Jack’s 6th Birthday

Today is Jack’s 6th birthday. If you ask him the best part of his day, he’ll tell you immediately that it was getting his remote control helicopter. Nathan thought Jack would like it, and he was right! Jack tells us he’s always wanted one… and he’s quite amazed that Nathan magically knew that and got it for him. If you see him anytime soon, expect to get a lesson in flying remote control helicopters.

We started off the morning with presents and baked oatmeal. The morning was extra special because Aunt Lindsay was here. (It was Dr. Seuss week at school, so Jack is wearing a One Fish, Two Fish shirt.)

Henry and I went to school to eat lunch with Jack and then stayed for birthday treats in his classroom. Before we left the cafeteria, his class sang him Happy Birthday. And then they sang it again in his classroom. He also got a special ribbon and got to up to the office to pick out a special book as a birthday gift. At bedtime tonight he toldme they also got get on school buses this morning and jump off the roof so they would know what to do in case of a fire. The details were sketchy, but Jack declared it was awesome.

He chose spaghetti for supper tonight and decided he wanted a chocolate chip cookie cake instead of his normal chocolate cake. Henry helped me make, and decorate, the cookie cake this afternoon.

 

This has been a big year for Jack. Starting kindergarten was a big change, and he seems so much older than a year ago now that he’s in school. Some of his favorite things right now are:

- reading books on his own, and staying up after bedtime to read books when he thinks we don’t know

- building legos and playing bey blades

- building forts

- writing and creating his own books

- drawing

- saying bathroom words and cracking up with Henry (It’s so hilarious he's even willing to go to timeout for it.)

- fighting with Henry

- playing with Henry

- listening to music on his “phone”

It’s fun to see his personality forming and shining through more and more as he gets older. He is a strong-willed little guy who knows what he wants and will argue all day to get it. But he’s also very sensitive and always, always listening and observing the world around him. We see his compassion and empathy for others developing more as he matures and learns to be a good friend. The verse I picked out for him this year is Joshua 1:9.

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged; for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

This is a our prayer for him this year. May God fill him with strength and courage, and pick him up when he is discouraged and afraid. And may he be increasingly aware of the Lord’s presence with him wherever he goes.

Valentine's 2014

We had a great Valentine's Day! The morning started with our annual scavenger hunt tradition for the boys. They were quite excited to find their clues and their little gifts.








While Jack and I were at swimming lessons last night, Henry and Nathan went on a secret mission to get me flowers, and ice cream from McDonald's. Another Valentine's highlight was Jack's scavenger hunt for me. He drew a map and left little Jack signs throughout the house at each stop on the map. At the end of the map was a sweet card.


Henry also made a card for Jack and "gave" him a truck from the basement.


This morning the boys and I made our valentine's cake. They were a little wild while we were icing the cake. As in Henry sticking his whole hand in the icing and leaning over to take a bite of the cake while we were icing it.


Tonight we had a fancy candlelight supper of spaghetti and chocolate covered strawberries and bananas. We even used the china. We think it was the second time we've used it in 10 years... the other time was one of our first Valentine's Days. Nathan had strep throat and we ate pizza on china plates while we sat on the couch and watched TV. Happy Valentine's Day!

A Brief History of the Crib

I’ll be the first to say I shed a few tears when Nathan took the crib down. And so, as I am emotional about this milestone marking the baby years gone by, here’s a brief history of the crib… in pictures. First, let’s not forget a few of the infamous crib moments… Jack cutting the inside of his lip when he was a baby and bleeding all over the place, Henry biting almost all the way through his tongue when he was a baby and bleeding all over the place, Jack throwing up in the middle of night when he was almost 2, the crib being recalled twice (which accounts for the change in color) and both of them chewing on the paint and coming away with little black paint chips around their mouths much to my dismay. I have loved checking on sleeping babies and almost big boys every night for the past almost 6 years, snug in their beat up and well-loved crib.

Henry’s Big Boy Bed

Henry is doing a great job with his new bed. He was very excited the first time he got to sleep in it. He’s doing pretty well staying in his room at bedtime and naptime and waits for me to come and get him in the morning. Such a big boy!

Snow Days!

Yesterday was our first big snowstorm of the winter! That means Jack and Nathan have been home for two days, and Jack is out of school again tomorrow. We love snow days! So far, we have:

Built a fort


Played in the snow 3 times so far














Done a workout video because we can't get to the gym. Henry's weights are soup cans.


And made snow ice cream.





After naptime we are taking down Henry's crib and putting up his big boy bed (and taking all toys out of his room until he gets used to it). He's going to be pretty excited!

Uncle Will's Visit

The past two weeks have been great because Uncle Will has been around... he stayed with us for a couple of days a week ago and then we got to see him some more last week and this weekend. Now he is back in Ohio, getting everything ready to leave for his one-year tour in South Korea.

We loved spending time with him. Highlights included a trip to the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art with both boys. They were both irrationally afraid of the mummy, but had a good time other than that. Pizza at the Godfather's Buffet was another favorite; specifically cinnamon streusel pizza. It was great to just have time to hang out around the house and let the boys have time to play with Will. Yesterday Mom and Dad had a big brunch for all the family to say goodbye. Jack's favorite part was eating three of Aunt Sherry's enormous cinnamon rolls. Sadly, Henry and Nathan missed out because Henry was sick. We managed to finally take some pictures yesterday. We love you Will!

Sick Henry

Poor Henry has pnemonia! He woke up sick yesterday morning and has a nasty cough, so I took him in this morning. Despite not feeling that great, he polished off a chocolate cupcake after lunch.


Jack decorated the cupcakes for our Super Bowl party (which we had to cancel because Henry is sick). He was very proud of his football cupcakes. We used white icing on some others and Jack drew either a B for the Broncos or an S for the Seahawks.






They also had a fun weekend of wild playing with Daddy.