him for his disobedience. I had him scoop as much of the sand as he could back into the sandbox as I packed up Kalena to go. Enough was enough. I felt myself get emotional, which frustrated me even more. Other moms were understanding/encouraging, which drew even more emotion out of me. When I had both kids out the gate, I was thinking to myself, “Get it together! Why am I so emotional? I had better not be pregnant!” (Don’t worry. I’m not.) :)

7.     One of the most common things we here Jett say lately is, “I do it self!” He is incredibly determined and strong willed to complete most tasks independently, even if it is a skill that is above his ability level. If you help him with something he feels that HE should be able to do, he will throw a fit. MELT.DOWN.

8.     I find it funny when I see kids that don’t like to get dirty. I have a cousin who’s boys are incredibly neat, clean and organized. Jett is far from it. This boy loves to play in the sand, dirt and water; preferably all three at once. Being dirty doesn’t faze him. In fact, he’s in his glory. This doesn’t actually bother me too much. As long as he’s clean when he needs to be… At our family gathering, a group of the young boys were standing on the beach throwing rocks into the lake. My cousin’s little guy was splashed a bit and got a little lake water on his shorts. He actually asked to go back to the camper so he could change!!!! In the same moment, I look to see Jett literally bathing in a mud hole.  That’s my boy. :)

There are many frustrating moments with my active 2yr old and I have caught myself wishing that Jett would grow up quickly and get though this stage, but I truly love my boy more than I could ever express on here. For all the things he does that make me want to pull my hair out, he does things that melt my heart and make me swell up with pride just as much or even more.

Here are just a few things that I absolutely LOVE about my little Jett Jaxon.

1.     At many completely random times during the day, he will stop whatever he’s doing, look at me and say, “Hi, mommy,” in the cutest little voice while smiling sweetly.

2.     The boy has no qualms about apologizing. Often he is following me a little closer than I realize and I bump into him, but HE will offer up a “SORRY, Mommy” that makes me smile.

3.     He has the biggest, bluest eyes in the world.

4.     He demonstrates genuine love and affection for his baby sister many times throughout each day. If she’s crying, he often nuzzles up close to her, puts her soother in her mouth and says, “It’s okay, Ka-yehhh-na.”

5.     Like I’ve already stated, this boy likes to do everything independently lately. When he is successful in whatever attempts he’s making, he comes away very pleased with himself, “Mommy, I doo-ed it.!“ (The English teacher in me tolerates his poor grammar because it is SOO cute.)

6.     As Jett’s confidence grows and he thinks of new things to try, he pulls me in with an excited, “Watch this, mommy!” He then does something like a big jump off of the ottoman onto the couch… ;)

7.     I’ve discovered that many times when J’s behaviour deteriorates, it’s because he is bored. He loves to be given tasks to do so he can “help” out. Emptying the dishwasher, vacuuming, and delivering items to people are some of his favourite jobs, but he is starting to come up with tasks of his own. The other day he was hanging out in the garden and I went and asked him if he wanted me to push him on the swings. He shook his head and said, “I’m WORKING, mommy.” He was using the hoe to pull out thistles! (Yes, my garden is occupied by thistles and other varieties of weeds.)

8.     In the morning, J lets himself out of his room and informs me, “Mommy, I waked up!” We wander down the stairs and he opens the fridge to grab his sippy cup of milk. Then we go into the living room and snuggle on the couch. (I love our morning routine the best when it begins at 7 or later…)

9.     Jett is a little sponge and he learns songs incredibly quickly. He has taken to singing a lot lately. His favourites are: The Farmer in the Dell (his favourite verse of the song is, The farmer takes a wife. Ummmm…), Old MacDonald, Who’s in the middle of the dark (God is), and “Jesus loves me, upside down.” :)

10. He learned to recite John 3:16 very quickly and now we’re working on Psalm 23.

11. Jett often likes to be given the responsibility of praying for our food before meals. He loves to recite, “Come Lord Jesus…” I get a kick out of watching him, when someone else prays for the food, though. If the prayer gets a little too long by J’s standards, he will cut them off with a loud, “AMEN!”

12. I love how Jetty describes things. If something is big, he says “BIIIGGGG” <<insert deep raspy voice.>>  If something is small, it is “yittle” <<insert high squeaky voice>>

13. During our time of worship through singing in church, J has recently begun to enjoy singing along (If he doesn’t know the song, he either inserts his own words or breaks into a rendition of Jesus Loves Me.) He also enjoys clapping to the music… for every song. :)

14. We’ve been trying to emphasize sharing for Jett. For the most part, he gets it, but I get a kick out of how he “shares” with his sister. Kalena will be holding a toy and Jett will take it out of her hands. If I say, “Jett… why did you do that?” He responds, “Mommy, I’m sharing. It’s MY turn.” …We may have a little work to do, yet.

There are many many more reasons why I think my son is super fantastic as well as many other occasions that he drives me crazy. I suspect that Jetty may be the kid that draws everyone’s attention at Christmas concerts or performances with his antics… but, isn’t that what makes memories???

Jett certainly IS, “THAT GUY” and I love him like crazy.