Cake the turtle

Jackson woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. Whiny and crying for a decent part of the morning. Didn't want to eat breakfast, didn't want to get dressed, etc. After much asking, telling and threatening he finally got dressed, just in time to head out to the birthday party he was supposed to be attending. Except that all of a sudden he decided he didn't want me to bring him - he wanted Daddy to bring him. Which normally would be fine, except that last week when Luis brought the boys to a birthday party Jackson decided that I would bring him to this birthday party. And we'd been talking about it all week, and I literally had my keys in hand. It was either go with mommy or not go at all. To write it out here sounds harsh, but from my perspective I didn't want him thinking/learning that he is in charge - that just because he wants (or doesn't want) something means that is how it is going to be. After much to-do, we were off, with much crying from the backseat. About halfway to the party he stopped crying and apparently decided to make the most of it.

The party was at a small children's museum and although it took a little while for him to stop clinging to me and really enjoy the party, he did have a good time. They had a woman talk to the kids about animals they would see in their backyards, and passed around a bird's nest, beaver chew and woodpecker hole to feel/see. She also had a pair of box turtles that all the kids were able to pet (except for Jackson who refused to touch them). Then the kids did a craft of making and decorating their own turtle, which Jackson promptly named "Cake". Then pizza (which Jackson actually ate a few bites of) and cake. Then we had time to wander around the rest of the museum for a little while before it opened to the public. Jackson had a great time in the "boat" room pretending to drive the fishing boat and catch fish. He also loved watching the electric train make the loop from the hallway into the boat room and back out. When we were leaving he said his favorite part was the cake. Too funny. That's definitely my kid!

After a short nap and a bit of time running around outside, Lou suggested that we go out to eat. Being a sucker for punishment I agreed and quickly packed up a bag of food and we headed out.

Not 5 minutes after sitting down, the boys managed to dump out Lou's full glass of water all over the table, menus, and Lexi. Then they filled up on dinner rolls so that when the food actually came, they didn't want to eat it. Jackson had all of 1 bite of his hot dog and I think Nicolas had 2-3 pieces of chicken. They both ate a number of french fries, as well as the mini pumpkin muffins I had grabbed on the way out of the house. Lexi ate most of her jarred food, some Cheerios and some of Nicolas' chicken (maybe even more than he did). Then Nicolas decided he had to poop and Lou was in the bathroom for a long time with him, which I tried to keep Lexi and Jackson entertained. Luis finally came out and suggested that I pack them in the car while Nicolas finished up.

Shortly after getting home we headed to bed where Jackson proceeded to demand to sleep in our bed. Luis had to manhandle him back into the boys' room and lean against the door to keep it closed while Jackson threw a screaming/crying fit trying to get back into our room. Once he finally calmed down he got in bed (with Luis) and they both fell asleep until almost 10 when Luis came back into our room to sleep.

Isn't it a little early for the wonderful "3" behavior to start? And to think we have a whole year of this ahead of us. And another year once Lexi hits this fabulous age...