Jack @ 39 Months

Jack has never really been as into cars as much as your average boy… until very recently.  Mark has always been a pack rat apparently, and he still has MANY of his toys from his childhood, among them two sets of tracks. We stopped at Mark’s parents on the way home from Ohio and brought them home with us, and Jack LOVES them, of course.

We also brought home a collection Mark’s dad has been working on for Jack since he was born I guess – a little suitcase full of 100 Hot Wheels cars. 100!

Jack did great on the car rides to and from Ohio, preferring to just sit and listen to music and watch the GPS rather than playing with toys much.  Who knew the GPS would have such entertainment value?

Just this week he has begun to give hints of no longer needing a nap, so we’re working on transitioning to “rest time”.  He’s still getting used to the idea that he doesn’t have to go to sleep if he doesn’t feel like it, but he must stay in his bed, playing with quiet toys or looking at books. Of course he usually ends up falling asleep after all, but not without a fight.

I’m not sure what happened during our time in Ohio, but since we’ve been back, Jack has begun to play on his own more frequently, much to my relief.

We’ve been working on moving from the nursery to “big church” and I really thought the transition would take months, given Jack’s inability to keep quiet for any extended period.  But, after only a couple of Sundays, and a few trips to the bathroom for some discipline, he made it all the way through church last Sunday! It was a bit like wrestling a bear all the way through church, and he whispered to me rather constantly, but he made it without disturbing anyone. We packed a bag of snacks and books to look at, paper to color on, etc. but in the end, the only way he could sit moderately still was if I was holding him.  Otherwise, he would try and stand on his head in his chair, or crawl under the chair in front of him.