The boy

I know the content of this blog has been 95% Hazel for the last few months. I'm hoping to decrease that number to 92% after this post.

Cannon is here too, and he won't let us forget it. In many ways he is becoming less and less a baby and more and more a boy. He'll be 3 in a little over a week. Jarom and I joke that I gave birth to my husband - their resemblance is uncanny. They love all the same things. Although he's going through a bit of a stubborn and naughty phase (at least I pray it's a phase), he is hilarious and perceptive.

He loves to sing and can remember songs after hearing them only once or twice. His favorites are "A Temple" aka I Love to See the Temple and "A Family" aka Families Can Be Together Forever. But he can also sing "Book of Morning Stories", "Bluebird", "Spider", Blackbirds", "Cannon Hammers with one Hammer" and lots of others.

He's crazy. He likes to jump off of high things and ride his 4-wheeler. He's not scared of much. He asks us not to buckle his car seat every single time we put him in the car. I always have to explain to him that it's dangerous and we love him and want him to be safe. He's starting to understand the concept of danger. Kind of.

He is obsessed with helicopters. Jarom took him on a real helicopter ride last week and he LOVED every second. He got to wear a headset and talk to Jarom the whole time. He was glued to the window and when he got out he said "can we do it again and again?"

He still takes a good 2-3 hour nap every day. He has to sleep naked for some reason and when I tell him it's nap time he never complains, but he'll start stripping himself down to just his underwear. It makes me laugh, but whatever it takes to get a few hours of Hazel or project time.

He has a neat streak. He likes things to be clean and in order. When he goes to bed at night, he has to have all his trucks and cars lined up against the wall before he can get in bed. He likes to help me sort the laundry and if I give him a baby wipe, he'll clean the floor, table, chairs and baseboards.

His very favorite activity is making blueberry muffins. We make a batch almost every other day because he loves them so much. He is capable of eating an entire batch all on his own. I always make a mini-mufin pan for him and a pan of regular sized ones. One day I was sick and making the muffins took a lot out of me so I went to lay down when they were cooling. I came back and he had eaten every single muffin!

It's no secret that Jarom is his favorite person. He wants to be just like his daddy. While I was pregnant with Cannon I had a vivid dream in which a little blond boy about 3 or 4 years old was sitting on my bed and asked me to "do his hair just like daddy's". I remember so much about that dream, and in many ways it has come true. When Jarom gets his tools out to work on a project, Cannon is right by his side with his little plastic tools. When Jarom mows the lawn, Cannon is right behind him with a plastic lawn mower. When Jarom laughs, Cannon laughs. And, well, you get the picture. It's a good thing he's got such a great man to idolize.

He's a great kid. It's been hard for him to be neglected while Hazel takes so much of our time and energy. He's faced this trial with love and understanding. He is very sweet to his sister and rarely shows signs of jealousy. He snuggles her and sings her songs and sometimes even shares his toys with her. I sure love him. He makes our house loud, fun and messy but I love him just the way he is.

(this picture was taken on Mother's Day by Jarom)