Keeping Up With the Jones': Harrison Andrew Jones 2.5 Years Old

What a looker!

Okay, so he's been 2.5 for almost a month now but I'm finally making the blog a priority! It's been haunting me for weeks but I just haven't found a moment to sit down and write. I want to be able to come back to this and read when he's 5, 10, 20 - so - I must write.

Where to start? Harrison is my favorite 2.5 year old in the whole world and I remind him of that everyday. Even at the end of a hard day when I've lost my temper several times I'll cuddle with him and use that time to apologize and remind him of how valuable he is to us and to God.

Here are some things about Harrison (okay, you got me, it's a small book):

He is sociable. He loves people and he'll talk to anyone. If they don't understand him he'll just talk slower and louder. Just tonight he got really close to my face and said "wwwwiiiiccchhhh oooonnnneeee wwwwoooouuuulllddd you like to rrrrreeeeeaaaaadddd mommy."
He especially loves older kids who he can chase around and laugh at. They expect him to talk like them but he's still missing a few key words here or there and most of the time he'll just repeat back what they said. He doesn't like answering questions as much as repeating back to you what's been said. I call him my little parrot.
His new phrase is, "I can't remember". He says it after a few minutes of looking around, blinking excessively, chewing on his tongue and saying, ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.... "I can't remember".
He calls everyone hunny. I fully take the blame for it. At least it isn't pumpkin or love bug... other names I seem to call him a lot.
He still loves his paci, monk (little blanket with a lamb head) and blanki. This summer well look for some ladies in a hot air balloon to give it to. If you don't know that story, give me a call. I'll explain.
He doesn't really notice Silas much. Doesn't try to play with him or talk to him. The only time he tends to notice him is when he wakes up from a nap and he hears him screaming. He'll yell, "He's awake!"
He's big into touch. Kisses, hugs, cuddling. As you can see:

He's got his mom's teeth, overbite and all. The poor kid is destined for braces.
HE LOVES church and Bible study and always tells me what he learned, even if he has a hard time explaining. He stutters through a few key words to help tell the story. Sometimes he sings the songs too.
His mind seems to go faster than the words he's trying to find. He stutters when he really wants to explain something, something new that he hasn't just heard about and can repeat.
He is adamant on his schedule. Predictability is his security blanket, that's the only way I can explain it. It starts with wake up, stay in jammies, eat yogurt and toast and drink milk, watch 30-45 minutes of Word World or Little Einstein (so I can get dressed or eat breakfast), go get dressed, go somewhere or do a craft. Then it begins... "play with me, play with me, play with me." I know kids love it when their parents play with them but I also think his extraverted self can't stand to ever be alone.
Bed time has it's exact routine too. Once dinner is over the routine begins. Pick out jammies, bath, put on jammies, pick out 3 books and a Bible story, climb into bed, read with little lamp on and other lights off, pray, cuddle. Music must be on (worship lullabies), sound machine (so he doesn't hear Silas at night) on, nightlight on. We cuddle for one song then big kiss and big hug. "Goodnight Harrison and I love you with all my heart". If he's really lucky mommy and daddy will both cuddle with him together. That is, if Silas isn't still awake or one of us isn't cleaning up after dinner, etc.
He loves to cook! He is mommy and daddy's little helper in the kitchen. Sometimes it becomes a battle when he can't do things. Often we have to let him try and once he figures out he can't, he'll let us do it without flying off the handle.
He can count to 12 and he loves working on the alphabet with me.
We starting the potty training process three weeks ago and the only accidents he's had are #2 at MOPS, church and the park. Mostly when others are watching him, bummer. Otherwise he's done awesome! I traumatized him 5 days after we started by putting him on an automatic toilet... yep you guessed it, it flushed while he was on it. He still gets very scared by loud noises and it terrified him BUT on Saturday, while we were at the zoo he used a public bathroom again! It took two weeks but hey, he did it! We also bribed him with a cool cup from the gift shop. We're also impressed with how long he can hold it...
He wanted to show you his big boy underwear. That's Percy, I think...

Not only does he like to help in the kitchen but he also likes to help clean, garden, fold, etc.

He never really stops talking.
He gets frustrated very easily so I think that's why he loves technology and doesn't really like doing much on his own. He loves the TV, the computer, the iPad, our phones. Even if it's just to look at pictures. We have to limit his technology time and he gets pretty angry. Setting a timer helps. It's like he's 16...

He seems to be a sleepy kid. He wakes up grouchy at 7am then gets happy by 7:30 or so, get's grouchy at about 11:30 until nap time then sleeps for 3 hours and then does well until about 7 when Mr. grouchy returns. Another reason why I think he loves technology, he doesn't have to exert himself. He's not lazy by any means, he's always on the go but he also loves to just passively take things in more than explore which keeps him out of trouble I guess. I very seldom have to worry about what he's doing. No funny stories about finding him in odd places doing something odd, not quite yet.
He loves and misses his Nana, Papa and Grandma. He knows where they are: Texas and Oregon.

He is animated. He gets very excited and is over all a happy boy. When he's tired though he's unreasonable, but what 2.5 year old isn't right? Overall he has such a great little personality with a very sweet demeanor (does every mom think that though?). Honestly, he doesn't disobey much, only when there is some sort of change that he has no control over (his schedule, a new environment, people coming or going). He's a good listener and is my Mr. Manners. Please, thank you, excuse me. We are work on "may I" instead of "need it" or "have it".
He doesn't walk much, he runs often. He never takes the short path, always the longer one so he can run. He also jumps from the bottom stair, always and likes to walk backwards.
He's loved skiing and daddy can not wait for next season with him. I've actually thought about homeschooling him if he loved it enough. Now, he's 2.5 so I shouldn't get too ahead of myself!
He loves to memorize Bible verses so we go for one a week. He doesn't remember them for long but he does quickly remember them, along with my grocery list. Who needs paper when you have a 2.5 year old?
He still loves all food. Mostly fruit and vegetables and ALWAYS spaghetti! He's still a dipper too. "Sauce hunny, Sauce!" oh and lets not pretend I'm perfect, he loves pudding, fruit snacks and cookies. You gotta live sometimes!
He loves to sneak away my phone and play music.
He loves going to the library and the park, of course.
He has started telling jokes that he thinks is funny like, "Mommy, we go to Costco? What at Costco? Can I get that big tree at Costco (pointing to a tree on the side of the road)? HAHAHA (he begins to laugh uncontrollably or sometimes just snickers)."

He still will not get out of his bed until we come get him in the morning or after his nap. I don't see us ever mentioning to him that he can get up. Why ruin such a great thing?
You can stop reading now, I'm probably just going to continue ranting so that I can have these memories FOREVER. I don't want to forget, I'm sure you understand. My OB (who I see way too often but she delivered Silas, how could I not just appreciate her?) put it so well, "sometimes I wish I could just go back and relive one five minute moment when they were two or a half hour when they were ten, just bits and pieces. But I don't want to relive it all, there were hard moments too." So true. I try my best to enjoy the good moments and not let the bad ones take over, though they do take a lot of energy!

He still struggles a lot with feeding himself and often wont eat unless we help. I'm trying my best to not be a helicopter parent. Heaven forbid I'm in a high school cafeteria cutting my child's hamburger into pieces... He'll never get a girlfriend!
I daily think about the future and pray for his salvation. There's something in his demeanor that makes me never doubt the Lord's plan for his life. He has a joyous faith for such a little guy. I hate thinking about how this world will eventually get to him, lie to him and hurt him. But every parent is saddened by that thought. The naivety fading.

I can't bear the thought of him loosing his excitement for learning. When does that fade? I think it did for me when boys took over instead... well anyways, we've been prayig and thinkg a lot about school. I know I know, he's only 2.5 but I'm a planner! I can't help myself. We've talked a lot though about not wanting kids who strive for worldly achievement or success. We want kids who have an insatiable desire to learn, learn more of God, more of people, more of this world and how to help people in it. Not kids who strive for an A because they fear a B but kids who enjoy learning about volcanos, space, rain forests and how something like the holocaust could ever have happened. Learning that excites them and changes them. So, we're praying a lot about whether that means public school, private school or homeschooling. In no way do we want to "shelter" the boys, we want to give them an even greater opportunity and what I'm "hearing" is that many schools are no longer doing that... So, we'll see. (Maybe I've just watched one too many documentaries on American education) We also have thought a lot about what it means to live "holistically" as in learning isn't left at school or to the weekdays. Work isn't left to the weekdays, religion isn't left at church, etc.
I think I already mentioned our zoo trip. No, this isn't me on my bad days though I'm sure I look a little like that to Harrison. Explains why he wasn't scared...