3 Years

Jack the shark, Henry the otter, Mom the crab:

Yep, that sounds about right.

The boys are making full use of their rapidly expanding language skills and physical abilities. Somehow they are tall enough to open the freezer! When the heck did that happen!?

Though there is definitely frequent (well, nearly constant) bickering, the boys do seem to generally like to each other. For instance, when asked about school, Jack said, "My favorite boy at school is Henry!" They love to chat when they're supposed to be napping, and recently beckoned me into their room (in unison) to settle the very important question of the name of the police car in their beloved "Tayo the Little Bus" cartoon  (it's Pat, for the record). 

Jack
Jack, the boy, the myth, the legend, the...

... one-man band...

... happy park goer...

... exuberant traveler...

... mad scientist...

... goofy, playful little dude.

Projects!
The boys' improving coordination and listening skills have allowed us to actually work on some projects around the house. The planter bed project continued this month, and has turned out quite nicely.

The boys help fill the planter boxes with soil:

My boys, hard at work:

Henry, helper extraordinaire:

Jack, proudly using his new shovel from Grandma Loveridge while Henry inspects the veggies:

Henry
Henry's favorite thing to do is help his daddy with anything and everything. Here, he helps Steve make traditional Loveridge banana oatmeal cookies.

Time out for...
... star stickers! Best displayed on one's face, of course.

Jack:

Henry:

Henry shows off Hen-e-phant's purple star sticker eye:

Projects Part II: Out and About
While getting supplies for our garden bed project, we happened upon Home Depot's monthly kid craft workshop. The boys got to help build and paint some tow trucks, which they were excited about.

Mom pours more paint for the enthusiastic truck decorators:

Paint! Messes! Yay!

Artist Henry gets to work, Jack supervises...

Visiting Grandma

Despite the ridiculously hot temperatures, we had a great visit with Grandma Loveridge. 

Our routine is to break up our drive with a lunch stop at an awesome park that has a nice picnic area, neat playground structures, and a great water play section. I don't think captions are needed; it's just plain fun!

Henry wasn't ready for the water fun to end. At Grandma's house, Henry cools himself off:

The boys love playing with their cousin Camdan. Here, Jack and Cam ride down Grandma's driveway:

The boys show Cam their birthday shovels:

Even though it's a little out-of-focus, I put this picture in because the joy on the boys' faces is fantastic. This is the moment Grandma revealed their birthday present...

... scooters!

They took to the scooters immediately and had a grand time racing around Grandma's house.

Grandma wasn't done yet, there was also birthday cake!

Henry, especially, is a fan:

Fantastic picture of Jack taken by Grandma:

The boys also came away from Grandma's house with several great puppets she was looking to pass on to a good home. They are definitely loved and getting frequent use.

Henry, on the way home with his fishies (and new teddy bear from our visit to the Sacramento railroad museum... I think the boys might be a little spoiled):

Jack shows off froggy (with his own new bear in tow):

The big 3 is just too much for one blog post. More to come on the boys' 3rd birthday celebrations.