Jaden Lately....

Oh....my little baby bubby
[bubby is his nickname, used more than his real name]

What hasn't he been up to or into lately?

He keeps me going. He's constantly on top of the tables. He eats soap. He drinks bath water. He bit a fake baguette in my sister's table center piece. He put our neighbor dog's tail in his mouth (the dog is in the pit bull family)! He picked up a dead mouse in my parents' garage with his bare hands(YUCK!). He's a hitter...and a biter...and a pincher....and climber. He's almost always in full throttle mode.

He's aggressive, strong, independent, adventurous, curious and completely fearless!

What's a mother to do?

Don't be fooled by his cheesy little smile & adorable dimple.

He is trouble with a capital T. A complete rascal. Dennis the Menace in training. He never ceases to amaze me. I can't believe all that he can do or come up with, especially for his age.

He can be completely sweet & charming. He loves Jace & loves to climb up onto his bed in the morning, lay his head on top of Jace's and be totally sweet. When he wants to give kisses, he'll come up to your cheek and say, "hi" in a soft and sweet voice, then have you kiss him.
But...you've gotta watch your back because the next minute, he could very well be trying to bite your neck. He's as quick as a cat- he catches you off guard and can get you before you know it. And...he leaves a mark every time. Little stinker!

He NEVER Gives up.

He is very persistent and does not let anything stop him from going after what he wants. These chips? Oh yes, they were in the pantry with a clip on the top, folded several times, very secure-{because I know better}. Well...he took them and shook it until he got the clip free. This is him claiming victory over that clip.

He is the same way with figuring out a task. He loves a challenge. One day, he was suddenly very quite. {Not a good sign usually}. So..I went around looking for him and found him sitting there very nicely with his blocks and completely focused on the task of building a tower with them. He sat there & did not give up until he got them stacked.{Then got frustrated when it got higher and started falling apart.} I'm glad that his persistence can be a good thing as well. He can figure anything out. His determination is impressive.

He really doesn't let things stand in his way. He is thrilled by dogs, especially when they are riled up. Little dog, Dawson, was barking at big dog's Duke & Chavez and our lawn was the cross yard between the dog chatter. Jaden was so excited! He loves chasing after little Dawson. Of course, the sprinklers did not stop him one bit from trying to get to that dog. Thankfully, our neighbors dogs are nice & tolerate our curious little guy.

Jaden can be a little goof and has a funny personality. He knows when things are funny. He's also a little stink and turns not-so-funny things into a laughing matter. He'll do something that he knows is naughty, {like running into our road}. When I say Stop! or No! he just keep running and looking back dieing of laughter at that fact that I'm chasing him like a wild turkey. He's hard to discipline because he'll laugh a long time before he'll cry or learn a lesson . He's a little mess around for sure.

I thought he looked so cute squatted up in this planter basket. He thinks it's so fun to ride on this like a bike.


Did I mention that he's a climber? Oh, boy he gives me a run for my money. He'll crawl onto the toilets, then up to the counter and in the sink. He's also obsessed with toothbrushes, so he's sure to use someones when he's up there.

He scares me half to death most of the time. No matter what I do...he finds a way. He's sneaky and fast. One time we heard him crying and thought he was just in playing the kids. Justin went to get him and found him up in the sink with the water turned on himself. Hot water too! Luckily it hadn't warmed up yet. Bathroom doors are now always shut.

This little happy dance on top of the table. Combined with this sitting trick on the chair. Resulted in this tie-down:

I had to rope off all of our dining chairs. The rope solved the dining table problem, but that just gave him the challenge of the snack bar. He can now get up to the snack bar from the attached swivel chairs. AHHH! It's worse. It's already resulted in a fall, which resulted in a double bloody nose and goose egg on the forehead. You cannot take your eyes off of him for a minute.

He thinks he's one of the big kids. His little mind is definitely above his age level. He'll try anything the older kids do. One morning he tried jumping off our king-sized bed. He can also hold a baseball bat in position, extend a normal sized basketball over his head and make multiple baskets (when lifted up to the hoop), he can jump on the trampoline & get both feet off the ground. He can climb a ladder up to our slide, he jumps from the coffee table to the couch. And he can get up to and on top of anything, I swear. It's unbelievable (& nerve wracking!)
He's fearless. He's not afraid of anything, except he did used to be afraid of our stick horse, which was funny considering all that he's not afraid of.

He definitely takes life by the horns, so to say. He has a lot of courage. When our older two kids were being wanny's, clenched to Justin's leg, bubby walked right up to these lambs by himself. He wasn't afraid of them one bit- he would grab their tails and chase them around. They are interesting to him. I love his curiosity and willingness to give anything a try.

He makes a mess of everything. He's so independent & refuses to let you help him in anyway. He refuses a bib. He does not enjoy being spoon-fed. He wants the spoon or bowl or whatever himself and he'll figure it out. Needless to say, his clothes and eating area are a big mess.

Jaden is one strong kid. Does this amaze anyone else that he can hang from these bars? I can't believe it. He wants to do it over & over again too. He also had to get a CBC/lead screening test, which required a needle to take blood in his arm. Bubs sat there & didn't even cry. He is tough as nails, has a kung fu grip and super-baby strength. He's certainly has a lot of athleticism to him.

He's such a little wild man. He loves life and is curious in everything it has to offer. He jumps right into situations, without fear.

He loves mischief...

But....there is just something so sweet about him at the same time. He knows how to wipe and blow his nose and it's just too cute. I love hearing his language take off as well.

There is no doubt about it- He is hard to handle:

But how can you resist the little rascal?