Okay, okay, long time no blog. You're just going to have to get over it. Really. Go on with your life, stop depending on my blog entries.
Just kidding, you can keep on depending on them. You just might get let down every once in a while. Can't help it, nothing for it. Sorry.
So, on to the subject of this entry--the middle child--Jacob. He's 4 now, and he has developed quite a personality. He already considers himself quite the lady's man--a skill that he is already trying to pass on to his younger brother Brian. Sunday morning I was sitting on the couch with Brian watching cartoons. Jacob came in and climbed up on the couch and started talking to Brian. I was pretty involved in the cartoon (can't remember what it was) but I caught the boys' conversation here:
[Jacob had given Brian a throw pillow.]
Jacob: Brian, hug the pillow like this. [Jacob hugs the pillow.] Like it's your lover. Hug it.
[Brian stares blankly at Jacob.]
Jacob: The pillow is your lover, Brian. Kiss it. Kiss it! [Jacob kisses the pillow just before he notices that I'm paying attention. Then he grins and goes back to playing.]
Now before you start accusing me, it's not my fault. We are very careful about the shows that the kids watch, and other than the happy-ever-after kisses that he sees in the Disney animated movies he doesn't see much kissing. Well, he does see Stan and me kissing, but just little pecking kisses on the way out the door, etc. So this is all just natural born instincts developing in this 4-year-old. We saw signs as early as 2 when he would knock his sippy cup into the floor just as the pretty server was walking by just so that he could get her to pick it up for him. (If I picked it up he'd just knock it in the floor again. If she did it, he took it and grinned.) We saw signs again at the age of 3. On the way out of Cracker Barrel he noticed three cute 20-something girls sitting on one of the benches. He walked right up to them and told them they were pretty. They of course were charmed immediately by his adorable 3-year-old-ness. They grinned and said thank you. Stan and I smiled nervously at them. What happened next surprised everyone. Jacob then said to the girls, "I want to take you home with me." Come on, I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried. It's all true.
It's not just the lover-boy attitude either. He has a knack for saying very grown up things in the proper context, and he also seems to know when to say things out of context just to get a laugh. Saturday night we were on our way to the hospital to visit Grandma (she's doing fine, more on that later.) We were listening to a Christmas CD we had purchased earlier that had a variety of Christmas songs by lots of different artists. We had no idea that the Singing Dogs version of Jingle Bells was on it. I swear. Somehow we missed that part but there they were, barking out Jingle Bells. The kids exploded with laughter. Then halfway through the song it happens. Jacob says with exasperation, "This song is going to be stuck in my head for a week!"
Okay, just one more Jacob story and I'll leave you alone. I didn't think he was too worried about Santa because he's been behaving a bit on the naughty side. I have mentioned warnings to him during the last few days, but that's about it. Monday night we were watching "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer." During a commercial he says to me, "Mommy, am I on the Naughty list or the Nice list?" I replied, "I don't know, Jacob, only Santa knows that." Without skipping a beat he asks, "Do you have Santa's phone number?" So I guess he is worried.
Anyway, in case I don't make it back out here again before Christmas, have a very Merry one!