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Jackson is THREE years old!

His birthday started a little early when he spotted his birthday gift yesterday!

Yes, we got him a kitten. I never thought I would have a cat, but he has loved playing (or should I say terrorizing) with cats since playing with his grandparents' kittens over Christmas. So, for the last 6 months, Zach and I have considered getting him a kitten for his birthday.

She doesn't have a name yet, so if we don't hurry and come up with a name, her name will forever be "Kitty Cat"

He is obsessed with her riding in all of his cars and train with him.  He also doesn't quite realize yet that cats are a little different than dogs and they don't obey quite like a dog will!  He is constantly telling her to sit and stay in his cars with him or come inside the patio, and she just ignores him!

This is what Katherine thought of all the cat excitement!

Jackson went to school for a few hours this morning while Zach and I finished doing yard work and cleaning the house before his party tomorrow.  He wasn't there long before we brought him lunch and cupcakes!

And, about the time we all got back home, Zach's parents and Emma arrived!  Zach and I, along with Zach's dad, took Jackson and Emma to the zoo for the afternoon!

It was  HOT!

Emma and Grandpa throwing food to the fish

One of the main reasons Zach wanted to go to the zoo is because of the train.  Jackson is of course obsessed with trains, but recently he has become infatuated with the tracks.  I think he knows where every train crossing in our town is--every time we get in the car and start nearing a crossing, he starts talking about the tracks!  The zoo was no different.  He spotted the train track and would not leave it.

While I rode the train with Jackson and Emma, Zach had the camera and didn't take any pictures, so I only have pictures of leaving the train . . .

He finally calmed down about 30 minutes later and once he and Emma had their $16.00 drinks.  If you can't tell from the picture below, the top to his drink is a seal or something like that.  He had to have this one.  They had about 8 different tops to choose from and I asked him which he wanted and at first he pointed to one with a couple of tigers on it and then he spotted this monstrosity.  Since he liked both, I told the lady he wanted the better-looking tiger one, so she fixed that one for him.  I handed it to him and he wouldn't touch it, started crying and pointing at the seal.  So, the lady changed the tops out for him and we walked around with this ugly thing. 

After the zoo, we headed to eat at Cotham's Mercantile.  Zach had seen it on the Travel Channel and it's in an old shack (if you ever want Zach to eat at your restaurant, a good way to get him there is to have it in a shack).  They're known for their burgers and had pretty good onion rings as well!  To help Jackson celebrate, our waitress brought him their version of Mississippi Mud--it was a huge piece of chocolate cake topped with a chocolate fudge sauce, all of which they layer on top of vanilla ice cream and freeze and then cover in whipped cream!!  What a way to celebrate!

And on the way home, Jackson and Emma were "giving five" to each other!!

And that was a quick glimpse of Jackson's 3rd birthday!

Flashback

Three years ago today, we had our last baby shower before Jackson's arrival.  Little did we know that in a mere 2 days he would make his debut almost a month early.  Now, with a 3rd birthday looming, our baby is not such a baby anymore and is quickly becoming a little boy.  Here is a quick overview of the last few years (I have so many pictures, it's almost unfair to have to limit myself to just these).

Exactly three years ago and two days away

2 days old with a crooked little nose and hardly an ounce of fat

Almost 4 months . . . about the same age as Katherine is now and one of the last times he ever took a pacifier

One of the grandparents favorite picture

On Jackson's 1st Birthday

With Sadie and before he could terrorize her

With Daddy and you can see some of those curls peeking out behind his ear

Just waking up (the curls were short-lived)

At Chuck-E-Cheese on his 2nd Birthday!

The hair . . .

I think this is what everyone remembers about last summer!

Still not a fan of Santa . . . maybe this year

A big change for a little boy

He loves getting into the freezer.  I walked around the corner recently to find this.  If you're at his party this weekend, I promise I'll have a new carton of ice cream!

Our sweet little boy.

The time really does fly.

Toothpaste Battle

Jackson has long been obsessed with either mine or Zach's toothpaste.  He used to find it and run off with it, mainly wanting you to chase after him to get it back.  Lately, I've noticed he's gotten to where he'll squeeze the toothpaste up and try to make a snack out of it before I take it away.  Last week, I found him "hiding" under his table with a tube! 

Best Seat in the House

Trying out a new way of seeing things!

And not to be left out!

Lately . . .

we haven't been up to much . . .

just "playing" with each other . . .

and staring at me

while smiling at Daddy . . .

and having fun on our tummy . . .

and Mama being obsessed with cute little feet . . .

and getting ready for a 3rd (gasp!) birthday

which is a construction theme

and listening to him sing part of "Happy Birthday" to himself . . .

that's our lately

Extreme Sharing

While I was cleaning the kitchen last night, Katherine took a little snooze.  Jackson was in another room for awhile {destroying something I'm sure . . . did I mention I found him spraying bug poison on Sadie last night? and he said something to Zach about drawing on the wall and then started drawing on the wall?} before he realized his sister was sound asleep and not barricaded in her room out of his reach.  Then he found her. 

And he had a sweet moment.

He thought she needed some company

So he decided to share

He inevitably woke her up

{or scared her is more like it}

As soon as she opened her eyes, he started pointing and talking {loudly} to her and me.  I can't remember what he was saying while he was pointing, but I think she's saying something along the lines of, "What in the world, have you absolutely lost your mind???"

And then she looked at me a little concernced about the situation

but then she realized she could possibly grab these things and maybe chew on them

All of the sudden, Jackson got real generous . . .

he actually gave her his blanket

But then we had to draw the line when he started with the heavy duty stuff

I'm sure she's thankful I finally intervened